Ghosts of Phateem - Funeral Party

[Vinny]

STORYTELLER​

The image of the aged mirialan Jedi Master Kaela Abaas flickers into life above the holoprojector. The woman looks tired, despite the firmness of her voice. She inclines her head to each of those present on the small shuttle descending through the clouds onto the lush world of Phateem.

"Brothers and Sisters, you are now arriving on a world known as Phateem. According to our records, nearly ten thousand years ago this world was a bastion of our Order. We are left with very little information concerning the condition of the world and what it may have been used for in it's time. According to one account it was referred to as one of the twelve wonders of the Galaxy." She paused. "That being said. One of our own has passed into the force facing the dangers of this world. In her last moments she informed the Council that there are secrets hidden on this world that may spell a change in momentum against the Dark Lord of the Sith and his Sorcery. You must find the lost library and retrieve that knowledge. For the good of everyone in the galaxy. May the force be with you."

The feed cut as the ship began to make final landing maneuvers. Above the party, the Jedi Cruiser Deliverance has positioned itself in orbit over the world. Those on board are ready to move in at a moments notice. As the shuttle lands, the boarding ramp drops to reveal a vast and green plains land stretching as far as the eye can see. A blue sky practically glows overhead and a gentle breeze washes over the faces of those who descend onto the surface.

Spoiler: The Force

Phateem is strong in the force, practically vibrating with life. You sense no intelligent life within your vicinity save for those with you. There is a tremendously strong force presence somewhere off to the northeast, across wide open plains."

Spoiler: Flora

The planet is not unlike Dantooine, very common grassland with tall bowing trees that are spread out sparsely across the surface. Now and then you spot a very large flower that rises about a meter off the ground before opening wide into a massive three meter wide blossom.

Spoiler: The Ship

The transport you arrived on is in decent condition and is equipped with a bacta tank in case of emergencies. There are some spare power packs in the supply chest.

@Raydo @Gian Greydragon @Elijah Brockway @Oncaro

 

[Raydo]

Kaelen sat quietly for the majority of the flight to Phateem. The mood was somber as they had been dispatched to recover the body of the lost Jedi and anything she may have found on the accent Jedi world.

As an Initiate, he was not often sent on highly critical missions but this felt much more serious than anything he had been sent to before. He fridigited every now and then trying not to show his anxiousness. He listened as their mission breifing was repeated one last time before to arrived.

While his blindness prevented him from seeing the planet as they approached, he could feel the power to coursed through the entire planet. It seemed to hum softly in his senses. This place felt odd to Kaelen, it felt...old.

As the ship neared the ground, Kaelen tapped his foot relentlessly until they had touched down. He made his way down the ramp, his quarterstaff clanking on the metal ramp with every step.

 

[Gian Greydragon]

Sohsat sat, meditating in silence, on the Force, in preparation to the mission at hand. Sohsat could feel the vibrant aura of the Force on Phateem, as they broke into the world's atmosphere, and let out a satisfied sigh. Clasping his hands together, he looked over at the young initiate making his way off the ship. He stood up, paying mind to the lower ceilings, so as not to bang himself on the head with the roof of the ship as he made way off of the ship, walking freely of his staff, as he thought it would be too cumbersome for the flight. There was no real need for it. Instead he opted for his usual loadout of throwing weapons, and his saberstaff, as well as his later master's blue bladed curved hilt lightsaber.


@Elijah Brockway @Raydo @Oncaro @Vinny

 

[Oncaro]

Dea, like her compatriots, spent much of her time during the trip meditating to attune herself to the Force; and like them was keenly aware of the power of the Force on Phateem. She enjoyed lush, beautiful worlds, and enjoyed spelunking to find lost knowledge even more, which was why she had come along. But the attitude of the party in the transport was somber-- this was not a mission for fun, but one of importance to the Jedi Order, as whatever knowledge had been found was such that the Sith could not be allowed to discover it.

And so she stood, clad in her simple Jedi robes, and put a hand on Senari's shoulder, giving it a supportive squeeze before following Sohsat and Kaelen off the ship and onto the planet, blinking in the sunlight. All she possessed to defend herself was her lightsaber and the Force. It had always proven adequate before, and it would continue now.

@Raydo
@Elijah Brockway
@Gian Greydragon

 

[Elijah Brockway]

Unlike his three companions, Senari had not passed the trip in simple meditation; at least, not of the sort that the others did. Despite his general ability to present a calm and patient appearance, the Tarisian Jedi had never been comfortable sitting and thinking for hours on end - so he had quietly moved to a different room on the ship, and decided to undertake his own sort of moving mediation. Hoping that the sounds of his feet upon the floor and his humming lightsaber weren't disturbing any of the others, he progressed through some simple single-person velocity drills, exercises he'd practiced since he was a Padawan; by now, his form when practicing them was perfect, and it was merely something he did to pass the time and free up his mind for thought.

By the time they'd landed he'd worked up quite a sweat, having progressed far enough that even his old master would've tried to stop him, for fear of Senari losing a limb accidentally...and most definitely fast enough that it wouldn't be safe to work in a two-person drill. Feeling the shudder go through the ship as it landed he made his way to the landing ramp, falling into place beside Dea, behind the other two with them. He didn't know either of them particularly well, beyond the basics; Sohsat Vittoric was a knight in his own right, having fought the Sith and their minions in the past and come out the better for it, while Kaelen Var was an initiate who, after an older Jedi Knight had died to try and preserve the knowledge they sought, likely shouldn't be around, in Senari's likely-overprotective opinion.

Dea had already seen fit to tell him that he should keep such thoughts to himself, however.

He made it off the ship last, M3-G4 - who Senari had brought along, regardless of whether or not he was supposed to - closing the shuttle's ramp behind them. For his part, Senari quickly scanned the horizon with his eyes, finding nothing particularly interesting to look at. "Well, you all feel the same thing I do, right?" he asked the group, breaking the silence that had fallen over them while also pointing in a generally-northeasterly direction. "I vote we start looking over there. Seems like the most likely place, so far."

 

[Vinny]

STORYTELLER​

The open plains stretching out beyond the landing zone seemed to go on forever. Interspersed among the open grass the foliage grew thicker as progress continued. Small hills and cliffs broke up the monotony and served to clarify why the landing site was so far away from the target zone. Eventually, the open grass is engulfed completely, grassland giving away to thick forest and brush. Trees with wide tops filled with thick leaves prevent allow only narrow streams of light through to the forest floor below.

Spoiler: Terrain

Walking is not difficult, but every now and then a heavy line of brambles blocks the path.

Spoiler: The Force

Numerous small life forms gather near the edge of your perceptions, always trying to stay out of sight. Inspecting the life forms finds small rodent-like creatures with small eyes and a pair of tiny appendages. One appears to be for grasping and the other for digging.

Spoiler: The March

The trip through the trees is not overly difficult, but it is time-consuming. Arrival at the temple takes over an hour of walking.

You have a moment to talk amongst yourselves as you move toward your destination.

@Raydo @Gian Greydragon @Elijah Brockway @Oncaro

 

[Raydo]

Kaelen usually had no difficulty using the Force to be able to navigate as he moved about, but this place they were heading was somewhat different. The abundance of Force Energy made navigating like walking while looking into a bright light.

He focused on the terrain just in front of him, using his staff to steady him as they moved through the occasional thicket or cluster of vegetation.

The group of Jedi had remained largely silent throughout the trip. Kaelen broke the silence after they had walked for a bit. "What do you think is in this library?" he asked quietly. He wasn't sure why he spoke that quietly, something about this mission and this place gave him the creeps.

 

[Gian Greydragon]

Sohsat stuck close to his comrades, keeping a vigilant mind's eye on his surroundings. "I am in agreement with Senari. I think we'll find what we're looking for, that way. As for what is in the library, I would be lying if I said I had any idea. Only one way to find out, yeah?" he said, in response to his two compatriots. Situating his vest, Sohsat took up the front of the pack, using his great height to see across the plains, much farther than a baseline humanoid.

"Whatever be in this temple, it must be important, for Lord Valen to deem it worth three Knights' time, and ship fuel." he said, looking back at his partners. His stomach was still churning slightly from the flight, though he didn't act upon it, and suppressed it for the sake of the mission, and soldiered forward.

(Sorry for the crap post, I didn't want to hold this up any longer.)
@Vinny @Elijah Brockway @Raydo @Oncaro

 

[Oncaro]

Dea, for her part, stayed closer to Senari than her other two compatriots. Sharing the same living space for the past five years had given her a level of comfort with her old friend that she didn't often feel around other Jedi anymore. She remained silent as they walked, before looking to Kaelen.

"To be honest this sort of thing reminds me of my Padawan days," she said. "My Master would take me to out-of-the-way planets where lost knowledge could be found, and it was always very enjoyable for me. This, though... I just wish the circumstances were better."

(Sorry for my own shit post, I actually didn't know this had been posted in until a few days ago because the alert got buried under a bunch of other ones.)

@Raydo @Gian Greydragon @Elijah Brockway

 

[Elijah Brockway]

"And lost knowledge is probably the best answer to your question, Kaelen," Senari said shortly after Dea finished talking. "Or maybe it's all just copies of stuff we had in other libraries and we all already know it, and the other Jedi who first found this place just got lucky with the book she opened up. That'd be quite the fun joke played on us by the Force, wouldn't it?" With that mildly-silly comment hanging in the air, Sen kept walking forwards, trusting the Force more than anything else to guide him. While he couldn't see with it like Kaelen could, he still found the strength of the presence they were walking towards was giving him a headache; it was far from his favourite sensation, essentially having to rely on the direction of the mental throbbing to guide him where he wanted to go.

"Anybody else wish that places where Jedi decided to congregate wouldn't absorb all the excess energy?"