Jedi Expedition: Part 1 - The Hoth Adventure

Truger sat through Master Gordon's speech somewhat anxiously. He was eager to set foot on Hoth.

The plan was pretty general. The Jedi team would go down to find the ruins and secure the location then wait for the support team which would begin analyzing the ruins themselves.

Master Gordon closed the briefing and allowed questions, but now one had any. Truger was glad. The faster he got out of here, the sooner he could head to the hangar and be under way.

By the time he got to the hangar and onto the shuttle that would be landing on the planet, he was laden down with over 50 lbs of gear, a heavy winter coat, snow shoes, and snow goggles. The heaviest object was the small, portable heat generators that would help them endure the cold if they got trapped in a blizzard.

Truger hoped they wouldn't be spending the night in the open. Securing a base camp would be essential.

At least Master Gordon had informed them the general location of the suspected ruins. The ships scanners had picked up some anomalies on the planet's west hemisphere.

Truger looked over at Will who looked like a cold climate version of a Jawa. "Ready for this?"

Will smiled.

"I've always wanted to explore ruins on far off planets. I just hope the cold doesn't ruin the fun."

And before he knew it, they were all packed up on the shuttle and heading for the surface.
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Master Gordon stood alone in the briefing room. Wondering how long it would take the first team to locate a marker or anything that would lead to the Ruins. He closed his eyes and called on the Force to peer into the future.

As Master Gordon's eyes closed and the Force rushed in so too did a shout in the Force.

"I am here!" It wasn't so much words as a general feeling. But it was strong enough to send Gordon staggering back a step as he withdrew from the Force.

Once more he reached out in the Force- this time probing. He reached out for the presence that he felt. After a moment the presence came back once more. It brushed his consciousness, and as it did it seemed to pull his attention towards the viewport. Gordon crossed the room and placed his right hand on the cool transparasteel, in his vision was the asteroid belt, and in the Force he felt a tiny beacon calling to him.

"He's there," Gordan said out loud to the empty room. He crossed over to a console built into the bulkhead. He tripped a switch to comm the bridge.

Immediately he had a response. A young man spoke in a Coruscanti accent, "Bridge."

"Gordon here," he said wasting no time, "patch me through to the hangar before it's too late. I'd like to divert the first shuttle to the planets surface if possible. If Truger and the rest have already departed then outfit another shuttle for a rescue mission."

"Sir?" the bridge officer asked, "a rescue mission Sir?"

"Yes, you heard me right. We have a Jedi out there in the belt, and he needs assistance. Don't ask me how I know, I just do."

"Aye Sir! Patching you through to the Shuttle now sir."

"Thank you." Gordon said as he focused once more on the presence in the belt. Well Hoth is just full of mysteries today isn't it?
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-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Will was glad to be on the first shuttle, as a former member of a commando pathfinder platoon his job was going to be almost exactly like the one he had performed as a commando. "Your job as pathfinders is to insert into hostile territory without being noticed, secure the LZ and then hold that at all costs.." Master Fa’vill Lorwen's words echoed in Will's head as Will remembered the first time he had been inserted into enemy territory. The excitement and tension mixed into one has his transport hit atmosphere. The sense of extreme vulnerability as he stepped onto a hostile world and realized just how small his platoon was, wondering how so few were supposed to hold the LZ if the enemy army made a concentrated attack. On that day years ago even Jedi calming techniques had barely been able to control all the anxieties of that first mission. Will chuckled thinking back and how the years of experience had calmed many of those fears, or at least taught him how to push them to the back of his mind.

Truger, slightly hunched down under the weight of all his equipment asked him how he was. "I've always wanted to explore ruins on far off planets. I just hope the cold doesn't ruin the fun." Will responded smiling and pleased with his pun. Underneath his field pack Will had a case of signal beacons that would be used to outline a landing zone to help guide in the rest of the shuttles. The members of the first shuttle were all carrying similar sorts of equipment and everyone had been divided into squads assigned with separate tasks for setting up the base camp. The specific type of equipment each carried depending on the squad they had been assigned to. At least the General knows enough to not send us down with the heavy stuff, the last thing we want to try to do is secure an LZ while unloading heavy equipment at the same time.

A few minutes later the shuttle was prepped and they were off, something Will was very thankful for because the winter gear had begun to make him uncomfortably warm. Will's winter gear was for the most part the standard Republic military issue winter gear. His legs and feet were covered by insulated off-white snow-pants and boots designed to fit over heavy armor His upper body was protected by a similarly The outtermost layer was a heavy off-white greatcoat. His head had a tight fitting mask that covered his entire head, neck and could be pulled up over his mouth and nose if he wanted. The final bit of the gear was his old open-faced Commando helmet that had a pair of goggles permanently attached. The helmet was one of the Republic's most recent innovations and based off of Mandalorian helmet computers. While Will's helmet was much simpler it had a special mapping program that allowed him to set a "start" point and would then project a map into the upper left corner of his goggles telling him where he was in relation to that start point. It had been specifically designed for troops operating in hostile environments where satellite relays wouldn't be available to give map readings, as required on civilian mapping systems. Instead his helmet's map relied just on a simple internal compass and speedometer to track his movement in relation to his designated start point to give an accurate reading within 3 meters.

Slowly the shuttle began turning, and though it seemed a bit soon for them to be making their planetary approach without viewports Will could only assume the trip had taken less time than he thought.
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The interior lights flashed from green to red, indicating that they were about to touch down on the surface. A shudder ran through the deck as they engines made contact with the frozen tundra. The landing door dropped down letting in an artic blast of cold air, and the next thing he knew, they were piling out into the blinding white plains outside.

Truger had never seen so much snow.

Mountains, valleys, lakes, plains, even the sky. It was all filled and covered with the white stuff. A thick overcast blotted out the sun with a cold, gray blanket.

"Hell did freeze over." Truger laughed and adjusted the straps on his pack, taking his first few steps across the snow laden ground.

They landed on a shallow rift, a mere foot of snow windswept across a thick sheet of solid ice. Somewhere far below it would be the planet's actual crust.

He checked the map overlay on the goggles built into his helmet. They were close to the cave site were the ruins were suppose to be.

"Will, looks like the site is over there in those sharp rock formations." He pointed at an outcropping of what looked like giant ice sickles poking up from the ground forming a jagged mountain range in small scale.
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As the two stood viewing the stark frozen landscape the pilot of the shuttle came walking down the boarding ramp. He crossed the makeshift unloading zone barking orders.

"Hurry up with the unloading! We just received a priority one from the Saber's Hilt. Apparently, there's a ship up there in the belt. And yours truly has to begin rescue and recovery operations"

Many of the surrounding Jedi immediately began to assist in the unloading of the shuttle.

"How long will we be stuck down here?" Asked Truger, clearly not thrilled with the prospect of being stranded on Hoth with out a "proper" base camp established.

"Not long," said the pilot as he secured the last of the cargo doors. "I'm mainly rescuing the crew of the ship and taking it from there. We might send the shuttle back down here with another load before we start recovering the stranded vessel. What ever Gordon wants to do first"

"Well don't take too long," Truger said.

"Why? You won't be going anywhere but 30 kilometers or so that way," said the pilot, gesturing at the Ruins, "Don't worry, Will won't let anything happen to you."

"I won't?" Will asked clearly enjoying himself despite the cold.

As the pilot began to walk back up the ramp into the warm ship's interior he turned, "Don't worry guys I won't be long." With that he was inside the ship and a minute later it was lifting off from Hoth's frozen plains and made it's way into the awaiting stars above.

"Let's get to it." Will said as he and Truger turned back to the group and began delegating tasks for the camps set up.

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Nykon Graves awoke to the sound of a docking clamp securing to the hull of the Charity. He was standing underneath the top hatch seal when whoever on the other side began to clank against the seal. Graves watched as the top hatch opened slowly. On the other side was a man who clearly he fit the bill to be a Jedi- by the saber hanging from his belt, and the garb he was wearing; the standard brown robes typical to most Knights and Jedi learners.

Graves would have known sooner had he been open to the Force at the moment, but the last few days had drained him so much that he had closed himself off to the Force when he was not in meditation. .

"Welcome aboard the Charity" I do hope you brought some food with you." Graves said in a hoarse voice. As the young Jedi climbed down the ladder.

"We'll I do have emergency rations in the shuttle, but a hot meal is awaiting you on the Saber's Hilt."

"And my ship? What will come of it?" Nykon asked, not that it mattered to him, but he felt he at least owed it to Daroon Farskimmer to tell him the fate of the old Dynamic. It had been a sturdy ship, it was a shame to see it abandoned.

"Well that's not my call..." the pilot began.

"Graves, Nykon Graves, Jedi Weapons Master at your service."

"We'll I'm Triv, Jedi Knight, and as I was saying, it's going to be Master Gordon's call. I'm low in the chain." Triv said, "Was there anything you'd like to grab now before we go?"

"Well since I'm not sure if I'm coming back or not I'll gather most of my essentials. To your Saber's Hilt, and Master Gordon, Triv."
_________________

-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Will pulled down his goggles to shield his eyes from the snow kicked up by the transport as it lifted off. As soon as the snow had settled down again Will set his helmet's map to mark this as the start point and then used its simple programming to mark the direction of the ruins.

The rest of the landing party was huddling together in small groups, some visibly more cold than others. “Alright Truger, lets see if we can’t set up base camp a bit closer to the ruins or at the very least find a more sheltered area.” The two of them then set about organizing everyone into 5 small squads that would advance on the ruins in a diamond formation. He and Truger made sure that all of the equipment was distributed among squads so that if any squad got separated from the rest they wouldn't lose an entire type of equipment in the process. They also placed the more combat experienced members of the group in the squads that formed the 4 points of the diamond. The less combat experienced members of the group were placed in the largest squad that carried the bulk of the equipment and was placed in the center of the diamond.

Will and Truger's squad would take point with the rest falling in behind them, the farthest group no father away that 20 meters. Will pulled the mask over his mouth and nose and then secured his goggles so that no bit of skin was exposed. He turned to one of the group who was carrying a portable comm. system “Keep that thing tuned to the transport’s frequency; if you pick up anything let me know so we can set up beacons to guide the transport in to our new location.” The Jedi gave a quick node, flicked a few switches on the system and then gave Will a thumbs up to indicate that the system was working properly. “Alright people lets get moving so we can set up the base camp and get warm.” The group then began to trudge towards the ruins as the howl of the wind picked up.
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Truger tugged the edge of his scarf up a little higher, hoping to block out a small tendril of cold seeping in. He adjusted his goggles to a faint red tint which helped block out the blinding white landscape without impairing his vision.

Something moved.

"What was that?" He muttered to himself.

He looked where the blur had moved, but now he saw nothing.

Seeing things? He wasn't sure. The snow certainly didn't look disturbed.

He realized he was slowing down and forced himself to pick up the pace. It was a long trek to the ruins or a good base camp location. However, he was still keeping an eye out for whatever might have caused that sudden movement.

Taking a brief moment to look down, he checked the charge rating on his blaster. It was a little low. Cold's zapping the power level. He tucked the blaster back into its holster. It still had enough charge to do damage, but if he got into a lengthy gunfight, he'd be changing power cells rather quickly.

And there's always my lightsaber...and the Force.
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Will looked at Truger who suddenly seemed slightly anxious. “Your eyes aren’t playing tricks, I saw the snow move too. I suspect a creature of this planet is watching us, though if there is a creature out there its signature in the Force is very weak and I would assume almost non-existent on life scans. For now though if something is out there it poses no danger, most predators prefer to learn about new creatures before attacking if the new beings pose no immediate threat.”

Will turned to look at the rest of the group. The members of each squad were closely huddled together in an instinctive attempt to stay warm. For the most part the Jedi with more field experience seemed to be coping with the cold best, unfortunately there was still a sizable portion of the group with more limited field experience. There was no doubt though that only a small minority of Jedi in the group with the experience and knowledge of the Force to survive prolonged exposure if the weather quickly deteriorated.

Will turned back to Truger “Short of there being show Rancors out there right now the cold is our most lethal enemy. If the weather remains stable we’ll be fine but if the weather gets much worse we’ll need to find shelter or else risk losing Jedi to the elements. Keep a lookout for places we can take shelter in just in case.” Will looked at the chronometer on his helmet readout. Despite having been hiking for about an hour the snow and bitter cold was working hard to prevent them from reaching the ruins in a timely fashion. He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, focusing the Force to improve his circulation and was rewarded with a small burst of warmth. He opened his eyes, shifted his pack’s shoulder straps and continued to press on towards the ruins that still seemed no closer than they had an hour ago.
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Nykon Graves walked down the main corridor of the Saber's Hilt marveling at the ship design. He'd only been in a few Headhunter class ships, and all of those had been standard ships of the line. Not one modified for a deep space expedition. He was a little surprised to see a ship full of Jedi traveling the lanes.

It was an age old debate amongst the more traditionalist Jedi. Should the Order sanction groups of Jedi to spread the Jedi message of Hope and Peace, or should the Order continue sending Jedi off as Wanders like Nykon himself.

The issue that Graves noticed from his own experiences was that as a Wanderer one tended to loose touch with the Order after a time. It wasn't anything about the Jedi or the Order, but that after a time Coruscant wasn't demanding he report back after each self selected mission. The trust was welcome, but after a while he had no word from the temple, and when he'd contact the Order they seemed more concerned with his well being then that of his mission. So in time Nykon simply stopped contacting the Order.

Now, he seriously wondered if he might have made a mistake turning away from the Order's resources. Triv continued to lead the way, the pair crossed a side corridor and Triv turned and went down the port side passage. Following, Nykon was impressed by the many Jedi he saw scurrying about. There were races he hadn't seem in decades present.

A small Chandra Fan Jedi hustled past as Triv stopped outside a bulkhead door and hit a button on the panel. The door recessed back into the wall with a whooshing sound. Triv and Nykon walked into what looked like a conference room. The room was a soft white color that immediately made one feel safe and secure, Nykon was impressed with the set up of this ship, every attention had been made to the details.

Sitting at the end of the table set up in the center of the room sat a man of middle age, and upon seeing him Nykon couldn't restrain himself any longer.

"Will wonders ever cease?" Nykon Graves exploded, "Rep? what in the Nine Hells are you doing out here?!"

Reptrio Gordon stood up from his seat, he crossed the room and came up to Nykon. Both men were suppressing smiles, Triv Ellios was clearly confused.

"I could ask you the same, Nykon." Gordon said, turning to Triv, "That's all Ellios, we'll be fine. In fact head down to the bay and supervise the shuttles. That pit crew seems lost when you're gone." Gordon stated.

"Yes Sir!" Triv said with a smile on his face as well. Gordon had a way of making people feel important and Triv seemed to be beaming at the complement.

"Well I guess I don't need to ask what you've been up too." Nykon said around his grin.

"I have been wanting a less confrontational position, and the High Council felt I'd be well suited to this mission. Who am I to argue the Masters." Gordan said conspiratorially. "What has you out here?"

"It's a long story, but I was following the Force. I ended up having a Hyperdrive malfunction. It was the Will of the Force that I'd come across you all here in system." Said Nykon. "What will happen to my ship Rep?"

"Well we'll set up recovery operations shortly, you're welcome to supervise operations with that if you'd like."

"Oh I'd like, that you Rep." Nykon said. "I'd feel bad if Daroon Farskimmer found out I ditched the clunker first chance. It was a gift from a very gracious man, and it was almost all he owned. I felt bad even accepting, but my refusal would have left him insulted."

"You've been a busy man I see." Gordon stated, "Though you Wanderers always did have the best stories."

Suddenly Nykon's right arm lashed out and struck Gordon in the chest. At first Gordon wondered what came over Nykon, but he soon found out what had come over the Jedi Wanderer.

"Yeah...That too is a long story Graves." Gordon said.

"I'm confused," Said Nykon, clearly missing something, he continued to feel around Gordon's neck and collar for something, then figuring it was not there instead reached to his own neck. He brought his hand down and inside it he now had the necklace that had been secured to his own neck. "Why?" was all he said and waited for Rep to continue.

Rep Gordon's head slowly lowered to his chest. "Yes, I no longer wear the Weapons Master Talisman, I may someday again, but not now..."

When it was obvious Rep would not continue, Nykon opened his hand to look at his own Weapons Master Talisman, it was a silver medallion with three spiraling arms that spun around the base forming a intertwined circle, it was the Temple's Masters way to distinguish those who had completed the Weapons Master program.

"You will speak of this with me at some point, yes?" Nykon inquired.

"Of course, my old friend, and you can tell me more about how it was you ended up stranded in an asteroid belt so far from civilization. But until that day we've got things to do before then." Gordon said as he turned towards the door. "Come we have much to do. And I have much to explain about our mission here."
_________________

-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

It was getting darker...and colder...but Truger had not seen anymore odd movements in the snow. Luckily he did spot a good place for an encampment. A rock outcropping shaped like a wedge, stuck to the side of dark shale of mountain, underneath which was a small, hollowed out encroachment into the rock. Kind of like a shallow cave, wider than it was deep with a massive opening.

"If we put up some barriers on the opening, we ought to be able to trap some heat in there...keep out the wind at least."

Will agreed, so everyone pitched in and went to work setting up camp. Moving mounds of snow, they were able to make walls sealing off the opening except for a small tunnel door. They lined the inside barrier with spare blankets then set up the heaters. The insulated sheets were enough to prevent the snow walls from melting.

It was still cold inside, but it was better than being out in the wind and elements.

"Let's hope tomorrow we find that ruin. I don't want to sleep in another cave tomorrow." He pulled up a blanket over him, shivering a little from being still. He felt warmer when he was moving.

I need to keep my mind off of it.

Slowly letting out his frosty breath, he struggled to slip into a meditative trance.
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Just about everyone was asleep now, though some seemed trapped in a state of being to cold to sleep but too exhausted to do much else except to lay there and try to sleep. Sticking to his military training Will had insisted that someone keep watch to make sure that they weren’t attacked while everyone rested and to that end they had built a small nook into the entrance tunnel where a guard could take shelter from the more extreme weather. It was now Will’s turn and so he unstrapped his helmet from his belt and put it back on. There wasn’t any heater in the guard post so watches had been cut considerably shorter but Will still made sure that every bit of skin was covered up before stepping through the blanket that served as the door to their cave. The current sentry was the young Padawan who was their comm. specialist I really wish we didn’t have to leave sentry duty to such inexperienced Jedi but we don’t have enough Jedi with lots of field experience to avoid it. Besides I suppose the Padawans are going to have to learn the ropes sooner or later

“Skar’kla” Will called to alert the sentry that he was coming “Tempest” The sentry responded turning to great him. “Nothing going on, just snow and more snow. The way it’s been coming down you can hardly seen beyond 10 meters.” The sentry stepped out of the guard post, rubbing her hands together. Will patted the Padawan on the shoulder “I left a ration tin heating for you, go get warmed up and catch some sleep if you can.” The sentry nodded and silently left, walking quickly to get to the warmth of the main shelter.

Will took a quick peak out the tunnel but couldn’t see anything in the blizzard and quickly ducked back into the guard post seeking what little warmth it could offer. He noted that the Padawan had carefully carved out a small ledge roughly at the height of a cantina stool and so Will sat down and took a few seconds to better tune his senses to the sounds and smells of the environment. Particularly troubling to him was the wind. Though he couldn’t be sure when he had briefly looked out he thought he heard a howl of a creature layered into the sound of the wind.
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OOC: One Day later

In the two days Nykon Graves had been on board the Saber's Hilt directing the salvage operations of his light freighter the Charity he'd noticed the general hustle and bustle had been disturbed by something. Jedi of varying ages and species hustled to and fro, readying themselves for some sort of action. Nykon decided to find Rep Gordon, he'd know what was going on.

Nykon found Rep in the main hangar directing Jedi, engineers, and tech crewman to assignments. The two shuttles in the center of the hangar were being prepped for departure to the planet Hoth below.

"What's the word Rep," Nykon said as he stepped up to Gordon's right side.

"No word," Gordon said looking very serious, "and that's the problem. The Landing party has failed to report in, it's not like Will Kelvar, he likes to maintain contact. And normally with Will and Truger Hollandro together on a mission, things down there should be well in hand. Will is a thorough and cautious man. The fact he's not made contact makes me concerned. The only way the landing party would miss a check-in is if they were in some sort of trouble."

Nykon didn't even take a second to think about it, "When do we leave?" He asked.

"This is the last of it. We'll be boarding in the next few minutes, if you're willing I'd be grateful to have you at my side on this one." Gordon replied.

"No problem Rep," Nykon said as he paced up to the closest shuttle, "Heck I'm enjoying this time with other beings. You'd be surprised how lonely the space lanes are when one has been wandering as long as I."

Gordon placed his hand on the shuttle's entrance ramp and turned to the gathering of Jedi and crew in the hangar. They knew what was coming. As one they began to finish dogging down crates and storing the last of the extra supplies the base camp required.

Gordon barked, "Alright people! Shuttles departing make room." He turned and walked up the ramp to join Nykon and the rest of the Knights who were going along.

Nykon wondered what could have happened down on Hoth in the half day since the last shuttle had been back to the camp the landing party has established. Triv Ellios had been the pilot on that run. According to Gordon, Triv said Will and Truger had moved the camp from the first initial site to a set of caves closer to the suspected ruin site. Will had mentioned possibly hearing creatures out in the blizzard winds, and had ordered his team to remain extra vigilant just in case.

Apparently it hadn't been enough.

Nykon drew in on himself and wrapped himself in the Force. He felt it enfold his body like a cocoon, warm and inviting. He reached out to the Ice planet below and felt it swelling as the shuttle rapidly grew closer. And as his Force attention drew closer to the base camp he could feel something at the edge of his awareness. Like a pulling feeling, but one that was so soft that when he looked towards it, it would slip away. He assumed the feeling must be the ruins the Jedi team was after, they were rumored to have once been the site of many Force rituals. But whose Force rituals was the question.

Gordon had said scholars had debated the truth of the rumors for years. Until recent self-funded archeologists had uncovered ancient artifacts that were undeniably connected to the Force.

When the Order had discovered this new turn of events, Knights had been sent out to recover some of the artifacts from the black market. When preliminary scans revealed little to their make or origin the High Council had decided to accelerate the Exploration Mission, making Hoth the first stop. Nykon couldn't help but question the High Council's wisdom, hadn't it been seeking out Force Strong artifacts been a step in the Covenant's downfall?

Nykon often wondered if the Jedi's mission hadn't become more about stopping the Sith then it was about serving the Force. But then Nykon had spent so many years absent from other Jedi that he felt his views were a little more unorthodox then most Jedi were accustomed to. Once more he reached into his neckline of his robes and grabbed hold of his Weapons Master Talisman and absently stroked his thumb across it in a circular motion.

His thoughts once more focused on the planet's surface below. He reached out and moved the Force mists that clouded his vision. It was no use, he couldn't see what was awaiting them. He had a very small affinity for second sight, well that wasn't even true. The Force would sometimes show him things. But it was hardly ever anything helpful at the time. This time all he seemed to see was the white glare of snow and ice. Like the planet itself was reaching out and blocking him. And as that thought played across his mind he had one of those pristine moments of clarity in the Force.

And in that moment he knew one thing for certain. He looked up as he came out of his trance, and turned to look at Gordon raising his left eyebrow. Gordon too must have felt it, for his face was a shade whiter then it was when they were still on the hangar.

"Suddenly I've gotta really bad feeling about this." Nykon said so quietly that only Gordon could hear, the shuttles began their decent into the planet's atmosphere and began to buck and jump in the air currents.

They would soon be on the planets surface. And then the real mystery would begin...
_________________

-Bring on your thousands, one at a time or all in a rush. I don't give a damn. None shall pass.
-
-To become a Jedi, it is not the Force one must learn to control but oneself.
-
-Podcasts: Star Wars Beyond the Films, The Star Wars Report, & EUCast

Truger was out of breath, struggling to satisfy his lungs with the thin cold air. Down deep in the caves, the only light Truger had was his lightsaber, and the eerie green glow on the ice carved caverns did little in the way of comfort.

"Stick together, we don't know where this leads." Truger led the way, a dozen men following behind as the journeyed ever deeper into the mysterious cave system.

It all seemed like a bad dream. In a way, it was. Truger had woken up from his sleep to the sound of screams. Their sentry hadn't failed, but he was only watching the front entrance to the cave...and no one knew about the hidden entrance within the cave itself. An entrance that led to a network of deep caverns stretching who knew how far underneath the surface of Hoth. Possibly all the way to the ruins themselves.

Truger suspected this, but it was only a hunch.

"I can feel Will and the others...they're nearby."

Truger looked around. Azel Ketara had been the one speaking. She was a fellow Jedi and a trusted colleague. "Probably in a parallel tunnel. Maybe they connect somewhere up ahead."

They trudged on, everyone alert for another attack. No one wanted to be caught off guard again.

During the night, when Truger had awoken to the screams, he had quickly found out that the enemy upon them was a large group of wampas. But they had been far more aggressive than normal wampas. It was like they were incensed by some external source.

Several people had fallen in the initial attack. During the chaos, the expedition had split into two groups, each taking a different path in the hidden caves. The wampas had given them no choice, having cut off their escape and outnumbering them three to one,

Truger stiffened the grip on his lightsaber. Up ahead, he could see that the tunnel was opening into a large chamber.

An ice chamber. He thought. Is this where the wampas came from? A den?

He steeled himself for what might lie ahead.

The Force is my ally.
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Will’s mind was racing as he led the small party of six Jedi who were nearest to the tunnel where he had been standing sentry when the attack had fallen. Will had never seen creatures attack with such ferocity or lack of concern for their own safety, which was highly odd when any wound could prove fatal in the wild. The creatures had burst through two walls on opposite sides of the cave and now Will led his small group of survivors down one of the tunnels, the snow reflecting in an eerie mixture of light from the various colors of ignited lightsabers. Shadows danced around the walls when a Jedi jumped at a sound, twitching the blade from side to side. Unnatural howls echoed through the tunnels, sometimes sounding like an ambush was right around a corner, at other times sounding hundreds of meters away. The howl was not one of an organized hunting party, it was the howl of beasts driven beyond madness, filled with an insatiable lust for blood.

Will now regretted wanting the Padawans to learn the ropes so soon, many were not yet ready to face the Trials much less ready to deal with this. He looked back at the small group he led. Most of them were the Padawans on the expedition who seemed to have been drawn together by the common bond created by their rank in the Jedi order. It hadn’t struck Will as an odd thing since Masters tended to prefer the company of fellow Masters much like he preferred to associate with fellow Knights. Will regretted not doing anything about that before the attack because the Padawans had been least prepared to defend themselves and thus were the first to fall in the attack. The young Padawan he had relieved was among his group, but she had been badly wounded and now limped beside him using him for support. Her eyes were focused on the silver-blue blade of his lightsaber that he held in a guard position in front of them, beyond that though her face had gone blank. He stopped at a split in the tunnel and stretched out in the Force seeking guidance for which way to go.

[One Hour earlier]

Will was sitting with his arms across his chest keeping warm when a terrified scream erupted from the camp followed by a roar like Will had never heard. He was on his feet in less than a second with both lightsabers in his hands and he went into Force Cloke. Quickly but silently he moved forward, using the Force to rip the tarp off that served as their door. In front of him were huge white creatures that towered over the Jedi. In one corner he could see Truger, lightsaber in hand, rallying the Jedi around him to retreat down a tunnel on the far side of the cave. Seeing that Truger had things under control as best as could be hoped for Will turned his attention to the Jedi nearest him.

Barely two meters away Will saw one of the white creatures towered over a terrified Padawan who was trapped under his master’s body and a few chunks of ice that had broken from the wall when the creatures had burst from a hidden tunnel. One of the creatures raised a huge white pawn to decapitate the helpless Jedi when Will dropped out of Force Cloke behind the creature and stabbed it in the chest roughly where he imagined its heart was using his short saber held in a reverse grip while he simultaneously used his other saber to chop the raised arm off. Will gave it a push with the Force to ensure the creature’s body didn’t fall on the Padawn and before the body had time to hit the ground he was already moving towards another creature that was attacking a Knight with a dark orange blade who was trying to protecting the three remaining Padawans, one of whom was wounded, and a Master who clutched what remained of his left arm. The creature was holding the severed arm of one of its companions that had been felled by the Knight and was now wielding it like a club. Will threw his short saber at the creature’s head so that it slashed across its face. It let out a roar of anger and pain as the blade bit into its flesh, the distraction providing the half second the Knight needed to hack the creature into pieces. The creatures that had attacked the camp now lay dead or had retreated back into the tunnels. Will clipped his short saber to his belt. Strangely there were only two dead bodies and Will could only hope that meant that the rest of the Jedi had escaped with Truger.

For the moment it seemed they were safe from further attacks but he suspected there were yet more hidden tunnels with creatures ready to burst through at any moment. “Knight Al’adar grab all the food and med supplies you can, but move quickly those creatures will be back” Will ordered the Twi’lek Knight who was helping the trapped Padawan. Al’adar nodded and grabbed a nearby pack that he quickly began filling with the supplies. Will then retrieved his own field back to begin doing likewise when he heard the ignition of a lightsaber behind him. Spinning around both lightsabers activated and ready for action Will saw the wounded Master using his saber to cut off the flesh around the stump of his left arm to cauterize his wound. Reassured that there was no danger Will deactivated his sabers and went back to filling his pack up with supplies, all the while using the Force to enhance his sense to give an advanced warning of the next attack.

A second after both he and Al’adar had finished filling their packs he heard the rumble of enormous feet moving at a quick pace in some tunnel behind one of the ice walls. “On your feet!” Will bellowed at the Padawans. When the Padawans just looked up at him with shell-shocked eyes he stormed over to them “Move! Now!” Will shouted as he grabbed a Padawan by the shoulder to haul them to their feet while Al’adar tried to shake two other Padawans to their senses. The last Padawan tried to get to her feet but quickly fell back down letting out a yelp of pain and gripped her leg which was had been torn open by a creature’s huge claws. Will stooped down and put her arm across the back of his shoulders and reached across her back to pull her close and he looked at her “On three. One two three!” and lifted her up though she nearly collapsed back onto the floor when she put weight on her wounded leg.

There was a sudden pounding on one of the cave walls and snow flaked off it, on the other side Will heard the roar of at least half a dozen more of the creatures. “To the tunnels! Move!” He commanded as he led the wounded Padawan towards the nearest tunnel entrance. Meanwhile Al’adar desperately tried to prod the three remaining Padawans to move faster to reach the safety of the tunnels. The Master who had been silently sitting meditating after cauterizing his wound stood up, opened his eyes and gripped his saber in his good hand. He turned to the Padawans, who were moving in a daze “You heard him. Move!” The last word the Master projected both vocally and through the Force. That Force enhanced order finally did the trick, snapping the three Padawans out of their trance who quickly hurried into the tunnel entrance with Al’adar close behind, lightsaber at the ready.

The Master moved to join them but at that moment the new creatures burst through the cave wall. The Master spun around and let out a massive Force Push, throwing the creatures back into their new tunnel. He then ignited a silver bladed lightsaber and threw it at the staggered creatures who were all cut down, except for one which had regained its feet with unusual agility and charged the Master before his lightsaber could return to his hand. With one of its huge paws it clubbed the master over the head, knocking him unconscious. It then looked at Will, roared and then effortlessly lifted the Master over its should and carried him back down the new tunnel. Seeing that everyone else had made it into the tunnel Will slashed a large X in the roof of the entrance, moved further into the tunnel, turned and used the Force to cause the ice he had loosened with his lightsaber cut to block the entrance. Without saying a word he turned and with his lightsaber held in front of him began leading the group down the tunnel.

present time
A small whimper from the wounded Padawan brought Will back to his senses. He looked at her and saw her eyes were no longer glazed over but she was biting her lip as she worked to control the pain in her leg. Without saying a word she lifted her free hand and pointed down the left tunnel. Will stretched out with the Force to probe deeper into that tunnel and was relieved to now feel Truger’s presence in that direction. Motioning with his saber he led them down the left tunnel, hoping that they would reconnect with Truger’s band of survivors.
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Jayda paced, beyond restless. The Council...how she would like to strangle the Council right about now. But she couldn't think about that, as it only made her angry. She turned to face the freighter's cockpit viewport and peered out at the chaotic, yet beautiful, view of hyperspace. She pounded a gloved hand on the controls, growling as she did so. Couldn't this bucket of bolts go any faster? Of course "going faster" in hyperspace was a moot point, and perhaps this is what annoyed her. The Temple had "loaned" the freighter to her for her return trip to the Saber's Hilt. What Jayda had yet to figure out was why they didn't just send her back on a shuttle, as she had previously departed. But the Council insisted that she fly herself back to the Hilt. Not that she minded flying, of course. She was an excellent pilot and greatly enjoyed it, but this particular freighter had seen better days. Granted, she could technically keep it for the duration of the Jedi expedition. The Council had given no orders on what to do with Shadow Breaker once it had delivered Jayda to the Saber's Hilt, and she certainly planned on hanging on to it.

Startling her out of her musings, the ship's control board finally announced that they were approaching their destination and would be dropping out of hyperspace. Making the transition smoothly back to realspace, Jayda expertly piloted the freighter toward the Saber's Hilt, hanging quietly above the spherical chunk of white ice that star maps designated Hoth. Jayda immediately sent a transmission to the Hilt, "Saber's Hilt, this is Jedi Knight Jayda Kha'dar piloting the freighter Shadow Breaker. Requesting permission to come aboard." There was a brief pause.

"Shadow Breaker, this is Saber's Hilt. We've been expecting your arrival. Docking bay 42 was originally prepped for your freighter, but due to recent circumstances, we ask that you hold a stationary position near the Hilt until we can accomodate you."

"Say again, Hilt? Is something wrong?" Jayda frowned at the comm board.

"I'm not totally sure, Shadow Breaker. Something's up with the initial landing party, and everyone is scrambling to make it to the planet's surface to reinforce. All docking bays are busy sending shuttles to the surface. Thus we cannot accept your freighter at the time being."

"The initial landing party...has a base camp been established?"

"I'm sorry, Shadow Breaker. I really don't know. All I know is that the initial landing party hasn't made contact with the Saber's Hilt as it was scheduled to do. Master Gordon found this disturbing and so is sending down reinforcements to check on them. Other than that, I really can't tell you. And I really need to clear the comm. I'll let you know when a docking bay is clear for your arrival."

"Thank you, Hilt. But that's no longer necessary. I'll be heading straight down to the planet. Could you give me the coordinates for the landing party's last known position?"

"Negative, Shadow Breaker. You are not authorized to descend to the planet's surface. Please hold your position."

"Sorry, Hilt. You're breaking up. I'm getting static from the asteroid belt. Will contact you again when the comm clears." Jayda broke the connection with a stab of her finger and swung the ship around toward Hoth. She set in a course for the planet's surface, and leaned back for a moment to focus. All she managed to focus, however, was her aggravation. What was the Council thinking?! If only she'd been here, she could be with the landing party now, instead of...fierfek. She couldn't keep dwelling on the negative. It just made her lose her concentration and distract her from what she was supposed to be focusing on. She returned her attention to the matter at hand and reached out in the Force for the landing party. Without coordinates, she'd have to rely entirely on their Force presences to catch up to them. Closing her eyes to concentrate harder, she continued to pilot the ship, distantly aware of her fingers playing across the control board. As she neared the surface of the planet, she thought she caught the faint trace of a Jedi presence. Trusting her instincts, she sent the ship toward the whisper and set her jaw in determination. She was sorry that she hadn't been here originally, but she would make up for it as best she could. She sent out a determined, yet reassuring, thought through the Force, hoping that at least some of the landing party would pick up on it, "Hold on, I'm coming."
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"It's not about the legacy you leave, it's about the life you live." ~Mara Jade Skywalker

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