"Nothing on the signal sweep so far, Master," Echo's solemn voice crackled over the comm. "And we've circled both hemispheres twice. If there is a ship down there, it may already be buried in meters of snow by now."

If the air in Sakiko's chest had been any colder, she would have expected to see her breath billowing away from her in faint puffs of chilled condensation.

"We're close," Sakiko answered, her tone resolute. "I can feel it."

Volta's calm, even voice was almost soothing. "If we had a way to narrow down our search area, we could be more sure of our progress."

Closing her eyes to find peace within herself, Sakiko drew in a slow breath and called on the Force to hone her focus, reaching out to the faint wisp she could still feel just before her...

I am here, Hadrien... Stay with me.

She felt nothing but colder in return, and yet she was still drawn toward Jiri IV, drawn to its harshness, to its lifelessness, drawn down...

"The southern pole," she blurted suddenly, briefly unsure of her own words as she struggled to interpret what the Force had just shown her. "A mountain range...an overhang. He sought shelter."

"Southern pole," Echo repeated, "copy that. We'll look a bit closer and take our time."

Sakiko watched the Phantom Phoenix make a graceful dive toward Jiri IV's southern hemisphere, the sleek but powerful light freighter making quick work of the distance. Its fire-red and orange-emblazoned hull stood out against the icy moon's white surface even as it became smaller to her, and though she followed its path intently for some time, her mind eventually wandered with lingering heartache.

Her husband Derek had heatedly fought with Hadrien the night before their son had left on the expedition. They had disagreed on the need for Loreean history to be investigated anywhere else in the galaxy except on Loreena; to Derek, any evidence of Loreean culture found elsewhere was to be ignored in favor of centuries of authentic and meticulous documentation on the Loreean homeworld. Hadrien, though, felt a deep desire to know more, to learn everything he possibly could about his people, even if that meant uncovering relics of the Loreeans' past elsewhere in the known universe. The two had argued for what had seemed like hours, leaving the discussion unfinished and unresolved after Hadrien had left late in the evening, refusing to return. The only communications Sakiko had received from him since the expedition had left months ago were short, abrupt holos he sent her every week or so, hardly ever mentioning their location or their progress. She had tried sending holos in return, but Hadrien never answered.

Derek, however, remained unaware that Hadrien was currently missing. Sakiko couldn't bear to put that burden on his heart, as well, knowing how hard he had taken their son's lengthy absence without the chance to apologize to him. She simply hoped she would be able to bring Hadrien home safely, unwilling to even entertain the thought that the outcome of her search would be any different.

"Master, we think we see something," Echo's voice sounding through the comm broke through her brief trance. "We're landing to get a closer look. I'll send you the coordinates."

With her heart pulsing in her ears, Sakiko entered the coordinates from Echo's message, and her fingers frantically flew over the controls in her scramble to meet the two on Jiri IV's surface. She hardly even felt the rocking thud of her ship landing on the snowy surface beside the Phantom Phoenix and a rocky cave-like formation, quickly pulling on gloves, goggles, and her coat's heavy hood over her head as she raced to meet the moon's frigid air.

Echo and Volta were already standing closely together outside their ship, waving her over as the gale-force winds whipped tiny shards of ice into their faces. Sakiko joined them as swiftly as she could, able to ignore the incapacitating cold entirely.

"I can see two possible wreckage sites over there," Volta shouted over the wind as she pointed toward the cave, her nose and mouth covered by a thick scarf but her pure white Arkanian eyes completely unprotected under her hood. Turning to look herself, Sakiko struggled to differentiate two distinctly shaped white piles just in front of it, both of which were large enough to possibly be smaller ships enveloped in snow. Unwilling to waste any more time, Sakiko immediately started for the cave, paying no attention to Echo and Volta's earnest protests behind her.

Reaching the closest mound in only minutes, Sakiko quickly became certain the ship was not her son's, unfamiliar with its short, round shape. Where the outward facing section of it was completely buried in snowdrifts, its posterior half facing the cave was still somewhat exposed, partially protected from snow cover by the rocky overhang and the calmer winds at the cave's entrance. The ship's hull had nearly been split in two by some kind of explosive force, and what she could see of its interior was completely sealed in icy snow pack. It appeared abandoned for years, if not decades, as thick as the ice was that thoroughly encapsulated it, making it impossible to search its interior. Though the fierce blizzard that surrounded them was powerful enough to have created such a scene in mere hours, Sakiko's intuition told her to keep looking...

"Master!" Echo halted her, gripping her arm to earn her attention. Turning to face the two women who had finally caught up to her, Sakiko glanced between them.

Volta still had to raise her voice over the howling wind. "The other ship's engines are still slightly warm," she said as she pointed across the way at it needlessly. "But I can also see faint footprints leading into the cave. They haven't been there long."

"Allow us to go in first, Master," Echo insisted, drawing her blaster as Volta did the same, but Sakiko silenced them as she detached her lightsaber from her belt and ignited its ice blue blade at her side. The familiar snap-hiss even briefly echoed back to them from the mouth of the cave, amplifying its impression.

"You two will stay behind me," Sakiko answered assertively, looking to each of them for their agreement. Though Echo was likely being protective of her guest at the behest of her mother, Sakiko wasn't about to allow a Rys'tihn Royal to so needlessly endanger herself on her behalf. As she saw it, Echo and Volta were her charges, not the other way around.

Eventually the two women relented and nodded to accept Sakiko's terms, and the three carefully continued into the shelter of the cave, on high alert for any threats that might be lurking in the shadows.

Sakiko held her lightsaber blade aloft as they tread deeper into the cave, casting a wide glow about them to light their path. Though they had left the blizzard far behind, the cave's darkness remained mercilessly cold, as if not even the vapid moon's inner core had any fleeting heat to give. The respite from such ferocious winds outside, however, was almost relief enough. But the further they trekked without any further signs of life, the faster Sakiko's heart raced with anticipation and mounting worry. Hadrien...where are you?

"Master," Volta's gentle voice came from behind her so hesitantly, "...I see a form up ahead, on the ground...not moving."