First Snow
The gunship doors protested opening vehemently, creaking and cracking against the ice caked along the outside. Finally two clone troopers and a Jedi Master managed to pry them open, spilling the platoon out into the frigid wind. Reflexively, Gavyn pulled his hood tighter around his face, squinting against the flurry to see gunships spread across the mountain pass.
The GAR only needed to set up a small base in a tactical location on the ground. Most of the battle was taking place in space, but there was a Separatist cruiser that went down on the planet that intelligence suggested had access to military codes. The landing party was here to clean out any remaining droids and extract the codes. Some of the troops had already set up shelter inside a larger ship, with scattered low-temperature supply tents.
Although the pass was peppered with gunships, there were very few troops running around taking care of errands. There were a few moving supplies into a tent, and another few battening down a tarp to cover one of the gunships. Even with the snow equipment supplied to them, temperatures were dangerously low - even in the middle of the day like this. At night it was worse, between the thin atmosphere and the cloudless sky, exposure would certainly kill anyone before morning.
Gavyn ushered Tyro towards the shelter built next to the parked ship, slowly gathering drifts of snow across the hull. The transition to the freezing cold air under the oversized tent from the dangerously cold air outside was refreshing. Gavyn loosened his hood again, but hesitated to pull it back quite yet. Most of the clones seemed to be congregated here, and the space was downright packed compared to the eerie lifelessness outside. It was enough of a crowd to pack down the snow on the ground into icy slush, but apparently not enough to warm the place up a bit.
This is warmed up a bit. Gavyn reminded himself.
As uncomfortable as it was, however, Gavyn would have welcomed a more permanent location. He and Tyro had hardly made it back to the Guardian from their trip to Hapes, before being reassigned to supervise the operation on the surface. Gavyn was skeptical that Tyro picked up much in the way of survival skills, and hoped that the operation just went smoothly. Out here their worst enemy would likely simply be the elements.
Gavyn stepped close to Tyro, speaking privately. "How are you doing?" The cold never seemed to bother Gavyn as much as it did other folks.
Tyro's eyes flicked to Gavyn, then quickly back to the ground. They hadn't talked much at all in the past few days, and after Hapes there wasn't much he felt he could say. Instead, he shrugged, kicking at the snow, tracing lines in it with his boot. He had never seen snow before. Not in real life anyway. It was cold, colder than all the holovids made it look, freezing actually, obviously, but that wasn't enough to bother him. He was more interested in how the stuff stuck together and the now sizable pile of it he had made with his feet. He stared at it, a slight smile forming. It took every last second of training he had ever been given to not stoop down it pick it up.
Suddenly remembering himself and how he was expected to be proficient and professional about this war thing, Tyro dropped the smile and quickly reported. "I read the mission briefing and relevant documents and researched all associated subjects and files. Additionally I've compiled a folder of any scripts and subroutines we might need and stored them locally as well as in a secure holonet location."
Gavyn studied Tyro's face for any clue on whether or not whatever the boy had just said was a good or bad status. It had something to do with technology, Gavyn could only be certain about that. Whether it was working or not, and how Tyro was handling it was a mystery. "Uh… if you're having problems with the equipment, you should talk to Stock… or Pike." Gavyn recommended.
"There's...no problem, Master." Tyro corrected quietly, caught off guard by Gavyn's answer. Perhaps he was supposed to have done something with the equipment instead?
"It is okay, nobody knows what is going on with the gear right now." A flash-taught accent chimed in, through a helmet speaker. The clones were all wearing low-temp armor, so their usual markings to differentiate them were gone. Regardless, Gavyn could recognize the presence as Popper, one of the company's demolition specialists. "All of this low-temp stuff is borrowed, and everything else doesn't seem to be taking well to the weather." Popper was carrying two cups of caf, steaming visibly in the cold. He offered them to the two Jedi. Gavyn took his and sipped it. It didn't taste great, but the warmth made up for it.
"I take it there hasn't been too much action yet?" Gavyn mentioned. It was often the case when caf was getting passed around.
Popper's nondescript helmet shook back and forth. "Ace took a squad on a couple of speeders to scout the wreckage about an hour ago. We should get a report any minute."
Gavyn nodded, taking another sip of caf to hide his frown. Popper saved him the trouble of asking where Ace was. Part of Gavyn was hoping that he'd be able to see him when he got to the planet, but it looked like he'd have to wait a few more hours. It was the nature of their business.
Carefully Tyro took a sip of his steaming hot caf, smiling slightly as he stared back down to the pile of snow at his feet. There seemed to be nothing too important going on right now. If no one needed him for anything it wouldn't be too irresponsible. Besides, when was he going to get another chance to play with the snow? Mind already running away with multiple ideas for what he could do with the stuff he decided it best to just ask. "May I be dismissed?" The question came with a hopeful, if not excited smile.
Tyro's question took Gavyn by surprise. It struck him that he had never heard any of the clones ever ask to be dismissed. It made him feel distinctly uncomfortable, and it took him a moment to realize why. This war was turning him into his former master. The troops were so accustomed to cold discipline, that any displays of Gavyn's friendliness were a treat. He was forgetting that most humans needed more freedom and encouragement than the clones. No wonder Tyro didn't take well to their training expedition. Gavyn deeply respected the Jedi Master who trained him, but he had never wanted to be her. She was cold and harsh much of the time, and it left little room for joy in Gavyn's young life. He didn't want that same experience for Tyro.
Regardless, Gavyn was certainly not comfortable letting Tyro simply wander around the base. He trusted the boy, he just didn't trust Tyro's skills or experience enough to know that he wouldn't get in the way or cause an accident.
"We can head outside if you want." Gavyn suggested, trying to be obliging. "I can show you how to channel the Force to resist the cold."
"Really? Wicked!" Tyro grinned, quickly downing the rest of his drink. Outside meant more snow. And a new use of the force. "Can we go now?"
"Sure." Gavyn replied cheerfully, as he tightened his hood against his face again. At least this seemed like something Tyro was excited about, not just another dull training drill.
Popper simply shook his head. "You Jedi are crazy." He muttered as he turned around. It was pretty true, without the Force to protect them in the cold, they would only last a couple of minutes without getting frostbite. The clones had their thick armor, but Jedi did not fare so well canned up. They had extra layers and snow gear, to help fend off some of the nasty weather at least.
Tyro dashed outside as soon as Gavyn started to move. It was well below freezing but between his excitement and the thick snow clothes Gavyn had found him he felt perfectly warm. The wind had lightened up a bit but it was still snowing. Perfect. Normally nature wasn't his thing, anything outside the city and without a computer was boring. But this? This was cool.
He made it no more than seven steps, the fresh powder sinking beneath him, halfway up his shins, before he decided to sit down, sliding knees first into the snow, hearing it crunch slightly under him. Experimentally he placed his gloved hand down into the stuff in front of him, watching how the powder fell away and blew from around it before scooping it up. He tried to compact it into a ball, but it fell away in small clumps. Must be too cold to stick together, Tyro reasoned. He cupped his hands and exhaled into them before trying again.
This time it worked. Tyro packed the snow into a fair sized ball, smoothing it out in his his hands, studying how perfectly round he could make it. You could totally build stuff with snow then. Or...Tyro looked up with a grin, seeing a smiling Gavyn in front of him. Laughing he lugged the snowball at him...You could throw it.
By the time Gavyn ducked out from under the tent flap, Tyro was already sitting in the snow. He looked small, against the tall, black walls of mountainside, and the deep drifts of snow. Gavyn's thick hood hid the smile across his face. Tyro was still a boy, finding joy in the midst of war. He wondered if snow was novel to him. After all, the he had grown up on Coruscant, and his former master was not known for venturing into dangerous climates.
Finding himself simply standing and looking at his apprentice, Gavyn started to glance around the sky and tent absently, as though he wasn't only there to babysit. That was when something hit him in the shoulder. Gavyn didn't flinch, the snowball breaking against him harmlessly. Curiously, he looked behind him to see Tyro still sitting in the snow.
Gavyn's smile turned into a grin. "You rat!" He teased. The Jedi started towards Tyro, slowing only to scoop up an armful - a large armful - of snow. When he got close enough, Gavyn tossed the snow in Tyro's direction, but the fine powder simply showered the young padawan.
Tyro laughed, filled with pure joy as he ducked, feeling the snow fall over him. Shaking off the powder like a dog, he tried to get as much of it on Gavyn as possible. So that was how it was going to be.
Grinning deviously Tyro stretched out over the snow to his side, wrapping his arms into it and pulling up a large pile towards him. Keeping an eye on Gavyn to see if he could finish his snowball before his Master could pull anything else, Tyro quickly tried to press it into something he could pick up, this time paying no mind to artistry.
Unfortunately, it was too much powder to try his trick with from earlier, and it only exploded in a puff when he tried to grab it. Deciding he didn't have enough time to make another one, Tyro quickly pressed the pile forward into a short wall, digging himself into a trench behind it.
Gavyn crouched down, keeping one eye trained on Tyro. Gavyn packed up the powdery snow the best he could. It took some strength to keep it from falling apart. He looked up to see Tyro's snowball crumble apart in midair, and Gavyn waved the blowing powder out of his face. "That's a dud!"
Just as he was packing in the last of his, Tyro took cover… well, maybe the boy had learned something from all that training on Hapes. Gavyn hurled the snowball he crafted towards Tyro. The snowball impacted against Tyro's short fort, spraying powder snow into the air.
Tyro ducked behind his wall just in time to avoid eating a facefull of snowball. Feeling the powder spray across his back as the top of the wall blew onto him he suddenly had an idea.
He peeked over the wall quickly to get a visual on Gavyn before ducking down again. Tyro reached out with the force, setting it like fingers under the piles of snow around him. It was a lot of snow, but the stuff seemed pretty light, he could take this much. Looking up again, this time with a huge grin, he lifted the snow around him, holding the large drifts in the air with the force.
He managed to raise it a few feet into the air before he felt his hold start to slip. It wasn't the weight that was the problem he realized as he lost control of it, it was how many pieces the snow was made of.
The pile came down on top of Tyro with a whump! and he felt half a moment of unease when he realized he had completely buried himself, but light, tinted a soft blue, streamed through the snow all around him and Tyro quickly dug at it, bursting out of the pile with a laugh.
Gavyn couldn't help but laugh at Tyro's backfired attempt to use the force to throw a snowball. Tyro's enthusiasm was contagious. Gavyn didn't know how long they could stay out here- at least without actually practicing meditation to stave off the cold through the Force- but he was going to enjoy these moments while they happened. Gavyn was glad that dragging Tyro from Agricorps wasn't just trucking him off to war, but that now he also had the opportunity to explore more of the galaxy, and enjoy what it had to offer as well.
Momentarily forgetting about whatever Gavyn was plotting he grabbed a handful of snow to get a better look at just what exactly it was. Well, aside from frozen water, he knew that obviously. The stuff in his hand was for the most part, little balls of ice, which he had figured, but some of it, and what continued to fall from the sky could only be described as absolutely amazing. Perfectly symmetrical crystals of ice, as detailed, perhaps more so, than circuitry. "Master! You've gotta check this out!" And here he had been thinking nature was boring.
Gavyn shuffled through the deep snow to sit by Tyro's side. "It is beautiful, isn't it?" Gavyn smiled, as something about Tyro's excitement dawned on him. "Is this your first time in the snow?" He asked.
Tyro nodded eagerly. "I've only ever seen pictures and vids of it on the holonet before. This is way better though." The cold was starting to wrap around his fingers and legs, even through his thick clothes, but he didn't care. He stared at the crystals in his hand a bit longer then back up to Gavyn with a smile.
Gavyn chuckled. "I should think so." There was never a question that the real experience was better than a holovid to him. He could hardly pay attention to only pictures and video. Gavyn enjoyed being a part of nature, and connecting to the physical universe. It was all part of the Living Force, and the echos of holovids never came close to doing it justice.
"It is cold, though." He noted. "If you feel yourself getting chilled, you can draw on the Force for your energy. Your body will shut down your fingers and your toes first, and you get frostbite. With a little meditation, you can make sure your whole body stays warm, particularly if you find you have to expose a limb or your face for whatever reason."
As Gavyn opened himself up to the Force to demonstrate, something felt not quite right. He returned Tyro's smile with a expression of uneasiness.
Suddenly, a shockwave through the Force rattled Gavyn to his core. He was on his feet in a flash, lightsaber drawn. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears, as he circled, checking in every direction for a source of danger. There were a pair of clone troopers walking back from hanging up a tarp, that were startled by the display, and they too began to look around, unsure of what the Jedi had sensed.
Quickly Tyro ducked into the snow, fumbling to find a hold on his lightsaber in these unfamiliar clothes. "Master?" He called, unsure, but the Jedi didn't seem to hear him. Whatever it was, he didn't feel it himself, but Gavyn clearly could, and the force from him radiated warning in waves.
A moment told Gavyn that whatever danger he had felt wasn't immediate, but adrenaline was coursing through his veins and showed no signs of slowing. He sheathed his lightsaber, but his body was still shaking. "Tyro." He said raggedly. "Hurry, let's go inside."
"Master what happened?" Tyro asked nervously. He jumped quickly to his feet, pressing himself close to the Jedi Master. "What's wrong?"
"I'm… I'm not sure." Gavyn stumbled out, distracted by the continuing feeling of warning. It was fainter now, as though a starship had suddenly flown by his ear and he was watching it streak off into the distance.
A disturbance like this could only be a couple of things. Something traumatic could have happened close by, such as a grave accident or calamity in the middle of the shelter base. Or something terrible could have happened to someone Gavyn was close to, which worried the Jedi even more. Staying near his Padawan, Gavyn hurried inside the tent.