Log:Ice Crystals
Ice Crystals
OOC Date: 26 Feb 2016
Location: Ilum
Participants: Axilon Bjin'ax, Jax Greystorm, Sesti Gath, Galak Varga, Kadi, Maeve Zavir , Waywards
Cockpit - GBT Problem Child
There are two seats in this vessel, positioned side by side. On either side of the seats are the large viewports that give a very nice view of the area beside the vessel. The forward viewport is very slim but still allows easy piloting if one is skilled enough to make up for the somewhat odd design of this ship. There is a small area behind the seats where the crew can slide back to the hatch into the rear cabin.
The limited cargo hold of the heavily modified Gambit was loaded with cold weather gear, some survival kits, and several other odds and ends. With everyone aboard and all the personal gear stowed, Ax taxi's the ship out of the Wayward's hangar and then flies it out of atmosphere before plotting a course. "Want to fly co-pilot, Jax?" he asks. "You might want to learn where this place is anyway. Galak and I did a little bit of scouting on it, honestly not much there but snow, ice, snow, and some caverns full of crystals. The planet was very important to the Jedi though, and might have some clues beneficial to us. Granted, might be nothing but chattering teeth."
Commandeering a healthy section of the cold weather gear, and having brought along SEVERAL bundles of thermal blankets, Mae is seated on a stack of said thermal blankets with one comfortably draped around her shoulders. A datapad is held in one hand while she idly checks the contents of the medkits spread around in a neat, and terribly orderly, fashion. "Where are we going, again, and why?"
Jax was sitting in the co-pilots seat. "Did you guys ever make it back to Dantooine?" He says checking the sensors. "Kadi's made some alterations to the ship hasn't she?" He says looks back at Mae. "Hey Do."
Galak is reclined in one of the chairs, his feet extended out in front of him and his left ankle slipped overtop his right. He has his fingers interlocked atop his head and he gazes out of the viewport at the stars streaming past in bright lines. "Heading to Ilum. Where we can all freeze our asses off... It will be great fun," he says sarcastically, dropping a wink over toward Maeve. He is similarly dressed in heavy winter gear.
As Jax takes the co-pilot seat, Sesti finds a seat for herself, and leans back comfortably. She hasn't put on the cold weather gear, yet. Her armor has been set down next to her chosen seat as she listens to the explanations going around her. The zabrak's hair is braided as tightly as always, and her med pac sits aside her along with her blades. For the moment she's traveling in comfort. She glances to the member of the crew that she doesn't know, yet, but doesn't offer an introduction, looking from him to Maeve.
"No, never made it back to Dantooine," Ax says with a shake of the head before turning his attention to the highly advanced navi-computer. Plotting a course that was well off the typical hyperspace lanes, he sets the trajectory and engages the hyperdrive sending the ship rocketting through hyperspace.
Ax looks to Galak and chuckles before looking to Maeve. "We're going to an ice planet called Ilum. A place that was important to the Jedi for lightsaber crystals and such, trying to see if there's anything worthwhile still there. Again, it may be a wasted trip but only one way to find out."
"Hey Jaximus," Mae replies with a wry grin before she aims the same grin at Sesti, "Nice seeing you two. Have you guys met Galak?" she wonders, waving one hand lightly between Sesti and Jax and gesturing with the same light wave toward Galak. "Bounty hunter, etcetera etcetera." She winks at Galak in return, "You may freeze your ass off, but I have multiple thermal layers to avoid anything freezing and falling off." She turns and fires a look at Ax, "So: We may or may not be wasting our time and potentially getting frost bite or hypothermia while checking this place out. I don't suppose you found some secret map with a nifty decoder ring that requires that you tilt it at a precise angle into the reflection of a mirror that also catches the reflection of a full moon on the third month of this year, possibly whilst wearing flowers in your hair and chanting?" this last bit asked with a cheeky grin.
Galak glances toward Jax and Sesti in turn and says, "We met. At the last Wayward meeting, I believe." He doesn't say anything else, simply shifting his position and pulling his left ankle up atop his right knee, bringing his arms to cross over his chest and turning his head back against the seat. His eyes drift closed after a few moments, apparently readying himself to settle in for a nap on the way to the icy planet.
"Ooooh, right," Sesti replies when Galak mentions the Waywards meeting. "I had forgotten, my apologies." Maeve's long littany is listened to with a blank purple stare, which shifts to the co-pilot when he gets it. She gives one, short shake of her head, and then leans back herself, returning the smile from the Corellian. "Humans," she murmurs.
Ax chuckles. "Oh, also found out something else. Fuckstick has a name, it's Kylo Ren or some dumb shit like that," he says. "At least according to Rax." He leans back in his seat, not much he could do while the ship was in hyperspace anyway. "It's a long flight, but at least we shouldn't run into any trouble. Hopefully these new engines won't freeze up while we're on planet. If that happens, I have the coordinates plugged into the Lost Soul's navi-comp already and the holocomm can get word back to base easily enough."
Sharing a wink with Jax, Mae grins at Sesti, "Not just any humans. Corellians. There was this great action vid on, oh about a decade ago, and that was one of the classic plot hooks. Super sleuthing jedi mysteries, unsolved wonders of the force." She snickers quietly and lightly jabs Galak, "Strange candy," before she exhales a sigh at ax. "I swear by all that's holy, Ax, if you just jinxed us, be warned. I know how to dissect ANYTHING, and you might end up on the menu."
Jax shrugs his shoulders. "Just remember your the one that chose a member of the species." He looks back to Ax, "Really? That oddly anti-climatic. That doesn't exactly strike terror in my heart. Though neither does Fuck Stick. So Rax still have this Kylo's hand up his ass using him as a puppet?"
Galak's opens one eye, glancing over toward Ax. "Kylo Ren... what a name. He doesn't sound like such a tough guy..." he says thoughtfully. "I guess Rax found out that name in his time under Order custody?"
Ax chuckles at Mae's comment. "Well, if you dissect me, I promise I'll haunt you forever. Your clinic will become an attraction to people searching for the paranormal." The navi-comp beeps a few times, and Ax pulls back on the lever, bringing the ship into realspace. "Welcome to sector 7G in the unknown regions," Ax says as he aims the ship towards a plane that was a good ways away from the system's singular star, a massive white sphere with a dark ocean cutting jagged shapes across the main continent upon its surface. Thinking this could make a nice summer home, ya know. Skiing, igloos.. I mean, endless possibilities, right?" he says as he pilots towards a landing.
"And yeah, Rax apparently only spent a few days in custody before they just let him go. No telling how that happened," Ax comments.
Ice Dune - Crystal Caverns, Ilum
You climb up a short hill and come across a kind of cliff-face. A long path winds around and a bit downward as it angles towards a cave you can see in the distance. Along the path faded and broken glow sticks have been placed, occasionally spitting out sparks in a feigned dying breath before giving out entirely. The wind on the cliff face picks up as you get closer, as if to discourage you form continuing.
Ilum was colder than likely anything the crew had ever experienced, at least Ax had warned them. The Wayward crew had come dressed in as appropriate gear one could find, yet it was still freezing outside of the ship. Leaving the craft running, for fear of it freezing up if it sat unpowered for too long, Ax leads everyone towards the ice dune where the entrance to the caverns began. "I've only done some aerial scouting," Ax says, but sensors show this is where we need to be, or as close as we can get and have a safe place to land. Keep together, if a flurry comes up, huddle together and stay where you are, don't go wandering off."
"Safety lines," Mae suggests as she flexes her fingers inside the thermal lining of the waterproof gloves that she's wearing, snugging the goggles down over her eyes and tugging up the face mask that fits just beneath the edge of the goggles and covers the lower half of her face and mouth. "And flares, and possibly beacons spaced regularly to light the way back, just in case everything else goes to hell in a handbasket. Are there going to be ice spiders?"
Jax was dressed warmly in a navy parka, a scarf around his face and googles hiding his eyes. He moves with Ax as they head towards the cave. "I saw something that looked like a crash site. We got any idea what that is." He though looks back to Sesti, "You remember that list we got? Add this place to that list. "
Galak marches along dutifully with the rest. He has been here before, and as such he knew to wrap the insulated fabric across his face before stepping off the loading ramp into the ice and snow, only his eyes peering over the top and exposed to the brutally cold wind. He shoulders his rifle as Ax speaks and he nods his head and says in a muffled voice, "This is about where we landed when I was here with Rax, Oriana, and Kirk. Although, it looks like it has snowed since then, the prints are gone." He heads along at an easy stride, toward the familiar cave. "There were no spiders last time I was here, or any other signs of danger other than the cold. But when I brought my ship back, there were signs of wildlife about."
"List?" Ax asks. "As for the crash site, I don't know. This place was the site of a battle ages ago, but you'd need to bring in some serious excavation gear to get anything out of the ice, and I don't know if it would be worth it. As for spiders, hell I don't know." Ax was wearing a set of the heavier scout armor with helmet to keep his head and face warm. "Last time we came to scout, I caught some small life signs, probably mammals of some kind, but they were elusive and scattered. I doubt they're a threat," he says as he trudges along towards the cave. "Strange Candy's been here before, so I'm going to let him lead the way."
With her lighter trooper armor on underneath the parka, Sesti's moved the usual brace of knives to her boots but the blade is still on her back. The med pac is slung under the parka, keeping the contents from being exposed to much to the weather as she follows the others out. She pulls down the goggles and tugs the neckwarmer up over her nose, and gives a shiver as she adjusts to the sudden blast of cold that not even their gear can completely block out. As Ax notes that Galak's been there before, she turns to follow him, holding up a hand to indicate that she's with him.
Cavern Mouth - Crystal Caverns, Ilum
The path continues to wind before eventually breaking off as mounds of snow press against the lips to the darkened cave. The cavern it opens into is spacious on the inside. The walls themselves have an extremely smooth texture, a dark rock material seems to cover most of the inner cavern, almost in a man-made sense. The cave deepens, disappearing into the darkened depths as an ominous presence seems to linger in the air.
"Is it a list of places to not build your summer vacation cabin in the woods?" Mae wonders before she settles the weight of the backpack more securely on her shoulders and falls in line. "I still think safety lines to link the lot of us are a good idea," said in a tone of mild resignation even as she exhales a snicker as Ax called Galak 'Strange Candy'.
Jax raises an eyebrow though it's hidden under his gogoles at the mention of Oriana, "Wait, what does this Oriana look like?" Jax makes a hmm sound, "Oh it's a list of places not to retire too. Nar is on the list." He coughs, "Ice Spiders? Why does everytime you guys invite me to into a cave there's giant bugs?"
Galak nods his head and moves toward the front of the pack. A muffled, "Strange Candy works for me, but woe be unto you assholes when I think up a nickname for each of you," is said before he takes up the lead. In reply to Jax, Galak says, "Ehh, dark haired human. Claimed to be some kind of explosives expert. Are there that many with that name around Nar Shaddaa?" He slips his blaster rifle from his shoulder and holds it at the ready as he leads the group into the cavern. The walls and floor are smooth, unnaturally so. Galak's voice drops as he says, "If you watch the ground, sometimes you can spot a shard... but the main crystal clusters are a bit deeper down." He doesn't stop moving, just slowly heading down the steadily declining tunnel.
"There aren't any ice spiders that we know of," Ax says with a laugh. As they draw near the cavern, he pulls out a few chem-lights and cracks them on his armored thigh. They weren't super bright, but they gave enough ambient light to allow visibility. "Watch your step people," he says as he removes his helmet. Inside the cave, it was still cold, but nothing like it was outside. He looks to Galak, smirking. "I hope it's a worthy nickname, Galak. We'll see though. Strange candy is just damned fitting," he adds with a chuckle.
Kadi is quiet in situations where she's cold. Or nervous. And here she is both, so the petite engineer simply doesn't touch anything, and stays out of the way of the folks with guns. She shivers, just by virtue of stepping into the cavern entrance, as the frigid air becomes a touch warmer. Finally a grouchy bit of words - "The things we do for our friends."
Sesti looks to Jax at the description. "That might explain why we have had the room to ourselves so much lately," she tells him, giving a little grin as she pulls the neck warmer down a little and pushes up her goggles. She blinks once to let her eyes adjust to Ax's chem lights, and then her eyes begin to scan her surroundings. She reaches down to knock any packed snow from around the tops of her boots, and her hand goes to the blade to give it a shake to make sure it didn't freeze into it's scabbard.
"There's a theme there, you have a good point," Mae says with a dry chuckle aimed at Jax. Galak's muffled remarks makes her laugh, again, though the laughter trails off as she gets a good gander at the cavern and gives a mild shudder. "Are you sure there's no ice spiders or some sort of giant frozen beastie that's going to decide to launch at us and make lunch of us?" She gives a mild twitch, again, sharing a glance and nod with Kadi, "Or because we can't seem to resist a challenge to tempt fate by offering ourselves up as potentially tasty morsels?"
Jax chuckles, "And the Grouchy one speaks." He says of his friend Kadi. He says as he pulls down his scarf and his googles up. He lets out a whistle. "Nice." He lets out a sigh, "There's something relaxing about this place. Don't feel like I'm about to be lunch. Morsels or not." He calls up to Galak, "So S.C. what did Rax want here? What did he find?"
Ax chuckles and moves over to Kadi, removing his heavy cloak and draping it over her shoulders. "I like it here," Ax says. "I mean, it's fucking cold, but it's got a kind of serene quality to it." He looks to Jax for a moment. "What do you think? I'm thinking we go as far in as we can," he says, patting the survival kit strapped to his back. "I'll set up the camp stove and fix some warm soup for us. Nothing fancy, but maybe it will help stave off the chills for a bit while we look around."
"From what I remember the tunnel dead ends down below where the bigger crystal formations are," Galak says. He pauses and glances back toward Jax and says, "Rax found out about this place somehow, but it has crystals that the Jedi used to power their lightsabers or something. His lightsaber was broken, so he came looking for crystals to fix it, and he found one."
Kadi tucks into the cloak, though she does give Ax a look, making sure he's not freezing himself with his gallant action for her. "I'm game to see what's here. I - hope there's not anything that is going to decide to launch at us, but if it does, I'm hiding behind Ax." A slight grin on her face, mischief lighting up her eyes. She quiets to listen to Galak, her head tilting a bit. "Oh, now that is interesting," she says softly. "Wonder what they look like, and how they are used - well, I guess that goes without saying."
"Does that thing actually work?" Mae wonders, tucking her hands into the front pockets of her parka as she pauses, scuffing one foot slowly against the floor. "I've never seen one, not for real, so..." and she shares a glance with Kadi. "Ditto. Curiosity killed the cat; satisfaction brought it back."
Adegan Crystal Chamber - Crystal Caverns, Ilum
The chambers and caverns leading you down eventually widen into a great cavern that seems to glow with rampant Force life. The chamber itself is massive, the roof and walls sparkling with the grown crystals that have been mined for centuries in the area. Extending along the center of the massive room is a grand kind of central spire of growing crystals.
The crystals themselves are powerful, catching even the slightest bit of light and throwing it in a large flash of light that catches the eyes. Tools of various types have been scattered along the ground, a presence rising in the mind of people who watch on as, deeper in the cave, something seems to linger quietly. Watching from the shadows and waiting for the right moment. Another flash of light, the glow of the crystals along the wall. The lingering presence looming in the mind. It was almost as if the prosperity and peace in the Force-rich cavern had been tainted by something.
Sesti grins to Kadi as she's teased by Jax, and rubs her fingers together. "Why does a pirate have a light saber?" She asks somewhat rhetorically of the room in general. "If it comes to a dead end, are we then trying to find a door of some sort? Or is there a tunnel in another direction?"
Ax chuckles. "I'm fairly certain that there's nothing of a threat to us here," Ax says. "There's a sense of serenity to the place, that doesn't happen when there's danger generally." As they proceed into the crystal chambers, the light from the chem-lights hits the crystal formation and amplifies significantly. Some mining gear is set up, small and large laser cutting machines, all computer operated. Those bring a sigh to Ax's face. "I think we should take that gear back with us," he says. "This place shouldn't be stripmined." Ax pulls out a glowrod and aims it at one of the crystals poking out of the rock, which illuminates in a very bright blue. "This is way too pretty for people to come and exploit."
Galak nods as they walk further into the tunnel and finally reach the crystal caverns. He walks over to a particular laser and he pats it. "This is the one we used to carve out the crystal for Rax's lightsaber..." he points with his finger to the area where a small cut of crystal had been laser cut from its surroundings. "I wish I had never figured out how to power that thing on. If I hadn't we would have left empty handed, Rax had even put his broken lightsaber down right over there and was going to leave it. We could have left and I could have brought some of the Waywards back and retrieved his weapon and the crystal."
Jax looks to Ax, "Yeah its serenity to it." He say relaxing a bit. He stops looking at Ax. Though he looks toward one of the shadows frowning. Though he starts to head toward one of the crystal growths, a blue one, "So he found a lightsaber crystal? Interestng. So which color did he choose? He says pulling off a glove to touch a formation. "I think this is it. I think this is the grand show?" He says noticing the mining tools, "Kadi do we need to take note of the minig equipment?" Then he turns looking at Galak, "Or cut some crystals?"
Kadi makes a face at Jax, belatedly responding to his teasing with a mock-cranky look his way. Sesti gets a quick grin as Kadi follows along, pausing to look at the refraction and reflection happening with the crystals. "Pretty," she says, with a bit of a smile, as she watches, noting that very bright blue. "It - well, if you want, I suppose we can. Whose stuff do you think this is anyway? Did Mr. Vaelus bring it?" She examines the laser pointed out, with her eyes only. And then at Jax's question, she blinks. "Sure, that would probably make sense. Taking stock of what equipment is here, at any rate. As for cutting crystals - does anyone know what to do with them?"
"That's a very good question. Why does he have one and does he even still have it, after being a guest of First Order hospitality?" Mae wonders with a nod toward Sesti then frowns at Ax. "You find caves like this to be serene?" Mae wonders with a glance aimed first at Ax, then around to Jax before she flicks a glance around the group at large as talk of crystals and equipment commences. Shaking her head, and deducing that no one is in immediate need of medical attention, Mae wanders away from the group to eye the walls and lingers nearer to the entrance than not.
The crystals are pretty, but they're not out of this world pretty, so Sesti looks curiously to Ax and Jax as they seem to relax and are not worrying about giant ice spiders. She looks around the room, and walks over a little towards Jax. "Is it bad that Rax has a light saber that works?" she asks Galak curiously. Then Maeve wonders about him still being in possession, and gives a little nod. Her fingers reach out to the wall alongside Jax's, although not touching exactly the same crystal as her boyfriend.
"I don't think he has it anymore," Ax says. "But, he's not the only one with a lightsaber who doesn't need one. We've got one of our own who has one that's a fucking beacon to people who are sensitive to such things," Ax adds. "Regardless of why he had it, it got him shot up, captured by the First Order, and miraculously he gets released after a few days." He moves to the center of the cavern and sets down his pack. "It's just a strange sense, Maeve. I can't really explain it, but certain things will put me on edge and others have a sense of calm, this place has the latter." Ax looks to Kadi. "I think we can scratch this place off the list of potential places," he says with a wink. "I don't think your parents would enjoy it much, and it's obvious that most of our friends don't. If you want to see about that laser equipment, then fine But when we leave, I want to either take it with us, or drag it out of the cave and into the frozen wastes outside. Let it get buried by the ice and snow."
Jax calls out to Mae, "Don't wonder too far into the shadows. But yeah it's Serene. There's something relaxing and comforting here. It's less so in the shadows." He shrugs, "Maybe he's their agent now. They seem to like collecting lightsaber wielding freaks." He shrugs, "Well taking crystals back with us beats the hell out of t-shirts that say Ax dragged us to a Cave on a Frozen planet and all I got was this Sithspit t-shirt and frozen testicales. " He though looks over at Ax, "It could be part of the process to help purify that lightsaber." He shrugs, "I don't know Rax too well. But no one has ever told me he was a paragon of mental health. Arming him with a weapon that can cut through anything and re-inforcing his delusions of being a crazy force wizard does not seem like a good thing."
Kadi frowns as she thinks. "I don't think he has it any more either. I agree with Ax on that one." She sneezes once, and then looks all embarrassed. "Oops. I guess chicken soup for me is a good plan. And Jax, worse - Ax dragged us to a cave on a frozen planet and all I got was a cold?" She shakes her head briefly. "If you want to toss the equipment, then not much point taking inventory, is there?"
Exhaling a breath of laughter and watching as her breath condenses briefly into fog before dispersing, Mae simply leans one shoulder against the wall that frames the arch of the entrance to the cave. "I'm just not a huge fan of enclosed spaces that are entirely to far away from the sky. I'll stay here and if any of you start acting squirrely or going all rage smash, I'll be prepared with a tranq dart."
Sesti Gath trails her fingers down the wall next to Jax, and her eyes narrow slightly as Ax talks about sensitivities, and Jax agrees. "That would be a shirt for you. I do not have testicles to freeze," she reminds him with a grin, then turns to see if Kadi needs any help with the equipment.
"If you want, use the laser or whatever to cut another crystal, but try not to tear up too much," Ax says. "Then, we're taking the mining lasers with us and getting back to the ship. It's too cold to enjoy even hot soup, and I'm pretty soon going to need to pee and I dread cold fingers at that point," Ax says with a chuckle. "I don't want the crew Rax brought here to get his crystal coming back and stripping this place for profit, or whoever else they told about this place."
"We should do that, as a souvenir," Kadi says. "Galak said this one, right?" She examines the laser that Galak pointed out earlier, seeing if she can manage to cut a crystal. "Unless anyone else wants to try?" she offers. "Ax, what colour?" Well, why not? She sneezes a second time, and mumbles under her breath briefly.
Jax nods, "I agree. Though I don't think part of his team would do that. Though I may be giving he her too much credit." Jax grins at Kadi, "Ax says he has a blue one. Though I think I'd like a blue one myself.." He points to the formation him and Sesti dtood near. "Care to help me? You can add it to that bill."
"Ask Jax," Ax says. "I've got a blue crystal at home, one that JD found on the ship we stole from Fuckstick. If there's an extremely light blue or white one though, I'll take that and Jax can have the one I have. I want to make as little of an impact as possible if we can help it." Ax smirks and looks to the others. "If people want souvenirs, there's plenty of mining gear."
"Oh right! I forgot about that one JD found," Kadi says, eyes brightening a bit. "C'mon, Jax, there's already a blue one, maybe green?" She moves over to lend her assistance as he suggested. "You know, this rate, you'll never pay off that bill, right?" She almost sneezes but at the last moment, the sneeze disappears, leaving her a bit disgruntled.
Patting down her pockets, Mae opens a small packet of tissues and crosses the cavern floor to offer the packet to Kadi. "Of all the things you don't want to have frozen to your face..." she says with a wry trace of a grin that can't actually be seen beneath the face mask that she's wearing to keep her face from freezing off.
"Of course," Sesti replies to Jax, returning her gaze to the wall when he asks if she wants to help. Her fingers explore a little further as they wait for Kadi to figure out the laser cutter. "Have you seen this green one?" she asks, outlining one that seems easier to cut out, then looks to Kadi as she sneezes again. "Are you sure you do not have an allergy to this place?" she asks, as her suggestion adds reinforcement to the engineer's suggestion of green.
Jax turns seeing a green crystal glowing a bit brighter than the others as Sesti points out. "Yeah that's it. Good call both of you. I like that one." He shrugs, "Well if it too high I figure Sesti will buy the bill out from under me and make me work it off putting up with her droid." He grins, "Yeah lets cut it and get back to the ship. It's cold. People are cranky."
"Let's get this stuff and get out of here," Ax says. He looks to Kadi. "I want to get you out of this cold," he says, looking a bit concerned. "Doc?" he asks, looking to Maeve. "Can you and Galak get her back to the ship? Jax, Sesti, and I can get enough of this gear to make whatever's left useless. Who knows, maybe some mining lasers will come in handy in a future adventure, like Dantooine or Sullust."
