Ask Wrong Star Show

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn could honestly say that neither as a Jedi or as Sith had he ever been on a mission quite like this one before. The Raider-Class Corvette known as the Intrepid had been placed loosely under his command for an exploration mission into the Unknown Region.

Mapping star charts and finding new civilizations was apparently something the Empire had a use for, and it had fallen to Varyn and his partner to see it through. He hadn't worked with the Acolyte named "Wodan" before, but he had high hopes for the other man. So far, most of the Acolytes he had met were of good quality, and he hoped the same would be true of his partner on this operation.

The Intrepid wasn't carrying nearly its full complement of passengers, but those it was carrying were a mix of scientists, linguists, historians, navigators, and a slew of others that could help with the assignment if they met a new civilization or ancient... things. Of course, there was a small contingent of soldiers in addition to the Sith, but hopefully they wouldn't be needed.

Dressed in his IAC armor with his helmet strapped to his belt, Varyn stood on the bridge and watched as the ship left dock. Honestly, Varyn barely felt like he knew what he was doing, but he was just trying to keep that under wraps as they pulled away.

The stars turned from pinpricks into streaks as they leapt toward the edge of known space, a feeling of excitement welling in his belly nonetheless.

 

[Wodan]

It was different, but a break from the norm was welcomed by the young Acolyte. To many of his forays outside of the confines of his small room in the Korriban academy were full of death and destruction. The rather relaxed mission of supervising an exploratory mission into the Unknown Regions was a moment for Wodan to at least emotionally unwind from the constant pressure of being a Sith.

Wodan felt the shift in the ship as he passed from normal space to Lightspeed. Stepping through the large doors at the back of the bridge, the glow of hyperspace lit up the room. Varyn Atrix, was the commander of the mission, an accomplished Sith Champion, Wodan had found a few details on the man’s success throughout the Empire and it was a relief to once again serve with a competent person.

Stepping up next to him, the Acolyte wore his own Imperial Assault Armour similar to the Champion. Giving him a slight bow of the head before he spoke. “We have completed all security checks, to the best of our ability none seem to be infected by the Killik menace.” They had been shown a crude method of reading someone's mind, apparently if they were joined you could feel it through The Force. Little did the Acolyte know this was just a PR tactic passed down to help ease the fears of the rank and file.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn glanced back as the other Sith made it to the bridge. There wasn't much to see out the viewport anymore as they traveled through the warbled swirl of light that was hyperspace, so he turned his attention fully to the other man.

Wodan, he reminded himself, ever-terrible with names. Good, we're under way so hopefully this will all go smoothly, he said. Yes, he knew the words were bad luck, but he'd said them anyway.

He headed over to the tactical display and pulled up what little was mapped of the star systems out here. While the Unknown Region was unknown, it wasn't without any information available.

I planned to jump us here first, he said, pointing to a region with a star system that - from reports - should be inhabitable. See if there are any locals there or resources the Empire might be able to make use of before continuing onward, he said.

 

[Wodan]

Wodan glanced slightly at the bright blue glow of Hyperspace when Varyn ‘confirmed’ they were underway. “Indeed, smooth sailing is preferred.” He replied before following the older man over to the tactical board.

The star system in question had some basic information from a probe droid, six planets, one confirmed habitable for most mammalian races, a further planet possibly inhabitable by more hardy species. Both had interesting resource maps from early scans but nothing concrete, it could be Durairon or it could be flint, it was hard to tell from a flyby probe.

“And if we find both locals and resources sir? Do we have any command from up high on what should happen if both should appear in the same world?” It was not above the Sith Empire to just wipe out the inhabitants of the planet and take what they wanted, but the Empire as of late was trying to appear benovellient and just in Galactic politics, to perhaps genocide was not a good picture.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

That was the key question, wasn't it? What if there were locals? The answer was complicated because of the many, many variable that it could wrap up in it.

That'll depend on the nature of the locals. Bringing them into the Empire would be ideal. Hostility will be met with hostility, but we're not really in a position for a full scale war, he said. Their ship only housed a platoon or so of men, and they were not a full warship, per se.

Most likely, we'll make contact, see how things go, and report back to Command. Then they'll decide what to do from there, he said with a shrug. It was ultimately above either of their paygrades.

So, Wodan, how'd you end up on this assignment? he asked. Varyn ultimately had to admit that it was a bit of a cool job. Mapping the Unknown Region was no small feat and it was something that few could really say they had done. It wasn't some small, backwater station, which was certainly nice. For once, he had one of the "flashy" jobs.

The thought occurred to him that he shouldn't have ben having a thought like that, but that was a Jedi thought. If he was going to take a climb in the Sith, he needed pride in his work and confidence.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

That was a political answer that's for sure. Varyn had a pretty sensible head on his shoulders, which was comforting for the young Acolyte. It was also comforting to know they weren’t going to resort to genocide at the first sign of resistance from any inhabitants of the aforementioned planets.

“The masters at the academy wanted a little more than just shooting rebels on my resume I think.” Although he had been in the Sith a short time, he was rising relatively quickly and the rung of a Champion wasn’t too far away from his reach. But shooting rebels and failed invasions was not the complete package those in the higher ups wanted to see from their prospective Warrior Elite.

“Although it is nice, not to be covered in dirt and blood within the first few minutes of an assignment. How about yourself? Did you pick this mission to lead?”

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

What academy are you from? he asked. It wasn't so long ago that Varyn had been an acolyte as well. It wasn't something he was particularly fond of and it was nice to have moved up in the ranks if ever so slightly.

Somewhat. It's part of my command training at the military academy, he said. He'd been gearing himself toward the route of a military leader for some time now, and to do that he required some actual officer and command training. Too many Sith just assumed they knew what they were doing because they were Sith, but that was woefully untrue.

You never stop learning, he said. He really didn't have any idea what kind of person Wodan was yet - whether egotistical or capable of learning - but the statement should be true either way.

How's your piloting? he asked. The hangar had been outfitted with some fighters to support their mission, and it may well come down to the two of them to do the forward scouting. Or rather, Varyn should have said he was going to do the forward scouting and Wodan was welcome to come along as well.

I'll probably scout the system when we come out of hyperspace in one of the fighters while the Intrepid does some scanning, he said. His own piloting was... fine. It wasn't his strength, but he was passable. Though Vahl thought he drove like a wuss, but she was a little insane behind the yoke, so he took that with a grain of salt.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

“Korrbian.” He replied, a short while ago it was deemed as one of the more prestigious academies, but after the Killik invasion of the planet it seemed to have lost some of its shine in the eyes of the rest of the Empire. The fact that anyone could now be a traitor cut dangerous lines straight through the Empire at every tone.

“I spent some time in the academy on Ziost as well. Did you have Shahlaei as your instructor?” Wodan had followed Altair’s footsteps and enrolled with the Ziost academy after the disaster on Atravis. The skills he had learned on that cold little rock had helped strengthen him in the days and months since, the nightmares were still there, but he got the freezing under control.

“Non-existent I am afraid.” He forced himself to be humble before his superior. But if he was honest the Firrerrian Noble preferred being the driven than driving himself, both on the surface and in space. “I can man the bridge whilst you scout ahead if you wish?”

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Dromuund Kaas, not Ziost, he said. His resume hadn't been prestigious enough to get into the Ziost academy, but he tried not to let it bother him too much. The fact that he had finished out his training at the Taris academy after the "death of his master" probably didn't help his odds either.

He wondered if Wodan - attender of both Korriban and Ziost - would look down on him with that snotty attitude so many of them did. Little judgmental, aren't we Varyn? Bitter much? he caught himself, mentally rolling his eyes for doing precisely what he was annoyed with someone else for potentially doing. Nice, idiot.

Oh, he said, surprised at the revelation that the other man didn't know how to fly, but shrugging after a moment. Okay, well, that's fine, he said, biting back the urge to comment that it might be a useful skill to pick up. Despite being genuine, he doubted it would be received well and his goal wasn't to be rude.

We'll figure something out, he said reassuringly. He glanced back, seeing that they had already dropped out of hyperspace with the first planet in view.

We can have the fighter pilots do the scouting. We can land on the surface, he said, looking down at what looked to be a lush world before one of the officers spoke up.

Sirs, it looks like gravity down there is in flux. Portions of the planet seem to have... floating mountains? Or perhaps some other structures. It's quite unusual, the man said, and it piqued Varyn's interest.

Worth a look, he said.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan had heard a number of ‘interesting’ things about the Dromuund Kaas recruits, perhaps some he should not mention in front of the Champion, less he get the wrong idea and try and space the Firrerrian. The older man didn't look too pleased about Wodan’s inability to pilot a fighter craft. But the Acolyte didn’t feel the need to rush out and get his learner's permit.

A small shift in the ship signalled they were coming to the end of their travels, it was quickly confirmed as the blue glow of Hyperspace inside the bridge disappeared. The internal light brightened slightly to counteract the darkness of space beyond. As one of the officers reported the strange findings on the planet, Wodan couldn’t deny he was intrigued to see the sight.

“I agree. Prepare a shuttle.” He commanded turning to one of the officers on the bridge. “After you.” He gestured moving towards the back of the bridge where the elevators would take them down into the bowels of the ship where they could reach the hangar.

“I haven’t heard of any phenomena like this before. Have you?” He asked as they exited the doors into the hanger and began boarding the small shuttle craft.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn took one more look at the readouts and the display with curiosity before slipping his helmet on and turning to head down toward the hangar as well. There was a hint of excitement in his gut as they boarded the shuttle and it began to take off.

I'm not sure. That'd be a good question for our geologists and scientists, he said, opening up a shared comlink to the science bay.

Dr. Pawlo, can you tell us anything about what we're walking into down there? he asked.

We've seen theoretical configurations like this before in the proper setting with magnetism, but it's not common, the woman said. She then launched on to a very, very high level explanation that mostly went over Varyn's head and was absolutely not at the level of a non-PhD.

Thank you, doctor, we'll keep you updated, he said hanging up before looking over at Wodan and shrugging.

I guess magnetism things, he said, actually snickering.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

The shuttle shook as it lifted off from the ship and made its way through the ray shield. Wodan, like Varyn, had no idea what Dr. Pawlo was going on about as she tried to explain what might be happening on the planet's surface. He understood a few of the words she used but even trying to make sense of it all made his head hurt.

He gave the Champion a little chuckle back as they began to hit the atmosphere of the planet. The rough ride as the planet's air collided with the shuttles hull flet normal to the Acolyte, having spent a number of the last few months heading in and out of planets ona regular occurrence for the Imperial Military. But normality quickly disappeared as the shuttle was yanked to the side almost at a right angle to its descent, slamming Wodan into the side of the restraint almost knocking him senseless.

The violent jolt pulled heavily on the airframe, the moan of metal under duress filled the cabin he and Varyn were in. His dazed eyes tried to concentrate on the source of the sound but came up wanting. “Commander Atrix…” The pilot’s comms were cut off as they were once again yanked to the side, the ‘magnetism’ of the planet pulling them in all different directions. It was a matter of time before either the shuttle’s airframe was pulled in two or they all seemingly passed out from the extreme changes in G force.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

They started descending, and Varyn had never really been a fan of this part. He had no control over what happened to him, just puttingh is faith entirely in the pilot at the helm of the ship, and that just... was unpleasant.

When they started hitting massive turbulence, though, things got even worse. His gut dropped, and it was all he could do to maintain his own composure. He heard the pilot saying his name, but he had no idea what he was supposed to do about it.

Put us down... wherever you can, he said, voice straining under the pressure being put on his body.

He was just hoping they weren't going to crash and would actually manage a semi-controlled landing. That would have been a gracious term for it. Varyn was only barely managing to keep his consciousness when he felt the ship impact the ground. It wasn't a fiery explosion, but lets just say that the landing was going to scratch the paint.

He could feel them scraping along the ground and he was thrown against his restraints hard enough that he was sure he'd have had bruises if it weren't laying directly across armor. Even so, his head slammed back against the rest behind him and they continued grinding along the ground before finally coming to a stop.

Varyn let out a groan and looked around to see if anything was on fire or anyone was dead. Thankfully, the answer to both was "no" so far.

Is everyone alright? he groaned, unstrapping himself from the seat and slowly pushing to his feet.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Another violent jolt sent Wodan’s head crashing into the side of the restraint. He would be lucky to make it out of here without a concussion, he raised his arm to try and help brace himself against the next blow. But that was a mistake, his arm was slightly twisted against the restraint and as the shuttle landed/crashed into the ground.

Wodan heard the snap more than felt the break, his arm went limp falling down to the side. Holding his breath to brace against the remaining shockwaves as they slid to a halt, he bit down hard on his back teeth trying to suppress the scream that was welling up inside.

Finally the chaos of the landing came to a standstill, lights were flashing inside the shuttle. An alarm could be heard coming from the cockpit to his right, along with a large amount of hissing from every side of the ship.

Varyn’s comment seemed to bring on a fresh wave of pain, forcing the Firrerrian to scream out in reply. “Fuck!” Flipping the button to his side to release his restraints, he stumbled to his feet, right hand clutching the broken left arm. Looking over at the Sith Champion, his eyes were shot with pain and anger at the broken limb. “Arms definitely broken, I heard it snap. Can you check on the pilots? I need some air.”

Wodan needed out of the cramped compartment, fresh air would clear his clouded and battered mind. He wasn’t too worried about the broken limb, in time his physiology would work itself out. He just needed to splint it, but first he wanted a breath of fresh air and to see what hellscape they had crash landed on.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn got to his feet and then stumbled a moment, bracing himself against the bulkhead as he looked back to Wodan. He could see the irregular bend in the acolyte's arm and winced slightly, blinking his eyes several times to clear his head. Did he have a concussion? He couldn't afford to have a concussions right now.

Get some air, he agreed, stumbling over to the pilot's area. Mercifully, they were still alive as well, though also in bad shape. The Champion slashed open the viewport and began hauling them out the front, getting the first glimpse of the planet on which they had landed.

In the distance, he could see stones floating in the air, but beyond that, he could see what looked like something mechanical or electronic on the pieces. He squinted and then triggered the zoom feature on his visor. It confirmed that it was, in fact, mechanical, though exactly what, he couldn't tell.

He took several steps forward, heading over to where Wodan had made his exit before grabbing at his side and wincing. Every time he took a breath it hurt, but he pressed on nonetheless.

How you doing? he asked Wodan, mentally preparing to set the acolyte's arm if need be... though that would be far worse for Wodan than Varyn, of course.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Moving slowly towards the back of the shuttle, he cradled his broken arm against his body as his right arm searched for the emergency release for the rear door. Finding the bright red lever he gave it a yank forcing the hydraulics to activate peeling back the door and allowing him his first breath of the planet's air. It tasted heavy and metallic, like the air was filled with tiny amounts of iron.

A small medkit was near the exit, Wodan grabbed the orange box as he stepped out of the shuttle. Stumbling a few metres away he found a small rock he could place the med kit on. Opening the box with one hand he found a splint, bandages and some pain medication. Grabbing the micro-injector he shot his arm full of the painkiller, before he grabbed left wrist with his right hand. A quick yank, another pop as the bone slid away from itself for a second before resting back in its place. Wodan let out a short scream as the pain rushed through him, the medication only taking little off the edge.

Varyn arrived just after, turning to face the man he held up the arm, a small metal bar resting on the inside of forearm. “If you could help tie the splint that would be great.” A bundle of bandages was next to the box ready to be used. Whether or not Varyn helped he would talk as the arm was secured. “Pain killers are taking a while to kick in, otherwise I’m ok. Firrerrian blood doesn't just give us our good looks.” He finished the line through gritted teeth as the bandage tightened around the breakpoint.

Once his arm was secured he would look up at the floating stones in the distance. “I am assuming that’s got something to do with why we came down? Magnetism wasn’t it?”

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn rounded the corner just in time to hear the cry of pain and see the bone slide back into place. He winced behind his helmet, but pressed on, immediately obliging and taking splint in hand in order to wrap things up.

Ah yes, Firrerre, he said, with an understanding nod. Surprised you're in the Sith, he couldn't help commenting. It was odd... the deeper he'd gone into the Sith and the more he committed to them, the less wary he was of voicing his actual opinion. Maybe it was the fact that he wasn't just playing at being Sith anymore.

Yeah, that's what they said, but I could also see something mechanical out there on them. Don't know if it's repulsors or some giant magnets or what, he said. Need to radio back to the ship and get the doctors' eyes on it, probably, he said as he finished wrapping up the arm.

This is Champion Atrix to the Intrepid, our ship is down on the surface and we have wounded, he said.

We need scans of the area. Safe routes for our retrieval, scans for lifeforms, anything of use to the ground team. I see mechanical generators or something down here. It's safe to assume we're not alone planetside, he said. He knew those things would take time, but at least they could start working on it while Varyn poked around or... something.

How long does it take your bones to heal? he asked Wodan after hanging up the comm call.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Wodan rolled his eyes at the comment, if he had a credit for every time he had been asked why he joined the Sith he would be able to buy himself the Supreme Chancellorship from that posh prick Alexander Xerxes. “Red suits me.” He replied back with a smile which easily did not reach his eyes. If Varyn pursued the question further he wouldn’t get anything more from the Firrerrian.

He squinted into the distance to see if he could spot the ‘Mechanical’ object Varyn mentioned, but even his excellent eyes could not see miles into the distance. The wrapping was finished and Wodan flexed his hand to see how it was holding up, the pain killers were slowly taking hold but it still ached like a bitch.

“We…he.r…Com….r.Atrix. .. have …. …. to pin-.... your lo……, the Magnetism .. the area .. …… with … sensors and .. … concerned …. sending … more shuttles down. We …. located a …. near .. … which is … affect.. by the pheno…., we …. be …. to extract … from ….. .. … …. soldiers to …… and extraction.

.. can’t …. up … lifesigns …... the magnet…, but …. .. . large power ….. ……. at …. location. We advise …… looking …… into this …. we … get more ……… on the pneumonia …… this planet.” Static filled conversation filled both his and Varyn’s ear pieces, as two locations appeared on the holo-maps embedded into their suits. With a janky press of a button on his right wrist, the holo-map shot out from his suit onto the stones next to the Med Kit.

“I should be able to remove the splint by the end of the day. Fully back by end of tomorrow.” He replied whilst looking down at the map. Out of the two locations pinged, one was towards the way they came in, the other lay towards the setting sun. “So which one?”

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn grunted at his response, but now wasn't the time to press the issue. They were in too serious of a situation, and his mind was swept away to the sounds on the radio. He could only pick up bits here and there, and most of it was... not very useful.

The map at least had two locations displayed on it, though what exactly they were was a big mystery. He continued to stare at them for a moment, reaching into the Force in an attempt to gain any intuition of where they should be going.

That's a neat trick, he said as Wodan mentioned that he would be healed within a day. Convenient indeed, and Varyn found himself almost wishing he were a Firrerreo as well. That caused another thought to come to mind: if a Firrerreo could join the Empire, that was probably saying something about the Empire.

We should head to the far point. Maybe we can find out what's causing this disturbance. We can send the pilots back to the other one. That's more likely to be an extract point, he said.

You good to travel? he asked, standing and taking in their situation again. He couldn't quite shake the feeling that they weren't alone. Maybe they were being watched or maybe it was something else, but it just wouldn't go away and his head swept slowly over the area, but he spotted... nothing.

Still, as he looked out at the horizon, he finally took a moment to marvel at what he saw. The planet was absolutely gorgeous. Strikingly so, and he wondered if anyone from the Republic, Empire, ISC, or FWA had ever laid eyes on it before.

You know, we might be the first off-worlders to lay eyes on this place in history, he said, the statement causing even a bit more of that excitement to appear within him. It was the explorer's thrill.

@Braden

 

[Wodan]

Varyn’s plan to split up seemed to make sense, though he hoped the Champion had the points the right way around. Otherwise they might be sipping on Green Tea whilst the Pilots get ravished by whatever predators exist on the planet. “Yea moving will keep my mind off the pain.” He replied picking up what was left off the med kit and shutting the case. His physiology was robust, though he doubted Varyn’s was the same and considering how hostile the planet was already they could use all the help they could get.

“Or at least the first to survive.” He replied with a chuckle. The pair gave the pilots their orders as well as the information on the ‘extraction’ point. Before bidding them farewell. “We blowing this thing?” He asked, pointing at the ship, the usual protocol was to destroy any craft which crashed just encase it fell into enemy hands. Granted Wodan doubted there were many ‘enemies’ on the planet, but he thought to ask just encase.

Once they had resolved the situation with the shuttle, the pair began to make their way down the small hill they had used as their landing pad. The foliage surrounding them was strange to say the least, most of the branches and trunks spiralled, possibly from the extreme Magnetism of the planet. “So if we get off here, what are we calling the place, Varynton?”

@Phoenix