Log:The Dark Mirror

The Dark Mirror

OOC Date: January 27, 2016
Location: Dantooine
Participants: Rax Vaelus, Russ Ordo (as GM)

The warbling ion engine of the Infiltrator screams as it enters the atmosphere of Dantooine, the Galaxy's Most Boring Planet. Farmlands from horizon to horizon, few people of note come this away. Only grain haulers make frequent use of the Starport. But Rax is here on a mission. This is not his first visit to Dantooine, and he has come back better prepared to investigate what he has found.

Stepping off the ship, Rax is dressed in a brown leather jacket, a rough, tan shirt, and matching canvas khaki pants. A whip hangs from his belt, and a bandolier of equipment crosses his chest. He's got his blaster, a pickaxe, a short shovel, and lots of rope slung over his shoulder. Exploration equipment from his adventures on Hoth is being brought back to bear, though in smaller loads. his quarry is not that far from civilization, and unlikely to be nearly as unforgiving.

Catching transport out to the Rebel Base famously destroyed by the Empire during the Rebellion, Rax hikes out across the hills toward the lesser known, picked-through remnants of an ancient Jedi Enclave nearby, ready to explore deep into the ancient tunnels. He is here for anything he can find. Wall art, diagrams, scraps of text or devices. Anything. Anything he can find.

As Rax heads through the lush fields of Dantooine the entire planet seems very peaceful, the sun basking the plains and fields in glorious golden light. On the walk there is it impossible to tell some of the monumental things that have happened on this planet. Of wars won and lost and civilians and Jedi massacred alike. Of rebel bases destroyed and abandoned, the planet itself escaping through luck. Slowly however things start to change as you approach the remains of the Jedi temple, if they can still be called remains anyway. 4000 years later all that remains is some rubble barely poking through the surface of the plains.

Rax Vaelus approaches the rubble, ascending to near the center of the landmass that has grown over the wreckage. He's searching for the largest cluster of rubble--or, at least, the most interesting or promising looking. He's not looking for monuments or statues--those would be long gone. What he's looking for are paving stones. Something that would indicate an entrance or promenade that could be followed to an entrance. Reconnitoring the ruins, it's early in the morning, as he wants as much light as he can get for these early stages of the hunt.

The quiet breezes prividing the only real noises are interupted by distant howls, looking around the plains the origin cannot yet be established the sounds far to distant. As you stand over the remains of the destroyed Jedi Temple a feeling of coldness slowly seeps into your body, combined with the distant howling it is enough to put you on edge. The sun beating on you seems to do nothing to warm you. As you scan for an entrance of some kind you can find a dome like overgrowth with one side collapsed in.

Howling. So be it. The chill is unexpected, but Rax did bring a jacket. Rolling his shoulders a bit at the uncomfortable sensation, Rax trudges up the hill to the dome, breaking out his shovel at the partially-collapsed section of the overgrown dome, Rax begins to dig, setting his pack aside. Pausing every three or five minutes to scan the surrounding hills, Rax is armed with blaster, sword, and lightsaber...the last of which is concealed inside his jacket. Digging with the steady calm of one ready for a marathon, Rax casts dirt aside, careful never to dig directly down, and never leaving his pack far from him. He stamps his foot gently every now and then, testing the strength of the soil beneath him.

4000 years is a long time for something to be overgrown, especially after an orbital bombardment and far more recently a galactic empire bent on destroying all traces of the Jedi. The digging takes no short time, the roots and stems of the grass matting the earth tightly together making every shovelfull far more of an effort than it should be. Finally though as you pass midday you hear a somewhat familiar sound, the sound of durasteel on durasteel. It doesn't take long from there as you excavate the area, finding a hole just large enough for you to squeeze through leading to an almost 20 meter drop to the floor.

Driving a long, anchored stake of durasteel into the ground, Rax ties a length of rope to it, giving himself a little room to spare to the bottom. Glancing around the horizon once more, Rax frowns a bit at the cold chill about the place. "Lots of people died here..." He looks down into the hole, "A long, long time ago..." Lighting a flare from Hoth, he drops it into the darkness, using the drop to measure the distance.

Once it's hit the ground, Rax activates a fusion lantern attached to his pack and shoulders the straps. Bracing himself with rappelling gloves, the former pirate raider grasps the rope, sliding down into darkness.

Under the light of the lantern this place does not look good. Most of the walls are caved in, dirt piling through the gaping holes in the walls. Other pieces are just plain missing, the bombardment from so long ago all but levelling this place. There is some skeletons of some couches sitting in a semi circle around Rax as he hits the floor, all of the organic material long since rotted away. There is only one currently accessible corridor that you can see at the moment, and acessible is putting it nicely. There is maybe just enough space for you to force yourself through.

Well, that's what shovels are for. But before Rax departs, he searches around the couches, making sure there is nothing left of use here. He has a backup glowrod, and chemical glowsticks as a last resort, in addition to a few more flares. But the fusion lantern glows brightly, and he strides forth in its light, making for the passage way. He still has several loops of thin, strong rope left, having cut off just enough to get down here. Attempting to squeeze through the thin passage, Rax journeys on.

For someone of Rax's size getting through the tunnel is almost impossible, but through much pain and great effort he can finally make his way through the ruined passage way. Even on the other side he has to stand bent over at the waist, the almost fully collapsed tunnel nowhere near large enough to allow him to stand at his full height. Even under the light of the lantern the hallway seems heavily shadowed. Looking at the design of the corridor it looks like this may have been some kind of quarters at some point in history.

Rax Vaelus has carbon sheets, and charcoal to take rubbings. Lots of both. But for now, he creeps along, eyes narrowed. More than merely cutting a heroic image, it reduces light dissipation, cutting down on how much the shadows interfere with his ability to see. He also knows not to look directly at where he wants to see in deep shadow, as the eyes can play tricks, while looking slightly aside allows sharper focus. Kneeling down briefly to brush away the dust covering the floor, he looks around for side passages...but unless he finds one of particular interest, he forges on. As he goes, he unfastens the strap holding his blaster down, just in case he needs to draw it in a hurry.

The blaster doesn't seem to be needed, these ruins seem well and truly abandoned by all life not so much as a spider seems to scamper around in the darkness. Finally after moving though so many caved in and collapsed doorways, that anyone could tell would no longer contain anything worth excavating. You come to a sealed doorway. It miraculously seems to have survived the orbital bombardment in a near pristine condition.

Rax freezes before he actually comes to the door. Just before then, really. As soon as he notices the lack of insects, Rax's blood runs cold. Suppressing the desire to vocalize his concerns to the darkness, Rax realizes that there should be things living down here. Burrowing animals, burrowing insects. Slugs. Anything. Suddenly very, very alone down here, Rax checks behind him...and turns, coming right upon the door. Pristine amid the desolation, even the hardest duraplast should have shown some sort of deterioration. Swallowing hard in utter silence, Rax's eyes widen.

Checking the floors, the walls, the ceiling, Rax slowly ventures closer, crouching under the low ceiling. His heart hammering in his chest, Rax furrows his brow, strengthens his resolve...and reaches for the door to open it. His other hand clenches into a fist as he gathers his will about himself like a cloak, willing himself to feel no fear. He does not fear death.

He never has.

The door tries to open, it does try, but it doesn't manage it. Clearly it looks better on the outside than it actually is on the inside. Looks like the locking lever has stuck fast over the thousands of years of deterioration. From what you have seen so far this is by far the most likely place to contain something useful to you, at least without months of time and a full excavation crew. You just have to get through the sealed door.

Rax Vaelus reaches back and slides a crowbar out of his pack, along with a short, blunt sledge. It's only a ten pounder, but it'll do in a pinch. Wedging the crowbar in as far as he can, Rax tries first with raw power, to gauge the heft and weight of the door, as well as just how much he needs to break through.

You test your Strength skill at a 130 difficulty.

 +SUCCESS+ (10).

The door slowly starts to grind open, it lets loose a sickening squeal as the door slowly starts to peel open. It takes an almost inhuman effort to start prying those sealed doors open. The interior is dark, the light yoou could cast is blocked by your body. Finally after a minute of straining the doors fully retracts.

"Grrr....hhrrrrnnng....rrrr...RRRRAAWW!" Roaring as he finally powers the crowbar around those last, few, crucial inches to unstick the doors, he stumbles aside as they give way. Breathing hard, he jams the crowbar back into place and fits the handle of the sledge back into its strap. Adjusting his pack on his back, he strides forward, unhooking the lantern and holding it before and above him for better light. He's tense. Wary. Cautious not to let his excitement get him into a trap. His eyes watch the floors, the walls, the ceilings as he walks...

As you walk in and lift the lantern you swear you see it for just a split instant, a cloaked figure out of the corner of your eye. You even feel it, the whisper of that billowing cloak as it brushes against your body. Then you feel it, an explosion, pain. The room is suddenly plunged into blackness. Before you can see again. A mummified skeleton lies against the war wall in the ruined tatters of what was once a jedi robe, a long since rotted matress rests atop a durasteel frame. A collapsed and carbon scored nightstand lies on it's side beside the bed.

Striding into the chamber, the cloaked figure draws immediate attention, real or not. Rax is turning to round on the creature, and draws breath to speak a challenge. But it comes out as a garbled cry of wracking pain. Twisting a bit with the explosion of pain, Rax finds himself instead in another place. Darkness. Shadow. Then a skeleton. Mummified. Rot.

"Ord Mantell?"

Still a bit shaken from the ravaging his nerves took a moment ago, Rax shakes his head sharply to clear it. His voice quieter, more cautious, he checks behind him, the ceiling... "Is this..your house?" He almost reaches for the lightsaber in his jacket...but his open hand pauses, flexes, and slowly returns to his side. He lifts the lantern, venturing closer to the skeletal figure. He would remember that face, if it was hers. He thinks of it often. It will always be seared into his memory.

The skeleton is unrecognisable, and while humanoid it is impossible to tell whether it was even actually human or not. You didn't even see the face of that shadowy cloaked figure as it brushed past you before you were trapped in that explosion. No one answers Rax as he speaks, this place, this tomb is back to being deathly silent. Rax is left alone in a destroyed carbon scored room, rank with the smell of decay.

Rax Vaelus shakes his head, "...Not the same." Taking a deep breath, his brow furrows, his eyes darting around for clues. Carefully approaching the nightstand, he looks through it, and eventually sets down his lantern, checking under the bed...while never letting the figure leave his sight for long. After a few minutes, he murmers, "You know, normal people might be weirded out finding themselves in what might be another time and place..." But Rax has had a very, very unusual year. When there is only silence, Rax relaxes a little, releasing some of the tension gripping him.

The nightstand doesn't contain much, a few threads of rotting cloth and a rotted threaded necklace that once dangled a bronzed fang of some kind. Finally as you get down and look under the bed you see something that may be of value, perhaps it was thrown from the hand of that skeleton when he was thrown back against that wall. A datapad, clearly broken. But perhaps if it is fixed it may contain something you can act on.

Slipping the necklace into his pocket and retrieving the datapad, Rax tries the power button...but nothing happens. Sliding it carefully into an empty pocket of his backpack, Rax finally turns to the skeleton against the wall. "Well, I don't know why you brought me here, friend... But be at peace." Stepping up to the corpse, he narrows his eyes against the scent of decay, and wills himself through the revulsion of messing with a mummified corpse. He's done it before. Silently, he starts to search the robesm and the figure beyond, "Almost done..."

The former pirate grimaces, feeling weighed down by those he's slain in the past as he works. And when he's done, regardless of whether he found anything or not, he says, "...No one deserves to be trapped here in the past, bound to empty suffering." He nods aside and up, "Go. Be free. If there's something here you wanted me to set right... I'll do my best to see it done. I've got a debt to pay to another mummified Jedi, turns out." He searches a bit, motioning with his hand as he tries to find the right words. "Go. May the Force be with you." It's really all he knows to say.

Slipping the necklace into his pocket and retrieving the datapad, Rax tries the power button...but nothing happens. Sliding it carefully into an empty pocket of his backpack, Rax finally turns to the skeleton against the wall. "Well, I don't know why you brought me here, friend... But be at peace." Stepping up to the corpse, he narrows his eyes against the scent of decay, and wills himself through the revulsion of messing with a mummified corpse. He's done it before. Silently, he starts to search the robesm and the figure beyond, "Almost done..."

The former pirate grimaces, feeling weighed down by those he's slain in the past as he works. And when he's done, regardless of whether he found anything or not, he says, "...No one deserves to be trapped here in the past, bound to empty suffering." He nods aside and up, "Go. Be free. If there's something here you wanted me to set right... I'll do my best to see it done. I've got a debt to pay to another mummified Jedi, turns out." He searches a bit, motioning with his hand as he tries to find the right words. "Go. May the Force be with you." It's really all he knows to say.

The feeling of absolute coldness does not abate, as you move back through the ruins of the enclave. You cannot find anything else of value, everything either moved in the evacuation long ago or picked over by scavengers long dead. This place may not ever hold anything of value ever again, the vengeance of the Sith forever tainting it into obscurity. Finally you make your way back out the way you come in. Finally upon reaching the surface you hear something, a low growl emanating from the darkness.

Rax Vaelus begins shivering on the way back. Without adrenaline to keep him going, the cold is starting to gnaw at him. His teeth are chattering by the time he ascends the rope, and when he hears the growl, he just sighs and shakes his head. "Damn. Was down there longer than I expected..." Setting down his lantern carefully, worn from the cold and the climb, Rax unsheathes his crystal sword, letting it glint in the light. "All right... Lets dance."

The sword's a far better choice than a blaster at this point, especially considering the lack of armour on his form. That sounds, anyone who knows anything about Dantooine can place it's source. Kath hounds. These ones look different, as they prowl just beyond the light thrown out by your lantern. Their hides are dark and black, their teeth malformed. And that one there, the horned one. Most likely their Alpha, his horns are bent and mishapen the bones of his shoulders huge and mishapen.