Weekend Treasure Hunt 22: Kaas City Fallout

[Jorus Merrill]

The Mandos talked me into this.​

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As with all Weekend Treasure Hunts, I have no intention of joining in or DMing unless it becomes seriously necessary. This is simply an opportunity.​

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Follow Wheaton's Law or go to your local droid distributor and ask for a GT-F0 unit.​

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KAAS CITY AND ENVIRONS​

DROMUND KAAS​

THE LARRAQ ICE AGE​

Important events of note:

• Several years ago, the Mandalorians conquered Dromund Kaas the hard way. The Sith Empire Citadel was destroyed, the Obsidian Throne obliterated. Rally Master Rygel Larraq dropped twenty asteroids on the world, and the resulting airborne dust blotted out the sun, inducing a deep chill. Nearly everyone on Dromund Kaas died, quickly or slowly, leaving chilly enclaves and little appeal.
• Thereafter, the Mandalorians contracted Akure Executive Leatherworks to excavate and contain whatever remained of the Dark Side in Kaas City's ruins. Artifacts were removed and cataloged, Sithspawn were purged, and deadly hunters roamed the frozen swamps of Dromund Kaas.
• Then came the Primeval invasion, and new, malign influences interrupted the excavations. Now the quarantined world lies under the warlord law of [member="Darth Vornskr"].
• One of the galaxy's great corporations has cut a deal with the Powers That Be. It has built a Taris-like station in orbit, and contracted many to go down to the thawing Kaas City to finish what Akure started.
• But some of those contractors are not to be trusted, and rumors speak of buried treasure and reduced Sithspawn populations. The former rumors are true. The latter rumors are not. Dromund Kaas is waking up. Its creatures -- tuk'ata, hssiss, rare native ysalamiri, even full-grown terentateks -- are a constant threat.

ROUGH MAP AVAILABLE HERE​

IT IS FETHING COLD​

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Half-buried, Unfinished Colossus: A datacron of the Betna clan, lost by a contractor - the subject is the training and breeding of vornskrs. The datacron is found in a crashed, disabled, but largely intact Abattoir-class. A nest of hssiss has come out of hibernation nearby.​

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Half-buried Monument to Lord Ergast, Central Kaas City: The First Apostate Holocron, the Holocron of the Breath. Buried and guarded but salvageable.​

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Dromund Kaas Spaceport: A wrecked Akure Executive Leatherworks evacuation shuttle, scavenged for parts by survivors. The dead pilot is wearing Leviathan bracers and a Cater Coat, and his spirit haunts the shuttle.​

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Ruins of the Sith Empire Citadel (The Dark Temple, on the map): The Fourth Apostate Holocron, the Holocron of the Tongue. Buried and guarded but salvageable.​

Old Slave Camps: A small refuge from the cold and the Sithspawn, here is a well-protected, post-apocalyptic survivor town. The town calls itself Dinora, an old Sith word meaning 'finished.' Medical aid and barter are available here, and perhaps dark trinkets as well.​

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THIS IS NOW AN IC THREAD​

 

[Teryn Renoir]

Kaas Spaceport Overlook

Renoir jogged down the ramp of the Sith vessel and shot the snowy vista a look of Blue Steel. Oh yes. A frozen planet, sorta semi-famous, and crawling with very angry and very fashionable wildlife. Mm. There was only one word to describe this mission. Hot. So yeah. Teryn had a good feeling about this.

The tall Sith Knight standing next to him, did not.

"Our objective is still within the spaceport. Yesss. I can feel it."

"Right..." Teryn squinted against the glare, "So? Why did we land all the way out here then?"

"Because! The locals are going to be trouble. They always are. Now. No more questions. Slave."

His dark companion muttered something else and began hiking down the snowy cliff. Giving a subtle wave for his newest capture to follow him. Indeed. Now was not the time for such mild musings as mere parking places. Now was the time to serve his new master.

Ranoir tugged at the bomb collar about his neck and sighed. It didn't match his space outfit and it wasn't even his size. Ugh. What a terrible waste of good explosives. That plus the cold wind, the hollowing animals below, and the complete lack of a weapon at his side? Yeah. He could really go for a warm Orange Mocha Frappuccino, right about now. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea after all? Corellians aren't polar bears, ya know.

Wait. Are they?

"Slave!"

"Coming sir! ...Right behind you! Yep. Coming right away. Here we go. Down the perilous cliffs of doom. Right now. Okay. Here we go..."

The absolutely boring space cowboy clamored down the wet hillside and down down into the abyss. The perfect beginning to another terrible horrible absolutely rotten adventure.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Spaceport, heading North West


Dromund Kaas. Once more she had returned. She'd been down here before a while back, leading a small expedition on a fake documentary into a Sith tomb. She'd found pictographs and hints, but nothing else; just leads. It was frustrating and aggravating, but that was life sometimes. It wasn't that she had accepted that as a fact, per se, only that she had accepted there was no way around such at the time.

Now, though, she had returned for something else entirely. Rumor had it that treasure was to be had. Things had cleared up, or so was the rumor, and the planet was ripe for the picking for anyone courageous enough to enter the tombs and seek lost troves of valuables. Treasures didn't particularly appeal to Reine, but the knowledge locked away did. She knew that the planet had mostly been picked clean, but there were areas too dangerous to venture; places that only sithspawn dwelled.

Armed with her lightsaber and a few other pieces of equipment and clad in her usual attire, though with thick, warm cloaks pulled close over her body, she gazed out at the landscape for a moment more. She checked her bearings on her datapad and nodded once before stowing the device into a saddlebag on the speeder beside her. Swinging a leg over, she kicked the machine on and revved the engine once.

With a roar of repulsor engines, the bike was gone. She was headed north to the ruins of Kaas city. Perhaps she would find more than dust, ice, and old bones...

 

[Reine Bisset]

Nearing Kaas City

The speeder bike roared over the desolate terrain, the wind whipping across the fabric of the cloak wrapped around her frame. The land here was frozen and empty, locked in ice and snow courtesy of the Mandalorian invasion here years ago. It had left the planet in an ice age as debris blocked out the system's star and lowered Dromund Kaas' temperature substantially. The amount of death and destruction had left the already darkside imbued planet even more steeped in sinister power. For Reine, she could feel it easily and, oddly enough, felt somewhat... comfortable. Hardly at home, but comfortable.

Ahead she saw the angular shapes of structures come into view. Kaas City, a place of splendor and power once envied by entire sectors. Now it was a ruin, a place of dust and relics of a bygone age. Inside she knew had been picked clean, but with many Sith constructs there would be hidden things. Hideaways and nooks, places found only at the right time and by the right people holding anything from trinkets to treasures for the taking. With luck, she may just find something of use to her among the rubble.

Minutes passed and the shapes became clear, the buildings and walls more distinct. Soon enough she could see them in their aged splendor, weathered by time and hardship, but grandiose all the same. Coruscant may be the gem of the universe, but to Reine the Sith architecture spoke of true power and glory unfettered by something as trivial as boundaries and limits.

She pulled the bike to a stop near the crumbling gates of the ruined city and deactivated the machine. She checked her datapad once more, double checking her location, and stowed the device on her belt. Nodding once to herself, she started off for the gates and the city inside, the cloak still wrapped around her body. Beneath, she let her hand rest on the hilt of her lightsaber. With luck, she wouldn't need to draw the weapon.

But this was Dromund Kaas. It wasn't a question of if, but when.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Paddy Quick]

Kaas Spaceport

The great thing about Dromund Kaas was that no one looked twice at a MandalMotors assault freighter clearly running a stolen Republic FFI. The spacelane controllers had even been helpful in their chaotic, anarchic kind of way. The Primeval seemed like laissez-faire kind of guys ... Paddy Quick could dig that. Instead of giving him a flight vector, they let him make his own way down to Kaas' surface after he had punched through his contractor ID. His client had given him that as a key to get in the door, and now he was in ... what else had he said? Buried datacron, half-buried, giant three metre spook lizards ... yeah, walk in the park.

Paddy found himself drumming his fingers absently on the table. He looked up at the window to see his manic visage grinning back at him, with the cold expanses of Dromund Kaas beyond. The smile was, well, kind of disturbing.

"I need to do something about those eyes," he said, gesturing to no one in particular. "Ain't that right, little Jimbo?"

Paddy paused, nodding seriously.

"Yeah, you're right. I look manic. Deranged! Like some sort of crazy person.."

The Tetan felt his grin returning and cleared his throat, trying to get serious. He turned his eyes back to the table. A smorgasbond of weapons and explosives lay in front of him. A speederbike was waiting for him outside. A cold weather jacket hung up at the doorway. Excellent.

Paddy Quick began to prepare himself.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Amun]

Spaceport; heading to the Citadel

The backbone and capital of the once Sith Empire that existed for several years. The loss of this wasteland was the beginning of the end for the Sith which would leave them scattered until they united under one banner, one goal, and one vision. After they they reconstituted their empire they were more power than their predecessor. Everyone had forgotten about this land site after the ice age the Mandalorians caused after they battled for dominance over the planet. Once then everything from Dromud Kaas was stripped to find Sith artifacts and holocrons so that it make the planet worth nothing.

Though, rumors about hidden treasure untouched went around few sectors of the Galaxy which would tempt them into coming for some priceless item. Zalgo would be one of few who would dare to trek the ruins of Dromud Kaas and see what values he would find.

From a taxi shuttle he arrived at the spaceport with a speeder bike, a standard armorweave bodyglove, some pelts of fur, and a sharp sword made of durasteel. The shuttle immediately took off after the Epicanthix paid the driver and got out of the vessel. His only means of leaving the world left, but he was sure that there was a ship that he could use to leave the system. After he took a glance of the scenery before him which was just snow, glaciers, and other geological features belonging to the era of an ice age he seated himself on his speeder and began to ride on a path that would take him to the ruins of the Dark Temple.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Reine Bisset]

Kaas City


The massive gates of the city were old and crumbling, sheathed in inches thick ice and partially hidden by snowdrifts and frost. Despite this, however, the entrance to the city was just as imposing as it had always been, perhaps more so now than before. Reine felt that in the past, the architecture demanded attention to their grandeur and splendor; to acknowledge their imposing presence and the iron will of the masters of the Sith. Now they spoke of ancient memories, but also of darker things. They were still the grand entrance to a mighty city, but now seemed to lure in the unwary, whispering of dark things and dangers guarding the secrets within.

The space beyond the gate was an expanse of ice and snow, the seemingly random snowdrifts giving telltale signs of the rubble beneath. Various arches, most turned long reverted to rubble, showed more paths to elsewhere in the city. She glanced around, her natural Force Sight seeing through snow and ice, and saw a half buried monument off to the left. With a shrug, she carefully made her way to the corresponding archway.

The air here was a stagnant cold. Gone were the whipping winds sapping warmth from the body. Here was a quiet chill, one that permeated everything around. Reine pulled her cloak a little tighter and focused inwards with the Force. For once, she was glad she knew the basics of Tapas. As useless as she'd thought it to be, here it was a lifesaver. Yet another lesson she took from seemingly worthless Force training.

Up ahead she saw the beginnings of the monument, the majority of the stonework buried under ice and rubble. She frowned under her eye-mask at what she saw. Her Sight allowed her to see through many things, at least for a certain distance. Buried under thick ice and stone a shape could be seen. It was too regular, too square to be a fallen stone block as it would have cracked or shattered on impact, nor was it some form of structure or altar as it was not, from what she could see, flush with the stone floor.

Curious, she moved forwards carefully, mindful of the uneven snow and ice on the floor. Approaching the icy tomb of whatever lay inside, she brushed off some of the snow and frowned. It was entirely encased in solid ice, but ice was also beneath it. The frown deepened as she thought for a few moments. Someone or something had placed this here and let the ice freeze over the item.

She squatted down a moment, peering as best she could with her Force Sight at the object. She could detect nothing in the Force emanating from what had to be a container, but for all she knew it wasn't something she could sense and was instead filled with data or perhaps other types of valuables. She pondered a moment and decided using her lightsaber was probably a poor idea to extract the item as it ran the risk of damaging the container. The hilt of her lightsaber could work as an improvised pick, bashing the ice away bit by bit, but she really didn't feel like spending an hour smashing frozen water to get something out of the frozen wastes here.

But she had other options, she realized. It was a long shot as she'd not really practiced the ability, but she knew enough to try it here. Combustion. She'd figured it would be useless, more so than Tapas, and hadn't bothered much with the power since understanding how it worked. Now that she was spending more and more time in the wilds and less and less time in civilization, she was learning that sometimes you needed those seemingly worthless powers on your side.

Huffing a bit in annoyance over the situation, she took a few steps back before turning around and staring at the lumps of ice. She crossed her arms and stood for a few minutes, her mind turning the situation over and over in her head, attempting to find any other option to get the box out of the ice. Unfortunately, nothing else came to mind and try as she might to simply shrug and wander off looking for other things to salvage, her curiosity was getting the better of her.

Sighing, she focused inwards and let the Force build in her. With luck, she'd be able to get it on the first few tries and let the ice melt. Otherwise, she'd have to come up with a Plan B, which would probably frustrate her more.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Reine Bisset]

She knew how to utilize Force combustion and of the nuances in the power's abilities, but she'd never actually used the ability before. She'd never practiced, never attempted the power, only learned the trick and let it sit in her mind unused as she'd believed it to be worthless, instead focusing on other things that held more utility to her goals.

Now she stood before the packed and frozen ice with the bitter realization that perhaps the powers she felt were useless weren't truly so. Reine let the Force focus within her and concentrated on the ice before her. Once she could feel that focus reach a certain point, she tried releasing the energy. She remembered that she was to focus on heat and fire and did so. The Force broke free and for a moment, she grinned in triumph as steam poured off the ice and obscured her view. Triumph turned to frustration, however, when she realized that she'd only managed to turn only the exterior surface of the ice into water and then to steam.

Angry, she crossed her arms and stalked forwards to the offending sheets of ice and stopped before them. She kicked at the frozen water viciously, sending chips and shards of ice in all directions. It was a childish gesture, but one she couldn't help herself from making. The ice was thwarting her efforts and her own ignorance at the galaxy was making sure to trip her up at every turn. Normally, she could point the blame of such things at others or, on occasion, chance or fate, but with this she could point at her own failings.

A Jedi would learn the lesson and ponder on the proper courses of action. Reine, however, was far from a Jedi.

She stalked back and forth before the ice, her mind a storm of anger and frustration. She muttered harshly under her breath and cast hateful glares back at the hidden box and its secrets. Her mind registered that she was acting like an angry, petulant child, but her anger overpowered those feelings and instead the logical portions of her mind worked to refine such reactions. To use them and alter them to become more productive, more powerful.

She stormed back to where she'd been before and faced the ice and its hidden contents. She let the Force build within her and let it storm and surge, a whirlwind of anger and frustration given ethereal form. She felt the power grow and swell and, without thinking, forced it down into her hands. There a ball formed, one seen but unseen, where heat and rage swirled and roiled in her hands. She let the anger and rage flow through her and felt her arms trying to crush the unseen orb in her hands, her muscles forcing her palms together while the energy there between her fingers pushed back with equal power. Around her, the air whirled bit by bit, sending small flurries dancing across the floor. Steam rose from her shoulders as the ball in her hands warmed and heated her and the air around.

Just as suddenly as it had formed, she cast it forward in a vicious gesture, the orb flung hard at the snow and ice. It impacted and burst, less an explosion and more a release of energy. Steam erupted in a geyser of heat and warmth filling the room with a haze. Frozen shrapnel sprayed in all directions, a result of extreme heat meeting with extreme cold and the reactions of the energies within. Resounding cracks and pops filled the air as the ice ruptured and shattered in the sudden heat and the floor ran with icy melt water. The area was now hazy and warm, the heat temporarily raising the temperature just high enough to be marginally comfortable.

Reine took a moment to compose herself and stalked forward. Those the air was hazy and wet, she could see the box was now mostly free. She stepped towards the container and picked the chunks of melting ice off the top. The lid was locked down with a simple electronic padlock. With a shrug, she unclipped her lightsaber from her waist and hefted it, using it like the club the pommel was designed for. It took a few swings, but the padlock eventually twisted and broke from the lid, falling to the ground only to be covered with melt water and ice.

She reached forward to open the container when she caught movement from the corner of her eye. Her hands stopped and returned to grip the lightsaber, ready and waiting.

This was Dromund Kaas. It wasn't a matter of if she'd need to draw her weapon, but a question of when.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Jorus Merrill]

When [member="Reine Bisset"] opened the lockbox - eventually - she would find not only the First Apostate Holocron, but the holocron of Seren Ordavo. The rewards of persistence.

 

[Reine Bisset]

Shambling figures slowly materialized through the mist and haze. She could see them clearly in the Force, hulking monsters rising up from the melt water and climbing up through rubble. At first, she thought they were a form of Sith Zombies, a group previously undisturbed and left frozen. As she caught a flash of scales, however, she realized she wasn't that lucky.

The shambling forms took on the shapes of Jurgorans, amphibious predators native to Dromund Kaas. She realized that her mace-pommeled lightsaber would only annoy the creatures and instead flipped the handle in her hand. The snap-hiss of her lightsaber blade was followed a millisecond later by the ruby-red blade, the sudden light coloring the swirling fog around her a blood red.

The first Jurgoran darted forward, massive arms swinging, each limb tipped in razor sharp talons. Reine flicked the 'saber out and around, the beam of energy severing a limb at the elbow. The creature screeched in pain, but the Miralukan was already moving. More emerged from the mists and rushed at her. She met them in a flurry of light and movement.

The lightsaber flickered this way and that, the crimson beam slicing through hide and flesh and bone with ease. She used no real discernible form, but instead fought using a simple, yet effective style that reflected the fluidity of the weapon she used. The handle of the long-handled lightsaber rotated and spun around her arms and hands and body as she used herself and her limbs and fulcrums to alter the direction of the energy blade. Talons that reached out to rip and tear were cut from arms, teeth bit down on air or red-hot energy all while the bright red blade cut deep into torsos and bodies. Before long, the keening of the wounded Jurgorans drowned out the roars and calls of the untouched creatures.

In a sudden shift, the remaining number rushed her at once. Perhaps a spark of intelligent tactic use could be found, perhaps they simply chanced a rush at the same exact time. Whatever the cause, Reine knew she couldn't defend herself from them all at once with just her blade, even if she tried. Her mind raced and, in a moment of panic, she felt herself react rather than act.

She shoved her hands before her, palms facing the rushing predators, and felt the Force itself erupt form her outstretched fingers. Bright bolts of blue lightning arced through the air and pierced the rushing Jurgorans. The creatures twisted and spasmed in the bright light as Reine fed the power of her own fear into the attack.

After a few more moments, she let the Force dissipate and the crackling of energy ceased altogether. The amphibian predators tumbled to the floor of the room, their bodies charred and blackened in places. Once again, the room was quiet side from the muted trickle of melt water and the occasional faint whine of the dying creatures.

For a moment, she let relief wash over her and sat down upon a damp outcropping of rubble to catch her breathe. She'd been jumped, but caught it at the last minute. A potentially lethal surprise attack thwarted by sheer chance. At first she counted herself lucky, but soon enough the small voice in the back of her mind spoke differently.

She'd been careless.

Careless. She should have seen the creatures, should have checked the area more thoroughly before doing something as reckless as changing the temperature of the immediate area with an untried ability. She kicked herself mentally at her own stupidity before slamming a fist into her thigh in frustration.

She had to be better than that. She would be better than that. Next time she might not get lucky at the last second and she knew she couldn't fail. Not now. Not this far ahead.

She stood up to return to the crate when she stopped for a moment. She hadn't noticed it before, but now it was a bit clearer; a bit more audible. A strange buzzing or thrumming in the air. It wasn't strong or overpowering, but hung at the edge of her senses instead. It sounded like a far away engine or perhaps the rapid beating of a thousand wings on the air.

The second thought caught her attention and she felt her jaw set. She readied the lightsaber in her hand, but doubted it would help much at this point.

Apparently, there were more than just Jurgoran on the planet to try and find a meal. Something else had stirred...

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Reine Bisset]

The thrumming grew louder, slowly but steadily, until it was a hum that buzzed in the back of Reine's molars. Whatever was making the noise wasn't quite here yet, leading her to wonder just what was coming. Whatever it was, it sounded big. Very big. And on Kaas very big meant very dangerous.

Making a split second decision, she deactivated the lightsaber and bolted to the container. She slid to a stop in the ice water and flung the container open. Inside was a simple burlap bag with a small length of rope tying the mouth of the sack shut. She snatched the bag, making note that she could feel something was definitely inside, and tied it to her belt on her left side. A moment later and the lightsaber was back at the ready, the blade's hum adding to the slowly growing noise around.

The first hint at what she faced came when a small number of winged forms burst from one of the entryways and made a beeline towards her. Their screeching seemed at first to be some sort of intimidation attempt, but when the humming suddenly peaked and set her teeth on edge, she knew it was anything but. The rest were coming.

And if the noise that could only be their wings was any clue, there were a lot, lot more coming.

The small number that had found her darted forward, the huge stingers on their tails arching back for a strike. Reine reacted and the blade snapped out and around, severing tails and wings from bodies that spun off into the slowly freezing water. She dispatched the remaining number as they surged forth to meet the same end their brethren fell before deciding it was definitely time to leave.

The water splashed high as she ran for the exit, the sound of boots on liquid giving way to the crunch of ice and snow as she found the main atrium she'd entered through. She turned and ran full tilt for the exit, deactivating the lightsaber to prevent injury should she fall on the ice. Behind her, the humming peaked louder than ever before stuttering slightly. Confused, she slowed just enough to turn to look behind, curiosity outweighing self preservation for a moment.

As she turned, a sound akin to a thunderclap echoed loud enough that she slapped her hands to her ears and skidded to a stop on the ice. A split second later, down the main road in the distance, she saw an ancient wall shatter and fall. Cyclopian stones tumbled and shattered, cracking and splintering the tiles below with each impact. In the dust and debris, she saw a massive, horned shape right itself and turn towards her. It was a good distance away, but even from here she could spot the telltale horns and hide of another native of Kaas.

Terentatek.

And from the look of things, a massively huge one at that. Around the creature flew more of the flying critters that had attacked Reine earlier, leading her to put two and two together. The flying creatures had encountered and woken the Terentatek in their haste to find her. In the process, they'd attacked in, instead, and angered it. As she came to that realization, the monstrosity stepped fully from the cloud of grit and snatched what she later found out to be a Mailoc out from the very air. It ripped the airborne reptile in half with its jaws before casting it back into the swarm with enough force to rip a few more of the creatures from the air through the impact alone. It then turned its head to look directly at her and lowered itself slightly, the giant predator seeing worthy prey for the first time in what had to be eons.

It was the air shattering bellowing roar that shook Reine back into action. She turned and bolted for the gates, her feet slipping slight at the start. Behind her she could hear the creature's hunting cry as it chased her. Below her feet she could feel the very ground shake with each of it's ponderous steps. Part of her desperately needed to know how far away the thing was, but her self preservation had kicked into full gear and forced her to run faster instead.

She reached the gates and climbed or leapt over snow-covered rubble as quickly as possible, fear lending her wings in her flight from the creatures. Behind she heard another roar and the ground shaking rumble as, with a massive crack, the creature sent a building facade crumbling into the icy streets. She darted through the gates and had the brief thought of perhaps closing the gates on the creature, but thought better of it. Having seen the monster smash through a massive stone wall without effort, she doubted the gates themselves would hold even if she could free them from the sheets of ice covering the metal and stone.

The crunch of ice gave way to the muffled sounds of boots in snow and she found her progress slowed. Ahead, the speeder bike could be clearly seen but behind she heard all too loudly the triumphant bellow of the creature. Glancing back, she saw the monstrous terentatek before the gates themselves, its massive stride had let it catch up to Reine. It lowered itself, preparing to sprint and pounce on her, the massive jaws dripping down into the snow, making the frost and ice steam in the cold.

Panicking, she realized she couldn't make it to the speeder bike in time before the monster caught her and ended her excursion permanently. She knew she couldn't fight the thing, it was far too massive and deadly. She would need at least a dozen Sith warriors to combat the creature, and even then most would never return from the fight. Salvation came in the form of a memory, fueled by desperation.

The massive valley of junk on Raxus Prime came to mind, how she'd hopped from pillar to pillar before being forced to rocket herself the last of the way. That was her only chance. It was the only way to survive now.

She drew in the force, summoning it to her as she turned to bolt in the snow. Behind her, the Terentatek growled deep within its throat. Whether from hunger or amusement, Reine didn't know and didn't particularly want to find out. She darted through the snow, half running and half stumbling as the ground beneath shook from the weight of the monster behind. As the creature's hot breath burst upon her back, she let loose and jumped.

Below her, a clawed hand the size of a tank ripped through the snow where she'd just been. Behind her, she felt the heat of the beast's breath and heard the concussive snap of its teeth closing just short of her form, a last ditch attempt to snatch her from the air for a meal. Ahead, she saw the speeder and, in what was only seconds but felt like hours, she landed in the seat of the bike.

She ignored the jolt of pain ripping up her tailbone and hurriedly activated the machine. Once the repulsors kicked on, she didn't wait a second more and cranked the throttle as far as it would go, and not a moment too soon. Once again, she felt the hot breath of the Terentatek on her back, but before it could rip her in two with its sword-like teeth, she was gone.

The wind and snow whipped past her and stung her face, but she didn't slow down. It wasn't until she could no longer hear the monster's footsteps that she turned to look back. The monster had given up the chase, the creature's massive figure now miniature on the horizon. As she watched, it turned back towards her for a long moment, then disappeared back into the city. She was safe...

But as the city faded from view, she realized that while safe, she was also somewhat lost...


[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Amun]

Heading to the Dark Temple

The frostbite of the fallout Dromud Kaas gave him minor agony as he could feel his ears being stiff and frosted from the low temperature. The rest of his body was still being protected by the fur pelts covering him. Zalgo continued to navigate through the paths leading to the ruins of the Dark Temple by using a hologram that was the map to the whole city of Kaas City on his speeder bike. He was close on reaching the ruins of the citadel which would have some treasures hidden beneath it's walls despite the fact of the Mandalorians contracting the famous Rave Merrill and having her take away all the holocrons and artifacts.

As he was about to reach his destination the Epicanthix decelerated and stationed his speeder bike that was about fifty meters away from the Dark Temple. While Dromud Kaas was an uninhabitable place for a humanoid to live on it didn't mean that there could be wandering Sithspawns, that survived the rage of Captain Larraq, guarding the Temple at every known corner from both the exterior and the interior of the architecture.

Believing that the best tactic for him was to walk the remaining of the distance Zalgo had his hand on the hilt of the sword ready to be unsheathed in case of any wandering Sithspawns or beasts that would attempt to attack him for supper.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Paddy Quick]

Hmmm, I'm clanky. The heavily armed lunatic, clad in weapons and a fetching fur jacket, stomped outside and onto the surface of a dead planet. And dang, it was freezing. Paddy began to question the thought process that led him to strapping a claymore onto his chest; the metal was rapidly growing colder against his bare chest. It was going to start freezing his nipples soon ... ah well, better get active. Kill some crap. That thought was comforting. Quick didn't feel natural unless he was strapped and didn't feel good unless he was creating some carnage. Big frakking spook lizards only excited the Tetan maniac.

Trudging over to his speederbike, he swung a leg over it and hollered to the empty waste.

"FINALLY ... QUICK HAS COME BACK TO DROMUND KAAS!" Had he ever been there in the first place? That wasn't the point..

Paddy Quick shot off towards a desolate jungle at a dangerous pace. There he would find tree stumps, dust, and broken dreams. But that wasn't his target, only the first checkpoint on a larger journey. The Unfinished Colossus and a mound of sand awaited him.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]

 

[Amun]

Outskirts of the Dark Temple

So far, nothing wild had come out to attack and delay the Epicanthix from his personal mission. He was surprised to not see any creatures of the said rumors not come out and attempt to make Zalgo a meal; however, he assumed with the help of logic and common sense that these dangerous animals were accumulated and gathered in zones similar to the location that he was heading off to. It was, after all, the Dark Temple with little holocrons and other treasures buried beneath its layers, and guarded by despicable odds from beasts affiliated with the Dark Side of the Force. Now he was regretting that he wasn't more well prepared to face off against these beasts, even if the rumors of spacers and treasure hunters were that the population of the Sithspawns were hugely decimated. Decimated or not, with the insignificant equipment that the Epicanthix brought with him wasn't going to be enough to deal with the likes of a terentateks.

Walking up the few meters of the path to the Dark Temple the Epicanthix was in a crouch stance and hiding behind some tall bushes. He was viewing at the architecture of the Temple and being vigilant of the sentinels guarding it from intruders like Zalgo. Many tuk'ata were out patrolling the outskirts of the temple. With the little information he obtained Zalgo needed to fomulate a plan to distract some of the beasts guarding the main entrance to the Temple. Luckily, they weren't extremely intelligent beings. Zalgo began scurrying around him until he found some decent rocks.

Getting a good aim he threw the rocks that he scavenged for at the ground of one of the tuk'ata until it would alert its compatriots of what was happening. Few tuk'atas left their positions and began to scout for the source of the throwing rocks. Taking the advantage of the distracted guards Zalgo made a run for the entrance, but attention was given to him when he stepped on some twigs causing some of the tuk'atas to turn to see what was the commotion. They started to bark and run towards the Epicanthix which rushed adrenaline through the veins of Zalgo.

What was his only plan right now? Run until he could get off the pursuing tuk'atas from his tail.

[member="Jorus Merrill"]