Star Wars Saga: A Jedi Ghost Story - IC

[Liliedhe]

A Jedi Ghost Story

Seeing is believing. Feeling is knowing.

Prologue: Netherworld

Neera felt the wind on her face, biting through the cloth mask protecting it. She was struggling to stay upright, and despite her enhanced vision, struggling to see anything in the darkness and the storm. On clear nights, the dark side of Dretha sparkled in the light of millions of stars reflecting them in the ice crystals that covered the planets rocky surface. If there was a storm, the planet was darker than the backside of rancor. And if a storm surprised in the outlands, away from the settlements, you were dead. Deader than a snowman on Mustafar to be precise. After struggling against the wind, and searching for shelter on the flatlands south of the Taka plateau for hours, the Zabrak was too exhausted to care about the fact that she was going to die.

Her tiny camp was probably already buried, or she had missed it in the confusion. Every step was a fight now, and only her species’ indomitable will kept her going yet. She did not believe in miracles, and as she collapsed and was covered in snow within seconds, she knew she would not get any.

The scout was right, her body frozen like an icicle mere minutes after she had finally succumbed to the cold. But, she was not alone, as she discovered when her spirit began to drift into the Force. Her consciousness faded, her identity dissolved – until something grabbed her hand. You won’t go yet.

Not startled, since that was a physical reaction and thus something she was no longer capable of, but surprised, she watched as her hand began to regain form, followed by her arm, and the rest of her body. She was translucent now, giving off a faint blue glow, it seemed. A ghost. Then, her gaze strayed to the hand that had grabbed hers and made her Neera again, and she saw it belonged to another spirit being, shrouded in a dark robe, and its face hidden. She thought the voice that had commanded her was female, but she wasn’t sure.

You have seen the caves. When they come, you will show them. It is necessary. If you want to, I will unmake you again after that.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +

Chapter One: Frozen junk of rock

When you are stuck on a frozen junk of rock, in the perpetual darkness and cold of a polar night, and when venturing out is a game of chance slightly more hazardous than a game of Sabacc against a hungry Sarlacc, then most people will try to get what comforts they can by staying at home. And they will talk. Sip a hot drink, sit around the heater and tell stories, whenever their duties permit it.

And inevitably, these will be stories of the cold outdoors, of miraculous treasures discovered there, or of the vengeful ghosts of those who disappeared out there and who now seek to ease their cold torment with the warm blood of the living. Occasionally, someone will wistfully remember someone he knew who disappeared in one of the sudden killer storms, or tell of the things that move in the shadows in the corner of your eye. Are and Lesa, the twilek siblings who are the owners of the tiny Cantina/Flophouse, will remember their glory days, back when the excavations for the Republic were still being funded and the expeditions had Jedi, who would know when it was save to go out, and when better to stay in camp. Of course, this will be told only in a hushed voice, with careful gazes in the direction of the Imperial, Netta, and the stranger, Akaine.

It is a cold world. A lonely one. Where things move in the corner of your eye when you do not look. Where it is not unusual to feel watched when walking the icy wastes. Inevitably, one of the hunters will come in and tell that they saw a ghost out there…

Like the Zabrak scout who disappeared three years ago while looking for a supposed ancient settlement on the plains south of the Taka plateau, where the village squats. Maybe, the sightings of her are too frequent to be dismissed. Or maybe they aren’t. But if there it is not a story, if those who claimed to see her really saw her, then she is getting closer…


Welcome aboard all, have fun. :smallsmile:
I hope you are not afraid of ghosts.... *evil laugh*

Cast of Characters:
Sshran/Ascension (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=90018)
Akaine Nabross/Ridai (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=90231)
Netta Kynes/The Snark (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=90111)

OOC:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=96425

[Ascension]

A tall figure, shrouded in fur which is, in turn, covered in snow, staggers into the cantina. To any familiar with them the figure might appear to be a misshapen Wookiee... until it throws back its hood to reveal distinctly reptilian features.

"Crassh. Sship, crassh. Cold," Sshran hisses, and then he collapses on the floor in a heap of scales and fur and snow.

[Liliedhe]

"What the..."

Lesa, the orange twilek Barmaid (and cook, and maid, and cleaning woman, and...) runs forward to the reptilian creature and turns him over. When he does not react, she pokes him with a long fingernail.

"I suppose that one's dead, right? Then his stuff is ours, since this is our house. Scavenger rules, you know?" She addresses the crowd, while she starts to go through his pockets...

[Ascension]

Though he does not stir at the initial poke, further probing causes him to stir. He wraps a clawed hand in a vicegrip around the Twi'lek's greedy paw.

"Not dead... Need heat... Will pay..."

[Liliedhe]

The Twi'lek mumbles something that might be understood as "Pity", but then she's all business, and helps the Trandoshan over to the heating unit, where he can sit down and thaw out.

She puts steaming mug in front of him that smells quite awkward, but at least is hot.

[Ascension]

He drinks, paying no heed to the aroma or taste of the liquid. It is heat, it is life, that is all that matters.

[Ridai]

The cantina door opens, another burst of cold air rushing into the room, and is quickly closed by a tall, thin young man, dressed in robust if well-worn black clothing. "G'day. Thought I saw someone dressed like a wookiee come in here. Boy, that kind of fur must come in mighty handy on this side of the planet."

Akaine pulls back the heavy hood of his thick overcoat, revealing his short vibrantly red hair, takes off his snow-coated goggles and heavy duty gloves which he attaches to his toolbelt. When he sees the Trandoshan, a slight smile appeared on his nice-looking face. "Guess my brain still works. But it couldn't flow out anyway because of the cold." Taking a seat at the bar, Akaine orders something warm to drink (preferably with good taste, but you can't have everything), having finished repairs on a malfunctioning heater minutes ago.

[Ascension]

As the warmth increases his metabolic rate, Sshran begins to feel like moving again.

>>Does anyone here speak my language?<< he asks aloud in Dosh.

[The_Snark]

Sttt

The computer was playing static again. The first time the monitor gave the incoming-message notification, Netta had been a little excited, thinking she had an incoming message to deliver. The news (delivered first by the incomprehensible static-filled message and confirmed by Jorrf) that it was nothing more than the old receiver's filters failing and causing it to interpret background radiation and echoes off local transmissions as comm messages had been a little disappointing. The realization that this would happen again and again had been irritating.

Supposedly, the dark side of Dretha had been chosen (she had had a great deal of time to look into this) as the location for the message station specifically because it would minimize the background radiation. If that was true, Netta didn't want to think about how long it had been since the relay station had been properly maintained. Certainly more than the regulation two years.

She deletes the supposed message notice, and goes back to sitting in her chair, wrapped in a heavy blanket. She had fond memories of sitting in front of the heater during winter nights, back home. But she'd been doing that for weeks on end. Since it looked like she would be stationed here for a while yet, and neither night nor winter ever ended here, she didn't know when she would be able to stop.

Although she is technically on duty until Jorrf arrives, Netta decides she needs to get out. The station had managed fine before she got here with only one person to watch it, and she was fairly sure her assistant hadn't been as assiduous about his duties as she was. She can't get away from the darkness or the cold, but she can at least get to a warmer building, one with company and noises aside from the wind.

She puts on a heavy winter coat over her uniform, and then a thinner, windproof overcoat. Both of them are cold from hanging on the walls, and at first it feels like she'd be better off without them. They'll warm up, though; and once she leaves the relative warmth of the relay station, she is thankful for the insulation.

The little cantina is really the only place for her to go, and happily it isn't far. She takes a gloved hand out of her jacket pocket just long enough to open the door, and escapes into the building, hurrying over to take a seat near the heating unit.

[Liliedhe]

As Netta walks through the snow - looks like another storm is coming - the light coming from the few houses that actually sport windows makes the snow sparkle and paints strange shapes on the ground. Just as she is about to enter the cantina, movement in the corner of her eye catches her attention... But when she looks, there is nothing there. Only her long, narrow shadow, cast by the light streaming out of the door.

She follows her shadow inside...

[Ridai]

"What?", Akaine asks the Trandoshan when the latter seems to ask something in Dosh (Akaine can identify it, but that's about it). When he sees Netta enter, who he had seen and heard of around this place a few times, he asks "How's it going?" and takes a sip from his hot drink, paying for it in the process. The drifter asks partly to gauge how much Imperial indoctrination has gotten to her and if it endures being on this backwater planet, now that she is there in person in the cantina.

[Battlecat]

Another gust of icy wind haunts the cantina when the door opens shortly after Nettas arrival, revealing a stocky young woman who, after closing the door and peeling herself out of her coat, takes a seat in a less frequented corner and orders a mug of tea.

[Ascension]

"Just trying to ssee if anyone spoke the language," Sshran explains, "No ssuch luck."

He turns around and addresses the occupants of the cantina as a whole.

"Is there any good hunting around here? Any beasstss worthy of my attention?"

[The_Snark]

Netta looks up at the man addressing her, someone she doesn't quite recognize. That wasn't unusual; a lot of the natives seemed withdrawn. Except this one, apparently. She can't help but be relieved—most of the natives kept their distance from the only off-world officer in the town. If there had been one feasible change she could have wished for in Dretha, it would have been more Imperial employees, both so that she wouldn't be alone and so that the natives were more used to them. "Fine. Thanks," she says, smiling at the red-haired man. "Ah, I don't think I've met you yet?"

She glances a couple times at the reptilian alien nearby as he asks his questions, but then she's been looking over at him every minute or so since she realized the Trandoshan was there. To someone as unused to being around most aliens as Netta, he was exotic and a little fascinating. She waits to see if any of the town's natives will answer the question; they have a lifetime more experience with the local wildlife than she does, she tells herself. It wasn't shyness.

[Liliedhe]

The barmaid brings the drinks, and then stops at the Trandosshan's table, cocking her head to the side.

"Hunting? No, not here. On the dayside, there's beasts, but here, there is only ice."

"Not true", another guest, a broad shouldered human with only one eye, interjects. "There's the lights. But you can't mount them on a wall. And, the dead who walk. But they are probably not pretty. Or you could find the fortress that roams the wastes. And whatever lives on that."

The other guest shake their heads. "Shut up, Dunvar. Nobody wants to hear your old wives tales, really..." The Barmaid deftly sidessteps the grasping fingers of an odd guest huddled in furs, and disappears behind the bar. "Don't listen to Dunvar, that's all just ... hot air."

[Ascension]

Sshran stands and walks over to Dunvar. Meltwater and slush fall freely from his cloak as he moves.

"The Scorekeeper Above recognizess a ssuccessful hunt even if no trophy is recovered. Tell me more of these thingss. Perhapss they would prove an interesting prey."

[Liliedhe]

"Sure." He gestures for the Barmaid to refill his cup, and then starts to explain:

"While this planet has always been such a weird thing, with a side that cooks you and one that freezes your ... anatomy off, it wasn't always dead. A few thousand years ago, there were two civilizations here, one on every side. Whether they were native or not, that's up for guesses, but they were at war, most of the time. And in the end, they killed each other off. Both of them lived underground, or at least the smart people figured it that way."

He takes a deep swallow from his steaming tankard and continues:

"What you find on the surface, that are their graves and their battlefields. Nobody ever found any villages, or cities. So, this whole planet is just a huge graveyard... Many think that's where the weird things come from. There are more stories about the nightside, maybe because it's more dangerous. Stories about people who come about ghostly lights in the middle of storms, that lead them for miles, and then drain them of their lives. You can find them, sometimes, with their hands around their own throats..."

The man gets drawn into his own story, and fixes the Trandoshan intently, while the cantina goes silent. It seems - old wives' tales or not - everybody is listening now...

"As for the walking dead... Well, they are younger, not the old foes, but those who came here to find what they had left. When you are out there, and it gets so cold that your blaster freezes, and there are icicles hanging from your breather, sometimes there are suddenly footsteps in the snow, and shadows where they have no business being. If you are smart, you just did yourself in then. If you don't, first the shadows come, and freeze your heart. And then, dead things walk. Don't laugh, I've seen them. They are human or what's left of them... They have no heads, or no arms, and they just walk through the snow, without mind, but driven by something. The shadows, I think. They don't attack you... but they are cold. So cold the snow seems warm and what they touch just splinters like it's glass. I've seen people frozen in place after they walked past. Can they be destroyed? I don't know. I never tried."

[Ridai]

I've found a nice Imperial, what are the odds?
"I'm Akaine. Been here for a short time and help around town with repairs and what have you. Saw you around here sometimes, but never caught your name.", the young man answers with a smile, out-and-easy-going as he is.

When Druvar tells his story, Akaine listens intently, sipping from his drink while he does that. He remains silent after Druvar ends for a short time and then says, "If there are ghosts somewhere on Dretha, maybe they still have unfinished business to take care of before they can rest." Akaine heard a lot of ghost stories in his life, some of them containing a bit of truth. What exactly that truth is is sometimes hard to recognize, so he tries to find out.

[Liliedhe]

The burly man looks up from his drink as the stranger involves himself in the conversation.

"Yeah, might be. But, I never felt like asking."

[Ascension]

Sshran isn't really happy about the report. He was hoping for something more concrete, something more easily tracked and killed.

"Walking dead with a freezing touch... Weird sstuff. Hmph. Doesn't even ssound like the sort of thing you can hunt. How about this day sside? Is there a way to get there from here?"

[Liliedhe]

"With a ship, sure. On foot or speeder, you can forget that", explains the human.

[Ascension]

"I guess from the fact you're all still living here that you don't get sshipss through here often."

[Liliedhe]

"Next drinks are on the newcomer, he figured it out", laughs Dunvar. "Aside from her" - he points to Netta - "supply ship that comes every six months, there's no regular traffic."

[Ascension]

Sshran curses in Dosh. The tone of his speech is evident even to those completely unfamiliar with the language.

"I'm sstuck here then, aren't I?"

[Liliedhe]

"Unless anybody here has a spare ship, yes, you are."

He grins almost maliciously.

[Ascension]

"Well. Better to hunt that which cannot be hunted than not to hunt at all. And if I die, at least I sshall die in the course of the hunt, not wasting away in this nothing town."

Sshran turns boldly to the others in the bar.

"I can track any beasst in the galaxy! Even the dead! If you want the truth of these sspectress, come with me! Join in the grand hunt!"

[Liliedhe]

As the Trandoshan lets out his boast, suddenly Netta has a strange feeling, like a cold hand brushes her neck...

[The_Snark]

"Netta Kynes," she whispered to Akaine, as Dunvar starts his story, and then settled in to listen. She didn't really believe in spectral beings out in the snow, but the story was captivating; she was drawn in as much as the rest of the cantina.

The Trandoshan's proclamation produces a momentary sort of silence in the bar; she feels a cold prickling down the back of her neck, and shivers, her mind going immediately to the legends they'd just heard. She turns around, but there's only Akaine sitting there. Akaine, who'd talked about the stories with a perfectly straight face. "Stop it," she whispers, nudging him with a hand to get his attention without being too loud in the silence; she could tell a ghost-story prank when she saw one.

[Battlecat]

The woman in the corner listens like the rest, all the while holding onto her mug to warm her hands. When the Trandoshan declares his aim to hunt ghosts, she smirks and shakes her head, taking a sip from her tea and leaning back in her seat.

[Ridai]

"Relax, didn't change anything." Akaine sounds more or less carefree with a as he whispers back and shrugs, concentrating on his drink again. "Won't have anything to show except maybe rotten appendages, but if that counts as proof for the hunt, happy hunting.", he says out loud so that the Imperial can stop worrying and start relaxing for her own good. Nervous Imperials are never a good sign.

[Ascension]

"As I said, I need no trophy. The Scorekeeper does not trouble herself with the quality of a Wookiee's pelt, and she knows the truth of the size of the one that got away," Sshran clarifies.

"I am willing and able to go on this hunt myself, but I would appreciate a native guide. You would receive honor in the eyes of the Scorekeeper for your service, and I could reimburse you as well. I don't have much to offer... but this doesn't look like the sort of planet that has fine shops."

[Liliedhe]

Dunvar starts to laugh at the Trandoshan's plea, when he suddenly stops in midbreath, his eyes wide.

"What the...!" He jumps from his seat and bolts for the door, like he has just seen a ghost. His eyes are fixed on Netta, causing him to crash into the barmaid and bowl them both over in a clatter of glasses and tableware.

[Ridai]

Akaine looks over his shoulder, then at Netta, back at Dunvar and again at Netta. "Either that was a fancy new way of getting closer to people or you're way more intimidating than I've thought, Netta." The young man looks around the room if something else might have happened that could have caused the reaction and then goes to help with cleaning up the mess.

[Liliedhe]

I would be very grateful if you could roll perception. Thanks :smallsmile:

At first glance he would say "there's nothing wrong with Netta", but something is off, he feels it more than he sees it.

[Ridai]

One perception roll with added cheese, coming right up! [roll0]

edit: I can't believe this! xD

[Liliedhe]

*ouch*

Something is not right, but he can't put his finger on it, so Akaine goes to help the barmaid mop up in the wake of Dunvar's panicked escape. She is bleeding from a couple of shallow cuts in her right hand and shaking with fury.

"What a complete nutcase. That's the last time I let him in here, next he's going to tell anybody we have a ghost in here. It's enough he's telling that fancy BS about the planet..."

[Ridai]

Akaine shrugs when he doesn't find an apparent source for Dunvars reaction. Maybe something in his drink. Or brain. Or both. After most of the shards and other things are cleaned up (having absolutely nothing better to do), he takes the medpac from his utility belt. "Let me take a look at your hand, don't want any creeping infections on this rock, do we?", he says to the barmaid and attends to the cuts with practiced ease if she agrees.

Take 10 on the Treat Injury check for a 19, if needed.

Where are all the others. :smallconfused:

[Liliedhe]

She does not object to him patching her up and lets him.

"He has always been telling stories, but the last few months he really got quite paranoid and afraid of his own shadow, telling crazier and crazier stuff."

[Battlecat]

"I guess living in this environment can crack anyone's mind someday...", the stranger in the corner comments. Her green eyes rest for a moment on Netta before straying around her...

[Ridai]

"But that was the first time he had a fit like that by the sound of it." Akaine finishes and puts the medpac away. "All done.", he comments with a warm, innocent smile. "Ah well, I'm gonna have a talk with him, there gotta be a reason. Where does he normally stay?"

He gears himself for the freezing cold outside, waits for an answer and leaves afterwards with a "See you.".

[Liliedhe]

@Akaine:

"The old house behind the comcenter. The one with the red door. And, thank you." The barmaid smiles at him, before he goes into the cold dark night outside...

@Rika:

It's easy to discover what disturbed the man so much. The woman in the Imperial uniform has two shadows. And no, it's not a trick of the light. And she feels something, an additional presence, in the room.

[The_Snark]

Netta startles at the storyteller's abrupt dash away. She rises, halfheartedly thinking about helping to clean up the mess, but Akaine is both faster and more professional, and she lets him handle it with mixed feelings of guilt (for sitting and watching) and relief.

"That was weird," she mumbles to herself. Given Akaine's earlier prank on her (or had that been her imagination?), and the fact that he was now following Dunvar, she could almost think it had been some sort of prank on the two newcomers to the village. But it felt paranoid to be thinking like that, and Dunvar had looked pretty scared. He hadn't even stopped after knocking Lesa down. Then why did he look at me right before he ran?

[Battlecat]

Rika examines her discovery with growing interest...

"Maybe the old man isn't crazy at all...", she mumbles, more to herself.

[Ridai]

Let's see what Dunvar has to say. Akaine wonders if he could break off parts of a stubble in this cold, if he had a beard, mentally partially ignoring the actual stinging cold itself on the way, following Lesas directions. When he reaches the red door, the drifter knocks on the door hard. "Oy, why did you leave so quickly?"

[Liliedhe]

The old man opens the door to the tiny and dark hut in a few moments. It's quite cold inside, but he asks Akaine in. Lighting one of the laterns on the central table of the one room building he holds it up to inspect the man, before answering.

"The young woman? Something followed her. Don't know from where. Didn't you see? She had two shadows... Maybe..." He points to the wall but seems to mean the white plain outside, "maybe they hate her for her uniform. After all, they were killed by them, right?"

[Ridai]

Arms crossed and looking downwards in thought for a short time, Akaine answers: "I didn't see anything, but there was something wrong. It may have been you, but I'm not certain, as the feeling loomed after you left. If it's true, doesn't that mean that Netta is in danger? She is Imperial, but hasn't been corrupted by it... yet. You sure you saw it?" It is hard to gauge for Akaine how to react to this, so he tries to discern if Dunvar is telling the truth and how his mental state seems to be right now.

[Liliedhe]

He seems shook up, but not really delusional or anything. What he says obviously makes perfect sense to him.

"I don't know. I've never seen them come here. Into the village, and into a house. Normally, they are just out there. And if you follow them, it could kill you, because you freeze to death."

[Ridai]

Slight surprise describes best what goes through Akaines head right now. "So, where did you see the ghosts out there and what can we do about them?"

[Liliedhe]

"Do something about them? Why would you want that?"

Dunvar sits down in a rickety chair and motions to Akaine to do likewise.

"Out there, in the storms, you see many things."

[Ascension]

This is written assuming Sshran notices the double shadow. I'll take the Acute Senses reroll* if the first roll doesn't make it. If neither roll does, I'll edit.

Perception: [roll0]

*I think it's a reroll. I'm actually away from my books today.

Sshran shrugs his blaster rifle off his shoulder and catches it before it hits the floor. He brings its bayoneted business end around and takes aim at the Imperial.

"Alright, ssisster, I want an explanation... Are you one of these ghosstss? What's up with the sshadow?"

[Ridai]

"They want something, otherwise they wouldn't linger, would they?" Akaine sits down and awaits an answer.

[The_Snark]

Netta freezes, staring at the tip of the alien's gun as if mesmerized. If this is a joke, it is distinctly not funny anymore. "Wha... what are you talking about?"

[Liliedhe]

@Ascension:
@Ascension: Well 23 is completely sufficient to notice *G*


@Akaine:

"Maybe. Who can know that? I've never spoken to them. Don't think anybody has... Why don't you try?" With a shrug, he grabs a bottle on the table and drains it.

[Ridai]

"Then I'm gonna try just that. Do you know any site where they gather or what attracts them?"

After the answer: "I'll look into it. Until then, curb your stories a bit and don't go 'round telling everyone there are ghosts in the cantina or something. Hurts business and it's hard enough as it is, y'know?" Akaine gestures as a farewell to Dunvar and leaves for the cantina.

[Liliedhe]

"Sure. Go south, till you reach the edge of the plateau. That works most of the time, but you might have to go down to the plane, if necessary. Maybe it's true there's something on the plane where they belonged to. Or maybe they just died fighting down there."

Dunvar bids Akaine farewell after that, with the reassurance that he won't set foot in the cantina for a loooooooooong while.

[Ridai]

Akaine hurries back to the cantina through the cold.

[Ascension]

"You have two sshadowss, girl. And it's not a trick of the light," Sshran informs Netta, "Now you explain?"

[Battlecat]

When the Trandoshan draws his weapon, the stranger in the corner gets to her feet and slowly walks towards him and makes a soothing gesture.

"Hey... don't you think it's a bit rash to threaten the lady with a blaster?" She looks from Sshran to Netta. "To me, she doesn't look like a ghost. I think she has not even noticed her second shadow yet..." Her eyes wander to the 'wrong' shadow, then back to Sshran. "Please, lower your weapon. I'm sure we can settle this without a shootout - I don't think a blaster would help you if she was really a ghost, anyway", she adds, blinking.

[The_Snark]

"Two shadows?" Netta repeats, glancing down and around to see if this is the case. If it is she looks up to see if there's more than one source of light.

Perception [roll0]

[Liliedhe]

@Netta:

Yes. It is definitely true and she recalls having already had a strange feeling when entering the Cantina. There is no second source of light to explain the second shadow-Netta at her feet.

[The_Snark]

Netta stares at the shadow in bafflement, raising and lowering one hand to see it mimics her movements. Assuming that it does, she stands, still watching it, and slowly walks over towards where the light is, to make certain it isn't just some odd reflection.

[Liliedhe]

No. It does not move with each of her movements. And it always stays in front of her, independent of the light source.

[Ascension]

"I'm going to keep this blaster trained on her until I'm ssure sshe's not a threat. This could be a sign of... posssesssion or something," Sshran explains.

[Battlecat]

"And what are you going to do if it is?", the stranger asks, frowning. "Shoot her? And wait till whatever might have possessed her has found another host you can shoot?"

[Ascension]

"Have you got a better idea?" Sshran snaps.

[Battlecat]

The woman smiles. "Well, you wanted to go hunting ghosts, right? So why not? I guess the lady would like to lose her companion... so let's find out what it wants..."

[Ascension]

"Do I look like a shaman? I don't know anything about talking to the dead!" Sshran protests, "Talking with the living, however, is something I'm more accusstomed to. I find most of them are quite willing to talk when they're staring down the barrel of one of thesse babiess."

He turns his attention back to Netta.

"So talk. How long have you had two sshadowss?"

[The_Snark]

Netta backs away from the light source, now trying not to look at the wholly unnatural shadow. "I've never seen it before!" she protests. "I don't know what's going on." Only now does she think to look around at how the rest of the cantina is reacting to this; between the gun and the shadow, she's been rather distracted.

[Liliedhe]

The rest of the Cantina is just staring for now. Standing up. craning their necks and trying their best to discover if this is true or not... One could probably hear the fall of a needle...

[Ascension]

"There are two kindss of people who 'don't know what's going on,'" Sshran explains to the stranger beside him, "There's the 'I really don't know what's going on' kind, and it's just sstupid to hurt them, becausse they can't tell you anything, and then there's the 'I'm lying, I know everything' kind, and with them all you have to do is break a few bones or cut off a few unnecesssary piecess and then they talk."

He pauses and looks Netta over.

"The problem is telling which kind you're dealing with."

Perception: [roll0]

[The_Snark]

It's up to Liliedhe how much Perception will tell him, of course, but that's a fairly high roll, and Netta is genuinely scared—either of Sshran and his gun, the shadow, or both.

Netta stares at the alien, trying to keep her eyes off his gun. "I... really don't know anything," she says, managing not to stutter. She sounds a little dazed about the whole thing.

[Ascension]

"Good," Sshran says, lowering his weapon, "I didn't want to have to cut any bitss off of you. But that leaves the problem of the sshadow unansswered, doesn't it?"

[Ridai]

The cantina door opens and is quickly slammed shut by Akaine. Quickly aware of the current mood in the room, he reflexively scans it for trouble, seeing all the attention drawn to Netta, with the Trandoshan in front of here.
"Either I missed the whole thing or there is more to Dunvars two shadows thing than I thought.", he says while staying on guard for any eruptions of sudden senseless violence. Walking to the bar, always partly facing the perceived hot zone, he says to Lesa: "Might be bad timing right now, but spoke to Dunvar, he'll probably stay away from the cantina for a while." Akaine waits for how the situation developes.

[Liliedhe]

The barmaid, her attention riveted on the drama in the Cantina, doesn't really answer his question...

[Battlecat]

When the Trandoshan lowers his weapon, the smile on the strangers face broadens, and she's relaxing visibly. Akaines entering and comment lets her face him:

"Seems the old man knows more than everybody here thought, eh? Mind to share his wisdom with us?"

[Ridai]

"He doesn't know what the ghosts want, only speculated that they might cling to Netta because of what the Imperials did way back. She does wear the uniform, so that seems to be enough. I'm going south to the edge of the plateau to see if I can do something about it, now that Dunvar seems to be right. Gonna have a chat with the afterlife." Akaine punctuates the last words with shortly raised eyebrows and a smile. He reacts decidedly... different to the situation and less perceptive people might get the impression that he is either breathtakingly stupid or crazy, not hearing the trace of measured caution in his voice. But the altruism lies in plain sight, nonetheless.

[Ascension]

"Chat with the afterlife?" Sshran echoes, "You can do that?"

[Ridai]

"If the ghosts can hear me and answer with something else than freezing my limbs off, it probably qualifies as a chat."

[Battlecat]

"I guess this is worth a try", the woman says. "If you don't mind, I'll join you."

[Ascension]

"Count me in," the Trandoshan says with determination in his voice.

[Ridai]

"I wouldn't mind some company. By the way, I'm Akaine, nice to meet you." For a spacer, he seems to be quite honest about that last part, but on the other hand it's not really surprising, considering Akaine being the little sunshine that he is. He stretches a bit, then thinks about where to get a vehicle for the trip, asking Netta afterwards.
"Hey, Netta, want to tag along? Do you have a speeder or something similar we could borrow for the trip?"

[Liliedhe]

In the few weeks he has been here, Akaine learned that speeders don't work in this environment. The only kind of vehicle that doesn't freeze up in the cold is one of the groundbound sleds that move on tracks.

Netta is quite sure that her little station is in possession of such a vehicle, though she never tried if it still worked.

[The_Snark]

"There's a sled down at the station, I think," Netta says; directly addressing her has brought her out of her confusion. "But, look—you're really going out of the village to try to talk to... ghosts?"

"I mean, really... ghosts?" She'd have wanted to be able to laugh at that, but it dies in her throat. This is so utterly bizarre it has to be unreal, but it's not stopping. "They can't really be, can they?"

[Ascension]

"You're asking this while in the posssesssion of two sshadows. Do you have any other explanation for it?"

[Ridai]

"Yup, I'm so doing that. Maybe you could, you know, try to communicate with your second shadow somehow." Akaine says this in a curious tone, looking at Netta, then he continues in a soft (kind of soothing?) tone. "But seriously, I don't want to put others in danger, it was my idea after all. I'm a bit nervous myself and this is all new to me, so I can perfectly understand if you don't want to come with me."

[The_Snark]

"I... no, I don't know what it could be, but..." Netta looks down at the shadow. "I guess if you're looking for answers, I should probably come along. I don't—I mean, I can't really go through the rest of my life like this..."

[Ridai]

"Alright, I'll go get my stuff and then we'll take a look at the sled." Akaine gears himself for the weather outside again. "See you soon," he says to Lesa and the other people in the cantina with a quick wave and a smile, then he goes to his quarters [OOC: Wherever that is.] and gets the rest of his equipment, making a beeline to the sled with the others.

[Liliedhe]

After everybody got his stuff, you convene in the tiny sled behind the commstation, where the sled is parked. It's an oldfashioned, but sturdy model that still carries the Republic Crest. Times did not catch up with Dretha, it seems.

It is big enough for all of you, with a little trailer in the back for equipment.

http://www.aelpele-lech.at/uploads/pics/alter-schwede-raupe.jpg

[Ridai]

Akaine puts the bag with the surgical equipment (better safe than sorry) in the trailer. "I'll drive if no-one minds." If he is allowed to do so, Akaine takes the drivers seat and starts the engine. "Let's see where this is going."

He drives to the edge of the plateau like Dunvar said after everyone took care of their stuff and entered the vehicle.

[Battlecat]

After getting her own stuff, the stranger joins them at the sled, puts her equipment in and seats herself in the back, obviously content with Akaine driving.

[Ascension]

The Trandoshan clambers on board as well, having to squeeze a bit to fit his large frame in the little vehicle.

[Liliedhe]

And with that the motley crew of adventurers drives out into eternal night and snow. It is storming still, snowflakes as large as a child's palm dashing against the windows of the sled. The heater inside is working overtime, but it is still very cold inside.

The world soon ceases to exist, safe for the blackness and the snow flashing in the headlights. Two hours pass, before you reach the edge of the plateau, and start to make a precarious descent onto the plains. The road is narrow, worked into the rock a long time ago, often covered in gravel and rocks. Then, Akaine has to ram through, always hoping the brave little machine doesn't get dislodged... taking you to an untimely death a hundred meters below...

Down, it is even darker, though the storm abates a little. A white, featureless plane stretches out around you, only occasionally dotted with standing stones or maybe the remains of buildings, it's impossible to say.

[Ridai]

Trying to see something in the dark, Akaine slowly drives onto the plain, looking for any suspicious shadows or whatever fits Dunvars description.
"Should be somewhere 'round here."

[Liliedhe]

Suddenly, the sled lurches heavily, as if you drove over something very hard and solid...

[Ridai]

"Woah." Akaine stops the sled after he drove other the thing, looks out of the front window, then out of the side window. "Back in a minute."

The young man gets out of the sled, closes the door behind him and takes a look at what he apparently drove over.

[Liliedhe]

The snow is dense and the cold biting and painful, warm clothes or no. A few steps away from the sled he almost looses sight of it already. Snowflakes settle on his arms and head... Then, his foot hits something hard buried in the snow... Digging it out a little he discovers a small one person sled, bags still halfpacked. It seems to have belonged to an explorer, it's survival gear and tools, but no personal items.

[Ridai]

Akaine does a quick search around the found sled for bodies or other things, puts the still useful parts of the survival equipment into the trailer and returns to the sled afterwards.

[Liliedhe]

He digs up a flattened tent, but finding out what is inside would take a lot more work.

[Ridai]

He quickly gets into the sled again. "Found what is left of the equipment of a explorer and possibly him- or herself. We better be careful." Akaine drives further onto the plain, looking for the ghosts.

[Liliedhe]

But, after driving a few more miles through the cold and the dark, it is inside the sled that the 'ghost' appears. Suddenly, a shimmering form fades into existence between the heroes, a figure shrouded in heavy winter clothing, translucent, blue and faint...

[The_Snark]

As Akaine explains, Netta shivers a little; it seems very likely that the someone whose gear was left in the snow died out here. An unsettling reminder of the planet's dangers. For lack of anything else to look at, she stares forward at her bizarre second shadow, which is hardly visible in the dim light of the dashboard—but it's there. As disturbing as it is, dwelling on that is better than dwelling on what would happen if the old sled's engine died out here, or if there was a bad patch of ice on the path, or any number of other things...

No wonder Netta jumps a foot when she notices the blue shimmering behind them. She twists around to stare in fear and astonishment, wanting to slide away from it in her seat but not quite daring to move.

[Liliedhe]

She doesn't really register, but a part of her mind still notices that before the figure appears her second shadow starts suddenly to flicker...

The figure raises a hand and points southeast...

[Ridai]

Noticing the shimmering blue form, Akaine stops the sled immediately and looks at the figure with a surprised, intrigued face for a short time. This is definitely the first time the young man sees a ghost, but he still registers Nettas hectic movement and slowly reaches out for her shoulder to calm her down (and himself, too). Akaine is the first to break the silence:

"We are here to help." When the ghost points southeast, Akaine quickly takes a look into the direction and asks: "Are we going to find the reason you are still here there?"

If the ghost doesn't show any reaction after his question, he asks the others: "So, y'all okay with driving there?" If they agree, he does just that.

[Ascension]

Sshran recoils in fear when the figure extends its hand.

"Don't let it touch you!" he warns.

[Battlecat]

Rika, having sat in a kind of comtemplation, watches the ghost with apparent interest.

"Yeah, of course", she answers to Akaine, not taking her eyes off the translucent figure.

[Liliedhe]

The spirit makes no move to touch anybody, or to talk - it just stretches out its arm and then fades away into Netta's shadow again...

[Ridai]

Akaine drives into the direction the spirit points to.

Just trying to move the game along.

[Liliedhe]

Thank you. I don't want to drag you kicking and screaming into a certain direction, so I require some basic input from you...

He drives for another 25 minutes, before he reaches a group of standing stones - five of them, forming a rectangle with one stone in the middle. Something tells him that this is where he was supposed to go...

The stones are about 8 meters high and covered in frost but there is no snow on them...

[Ridai]

Guess I shouldn't make my actions depend on the input of others."Wonder what we'll find here." Akaine gets out of the sled and examines the stones, including their surroundings.

[Liliedhe]

Why those responsible for their construction decided to put them up here of all places, he can't discern. But, in the middle of the stones, the relentless wind is suddenly gone and it is only cold... Each of the stones is covered in glyphs of a kind he has never seen before.

[Ridai]

Akaine tries to decipher the meaning of the glyphs by comparing them to characters he knows [Knowledge], thinking about what could reasonably be written here [Wisdom] and looking for clues [Perception]. Additionally, he touches the stones and glyphs while examining and looks around in the near area.

Knowledge [roll0]
Wisdom [roll1]
Perception [roll2]

[Liliedhe]

While he can't puzzle out the meaning of the glyphs, he nonetheless does find something:

When he examines the centerpiece, suddenly the frostcovered stone budges under his touch and a doorway opens in front of it, revealing stairs leading down into the darkness...

[Ridai]

When the stone slides away, Akaine jumps away to avoid getting crushed, thinking it would tip over. He raises his eyebrows as he sees the stairs, craning his neck to see something in the opened way down.
"Hey, found the front door. Maybe." he shouts back to the others and scratches his head as he looks back. Taking the glowrod of his utility belt, switching it on in the process, he lets the light shine down the doorway, trying to keep moving to keep the freezing could well outside his body, even though it's a bit more bearable without the wind. After looking inside for a bit, the young man carefully goes down the stairs.

[Ascension]

Sshran pulls his cloak tight around him, braces against the shock he knows is about to hit him, and exits the vehicle.

"Ssocoldssocoldssocoldssocoldssocold..."

He strides awkwardly through the snow over to the structure.

"What would anyone build out here? And why?" he asks aloud.

He scans the area for potential threats before proceeding down the stairs.

Perception: [roll0]

[Liliedhe]

In the faint, sickly light of the glow rod, you descend the stairs. They are made of a smooth, cold material - closer inspection reveals them to be cut from the ice. After about a hundred steps the stairs end and a corridor leads away into the darkness, its walls made of black stone...

A faint light shimmers in the distance. It feels cold down here, and not just physically. It's like you have entered something removed from reality...

[Ascension]

Sshran holds his rifle at the ready.

"I don't like this. I really don't like thiss."

[The_Snark]

Netta follows behind, slowly. "This is c-crazy..." But staying behind in the dark and snow, alone, would be worse, as she finds out just watching them descend.

Upon realizing the hallway is carved from the ice, though, she halts; something about having a hundred tons of ice above her head, with nothing but ice to hold it up, frightens her. "Akaine, wait!" she calls. "Should we be doing this? It doesn't look safe."

Sorry for not posting a lot—Netta's a bit shell-shocked right now, so she's not doing too much unless interacting with other people.

[Ridai]

"This place seems to be relatively old, so I think it will hold together. It would have collapsed long ago if the structure wasn't strong enough. But I have mixed feelings about what is ahead." Akaine proceeds inside, carefully looking around.

Perception [roll0]
Full defense as long as Akaine is inside

[Liliedhe]

The corridor is deathly silent, even your breaths echo loudly and seem like a violation...

The faint light wanders over the smooth walls, reflecting hundreds of times on tiny imperfections in the surfaces... The corridor widens and opens into a big cavern, held up by pillars made of ice. Several more tunnels lead away from here, and the floor is covered in huge, mirrorlike tiles that make even your tiny glowstick bask everything in radiance...

[Battlecat]

Rika also examines the stones, before following the others down the stairs with a little delay - having reached the bottom of the stairs, she runs her hand over the icy wall, looking around.

[roll0]

[Ridai]

An impressed whistle can be heared from Akaines direction as he moves the light through the hall. "Never seen something like this." He looks into all of the tunnels.

How many tunnels are there?

[Liliedhe]

There are five, not counting the one you entered through. They all seem to lead away into the darkness, without any features that distinguish one from the others.

[Ascension]

"Don't wander too far," Sshran warns Akaine, "I've got a bad feeling about this whole thing... It's not a hunt anymore. We're dealing with the unknown here. Survival should be our focus. Curiosity can kill."

[Ridai]

Akaine takes the vibro cutter out of his tool kit and cuts a small X into the floor in front of the tunnel leading to the exit and a vertical line in front of the tunnel next to the exit, clockwise. "Just to be sure and for quick reference. Here's my comlink frequency, by the way." He gives the others the frequency and then walks into the first tunnel (marked by the line).

[Ascension]

Sshran hesitantly follows Akaine down the tunnel, keeping an eye out for anything out of the ordinary.

Perception: [roll0]

[Liliedhe]

The tunnel is narrow and dark, the air oppressive and musty. An organic smell is in the air, something the Trandoshan can identify as decay. Something died here. Or someone...

[Ascension]

"There's something... dead here," Sshran tells the others, "We don't want to join it. Stay on your toes."

[Ridai]

Akaine proceeds, slowly growing tired of the constant warnings to be careful despite him already being alert.

[Liliedhe]

You follow the corridor carefully for a few more minutes, then the source of the smell becomes apparent in the faint green light... About a dozen bodies, lying on the floor of a small, roughly hewn chamber, weapons still in hands. You've heard that this planet was a battlefield, now you see the first evidence of it with your own eyes.

Even in death they still seem to grapple with each other...

[Ridai]

Akaines face subtly takes on a more... weary expression, although the change is difficult to perceive. He glances around the room and looks at the dozen corpses, to see how old the corpses seem to be, if there are other exits in the chamber and if there is something else out of the ordinary.

[Liliedhe]

Their age is impossible to estimate, since they are mummified and frozen. There are two species, one more or less humanoid, the others larger, more massively built and horned.

[Ridai]

I'll assume that means only the tunnel the characters came through leads to the chamber.Akaine takes a look at their weapons before going back to the mirror hall (as Akaine calls it) and entering the next tunnel clockwise to that he comes out of (number two), looking back to the trandoshan, saying "I'll be careful.", hands raised.

[Ascension]

"Hmph. Careful man wouldn't be wandering through an icy underground crypt," Sshran replies. Despite his disdain for Akaine's dangerous curiosity he follows the human.

[Liliedhe]

When he checks the weapons, Akaine finds some 'dead' metal blades and spears, but also a few metal cylinders... Lightsabers, if he is not mistaken.

[Ridai]

Akaine keeps it in the back of his head and proceeds into the second tunnel.

[The_Snark]

Although still nervous, Netta calms somewhat upon re-entering the large chamber. The light reflecting from the floors and walls gives it a sort of weird beauty, and the open space above her head is infinitely preferable to the dark, tomblike confines of the corridors.

"Are we going to explore all of them?" she asks, her hushed voice echoing and magnifying in the open chamber.

[Ridai]

"I will, but you better not go into the first one, not a very pretty sight. Looks like Force-users were also involved in the past fights, which could maybe explain the presence of ghosts."

[The_Snark]

"It could? How?" Netta follows Akaine into the second tunnel, curiosity starting to overcome her nervousness about the place.

[Ascension]

"Jedi have sstrange tricks. I wouldn't be ssurprised if they could turn people to ice or create illusions of ghosts and zombiess..."

[Ridai]

"Story goes that the Force is everywhere and Jedi were somehow closer connected to it. Now take the stories of souls lingering in this world because they still have something to do, combine that with Jedi and it seems all the more plausible. Especially after that massacre that was Order 66."

[Battlecat]

Rika follows quietly, most of the time watching Nettas second shadow. With Akaines last words, she looks the other way, issuing a strange little sound, like clearing her throat.

"Could take some time to explore all the tunnels", she says after a few moments and a second little cough. "Maybe we should split and do the rest in pairs?"

[Ridai]

Someone is growing anxious. "Yeah, sure, but less obvious hints next time, please.", Akaine answers, obviously ignoring the warning, making it another step more difficult to determine whether he has a reason for his statement or if he is just stupid, despite the lack of aggression in his previous words.

Still going into the second tunnel etc.

[Battlecat]

"Don't know what you mean", she answers carelessly. Then she turns to the others: "So, who wants to come with me? Or are there any objections from your side?"

[Ascension]

"I don't believe splitting up is prudent. But if you insist on dividing the group, I'll keep an eye on the one with two shadows."

Grug looks suspiciously at Netta.

[The_Snark]

Netta looks a little indignant at that; her fear really is fading, mostly because she's stopped thinking about it as much. It's hard to be confused and afraid for too long. "Hey, I didn't ask for this."

She would probably be happier with any other arrangement, but she doesn't say that.

[Ascension]

"No, you didn't ask for it. But you received it regardlesss, and that makes you potentially dangerous. It's not personal. If I were the one with two shadows, I would expect you to hold a gun to my head until you were absolutely certain all was safe."

[Ridai]

"On another note, it would be cool if you came with me, big guy. Probably better in the long run than Ms. Stranger and me drowning each other in double meanings and guessing games. Wait, that would be fun, too. Whatever, come on, time for some serious spelunking, we don't got all day.", Akaine ends in an upbeat manner, dragging the Trandoshan with him.

[Ascension]

Sshran sighs, but goes with the hyperactive man.

"Fine. But ssomeone should keep an eye on that woman's shadow!"

Turning back to Akaine he asks, "Do you have a plan, 'serious spelunker'?"

[The_Snark]

"It's not seeing it that's the problem," Netta mutters, and turns to her partner by default, who she has just realized is almost a total unknown to her. "Sorry, I don't think I ever actually heard your name. I'm Netta."

[Liliedhe]

@Sshran and Akaine:

You walk down the next tunnel. It starts out as stone, but soon shifts to ice. The light of your glowrod illuminates it in eery ways... Finally, after some twisting and turning, you enter a huge icy cathedral like chamber, the ceiling held up by carved pillars. The walls are honeycombed with niches, all closed with silver metal plates.

[Ascension]

Sshran scans the new room for threats.

Perception: [roll0]

See OOC for the reroll.

[Liliedhe]

Waiting for said reroll.

[Ridai]

"Nope, and I don't think you've got one either, so I'll default to looking around. Gonna save the corpses in the first room for later."

Akaine looks around the room, paying close attention to the carved pillars, the silver plates and what else might be interesting.

Perception [roll0]

[Liliedhe]

The pillars are carved into strange shapes that make them look like birds and flowers are crowding around them. The plaques are inscribed with letters, but you don't know the script. You can see that there are dark shapes behind them.

[Ascension]

"Wait. We must be vigilant. Check for danger first, see the sights later."

Perception rolled in the OOC now.

[Liliedhe]

There doesn't seem to be any danger here. Two further tunnels lead out of the room, and cold air seems to come from there.

[Ascension]

"Hmph. Well, the coast seems clear..."

Sshran takes a few steps inside and turns his attention to the ceiling. What's up there?

[roll0]

[Liliedhe]

It is just high and vaulted and made of ice.

[Ascension]

Sshran wanders over to look at the silver plates on the walls.

"Do you want one of these? If we showed it to the others, maybe one of them would recognize the text... I could probably pry one loose if I wedged my bayonet in the... crack... here..."

Sshran is already attempting this as he mentions the possibility.

Strength check: [roll0]

[Liliedhe]

A pity it doesn't work. The plate refuses to come loose...

[Ascension]

"I was only getting sstarted! Let's give that another go! HHHHNH!"

Sshran will keep trying until it comes loose or he is fully satisfied that it's not going to budge no matter what he does. Taking 20.

[Liliedhe]

Taking his time and working carefully, the Trandoshan finally manages to loose the piece of metal. Behind it there is a rectangular opening of about 50cm x 50 cm. It contains a human (?) form shrouded in black cloth, the 'head' pointing towards Sshran...

[Ascension]

"Well. It seems I've defiled a tomb. The body looks human... I wonder how old this place is..."

[Ridai]

"Maybe a mausoleum. Would explain the inscriptions on the pillars, at least from a human point of view, like flowers on graves and souls flying free like birds." The words sound like Akaine is in thought as he looks into the opened grave and looks around if there are any signs of the other graves having been disturbed in the past.

[Liliedhe]

No. All of the other silver grave covers are intact.

[Ascension]

"Was this sside of the planet always covered in ice?" Sshran asks.

[Ridai]

"Maybe, as the planetary rotation of Dretha seems to be somewhat synchronized to its orbit around this systems sun. It is possible that they are not completely synchronized so that the border of the day and night sides slowly moves, but when this complex was constructed, this part of the planet was most definitely on the night side. Meaning that it has been cold enough to freeze off the important bits around here for a long time.", Akaine theorizes/explains and looks into the opened grave again with a frown.

"You know, looking at the actual bodies might carry a hint about who these people were, but I really want to... save that for later. Get to the comparatively fun parts first and all that."

[Battlecat]

The stranger actually offers her hand to Netta, smiling.

"Call me Rika."

Then she waits for Netta to take the lead down one of the remaining tunnels.

[Ascension]

"Nothing about this is fun," Sshran complains, "Let's have a look."

He reaches in with a rough claw and attempts to extract the ancient bones from their resting place.

Cue zombies? Vengeful ghosts?

[Liliedhe]

He pulls on the black cloth, but the resistence is a lot stronger than he anticipated. The body seems to be frozen to its icy resting place...

[The_Snark]

"Nice to meet you, Rika," Netta replies cheerfully, taking the hand. "Even here." She laughs a little, glancing around about.

"Well, I guess we'd better get started. Come on." For the first time on the trip, Netta leads the way, moving down the tunnel with barely a look to make sure Rika is following. She does start to talk after a minute, though. "So, do you live here? Not here here, I mean, the village. I don't think I've seen you before, but I haven't been here—that's the village again—very long, and I haven't gotten out very much. There's not that many places to go when you don't know anybody, and it's not like I can just invite myself into somebody's home, you know? And the job takes a lot of my time, even when there's not much to do."

[Liliedhe]

The tunnel the two women are following is made of stone, and very dark. It slopes gently downwards...

[Ascension]

Sshran tugs harder on the frozen corpse.

Str: [roll0]

[Liliedhe]

The cloth rips, revealing white hair that spills down over his hand.

[Ascension]

"What do you humans need with all that hair on your heads anyway? It can't do that much to warm you, can it? It's only in one spot..."

[Ridai]

"Pretty much for nothing actually, apart from fashion or whatever."

[Battlecat]

Rika follows Netta quietly, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings, while one hand rests at the hilt of the vibro-sword at her side. When Netta speaks again, she answers in a low voice:

"No, I don't live here, actually. Just passing through, or better stranded here...", she gives a low chuckle and continues: "I guess I'm not the only one waiting for an opportunity to leave this rock - though I think being here has just become a little bit more exciting."

[The_Snark]

"I guess that's one way to think of it. Hang on a second, I think I brought a light..." She fumbles at her belt, eventually extracting a small fusion lantern. It produces a clean white glow, banishing the darkness around them. Except for their shadows, which are thrown in stark relief onto the walls and floors, and of course Netta's second shadow, which obstinately refuses to flee from the light. Netta ignores it. "There, that's better."

She starts down the hallway again. "So you've been here a while, huh? I guess that explains why you're here. I don't like to say it to the locals, but there just doesn't seem to be much to do around here. I don't know how they handle it."

[Battlecat]

"Yeah", Rika replies, grinning. "I'd go nuts if I had to spend my life here. On the other hand, I guess it's a good place if one has seen too much in life..." Her voice trails off, leaving open what exactly she means by that.

[Ascension]

"Hmph. Well, do you want any more out of the dead, or sshall we move on?"

[Ridai]

"Nope, I'm good." Akaine leaves the hall.

[Liliedhe]

Where do you want to go now?

[Ridai]

The next clockwise tunnel the other two didn't go into.

[The_Snark]

"I guess," Netta echoes, not quite understanding what that means; it results in silence.

Not for long, though, because apparently the young Imperial feels compelled to make conversation. "So where are you from, then?"

Netta's not going to stop talking just now, so feel free to move us along to our destination whenever you like, Lil.

[Liliedhe]

@Netta and Rika:

Your tunnel curves further downward, before it ends on heavy metal door. It seems locked or fused shut.

@Ridai:

There were two exits from the cavern with the tombs. Do you want to ignore them?

[Ridai]

*goesbackandreadsthroughthepagesagain* Hmm, forgot about those. Well, I'll better go through one of the two, doesn't matter which.

[Liliedhe]

The right way soon leads upward, and finally ends in a wall of densely packed snow and ice. It seems that here was an exit, but it's blocked now.

[Ridai]

"Hmm, nothing to see here." Akaine backtracks and goes into the left tunnel.

[Liliedhe]

The left tunnel also curves downward, changing from Ice to Stone and finally ending at another door. It is made of metal, about 2m wide and 3m tall, and it doesn't budge.

[Ridai]

"Where's the magic saying when I need it." Akaine checks the door for a keyhole and other locking mechanisms, including look through gaps for a bar used to block the door. After that, he looks at the immediate surroundings of it, including a manual search of the walls and floor.

Perception take 20 for a result of 29

[Ascension]

"If you can't find any way to open it, I have a couple of blockss of detonite..."

[Liliedhe]

Akaine's searching discovers indeed a controlpanel behind disguised moveable plate of wall, but it is long since dead and doesn't react.

[Ridai]

Akaine tries to connect an energy cell stored in his utility belt with his tools to get at least the rudimentary functions of the console up and running. If that does not work, he tries to reroute the energy from the cell through the circuitry to trigger the opening mechanism.

Mechanics/Use Computer take 20 for 31 (if taking 20 can be done in a reasonable amount of time that is, otherwise take 10)

[Ascension]

"When that doesn't work, I'll be standing by with the explosives..."

[Liliedhe]

It doesn't come to explosives. Akaine needs almost an hour of fiddling and playing around with the old dead wires, but then the door hums to life, opens - and dies again. A faint trail of smoke rises from the entrails of the panel.

Behind the door, thick darkness presses down on you. It is to ... oppressive to merely be physical, you would bet.

[The_Snark]

"Hmm." Netta stops short of the door, and looks it over, trying to figure out if there's a control panel or even an old-fashioned latch on it. "There must have been some way to open this, right?"

[Liliedhe]

It has handles, but closer inspection reveals it to be rusted shut. It seems like a little violence might force it, though.

[Ascension]

"I don't like thiss darknesss," Sshran says. With his blaster rifle at the ready, he peers into the shadows...

Yay Darkvision!

Perception: [roll0]

Unyay that roll... :smallfrown: Check OOC for the reroll.

[Liliedhe]

I would have liked if they kept ANY explanation why Darkvision WORKS. How the heck do you describe what you see?:smallyuk:

Peering into the darkness, the Trandoshan discovers a large, empty room. Alcoves are placed along the walls, holding shattered and broken objects. The darkness is heaviest in the center of the room, where something ... humanshaped seems to float in midair...

[Ridai]

"Finally." Akaine shines some light into the room.

If beings in Star Wars don't have some magic black and white vision, darkvision = infrared vision, similar to the drow in the Forgotten Realms.

edit: From Wookieepedia:
They had supersensitive eyes that could see into the infrared range

[Liliedhe]

Yeah, but D&D did away with Infravision and made it something magical. I suppose it's pretty much the same in Saga, considering the similiarity of the rules.

[Ridai]

Which doesn't change anything about Drow seeing in the infrared range, the same with the Trandoshans (see citation from Wookieepedia for the latter). As there was nothing else in the post, I'll assume Akaine sees the same things as Sshran. If not, then just ignore the following block of text."Well, seems like I'm gonna find out about the general attitude of the ghosts real soon. We should go get Netta.", Akaine says to the Trandoshan in a low voice and quickly backtracks through the tunnels to the main hall and goes into the tunnel Netta and the stranger went into if Sshran agrees.

[Liliedhe]

No, you do see the same things. That's why I didn't repeat the description. :smallwink:

[Ascension]

"You get the otherss!" Sshran shouts, "I'll try to hold it off if it turns hostile!"

Sshran falls back about a single move and aims at the shadowy figure, though he does not fire.

[Battlecat]

Being interrupted by finding the door, Netta never gets her answer - instead, Rika walks to the door and says: "Shall we try to open it, or come back with the men?"

[The_Snark]

"We might as well try to open it first, right?" Netta takes hold of the handles and pulls, trying to pry the rusted doors apart or at least get a feel for how firmly stuck they are.

Strength [roll0]

[Liliedhe]

She pulls on the door, hard. After a few tries, it actually gives way. Silvery light streams in from the cavern behind it...

[The_Snark]

Netta raises her hand to shield her eyes from the light, a tactic made rather counterproductive by the fact that she's still holding the fusion lantern in that hand. She switches it off, and looks back at Rika to make sure she's following; then she enters the doorway, squinting while her eyes adjust to the sudden light.

[Liliedhe]

The light isn't intense enough to really hurt, it's just startling after the darkness in the caverns before.

She looks into a huge, natural cave, a vaulted chamber, the ground rising in tiers towards a sparkling waterfall? No, it's not water, it is a pillar made of crystal reflecting light in a myriad rainbow colors... The same kind of crystal covers the walls and the steps in the floor, growing out of the rock.

[Battlecat]

Slowly, the other woman follows Netta through the door, an expression of awe on her face.

"Wow", she says in a hushed voice, "that's amazing..."