Ask Hoth Brave the Blizzard

[Malou D'Amaris]

Hoth, Anoat Sector, K-18
Somewhere in the Wampian mountains

'Fuck, it's cold.'

Serenno got quite cold in the winters with temperatures reaching as low as -18°F in some places. That was a rare occurrence though. Here? She was pretty sure the cold hadn't lessened to anything above -30°F, and her temperature readings were averaging around -65°F all around. Zash, Vahliri, and Soleil would be able to see the blue color of the ice-covered peaks of the mountains ahead. The natural path formed by the mountains disappeared out of view after about a mile into snow-fogged air. They were told that as long as they stuck to the natural path, they should be okay. 'Emphasis on should, if I recall.'

The group of Sith had left their dropoff point about an hour ago by now. Like her companions, Malou was dressed in an extreme cold-weather getup. Her face was covered by a thick, black wool scarf with only a small sliver of space for her mouth. Unlike the acolytes she was leading, the Miralukan had the luxury of not really needing to see. She carried with her a backpack of supplies, a chunky GPS tracker that didn't seem to be tolerating the cold all that well, and—of course—her lightsaber.

"Anyone got frostbite yet?" she called back humorously to the three acolytes behind her. The hot breath from her mouth hit the cold air and sent out a cloud of white vapor as she spoke. It was quickly whisked away by the cold wind and disappeared into the snowy sky. Zash was the only one she hadn't met previous to their briefing, but she hadn't done much with any of them. She hoped they would be able to work together. In this sort of extreme weather, they couldn't afford to slip up.

tags: @Mr. Teatime @Altaris @Phoenix

 

[Zash]

Zash had lost track of exactly how many layers of clothes he was wearing and he was still cold. It pierced right through his clothes, through his muscle, all the way to the bone. He was thinking about sticking his hand in his lightsaber just to warm up at this point. And he even liked the cold. Or at least he preferred it to the heat, but this was a whole different level of cold.

The details of what they were doing out here weren't even particularly well explained to him, but the mission had been handed down and he was a professional. He was used to taking orders and without being expected to ask questions.

Granted, that didn't mean he never did ask questions or poke around until he found his own answers.

Not yet. Gear's holding up, he said, looking down to his hand and flexing it before wiping some more snow off of his goggles.

What sort of indicators are there for this base? he finally asked. He figured he'd be more useful if he actually knew what to keep his eyes out for.

 

[Soleil Altan]

Originally when Sol heard Hoth was 'cold' he'd shrugged it off, given he was comfortable in cold weather. Then he actually looked up the planet and happily accepted the loaner gear. It was thick, and heavy, but the silent acolyte also wasn't freezing to death. So there was that. Of course, he was still cold, but he seemed to be able to tolerate it better than humans at least. But, seriously. So cold.

The cold wasn't Sol's only problem, though. He had heavy gloves on his hands and just about his entire face was covered so others couldn't see his expression. Not that Malou could see in the first place- how they were going to communicate, Sol had no idea. So when she asked her joking question he sort of just lamely shrugged in an exaggerated fashion and threw up an "OK" hand sign in the hope someone would see it.

To his credit he'd brought a weather-compatible-ish datapad, also part of the loaner gear, both for taking notes and just general mission and planet info. This old as fuck rebel base was probably half-buried in ice and snow by now, if not entirely, and might be hard to spot. Sol scowled beneath his layered face coverings.

Then he went back to keeping an eye open for any of the local animal life. For his own amusement.

@lizziie @Altaris @Phoenix

 

[Darth Tempest]

“Why did it have to be Hoth..”

Vahliri couldn’t help but mutter not-so-quietly under her breath, clear frustration boiling into her voice. As the words escaped from her lips, they immediately froze and turned to frost in front of her - rising up as wispy, white clouds before vanishing entirely. It was frigid, and the cold weather seemed to pass through the multiple layers of puffy protective clothing that the half-Sephi packed on - cutting right down to the bone and causing her teeth to clatter comically as they trudged head.

While it was a hostile enviroment to everyone in their group, Vahliri couldn't help but feel that she was the least prepared out of all of them to deal with it. She didn't even like the cold, and growing up on a mostly tropical planet left Vahliri accustomed to hot, humid climates - and it meant that the bone-chilling cold of Hoth was even more intolerable. How she even got roped into trudging through several feet of snow, she didn't really know, but here she was.

Vahliri was an dressed in extreme cold-weather getup - multiple layers of instilated clothing and puffy jackets that left the half-Sephi waddling like a penguin more than she was walking. There was a thick scarf tied around her neck and lower hemisphere of her face - alongside a thick beanie on her scalp worn underneath the hood of her jacket. At the very least, she wasn't going to get frostbite on the fluted tips of her ears. She had a utility belt on her waist, the hilt of her lightsaber secured to her hip.

"Damn-near close to." Vahliri said towards Malou, squinting her eyes as she looked straight ahead.

As if the evironment wasn't bad enough, Vahliri wasn't entirely sure about the objective of their little excursion. The mission brief was exceptionally vague, and the half-Sephi knew better than to ask very many questions of her superiors who assigned her to Hoth.

Now that she was here, though, amongst other acolytes and Malou? The half-Sephi felt no shame in poking and prying for information.

The half-Sephi huffed a breath and began to pick up the pace - penguin-waddling through the snow until she was walking shoulder to shoulder with Malou. The half-Sephi glanced over at the Champion. "Sooo.." She stared, "What exactly are we lookin' for out here?"

@lizziie @Mr. Teatime @Phoenix

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

"That's the fun part," Malou called back to Zash, a bit of sarcasm lacing the edges of her voice. "We don't really know much about it other than its general location." From what she'd gathered, or rather from what Imperial Intelligence had gathered for her, it was somewhere here in the Wampian mountains. Better the mountains than the tundra, though, she thought to herself as a gust of wind caused her to stumble a bit to the side. By the time she had regained her footing, Vahliri had trudged up through the powder to join her.

"Anything that looks like it could hide an old base in it. Caves... cliffs..." The woman trailed off for a moment, then decided those were probably the best two places for a base to be. "Another team was sent out already, but we lost contact with them a week ago," she added after a moment. It would've been no secret that this mission would have a degree of danger to it. Weather cast aside, there were creatures out here, and they probably preferred the safety of the mountains.

"C'mon. Once we make it to the mountains, we'll have shelter from the wind and it won't be quite so cold." Malou shifted her backpack up on her back, then began to trudge forward a bit quicker. The ground around them had already begun to jut up into jagged, snow-covered rock formations. If they kept at this pace, they should make it there within ten minutes. Just as that thought crossed her mind though, the wind around them began to pick up. Snow spun and danced around in the air, and for those relying on their eyesight, visibility dropped almost immediately.

tags: @Phoenix @Mr. Teatime @Altaris

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil quietly sighed to himself behind his scarf and other sundry layers, stomping through snow to walk closer behind the two ladies ahead. Working off next-to-nothing with a disappeared scout group sounded exciting, a puzzle, an adventure! But he wasn't looking forward to meeting any of the local fauna face to face as much as he might normally. Hoth's predatory life was notoriously hostile according to everything he'd read. Sol wasn't even sure his vibroblades would function in this level of cold if it came down to it.

Well, hopefully it wouldn't! Just think positively, that's the key. And keep an eye on the surroundings. You know, just in case. One never knew when some kind of- ah, fuck.

He reached forward toward Malou's shoulder- then changed to Vahl's when he remembered Malou was blind. He didn't know the details, but it just seemed like it'd be awkward. Sol tapped on the half-Sephi's shoulder until she paid attention and then pointed toward a semi-distant ridge. Normally damn near everything was hard to see in the white snow, but not so much when it was running.

Along the ridge, a herd of Rayboo was being corralled by a pack of native canine species boringly dubbed Ice Wolves by lazy zoologists who really just wanted to stop being on Hoth as quickly as possible. Beasts of similar size were more commonly called Dire Wolves elsewhere. They were very large. Seeing them was not good. Sol seemed excited, but still felt warning the other two was prudent.

Acolytes probably tasted decent enough to wolves.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri blinked a few times at Malou, listening to the answer that the blind - well, technically blind in the traditional sense - champion gave. Her lips tugged downward ever-so-slightly, and it was abundantly clear that the half-Sephi wasn't feeling super enthusiastic. The cold didn't really help.

"Oh. Oh well that is very encouraging, huh?" Vahliri's tone indicated that the revelation about the previous team being sent to investigate, only to turn up missing and probably eaten by some snow-monster was, in fact, not at all encouraging. "Maybe we'll find whatever is left of them."

The half-Sephi sighed under her breath and gave her companions a nod, taking a moment to scan her surroundings. Which really didn't accomplish much, considering that the snow was thick and visibility was comically bad. Vahliri squinted, attempting to pick out something notable until Sol finally tapped her on the shoulder. "Hm?"

Vahliri glanced in the direction that he pointed, narrowing her eyes slightly to finally pick out the semi-distant ridge. "There we go - a cliff." Her eyes narrowed further when he spotted the feral beasts that ran along the ridge of the natural formation, looking not at all pleased with the idea of having to deal with the local fauna of Hoth. "Oh.."

But it was also the only ridge in sight.

The half-Sephi exhaled, giving her hip - and the lightsaber hilt that hung there - a pat. Just to remember it was there, in case she was about to need it. "Guess we go that way."

@Mr. Teatime @lizziie

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Sol pointed toward a distant ridge after tapping on Vahliri's shoulder, but Malou followed the gesture as well. The ridge extended further up and formed the beginning of another mountain in the range. There were wolves of some kind prowling the edge and nipping at the ankles of some sort of cervidae. She didn't fancy fighting in this cold, but it seemed to be the better direction to head in if it was more suitable for animal life.

"We're downwind of them, so if we're careful we might be able to avoid their attention." Though it would take them a bit to get over there, they seemed pretty occupied by the Rayboo. This distraction would allow the three of them to get up to the ridge without being seen, though it was not easy. The wind had picked up even more, and any exposed skin would feel the temperature drop even further. It wasn't by much, but it was enough to send shivers down Malou's spine.

Once they got to the ridge, Malou would stop to catch her breath for a moment. The wind wasn't quite as strong here. "Man...the cold here is just..." It was suctioning the strength right out of her. The Serennian quite liked the cold, too. She was far from prepared for this.

What Malou failed to notice was that the snow surrounding her feet was bleeding red.

tags: @Mr. Teatime @Altaris

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol bundled his scarves more tightly around his face and neck and followed along toward the ridge. Even fully covered up, balaclava and all, the wind was making things just so much worse than he felt was reasonable. This was planet was stupid, he decided.

Their slog up the ridgeside was- and he did not feel like he was exaggerating overmuch- literally the worst. More wind, more trudging through snow, more maximum strength suckage. Luckily they all stopped to take a minute. A shiver ran through him and he rubbed his chest to try and coax warmth through it, looking around here the three acolytes now were.

In the middle of that he quite quickly noticed the red gathering in the snow around Malou's feet. That probably wasn't good or normal? Sol's first instinct this time was simple, if not terribly well thought out. The silent acolyte basically just walked right over in front of her and tried to lift her out of the snow, assuming some crazy Hoth nonsense was going on. Sol was stronger than his frame suggested but it was still kind of awkward, especially given all the layers of stuff they wore.

That or she was bleeding from her feet. Neither was super great. Sol was stronger than his frame suggested but it was still kind of awkward, especially given all the layers of stuff they wore. He'd check the ground first, then her legs.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

If it wasn’t clear already, Vahliri was having an awful time with the cold. It was frigid temperature that her Induparan-raised self was completely unaccustomed to, and nothing she was wearing seemed to help keep warm. The Arctic gusts cut right through the heavy layers that she packed on, causing her teeth to clink together comically and goosebumps to line her skin.

“They couldn’t have sent us to Tattooine or some shit? Or literally anywhere above negative whatever-the-fuck degrees?” Vahliri couldn’t help but groan out her displeasure. She didn’t care how unprofessional she sounded complaining. This was miserable, she was miserable, and so was everyone else. A little whining was justified.

Of course, Vahliri was smart enough to keep her mouth shut as they approached the ridge itself - honeyed eyes squinting through the snowfall and watching the wolves up ahead. Luckily, the trio of acolytes seemed to be less interesting than the promise of a fresh kill.

Once they reached the ridge, Vahliri groaned and leaned her weight against the cliff-face - taking a moment to catch her breath. “Awful?” She finished the statement for Malou, glancing over at the champion. “Yeah it really is. Gods I could use a beach-trip after this shit..”

After a few moments, the half-Sephi glanced up the cliff-face - squinting once again. “I think I can see a cave up above.. Maybe that’s what we’re looking for?” She pointed, and proceeded to glance back at her companions.

It wasn’t until that precise moment that Vahliri looked down to notice the redness under Malou’s feet. Naturally, her mind went directly to the Champion herself bleeding out onto the snowy canvas beneath them. “Holy shit are you okay?” She took a few steps closer like Sol, moving on to check her presumably injuried companion.

@lizziie @Mr. Teatime

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

"Awful is one word for it," Malou chuckled. She didn't have much time to respond to Vahliri before the guy in the ground wrapped his arms around her and picked her up from the ground for seemingly no reason.

"Sol, please put me down." The Miralukan was in an exceedingly awkward position having been unceremoniously lifted up from the ground by the shorter boy. Once she was put back down, the woman would take a few steps back from him for some space.

"I'm fine? Why?" She couldn't see the blood surrounding them, so she didn't understand why they were suddenly acting so concerned. As she backed up, the back of her heel pressed up against something under the snow and caused her to stumble back a little bit. The shuffling of her feet moved some of the snow to reveal fur, so with an upwards motion of her hand, Malou yanked it from the ground. Up through the snow came the massive body of a dire wolf, covered in dried blood and matted fur and frozen stiff. The ice in the air negated any stench of death, at least.

It was then Malou figured the snow was probably stained with blood. She knelt down to examine the carcass.

"How much blood is there?" she asked as she searched for the creature's fatal wound. Her gloved hands eventually moved over to its abdomen, split apart the fur, and revealed several messy blaster bullet wounds. Ah, that's interesting. They riddled its side, and though the wounds were partially hidden under its thick fur, it wouldn't be much to see why the creature had fallen. "I think we might be on the right track. You said there was a cave up top?" Her Sight found it within seconds. Maybe that's where they should start looking.

tags: @Mr. Teatime @Altaris

 

[Soleil Altan]

Sol blinked a couple times behind his goggles and semi-steadily let Malou back down, looking at where she'd been standing. He couldn't smell any blood, but then he couldn't smell any damn thing behind all his skin coverings. Malou's legs looked just fine, actually. Sol started a signed apology, gave up, and just faced his palms toward her in what'd hopefully be interpreted as a peaceful gesture.

Unfortunately he didn't know a way to answer the Champion's question so he just looked at Vahl to do it. It was obvious what'd done the killing at least. Sol stood to his full height after examining the corpse, raising his gloved hand over his goggles to block out some of the snow-glare, trying to find the mentioned cave. It was barely visible, and then only if he was really looking.

Apparently Sol could pick up movement and Vahl could look really rar. Couldn't Miraluka like, see through objects and behind them and stuff? Pretty solid scout team, talent-wise. Nice. Rubbing his arms for warmth he continued on with the others toward the gave, eyes open for any more movement. Someone with a blaster must've been here recently. Ish.

Closer up the cave entrance was two things: Utterly massive and 3/4ths frozen closed, glittering stalactites of ice coming together to form a scraggly sheet of ice over the surface. Thin gaps would permit them to pass into it just fine, ordinarily. There was also a more speeder-sized hole that looked half-broken, half-melted, right in the middle. Someone got here first.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri couldn’t help but blink a few times, cautiously kept her eyes on Malou and Sol. Her gaze flicked towards the Miralukan’s legs first of all, searching for the source of blood. Of course, it didn’t really take her long to realize that Malou was - in fact - perfectly fine and not bleeding out. Her brow furrowed with mild confusion, proceeding to flick down to the bloodied snow at their feet.

The half-Sephi couldn’t help but grimace as Malou revealed the bloodied mass of fur beneath the snow, finally identifying the source of the blood. “A lot,” She said simply in response to Malou’s question about the quantity of blood. Her honeyed eyes narrowed the moment she noticed the blaster wounds. “Well.. At least we know the other teams came this way.” The signs thus far weren’t exactly encouraging, but at least they were probably on the right track.

Vahliri looked back to Malou when the Miralukan spoke, giving her a firm nod of her head. “Just up ahead on that ridge.” She pointed once again, squinting against the snowglare for a moment. She finally looked back to the other two, giving them a nod of her head. “Let’s get moving.” The half-Sephi started walking, rubbing her hands together for warmth. “I do not want to end up Wampa food.”

It was a short hike towards the cave entrance, thankfully absent from any more bloodied bodies in the snow or aggressive wildlife that they needed to avoid. The half-Sephi narrowed her eyes as they reached the entrance, running her hand across the mostly frozen surface that blocked the entrance. She immediately attempted to pinpoint any small gaps that they would squeeze through. “We may be able to blast it open, if we work together..” She muttered back at them.

The half-Sephi paused, staring intently towards the entrance for a few moments - listening carefully beyond the entrance and deeper into the cave. Her own sensitive hearing enabled her to pick up on things that neither of them wouldn’t, and she took full advantage of the fact that sounds typically echoed through wide caverns such as these. After a second or two, Vahliri finally turned back to Malou and Sol, her eyes flicking between the two of them. “I can hear something moving deeper in the tunnel - footsteps, I think. Something heavy.”

@lizziie @Mr. Teatime

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

The hike up to the cave entrance was uneventful, but the wind was stronger and bit deeper into the cloth of her clothing than before. Vahliri mused something about working together to break open the ice, then something about a creature being inside. However, Malou was able to spot rather easily an area of about a meter by a meter where the ice was dangerously thin as if it had recently frozen over again. As Vahliri pulled back to speak, Malou reached a hand out, squeezed it shut, and shattered the thin film of ice via the Force.

"Just keep an eye out for me," Malou grinned underneath her full face covering, an ounce of humor in her voice, then slipped inside.

The cave was cavernous, so much so that the echo of the broken ice still echoed quietly as she stepped inside. Though Vahliri had heard something, Malou couldn't see anything in the initial room. As echoey as the place was, it was more than possible whatever it was could be just down one of the various tunnels.

Malou moved further in to give the other room to slip inside, then pulled the hood off her head. It wasn't necessarily any warmer in here, but there was a pleasant lack of wind that suddenly made her body feel unnecessarily warm.

"There are several tunnels splitting off. We should probably try to find signs of travel."

@Mr. Teatime @Altaris

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil cocked his head toward the cavern but didn't hear the same things Vahliri did, certainly not over the blowing wind and layers over his head. Sephi were as sharp of hearing as the rumors went. Very useful! He kept an eye out, smirking a little beneath his coverings when Malou just re-opened the previously made entrance, and stepped forward across the snow. Once within he looked around, warily lowering his hood and a couple extra bits of cloth.

It wasn't windy here and the air was much wetter than the blown-dry outside, allowing the Wrean to expose more of his skin to the air without great discomfort. With his mouth and nose free he scented the air, nostrils flaring to take it in. Ice had its own smell in the background, as did the old, cold blood on Malou's boots.

There was also metal and oil. Sol glanced around with eyes to the ground, bringing to mind things he'd read about cold weather environments. Unfortunately, there was no tracking its source, especially with old metal structures buried in ice all around them. That and the cold kinda made him feel he was gonna sneeze.

He did find something, though. Sort of. Soleil snapped his fingers to attract the other two Sith's attention and turned to look down at the ground while he recovered his mouth and nose, keeping his goggles up on his forehead now so they could see his eyes. On the ground was snow from outside, leading toward three of the many different tunnels. Unfortunately, it was impossible to tell which could just be from a rush of wind or something tracking it inside.

At least it narrowed their course down a little.

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri took a step backwards, eyes widening ever-so-slightly as Malou proceeded to shatter the ice through the Force. The Miralukan was able to pinpoint weakpoints in the frozen barrier far better than either her or Sol could, and was markedly stronger than either of the Acolytes in the Force. The half-Sephi couldn’t help but look thoroughly impressed. Although her expression pretty quickly shifted to ferocious eyerolling when Malou proceeded to make perhaps the most corny joke that a blind person could possibly make.

“Oh that was awful and you know it,” Vahiri said back to Malou, flashing the Champion a smirk before stepping into the cave alongside both her and Sol.

The half-Sephi brought both of her gloved hands up to her face, exhaling a hot breath before rubbing her hands together furiously. While she had to admit the cave was somehow pleasantly warm compared to the blizzard outside, it was still cold as hell by the Induparan-raised Acolyte’s standards. Nevertheless, Vahliri decided that the scarf that was wrapped tightly around the lower hemisphere of her face wasn’t entirely necessary outside of the blizzard, proceeding to pull the fabric down and let it bunch around her neck.

Vahliri allowed her eyes to wander the cavern for a few moments before looking towards Malou, giving the Miralukan a nod of her head. Just as the half-Sephi was about to start searching for some signs of travel, she caught sight of Sol making gestures out of the corner of her eye - prompting the half-Sephi to face down the three tunnels he was referencing. It didn’t take her long to notice the snow that seemed entirely out of place, clearly having been tracked in by someone other than them.

The half-Sephi took a step forward and ahead of both Malou and Sol, gesturing for them to be quiet for a moment. While she didn’t have Malou’s forcesight, the half-Sephi knew that her best asset to the team was her more sensitive hearing - a feature that was only enhanced by the echoey nature of the caverns, where every little movement and sound seemed to carry.

For several long moments, there was nothing - an almost unnatural silence hanging over the cavern, until Vahliri finally picked up on something down the central tunnel of the three. Footsteps? No, more like.. Scuttling? Whatever it was, it was heavy - and the repeated taps against the ice indicated it had far more legs than Vahliri was comfortable with.

“There is something down this way.” She finally said, glancing back towards them both. While it was certainly more to go off of than anything found down the other two tunnels, the look on the half-Sephi’s face didn’t exactly scream that she was pleased.

“I don’t think it’s the other team, either.”

@lizziie @Mr. Teatime

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Three tunnels, but the one in the middle was the most interesting to the three of them according to Vahliri's sensitive hearing. Malou wasn't entirely keen on the idea of finding out what was making the noise either, but as her Sight traveled out and down the tunnel she noticed debris littered across the ground. Bits of crumpled metal, torn wires, and what looked to be scraps of cloth or clothing were thrown to the side.

"There's debris down that way too. Let's just be careful." With that, Malou led the way into the middle tunnel. She hadn't seen what was making the noise Vahliri heard, but there were scuff marks on the ground that indicated its presence.

The tunnel was quite large, big enough for the three of them to walk side by side with room to stretch. She would continue to walk until some of the debris came within view.

tag: @Altaris @Mr. Teatime

 

[Soleil Altan]

Soleil followed along into the middle tunnel, keeping his eyes open and noting all the discarded bits and bobs on the frozen floor. It was difficult to tell if this junk was new or old, but something told him only some of it had been here before that hole in the ice outside.

Particularly, as the tunnel rounded toward the right, what looked to be a chunk torn off a speeder. Especially since bits of it were still gently smoking where wires had shorted. That probably wasn't good. Soleil approached it cautiously, looking around the rest of the tunnel, and pointed out a drag mark across the floor that lead further down the dark hall.

Crouching down by the torn metal he frowned, leaning to and fro to get a good look at it. Torn was definitely the right word, judging from the marks along the edge and its surface. Claws or sharp clamps maybe?

@lizziie @Altaris

 

[Darth Tempest]

Vahliri glanced back at Malou when the Champion warned them to be cautious, giving the Miralukan a quiet nod before turning ahead and proceeding forward. The half-Annfyn looked visibly on edge they made their way deeper into the tunnel - her fingers hovering at her hip and twitching towards the curved hilt of her saber. Her sensitive hearing enabled the girl to pick up on every little echo of movement from deeper in the cavern, and what she heard didn’t help to ease her anxieties.

She could hear the scuttling taps of dozens of legs moving against the frozen surface of the cavern. The sounds seemed to change directions as they moved through the tunnel - as if whatever it was that she heard, it was moving between the walls, above them and then somewhere up ahead - as if crawling its way through tunnels all around them.

“Be prepared for anything,” She said quietly, fluted ears twitching rapidly with growing unease.

Vahliri’s honeyed eyes flicked ahead when they rounded the corner of the cave, fixating onto the ruined remains of a speeder just up ahead. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously on the smoking hunk of metal, clearly noting the sharp gouges where claws or teeth or something else - powerful enough to do so - had torn the speeder apart.

She paused for a moment when Sol gestured further down the hall. The half-Annnfyn walked forward, honeyed eyes rapidly snapping around her surroundings cautiously as she ventured deeper into the cavern. Vahliri continued deeper into the cavern, rounding another corner before abruptly stopping dead in her tracks.

“..I found the other teams.” She said quietly, her voice just loud enough for the others to hear.

As soon as the other two Sith approached, they would be greeted to the same horrific sight as Vahliri. The pathway opened into yet another open chamber - this one looking as if it had been intentionally carved out of the ice. The blue-white surfaces - high upon the walls and coating a vast majority of the floor - were soaked with blood having long since frozen. Remnants of armor, thermal clothing and weapons were left scattered across various parts of the chamber - each and every one of them bearing signs of having literally been torn and shredded apart. So too was the rest of the speeder that Sol had found, having been dragged off into a corner of the room and abandoned. Perhaps the most gruesome sight within the chamber was what remained of one of the troopers last sent to Hoth.

A single Imperial helmet sat in the middle of the room, pointed to face towards the trio of Sith. It had quite literally been bitten in half - and a quick glance towards the side would reveal the cross-section of a head still nestled inside of it.

Vahliri took a single step further inside the chamber before a distinct scuttling could be heard once again - though this time it was very much loud enough for everyone to hear. Just adjacent to where Maura was standing, they would be able to see something slithering on the other side of the ice - the wall between caverns running thin enough to vaguely peer into the other side. They would see the distinctive sapphire carapace of an Ice Worm passing by - returning to its den.

A den that the trio had unintentionally stumbled upon.

@lizziie @Mr. Teatime

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

The ice worm burst into the room and began screaming the moment it saw the three of them. The ice shattered, sending bits of it flying in all directions, though they would be saved by the thickness of their attire. The worm was massive, and the clicking of its mandibles soon turned to snapping as it lunged forward toward the three of them. Malou dove out of the way, reaching out a hand to grab Vahliri by the arm as to pull the girl along with her.

Considering the smooth walls and openness of the room, they had two options: fight or run like hell.

With a snap and a hiss, Malou's lightsaber burned to life, and she swung at its armored side as it lunged past her. The blade did little but burn the thick armoring, and the Ice Worm didn't seem to notice the attack.

"Go for the underbelly!" she shouted. "Or the face," she added quietly to herself. The Miralukan wasn't going to suggest that to either of them though. It was large, but its striking speed was fast enough that she wanted to be nowhere near its mouth.

The Champion began to pull the Force around her, preparing to burn the creature as soon as it turned back to snap at her or Vahliri.

tags: @Altaris @Mr. Teatime