Whilst Aayla and Commander Bly secured the planet of Ilum with their ships stationed in orbit to protect the planet, I set out for the vast icy tundra in order to begin my search for suspicious activity. In orbit, the planetary scan had shown no evidence of Separatist activity or movement on the surface, but that was not to say they were not already here or were yet to arrive. There were numerous ways in which to fool scanning equipment, and the droid armies could very well be hiding underground in the ice caves. The temperatures would be freezing, but to me they would feel like nothing more than a mild breeze, though I worried for the clones in my company, for I did not know how well their armour would protect them in this climate.
"Sir, we're ready to move when you are." Sergeant Green informed me as the squadron gathered, all of them armed and carrying the supplies on their backs. Turning around slightly in order to view them all, I felt my heart sink in fear of their fates should they align their journey with me.
"A blizzard will soon be upon us on the surface. We must move quickly to reach our destination before it hits. If we are caught in the open in the snowstorm, then we will all become lost to it." Being naturally acclimatised to the territory due to being Pantoran, I worried more for their safety and lives than my own should we be caught. I ensured every last man of the nine membered squadron boarded the transport before then stepping inside myself so that we could take off, the temperature already dropping drastically and the winds changing direction with an increase of velocity, signifying the approaching storm.
"Isn't there always a blizzard on the surface, sir? That snowstorm out there seems pretty intense already to me." One of the troopers remarked as the transport lifted off and began it's descent towards the surface, all nine of the troopers facing towards me as I stood slightly apart from them.
"The current snowstorm is mild in comparison to what we might yet experience. The storm will grow far more intense, and the icicles will have the capability to tear one's skin from their flesh if exposed, where they able to withstand the freezing temperatures." Revealing just how serious this planet's climate was, there was a collective share of dry remarks and sarcasm amongst the men until Sergeant Green ordered them to quieten down and focus on the mission ahead. The squad seemed to share a close bond with one another, and I observed them with a quiet serenity as I enjoyed their rapport all the way to the surface until the transport left us at the coordinates, whereby I then began to move towards the entrance to the ice caves beneath the mountains. "Well this looks cosy." One of the more sardonic troopers commented as the howling winds receded the deeper we moved, engaging the torches on their helmets in order to see. The lights scattered upon the towering ice columns, and as we walked I felt the distinctive thrums of the Force as it reverberated throughout the interior of the planet.
"Not losing your nerve are you Trickster?" Another of the men replied with the sound of laughter in his voice, the men settling themselves into the situation with ease and humour.
"I just don't see what we're going to find down here except ice. Those tinnies would freeze their circuits out here, there's nothing here that they could possible want or need to win the war." Trickster, nicknamed Trick, made his observations quietly as not to break the seemingly fragile structure of the ice columns around us. So clear were the ice caverns, it seemed that one tap would cause them to shatter into a thousand shards as peerless and bright as stars scattered amongst the galaxy.
"There is more to this planet than first meets the eye, trooper. Be cautious, I sense we will soon meet with our enemy." Being a small squadron and rarely in close contact with a Jedi, the clone soldiers found my words puzzling and began to murmur in confusion at how I could possibly know what was coming, though again Sergeant Green quietened them in order to remind them of our purpose here. One of the soldiers was continually scanning for readings the further we travelled into the caverns, though his equipment continually glitched as the signal strength weakened.
"It's no use, we're blind down here." The technician announced in defeat as his scanners finally gave out, unable to function whilst so deep underground under the thick layers of ice and the snowstorm above.
"Don't worry Data, it's not like we haven't gone in blind before." Cheering up his concerned comrade, the trooper who went by the name Rune, clapping his brother on the shoulder whilst resting his blaster rifle against his neck, feeling completely at ease. Paying very little mind to the soldiers and their conversations which they used to fill up the otherwise rather daunting silence of the caverns, I focused instead on where my instincts were telling me to go as I maintained an open mind of my surroundings. I sensed that the Separatist warships had now arrived, conflict fluttering over our heads and I could also feel the vibrations through the caves from where the enemy forces landed and began to execute their orders, whatever they may be.
Halting in my steps, I lifted a hand to signal that everyone should be quiet for the moment so that I could concentrate, and Sergeant Green immediately relayed the order. "Quiet, all of you." Responding instantly, everyone held their firearms at the ready whilst looking at me expectantly as I read the vibrations as they reached me, allowing my instincts and the Force to help me understand what was happening around us. "Jedi Rouyn, is there something out there?"
"The droid army has landed and have also entered the caverns. I cannot be certain of their purpose, and would like to investigate the matter but their numbers are many. If we are to evade detection, we will need to divert into smaller groups." I informed him as I brought up a map of the caverns supplied by the Jedi Order, Jocasta Nu having personally assisted me in finding the records of the cavern maps within the library which I now shared with the clones, sending the information to each of them before explaining the entry point of the droids, as well as the routes they would need to take in order to approach unseen so that we could spy on their activity. Sergeant Green was highly accommodating and agreed to my suggestions with very little question, dividing up his men into teams of three and ensuring that he himself took charge of the two troopers with the least amount of field experience, Kidd and Bugsy.
He then assigned each team a route to reach the lower caverns where I could sense the droids drilling downwards. The vibrations were very minor, but since they disturbed the natural thrum of the ice caves themselves, I was able to sense it. Now it was my decision in who I should go with. Allowing myself a little time to dwell upon it, my instincts prompted me to go with the sergeant and his team. With orders given, we now each set off in the direction where I was certain we would find our target, though I was also aware of the other dangers we faced. I was not concerned for the other teams, I felt that they would face with little difficulty, however Sergeant Green and his team of rookies, I had a feeling that they would need my help to anticipate the dangers that was vast approaching them, for the tunnelling and digging of the droids had disturbed the creatures living within the caves.
"So what's the deal with this Jedi?" One of the younger troopers questioned in what he must have thought in a quiet whisper, though my acute hearing picked up on every little sound. "I heard from the boys that this Jedi doesn't fight like the other generals. She's a pacifist."
"Show some respect, Kidd. General or no general, you need to watch your tongue."
"Kidd's got a point, sir. What's going to happen if a fight goes down sir? Are we gonna just lay down fire whilst this peace-loving Jedi stays clear? Are we going to lay down our lives whilst she does nothing?" Bugsy questioned as I felt their harsh stares boring into my back. Sergeant Green reprimanded them again, knocking at their helmets with the butt of his rifle. It appeared that my reputation as a non-conformist to the conflict had preceded me, and it was not a favourable reputation in the eyes of the clones. I could not blame them, nor did I think of them in a lesser light for their view of me, as I could understand that to a sentient being designed for battle, an advocate peace would be as alien to them as the drive for war would be to me.
Underneath my feet, the vibrations gradually began to intensify, growing more urgent as I received a warning sensation that something was coming for us. "It is unsafe here, we must move away from this position." I announced to the three clones behind me as I came to a full halt and pointed to a different tunnel that would take us slightly off route. To this I met with immediate resistance from both Kidd and Bugsy who seemed determined to continue with the planned route, whereas Sergeant Green voiced his concerns in a less confrontational manner. Beneath my feet, the rumbling intensified as Bugsy and Kidd continued to argue.
"We cannot diverge from our route, there's no way. We have our mission, our orders, our target, if we go AWOL now, we'll miss our rendezvous with the others!"
"Kidd's right, we should keep pushing forwards." Bugsy agreed, grasping his weapon more securely in his hands as the ice walls around us began to sing. "You know, I bet there isn't any real danger, you're just trying to get out of this mission so that you can…" The rest of Bugsy's sentence was cut off when the ground, walls and icy ceiling above us began to quake and rattle, a sharp sound like ringing crystal piercing our ears before all at once, a massive hulk burst out from one of the tunnel mouths and screeched. The giant worm opened its gaping maw possessing seemingly endless rows of serrated teeth, and swallowed Bugsy whole.
It happened so quickly that neither Kidd nor Sergeant Green had time to even raise their weapons before the creature had consumed Bugsy, who barely managed to release a scream before disappearing down the broad gullet of the worm like beast. A Razhak. Protected by thick plating across their entire bodies which served as armour, the Razhak were a fierce predator species that dwelled within the ice caves of Ilum, though generally they lived far deeper beneath the surface. As I had suspected, the presence of the droids and their interference with the planet had drawn this Razhak closer to the surface.
Now recovered from their shock, both troopers open fired on the Razhak with furious war cries which made it swing around its head and the segmented antennae which it used in place of olfactory and visual organs began to feel for them. Surging forwards and attaching my grappling hook from my belt to my cortosis gauntlet as the blaster fire began to drive the Razhak back into its tunnel I charged forwards as it opened its mouth once more to release a screech and, taking this chance, I dove directly into its mouth and straight down its throat whilst reaching out my hand. Bordering on the insane, my body had moved upon pure reaction as I found myself sliding down the slippery gullet of the foul smelling creature which made everything burn with such intensity that I had to close my eyes in order to attempt to block out the acidic ichor and save my eyes from being blinded.
With my outstretched hand I closed my fingers around the ankle of Bugsy before he could be swallowed any further, and with my other hand I pointed it back towards the entryway of the Razhak in order to engage the grappling hook. It shot forwards with a great deal of speed and embedded itself into the wall of ice to ensure a firm grounding. Securing my hold of Bugsy, I retracted the wire and as the Razhak also retreated from the blaster fire that Sergeant Green and Kidd were still releasing, Bugsy and I flew out of the Razhak's mouth as it disappeared with moans of defeat.
Landing lightly on my feet, I still had hold of Bugsy's ankle as he flopped on the floor, covered in the slimy ichor of the Razhak's innards, gasping and shaking from the shock of almost being eaten alive. In the following silence, I levelled by gaze at him as I then disengaged the grappling hook and dropped his leg, towering over the trooper. "Perhaps next time, you will listen to my words of warning, trooper." And with that final curt expression, I continued to move forwards with no intention of delaying this mission any longer, walking away with three clone soldiers staring at me in utter astonishment and disbelief.