Edge of the Galaxy
Uncharted Solar System
The semicircular form of the Saqorian Zephyr rose steadily to meet the rocky, forest covered moon orbiting its glistening pearl gas giant. A small ice blue dwarf star gave what warmth it could to this system, so far from the brilliant glistening expanse of the known galaxy. The craft, once used by the recently created New Republic ambassador Ahsoka Tano in the time of the Clone Wars, had been repainted a light sand color with black striping. The former Galactic Roundel was covered by a stylized image of a hook-bat native to Saqor. It allowed for unimpeded access to spaceports that may be unfriendly towards the establishing government of the New Republic.
"Navigation charts have been updated to include this system; we just need a name for it now. Whose turn is it this time?" chirped Giz, a Cathar engineer selected to give her assistance to the Unknown Region expedition. She had a knack for using her skills to create specialized devices as the mission demanded and had more than enough sense to assist in course-plotting during the journey. The hull buckled as the atmospheric reentry created a jolt of turbulence, happily ignored by the Cathar as she counted off her fingers, tapping one by one as she called out the previous locations and who had been assigned to name them. "Sul! It's your turn again!" She called out.
Sulahaan Korrhussa, the ship's pilot, grunted dismissively. Focused instead on guiding the ship over the dense forest to the designated location. On a small screen in the center console was a small blinking indicator light surrounded by twisting trees and jagged untamed terrain. "There'ss not enough room to land near this essscape pod." He rasped.
Sul tapped on the center console with a clawed finger. Initial surface scans of the forest moon blinked into view, displays of cluttered topographic readings filled the screen. He studied the map carefully to try and find a landing zone close to one of the two steady indicator icons set hundreds of miles apart on the map. The escape pods had been traced to this single moon; one had crashed on the southern pole. A rocky mountainous region. The second escape pod was tangled deep in the dense forest the Zephyr was now flying over. Sul identified a cliff just high enough for the Zephyr to unload and banked the transport to hover alongside it. Sul was an Anoo-dat prime, a large reptilian species with four eyes and a powerful temperament. While he did not respond immediately to Giz's prompt for the planets name, his brow was creased as he contemplated a title that was suitable for such a significantly beautiful horizon.
"Alright let's stay focused, it may seem deserted but remember we got this location from an Imperial database. There could still be patrols assigned to this hyperspace route." Said Lindmon Crest, Lieutenant Commander of the New Republic.
After defecting from the Empire and stealing a prototype TIE/Phantom Lindmon used its considerably advanced stygium cloaking device to lead covert missions for the Rebellion. His piloting skills and natural leadership led him to be hand-picked by a New Republic ambassador Ahsoka Tano, a mysterious Togruta women and veteran of the deadly Clone War, to lead an expedition into the Unknown Region.
Their goal was to find a Jedi that had gone missing several years ago. In liberating the outer rim planet Lothal from the Empire, he was trapped aboard the Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera and sent on a reckless hyperspace route never to be seen again. Now that the Emperor had been defeated and the Rebellion began establishing itself into the New Republic, the time came to search for this lost Jedi.
During the long and arduous journey searching the border of the galaxy, Ahsoka revealed to Lindmon his attunement to the celestial power known as the Force, a power used by the ancient guardians of peace in the galaxy. However, as Lindmon began to channel the Force and use it to further the mission he became aware of its darker nature. Ever since his encounter with a dark Force revenant in an ancient temple, Lindmon had been plagued by nightmares and unwarranted feelings of dread. Feelings that only grew stronger the closer he got to the Jedi.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to split up like this?" Asked Sabine as Lindmon passed her through the connecting passage of the cockpit. "If we took our time, we could cover more ground around each area. Being more thorough could give us a higher chan-"
He held up a hand, pausing her from continuing and she furrowed her brow in response. Sabine was a well-trained Mandalorian warrior, with a knack for explosive ordinance. She was brought along on the mission as a consultant due to her previous history with the target, and she pulled more than her weight in a fight. Things like that had been valuable and gotten results, but Ahsoka had a strong inclination that their relationship was more intimate than she previously thought.
Crest didn't fully understand how a simple romantic relationship could be such a disaster among Jedi. Ahsoka remained fearful however later sharing with him that her master, a supreme duelist and powerful servant of the Force, had turned away from the path of the light. In an attempt to save everything he loved he was forced to hunt down and destroy the Jedi. She was determined not to let another Jedi become such a monster again.
As his training in the ways of the Force deepened, Lindmon began to see the cracks in Sabine's previously unreadable bearing. Each time they got closer to this Ezra Bridger his Force sense allowed him to feel the flutter of desperation in her emotions. It didn't particularly bother him but Lindmon wouldn't allow strong feelings to compromise mission decisions.
"Like I said…This location could still be under the regular patrol routes. We may have only a few hours, maybe a couple of days." He said firmly, "Whatever time we've got we'll spend looking."
He hit the ramp release panel and grabbed the remainder of his equipment.
Sul yanked back the Zephyr's gimbal control and the semicircular wings pivoted around the main fuselage, allowing the ramp to extend out the side of the craft to meet the cliff's edge. He hoisted his weapon from its place at the side of the pilot's seat, a large curved vibro-axe with a telescopic handle. He carried a standard issue sidearm blaster of course but sometimes…sometimes nothing could beat a massive lizard with a massively heavy axe.
He turned back before leaving the cockpit and took a long look out the transparisteel viewport. The sky was filled with wisps of thin clouds over a strong blue sky. Most of the horizon was dominated by the massive gas giant the moon orbited, its undulating green and silvery gasses oppressing the skyline.
"Sinviri…" He muttered, more to himself than as a response to Giz's question. After a moment Sulahaan regarded Giz. "A god among my people. The shepherd of losst and wayward soulss."
They would have to climb down the cliff to the basin of the forest and trek through it to reach the escape pod's emergency beacon. The distance was only about three miles, but the density of the forest could take them more time to navigate. With how far removed from the galaxy this system was, there was no telling what could rise up from the forest to meet them.
Giz grinned from ear to ear, plopping herself into the pilot's seat as Sul vacated it. "That's a good one! Plan still to pick you two up here at nightfall?" Sul simply nodded and moved towards the ramp, his leathery clawed feet landing in the dust of the crag.
The Zephyr twisted as the ramp closed, the large wings circled around the shuttle and returned to their standard flight positions. After a brief moment the ship dipped its nose and rocketed down towards the tree line, pulling up seconds before smashing into the treetops with a mechanical scream. Sulahaan watched the shuttle depart, a subtle growl escaping his throat. "She had better not break my ship." He hissed, turning his attention back to his superior.
"She doesn't get the chance to fly too often, cut the girl some slack eh?" Lindmon's tone was light despite the furrow in his brow as he checked the readout on his wrist mounted display. "We're still a good several klicks away from the pod. Let's be sure to keep on our toes." He checked the display on his E-11 blaster rifle, a standard issue firearm for most imperial soldiers. It was powerful enough to put down most human sized targets, and accurate enough to pick of a target at range if it was in the hands of a decent shooter. Fortunately for Lindmon, he was. He moved his hand to his hip, making sure that the silver hilt was still securely fastened to his belt before looking up and motioning towards Sul.
The pair worked their way down from the large grey stone plateau. The sound of forest wildlife met their ears only a short way from the top. The raucous cries of airborne creatures blossomed out from treetops and far in the distance a loud bellowing low thundered across the forest.
"Certainly no lack of wildlife." Lindmon stated, carefully positioning his feet and hands as the pair climbed their way down the steep cliff face.
"That meanss a sophissticated food chain, and that means apex predatorss." Sul grunted, catching himself as his foot slipped sending pebbles careening down to the forest floor.
"We expected as much. With all the life here I don't think I will have much issue sensing if trouble is coming."
After several minutes the team landed beneath the trees. The thick canopy overhead only allowed a sparse amount of light to cut through. Large thick fungus grew along the trunks of the trees, flourishing in the dark humidity they found themselves in. The scurrying of small creatures shook the foliage around them as they started to move. Lindmon slung his rifle and pulled his saber from his hip, activating the brilliant white blade with a 'snap-hiss'. The pair started chopping their way towards the tell-tale ping of the wreckage.