Crashed. Forever? [OPEN]

[Dalton]

Koth awoke to the sound of rainfall spanking the top of his transporter. What was left of it at any rate. Yes, two crashed ships not longer than a month apart from each other. Yet this one was pilot error, Koth's to be exact. He had entered the wrong coordinates into the auto-pilot and drifted into a deep sleep. The ship had passed through the planet's thick atmosphere with ease and plunged into a shallow pool of water gathering under giant tree trunks. Moonlight was bouncing off the cockpit screen and the water below the ship. That was all he could see at the moment, the ship was damaged-beyond-repair, but he had came out of this one a lot better than the previous crash. Maybe one day he could land without destroying the cruiser.

He shook headache off and rubbed his shoulder, the crash jarred him up pretty good and awoke the pain of his old injury. He had taken excellent care of the wound, not wanting to harm his fighting abilities, but the crash had ripped open some of the scar tissue on his right shoulder. He would tend to that later. Now he had to get out of the ship and try to find some way to contact someone. Anyone, but who? He didn't have any alliances nor friends. Maybe he could find a city or village nearby. "Obtain" another ship and be back on his way.

He undid his harness and popped open the cockpit door, the hissing sound rang throughout the abandoned forest. He crawled out of the ship, noticing a strong sense of gravity on the planet. A great deal more than he was use too, good thing he was exceptionally strong with all the cardio and strenght training he did in his youth. He swam through the marsh, giant deciduous trees surrounding the small body of water led Koth to believe that maybe he was in the middle of some old forest. The water was freezing. It had to be almost at freezing temperatures. The cool water splashing on his face as he swam felt marvelous on his shoulder. The smell of blood dissipating with the water. The precipitation on the planet was amazingly high, you could almost feel and taste the water. You could certainly see it in the form of a dense fog hovering above the marshland. This was certainly different that then of his almost inhospitable home planet of Iridonia.

He crawled onto the bank of land and laid on his, he was a little weary of this new world and didn't even know exactly where he was. He was in the far outer reaches of the galaxy, on a heavily precipitated planet. Other than that who knows. He looked his shoulder over again, a small amount of blood pouring out of it at a time. He decided to bandage it up, it'd be no use to him if it got infected. He ripped a small portion of robe off from his sleeve and wrapped it around his shoulder, tying it up good and snug. "Now where is that damned thing." Koth began searching the sash around his waist for his saber. Hopefully he didn't lose it in the swim, he didn't. It wasn't on the sash however, but laying on the bank above the shoreline. It must've slipped out while he was crawling up the bank. He gently gestured his hand toward him and the saber floated gracefully through the air, landing in Koth's hand.

Saber safely in hand he laid back, hid his eyes beneath their lids and tried to focus out the sheering cold as he began to rest for a moment. He hated crashing, it always took a toll on him. But hey, it would on anyone. As the minutes went by his strenght was gradually regained, but his peaceful nap was interrupted when he heard a tree limb snap in the distance. He elegantly jumped up with his light saber in hand, turned on, and in a defensive stance. He couldn't make out exactly what it was in the tree lines surrounding the cold, wet marsh but it seemed massive. He could make out a white, reflective being. Cat or dog like, walking on four legs. That's all Koth's eyes could make out before the animal make a roaring sound and pounced onto Koth pinning him down to the ground.

It was a massive cat-like animal, almost 6 feet long and about waist high to Koth. It's sleek white pelt gave the faint appearance of steel as the moonlight bounced off of it. The giant green eyes seemed to charm Koth for he had a sweet spot for carnivorous animals, well as long as they weren't bigger than him and trying to maul him. He had to kill this beautiful creature, so he was going to make it quick. Before the animal could take a chunk of his head off Koth twisted his wrist and brought the saber into the cat's underbelly. Ripping all the way from the tail to the neck, ending the battle before it could truly begin. It fell limp on top of Koth, causing his saber to push further through the animal.

He rolled the giant beast off of him, retracted the laser in his saber and reattached it to his sash. The smell of his should must've caught wind and gave this hungry beast a good tease before leading it to Koth. Since his wound was now covered and the saber sealed off all wounds to the beast he should be safe, for now. This planet was even more hostile than Koth imagined. Sheering cold, deadly animals, and who knows what else. He was going to have to play it smart and safe if he wanted to survive this one. He rook off his soaking wet robes, they appeared to be already starting to freeze in the cold, moonlight and he started to cuddle up inside the beast's stomach. The warm insides feeling a lot better than the cold, wet robes. He decided to sleep with lightsaber in hand, at the ready just in case another beast was lurking close to the cruiser's wreck site. He again closed his eyes and began to drift off into a light slumber.

[Foxfire]

For the tenth time Cho checked his quardinates. Again it told him the same thing that he was in the middle of no where. Hissing at his controls of the ship he knew he was going to gut some one when he gets back to the temple. For quiet a bit of time he wondered why there was a droid in his ship when he asked for a simple trip to search out a route to the core via another way.

What ended up was that a few of the Sith at the temple messed with a droid to alter his flight paths and Nav markers. Giving him a one way trip to nowhere. Now running low on supplies he was going to be forced to land and take on water and food. He did not need fuel with his solor sailing interstelar sloop. Drawing the sail in with minamal power he set his quardinates for a patch of ground that looked recently cleared and teaming with life. After all the hunter in him was very hungry for fresh meat.

Finding the landing zone and the ground firm enough to venture out on Cho Wroth walked into the canopy of the forest slogging through the muck. Stopping for a bit on a high bit of ground He stretched out his senses to feel what was nearest and easiest to kill. At the very fringe of his senses he felt a controled use of the force. It was tainted by the darkness but not as much as his was. Things like dark jedi or dark force hot spots often attracted higher predators in their wake. So knowing this Cho knew his day of hunting was going to get interesting.

Hidding his force signature with in the force Cho silently stalked forward. He moved so quietly that a deer-like creature did not hear the foot steps of it's own death coming. A quick strike of a doubled bladed Khabac and it went down with only the sound of a thud being it's only noise. Gutting the creature Cho tied a cord around it's neck and hoisted it up into the canopy for his later return. Quietly washing the blood from his hands and his blade Cho moved closer to where he felt the force signature.

With in a hundred and fifty yards Cho could smell blood. The blood of a hunter animal and not of a Dark One. The cold was wrapping around every thing now. If it had not been for Cho's noghri training the weater might make one search for a warm spot. As he scanned the area only visably seeing the down animal he then knew about where the dark one would be. So he picked up a fist sized rock and proceeded to hurl it towards the cat-like corpus. He would soon see if he was right and weither it had a ship he could strip for parts after gutting the dark one.

[Dalton]

Koth awoke from his slumber when a hard hit came crashing down onto the cat's belly, rudely waking him up from his nap. The thick cat pelt and insides of the beast protected him from the hit, but whatever it was he didn't know. He decided it was best to crawl out from underneath his warm corpse and investigate.

He slowly made his way out from within his kill, the stench was unbearable and started to water the Zabrak's eyes. The rain had stopped and an eerie silence had crept over the land, it was unsettling to say the least. Koth's feeling was uneasiness was only worsened when he noticed a large, fist sized rock on top of the cat corpse. It was much too large for the wind to merely whisk it up in the air and it fall on top of Koth and his make shift hut. He squatted down next to the rock and began to man handle it in his hand, thinking to himself.

"Someone, or something, threw this at me. Who, though?"

Continuing to eyeball and handle the rock he felt... Something. It was the presence of another Force user. It was ever so faint and he felt the dark aurora for mere moments before it disappeared. Whoever it was had masked their Force presence and, by luck, Koth had managed to break through the shield and get a small whiff of their energies.

It was dark, a lot darker than even Koth. Perhaps it was a Sith? Or maybe just an extremely evil Dark Jedi like himself. All this pondering would soon be answered when he heard a small twig snap a couple dozen yards off. He quickly snapped his head so that he was facing in the direction of where the sound had originated. He was going to let his next attacker get the jump on him like the giant cat hours earlier. Though he didn't need another fight on his hands if it wasn't necessary, because he was marooned on this planet with no radio or ship.

"I felt and heard you. Show yourself."

He slowly stood up and began to creep towards the sound, hand underneath his robe and gently gripping his saber. He was ready for an attack, but wasn't going to force one if it wasn't needed.

[Foxfire]

The sound of the snap came from very near him. Another of the cat thinges was stalking closer to the corpus. It had gave away the location of the noghri and it would pay quickly and quietly. A quiet hiss came from Cho. A lighting flash of an attack came from the cat as it jumped into the air toward him. The attack was beautiful to watch. The arching back the claws extending, fangs showing, the neck snapping to one side....... well it would have been great if Cho let it go on but he was not in a mood to be bothered.

With the cat corpus hanging in the air Cho rose from his covered bush a few yards to the left of the creature. Cho walked away fromt the creature till he was about fifty feet from it then dropped it with a soggy splat.

Blasted beast, to focused of what was ahead of me. Won't let that happen again.

Walking half the distance Cho stopped on another patch of solid ground.

Well what do we have here a soggy Jedi? Long way from anywhere are you not.

Cho had fights before a testing of strength. Well most of the days at the temple was that way but Cho knew that out here it's not always that way.

His sabers were not hanging from his belt but were in pockets that were made in his leggins. So he looked as if he was weaponless. He liked it that way for the most part. If an enemy thought you were with out weapons then they would be off guard toward you making a first strike. Yet most were not Force users and could see you as no other. Cho took a open gated stance with his left leg forward. Waiting for the other force user to show himself clearer.

[Dalton]

All was quiet for a few more seconds, perhaps what he felt was the Dark Force radiating off one of the abandoned temples that plagued this planet. Temples would not, however, move and cause noise so someone or something was stalking him. It could be another large cat, smelling some of the blood of his wound. He didn't mind observing another large predator in action, it was one of his few hobbies that didn't involve women or drinking.

Another sound was heard, this time about it was much louder, but in the same general area of where he heard the twigs breaking just moments earlier. It sounded as if something had fallen hard to the ground, perhaps whatever it was had leaped to the ground from a branch up in a tree. Koth wasn't going to take any chances, every moment on this planet seemed to be dangerous. Everything had wanted him dead it seemed.

"Lets scare you out, you little bugger."

He closed his eyes and raised his hands in the direction of where he heard both sounds, pushing a massive flow of Force with as much power as he could muster. Trees shook and swayed, but nothing moved toward or away from his Force Push. This was odd, maybe whatever had caused the noise was somewhere else. Maybe a larger, more cunning predator was stalking the Zabrak. Toying with might be a more appropriate term for the situation it would seem.

The more sounds attracted his gaze to the right, sounds of footsteps walking closer to him. He whipped out his saber from underneath his robe and held it, his eyes fixating on a humanoid silhouette in the distance. Exactly who or what wasn't clear, but he wasn't going to go running up on whoever it was. This planet had proved far too unforgiving to act incautiously.

"You there, I see you. You come for blood or for something happier? I have a large cat over here if you want to cook up a stew or something."

He couldn't help but to smirk at his own rhetorical remark. He always had to say something stupid and sarcastic, it was his nature. When he shut up and didn't talk, then that's when something was wrong.

Waiting on his potential foe to react wasn't exactly the best time to grin or crack jokes, so he straightened up his posture and cleared his mind. He was waiting, and ready, for anything.

[Foxfire]

And there it was the words of a condicending dark jedi. Only those who are not worried about ticking off the wrong being would ever be anything but a dark jedi or a sith with the balls to take on and kill all that would apose him. Cho was finding that the later was him but he was slowly remolding himself into some thing more.

Honog, small prey, I am Honog of the Sith and you have found yourself will more than you will ever be able to handle. For the predators around here just want your flesh, . . . . but I want some thing more from you.

Cho walked closer to the dark jedi until he noticed the others drawn saber in it's hand. He smerked the thought of having a saber dual on this back water world might have been nice if the force user before him even felt like a challange. Slightly dropping back into the force to reach out he touched to see how dark if any was this one. The tones were dark but not by much which told him that this one was still young in the force.

Well well well. Are you afraid of me or is this how you greet all you meet for the fisrt time? Saber in hand...tisk tisk...you should find out first if the being you are speaking to has a weapon or is a weapon.

A wickedly evil grin grew on Cho's face as he lowered his head looking out the top portion of his eyes.

[Dalton]

"Well, if it wasn't for the fact that the first creature I met on this planet was a hungry predator then maybe I'd be a bit for friendly. Though, no reason we cannot be civil about this."

He held his saber out, unignited, then stuck it back into robes. Koth wasn't afraid of anyone, though he could feel the massive amounts of Dark Force radiating off of the being in front of him and he knew he wasn't a match for the Sith. To start a fight would be ridiculous and useless for many reasons on Koth's part. Mainly because he would, well to put it blatantly, die shortly into the duel and also because he needed a way off this desolate rock and perhaps he could find a ride with the Sith. Since he wasn't dead then it was obvious that this Honog needed something from Koth, so maybe if they worked together they both could escape Chinine alive.

"Nay, Honog, I am not afraid, but I sense you are a bit out of my fight spectrum. I am Koth, and I've been stranded on this miserable planet ever since I crashed my ship just hours before you arrived."

The Zabrak pointed over to his ruined ship, half sticking out of the small watery pond a few dozen yards away. There was no need to go into detail about how he wrecked, no need for the Sith to know about his obvious failures at piloting.

Most of his upper body was revealed, he'd ditched his wet and bloody robes before he'd crawled into the dead cat innards. Now with the cold rain turning into a slight drizzle of mixed snow and ice he he began to regret the decision. He couldn't change his decision now, his discarded robes were on the ground and were drenched in both water and blood. Koth would freeze to death if he put those wet, ruined robes back on. The Zabrak would have to do without them for the moment, the menacing Sith adjacent to him was his top priority at the moment. His motives were unknown to him at the moment and he couldn't let his guard down or else suffer the consequences of his decision.

"Now, why is it that you are on this planet? There is no form of humanoid life from what I can tell."

[Foxfire]

As Cho listened to the dark ones words he lifted his head. It looked like this one was wanting to simply get off this planet. Calming is emotions and clearing his mind he moved forward walking well to the right of the force user and toward the splash down of the recked ship. Sure enough a portion was sticking above the water line. Figuring that the other half would be either under water or the substance that one would call sludge.

Looking back over his shoulder Cho gave just enough infomation that the dark one would get the idea of him mapping new routes.

I ran low on food stuffs while I was mapping the lanes in the area. It is nice that your ship is here as well it will suit my refueling needs as well.

Closing his eyes and reaching into the darkness of the force Cho started to tap the power of the force. Gathering it around him then slowly reaching out to the ship he tied his force power to it. Gently he started to raise the ship hoping that it was still in more or less one piece. The hindering force of the sludge and it's size was making him mad for it was having a slow-go effect. Taking that rage and muttering a Rakata chant of renewal Cho was able to draw on more force power and the primal side of the force.

The ship groaned as it rose into the air and Cho's breath came in short breaths until it cleared the sludge. Opening his eyes which were aglow with force power that made them glow red he took a deep breath and pulled the ship forward toward them to come to a rest on some what solid ground.

Looking back at the dark one Cho said.....

Do you know where your fuel cells are? If you do them go get them and don't make me wait.

Cho heaved a sighing breath as he allowed himself to rest. The force flowed away from him but the primal connection he led on to for a little while longer. One would never know when a dark one would renig on the truce that was not mentioned for fear that the younger would be out-classed.

[Dalton]

Koth didn't want a fight on his hands, especially one that he couldn't hope to win, but he wasn't going to stand around and have orders barked at him like he was some laborer at a construction site. Also, he didn't like the fact that he was going to strip the Zabrak's ship of any useful parts without his consent. Sure he stole this ship from the Sith on Dantooine, but by Force it was still in his possession.

"You not only want to violate my ship without permission, but you order me to do it? You better check yourself."

The stubborn Iridonian walked over to his ship, now laying on the cold and wet earthen ground. Koth proceeded to climb up inside the craft, which for the most part was whole-fully intact, and rummaged through one of the side compartments until he found something wrapped in a reflective plastic. He stuck it inside his pants pocket and jumped out of the ship and walked over to where he was previously standing.

"Speaking of food stuffs, you reminded me I was hungry."

Koth pulled the item back out from his pants and unwrapped it. He didn't know exactly what it was, it was marked "food" and smelled and looked like a form of dry meat. Koth put the food up to his nose and smelled, it smelled alright to him, so he started to nibble on it. The taste wasn't the best, but it beat going hungry.

"Now, I'll help you maneuver back to where ever you need to go, but get the fuel cells yourself."

Koth wiped his mouth as he finished devouring the small portion of meat and tossed the wrapping on the ground.

[Foxfire]

Watching as the food was eaten and then the wrapper discarded upon the ground Cho felt his anger rise. When though this other force user refused and then told him to remove it himself it made a wicked smile grow on his face. With out a ward Cho entered the ship found the engine and the fuel cells. He also saw that it was going to take nearly all day to properly remove them. He removed his sabers that were hidden in the leggin pockets. Igniting them both he went to work cutting and gutting the ship.

To Cho's ears the sound of squeeling vapors and whining sparkings of the electrical consoles made for the beautiful sounds of a prey being gutted while it was still alive. It was almost pleasurable for him to hear and to work out the anger still bubbling under the surface of his cold features. Once the work was done he looked over his shoulder to find that the opening was a bit to small for the amount of hardware he had cut out. Shrugging his shoulders he turned one of the blades off and placed it back into it's pocket.

The pale rudy color of his blade was still sounding hungrily for more, and so he was going to give it more. Moving over to the hatch way he plunged the lit saber into the wall housing of the doorway and started to cut a bigger hole. Bit by bit he made the hole bigger on one side, until a two foot section fell away from the ship. As he walk from the ship he levitated the machinery through the doorway. Bringing it to a very firm spot he sat it down. Going back in he found a flat hover cart to move it so he did not have carry it all the way himself. Turning to the force user he said.....

If you're through with your dinner then I suggest we get going before your stench draws more flies.

[Cain]

Jack winced as his new bandages were tightened around his torso. The pain in his ribs was dull, yet still persistent. Jack seethed every time he was reminded of his encounter on Metellos. He swallowed his anger for the time being. Jack pacified himself with the thought of what he might do should he ever encounter that Jedi again, maybe bleed him nice and slow before tearing out his consciousness from the inside his skull. Delightful.

"All done master," the medical droid said. Its voice was soft, almost timid, a feature of its feminine programming. "Would you like me treat some of these lacerations as well?" the droid asked, referring to the many scars that crisscrossed Jack's chest.

Jack shook his head. Impatient, he snatched his clothes and covered back up, "Don't bother," Jack answered. After pulling his shirt back on, Jack began to rummage through his jacket, finally producing his Bloodstripes and plucking another cigarette from the pack.

"Very well, sir. If I may conjecture, however, I do advise that you discontinue your use of tobacco. The smoke is terribly detrimental to your health, sir."

Jack glared at the droid, blowing a large plume of smoke that obscured its optical receptors, "I'll take it under advisement. Will that be all?"

"Y-yes, sir. Take care of yourself."

The Nyoka, Jack's new Coulé-class starship, shuddered as it dropped out of hyperspace. With his cigarette still hanging off his lip, Jack headed toward the bridge. The Nyoka was an impressive vessel, far more spacious than Jack's last transport... and he'd had to kill far less people to get his hands on this one. Luckily there was still enough of a crew left from Toprawa to keep the ship running. Most were drifters, nomads who made their living smuggling spice, stims, arms, and all manner of cargo of a less than savory nature on board starships like these. It likely wasn't the first time the crew had a lost a captain.

On the bridge, a lone world was visible through the viewport. When cycling through the ship's hyperspace coordinates for a good place to lay low, Jack discovered these. The coordinates led to an area of "wild space" that supposedly was uncharted and uninhabited. However, this ship had been there before. It had piqued Jack's curiosity. Now the phantom world was in front of them. Jack hadn't the slightest idea what to expect, but certainly the last thing he might have predicted would have been any sign of civilized lifeforms. Sure enough, not long after exiting hyperspace, the Nyoka picked up a faint distress beacon. Someone was on the surface.

"The signal is coming from a swampy area in the northern hemisphere," the pilot observed, "Shall I find a safe place to put us down near by?"

Jack didn't respond immediately. He felt that something wasn't quite right. The Force was disturbed in this system. It was something strong, yet distant. Jack couldn't perceive any immediate danger. He gave the pilot the ok to land.


Finding a safe place for a ship the size of the Nyoka to land was no easy feat. The closest clearing to the beacon was over ten kilometers away. The only way to reach it would be on foot.

Jack waited for Nieraan and Cadyren outside, finishing off another cigarette as he scanned the terrain of this strange new world. The planet's star was quickly descending and the air was rapidly growing colder. Jack let out an annoyed sigh, dropping the butt of his Bloodstripe and crushing it under his boot. It would be a pain if they were unable to reach the source of the signal before dusk. Though it wasn't just the strange signal that was on Jack's mind. Now that he was on the surface, he could feel more clearly a sense of foreboding. The dark side was present here, and Jack was eager to explore in what capacity... if only those two would hurry it up.

[Rugs]

Darkness.

Nieraan lay awake, on his bed in his room staring blankly in the dark at the ceiling. A few days had passed since he'd rejoined Jack and Cadyren and the others on the Nyoka, the ship they'd stolen on Toprawa. A few days since he'd stupidly gone back to Metellos, chasing rumors of his mother's reappearance that weren't supposed to be anything more than whispers on the wind.

Unfortunately, there was substance to the rumor; more substance than he'd been able to handle. He'd fought, been defeated, and taken back to the old apartment he grew up in as a prisoner. The worst part came when Kamirille forced him to give into her demands: he'd keep in touch with her, keep her up to date on his own doings and those of the Sith, and he'd do as commanded when she told him to.

Otherwise, she'd come find him and make his life a living hell. Again.

And there's not a damn thing I can do to stop her. To say that particular rankled Nieraan would be an understatement. Just the thought of it had him snarling. Flickers of light threw sharp shadows across his room as sparks of lightning danced around his wrists.

He was supposed to be strong--he was one of the strongest Knights in the Order. And yet Kamirille had shut him down as though he was still the same scared little boy he'd been when she kidnapped him from his father.

She was supposed to be dead. He was as strong as he'd ever been, and growing stronger, but not a thing had changed in the balance of power between them.

Something would have to change. He'd figure out a way to free himself from her, one way or another, but in the mean time, he'd be forced to play by her rules.

One thing was certain, though; neither Jack or Cadyren would learn a word of what had happened. That was something he could neither afford or allow.

~~~~~~

A few hours later, Nieraan found himself standing before the massive holographic projector near the bridge, looking out at the strange world they'd emerged near. Somehow, the Nyoka had a map of the world, or at least a fairly good image of it as seen from space. How that could be for a world that didn't officially exist, he didn't know, but the world had also been in the ship's Nav systems.

It was strange, but given his current mood, Nieraan didn't really care.

A quiet shudder told him they'd landed. Jack had expressed interest in a distress beacon. Nieraan supposed it was time to go investigate. Anything was better than sitting around remembering how inadequate Kamirille had made him look.

He quickly gathered his things from his room, which was much more spacious and comfortable than the one he'd had on their previous ship, though that seemed to be a running them for the Nyoka. Nieraan didn't mind.

After he had his things, he made his way out of the ship, pulling his jacket on as he did, and good thing he had it; it was cold outside, and the setting sun meant it would only get colder.

Jack was already outside waiting for them. As Nieraan approached, he stretched his senses out and quickly felt more presences. They were far away, but he could make out two of them. "Looks like we're not alone, Makura," he said, glancing off to the east, where he felt them coming from. Dark siders.

The fear that his mother was somehow here as well started to form in his mind, but he quickly crushed it and pushed it aside. Now wasn't the time for foolishness.

"Guess I know where we're heading."

[Cadyren]

Cadyren was awoken by the shudder of the ship as it left hyperspace. He remained still for a moment lying in his bed, he still felt extremely tired. He managed to force himself out of the bed after a few minutes, and set about getting dressed and ready to go onto the uncharted planet.

Cadyren had met Jack only a short time before they had taken the ship, and hadn’t tried to get to know him at all after they had taken the vessel. The only reason that Cadyren had come along was because Nieraan was here, and Cadyren needed him to so that he could learn more about the Dark Side. Cadyren didn’t like Nieraan at all, the man was a cruel and unforgiving teacher, but he was powerful, and Cadyren wanted that power.

Once he was done he made his way towards Nieraan and Jack, who he sensed had already left the ship. It was easy to find them, other then him they were the only two on board the ship that possessed any power in the Force. They were probably waiting for him, though he didn’t no why they were in such a hurry to leave. He saw a passing crew man, and grabbed him by the arm as he tried to pass. Cadyren smiled as the man’s face twisted into an expression of fear, but it quickly disappeared.

“What are they doing out there?” Cadyren asked, letting the man’s arm go.

At first the man seemed confused, but then he realized that Cadyren was referring to Jack and Nieraan, “The ship p-p-picked up a distress beacon on the surface…. I guess they… uh… are p-planning on investigating it.”

Interesting, did Jack intend for us to find someone here? Cadyren was rather curious as to who had set up the beacon. Leaving the man without saying another other word, he continued on his way.

The ship was a lot bigger then the one that Cad had stolen in order to get to Toprawa, the planet where they had taken the Nyoka. He actually liked the ship, not only was it large but it was also comfortable. The room he had taken was much better then the one he had on Korriban, and it was in great working order, especially compared to most of the ships Cad had been on. Not that he would tell anyone that, he didn’t want anyone to know he was impressed by the ship.

He found Jack and Nieraan waiting outside. Jack was smoking a cigarette and Nieraan was saying something to him, but Cadyren only caught the last bit of it, “….we're not alone, Makura."

Cad’s first thought was that he was referring to his arrival, but then he felt it too. There was a dark presence on the planet, other then that of Nieraan, Jack, and him. It felt powerful to, whatever it was. It can’t be one person, could it? This presence seems very powerful.

“Does it have anything to do with that beacon?” The question was directed at both of the older Sith, who he assumed would have had better luck distinguishing where the presence was, and if it was near the beacon.

[Cain]

Jack paced impatiently, the crunch of recently fallen leaves under his boots accompanying each step as he waited for his fellow Sith. The first to join him was Nieraan. The Firrerreo had immediately sensed the same darkness that Jack had.

"Looks like we're not alone, Makura. Guess I know where we're heading."

Next off the ship was Cadyren, Nieraan's apprentice. He was a human Sith about the same age as Jack, though the similarities ended there as far as Jack was concerned. He was skeptical as to whether or not the kid would prove himself useful.

“Does it have anything to do with that beacon?”

"The dark side is strong here," Jack answered, stopping to yawn, "though the echo is distant. It's difficult to say exactly what the source is, but I have a feeling that beacon will be our first clue. We should get moving if we hope to arrive before nightfall."

Jack led the Sith into the wilderness in the direction of the distress beacon, all the while conscious of the presence of the dark side. It was a feel not unlike that of Korriban, though wilder, and more distilled. Jack's mind raced to piece together the possible meanings of what his senses were detecting. It could be that the abundance of life on this world was smothering the force, hiding whatever dark secrets it held. Or, it could also be that the wounds in the Force around the planet are echos from a dark and distant past long forgotten. In either case it was intriguing. This was a world not known to the current Sith Order, and one whose secrets still lay waiting to be discovered.

The forests of Chinine through which the Sith traveled were thick with trees, but little other vegetation. The terrain was uneven, and the Sith were made to march over endless hills and low streams. As the planet's star sank below the horizon, the temperature took a noticeable nose dive. The trees, which had been shedding leaves since they first landed, were now almost completely bare, and snow began to fall from the gray skies above.

It was several hours before they came to the source of the beacon, a ship crashed in a small pond. The vessel was now frozen in the water it had landed. The cockpit was open, but no one was inside.

Jack let out a sigh, his warm breath visible against the freezing air. With night the forest had grown silent as death, and the hum of lightsabers were easy to pick up not too far away.

Jack glanced back at Nieraan and Cadyren, "Let's go."

[Foxfire]

Another of the cat-lie predators had indeed found them due to the massive stench coming from this Koth. This time three of them were pacing around the two of them. Honog held his saber point down and in a relaxed position waiting for them to make their first move. Though his thoughts were changing fast as the nip in the air was getting colder and deeping to the bone. Though he was having a problem with focusing when the stench was so close to him that moving to engage them was the better option.

Bolting from Koth to one of the bigger preds the fresh air changed and so did the preds actions. It charged as well nearing to four feet Honog doubled his speed with the force and in a blink passed by the pred. It tumbled and came to a rolling stop with a slash throat. Now in the fresher air Honog delved deeper into the force clearing his mind and reaching out in the force. Almost at once ne noticed a growing darkness within the force. It was not him nor was it Koth. Three tones in the force did Honog feel and it was coming this way.


These preds had to be nullified and quick for he was not going to have to deal with a Dark Jedi and other force users at the same time. Reaching out in the force he grabbed one and held it tight as he bolted over to it. Blade in hand it was all to easy to slash and gut the pred. Sighing at the pointlessness of it he let the other force user have the other pred while he found more solid ground for his hover cart. then waited with stretched out feelers in the force. It was not a group of light sided Jedi so he did not really see the need to hide. So finding a bit of solid ground for a better foot hold he sat down upon the hover cart.

[Rugs]

They walked. For hours, with only themselves for companionship and the soft, steady crunch of dead leaves underfoot to break the frigid silence.

Nieraan hadn't complained when they set out, but as the journey progressed, he wondered silently if it might have been wiser to bring the Nyoka around to where the disturbance lay. The journey itself was of little consequence in the Firrerreo's mind and the cold was an annoyance at worst. Yet here they were on an unfamiliar planet, chasing shadows in the Force as night fell.

Too late to turn back now. Maybe if he'd said something an hour and a half ago...

The disturbance, whatever it was, grew nearer to them as they trekked on through the thickly-forested land. It meant that it wasn't moving away from them, or at least wasn't leaving them faster than they approached it. It was a small comfort, being able to know at least one thing in a place where they knew nothing otherwise.

Then again, whoever put out that distressed beacon probably won't be going far, Nieraan mulled. He snorted, air misting as it rushed from his nostrils. No, we're the ones that are gonna go wandering around in the dark.

Their trek rolled on, and finally, they came near to their destination. Habit put a subtle adjustment into Nieraan's stride and his feet fell near silently, as his mother had instructed back during his gang running days.

They reached a stopping point and Nieraan stopped a few feet behind while Jack inspected the ship. His natural vision saw well enough through the night's poor vision, but he'd long since moved to using the Force to see. The ship was abandoned, and neither the Force nor his eyes told him that anyone was near it as he circled around. Jack seemed to reach the same conclusion.

But something else hung in the air--a hum that would've be dull otherwise pierced the deathly silence of the forest. The sound was unmistakable--a lightsaber's blade, and the way it rose and fell spoke of movement.

"We're not alone," he muttered under his breath, walking alongside Jack.

He turned to Cadyren in the darkness, deciding now was a learning moment for the boy. "Reach out boy," Nieraan commanded softly, even as he did the same himself. "Tell me what you fe-"

His senses touched the edge of a presence and his head whipped around to the fore as words died on his tonge. He came to a halt of a sudden. "Wroth."

Was he the only one that knew of the Noghri? Surely Cadyren did, but Jack?

What is that fool doing here?

"There's another Sith here." Nieraan spoke softly, keeping the forest's quiet in mind. Why was Cho on this forgotten rock? And if that ship is his...

Possibilities began to arise in Nieraan's thoughts, just as the group reached the top of a gentle rise. Below, he could see a figure seated placidly on a hovercart near several fallen beasts.

"There he is."