Chapter XXXIII - Down to the Ice Planet
The com chimed in my room and Andronikos' voice came through when I answered. "The nav computer has us dropping out of hyperspace in eight minutes."
"Okay, I'll be there shortly." I cut the com and went back to reading, trying to finish a chapter before going to the bridge.
"Dweep," Pez chirped as he drifted off of his charging stand toward me.
"You can come," I replied.
The floating droid chirped happily and spun to look at Ashara, who was moving around the room. She had seemed fidgety, straightening up her things, trying on several pairs of clothes, and working on her fingernails. Pez drifted toward her, making her turn to look my way before walking over and sitting on the bed beside me.
"Shouldn't we go?" she asked as her eyes studied me and the tips of her lekku twitched anxiously.
"In a moment," I answered. Our schedules were off because Hoth arrival was expected at three hundred hours, basically in the middle of the night. I wanted to be awake when we came out of hyperspace, so Ashara and I had meditated and exercised before eating an early dinner and going to sleep so that we would be awake by the time we arrived in the Hoth system.
"What are you so engrossed in?" she asked, leaning over to look at my tablet.
I don't know why, but I was a little self-conscious about reading romance novels and tipped the tablet toward me so that she could not look. "It's just a book," I shrugged. "I'm trying to relax for a bit and take my stress level down."
She gave me a curious look. "I've never gotten into reading," she replied. "I'm more of a visual person. What's it about?"
Realizing I was not going to get the chapter done because of distractions, I closed the tablet and got up to look in the mirror, making sure I was presentable before going to the bridge. "It's a romance novel," I admitted as I walked away from her.
"Romance?" she echoed back. "That's interesting."
"Why?" I eyed her in the mirror.
Ashara got up and walked over to the counter where I was standing. "I don't know," she answered, "I guess I didn't think you would like that sort of thing."
"It's just entertainment," I shrugged. Pez puffed around our heads as I made sure to grab my lightsaber and told Ashara to take hers. Then we walked to the bridge.
Andronikos was sitting at the conn and Toovee was standing near the doorway when we entered. "Master," Toovee's electronic voice intoned, "the ship is about to exit hyperspace in one hundred and twelve seconds."
"Thank you, Toovee," I replied while stepping past him. The telltale hyperspace light display flickered beyond the front windows as I sat in the copilot's seat.
"You ready for this?" Andronikos asked as he looked over at me.
"Ready for what?"
"Anything," he grinned nervously.
The engine sound changed and suddenly the light show disappeared. In its place was a star field dominated by a hazy white strip of light, the galactic plane. Hoth was not in view and neither was its sun, but things were drifting in front of us, some bright and flickering and some shadowy. While I was trying to understand what I was seeing, the com chimed and made everyone flinch.
Andronikos reached to receive the hail. "Inbound contact, I have you broadcasting as transponder Kilo-Victor-Four-Ten with authorization from Dromund Kaas." While the military voice echoed through the bridge, a tracking sensor detected motion near the ship and lit up a starboard camera which showed a Terminus-class destroyer and several support ships drifting a quarter mile away. A flash of panic rippled through me as I noticed fighters moving toward us in formation.
"That is correct," Andronikos responded.
"Hold position," the voice stated, "you are near a debris field, and some of the fragments are difficult to pick up on sensors."
I watched the fighters continue to approach us, and my increasing concern made me lean forward. "This is Lord Kallig," I stated in a commanding voice. "Who is giving orders to my ship, and why are we being approached by fighters?"
Andronikos gave me a look from across the console as we waited an awkward moment for a response. "I'm sorry, my lord," the voice replied a little more agreeably. "This is Lieutenant Fints, officer of the deck. The HMS Emperor's Fist is the command ship for Hoth orbital activities and is responsible for receiving and protecting inbound Imperial traffic. We've had some trouble with pirate attacks recently and have taken a more proximal approach to the inbound drop point."
"Is that the purpose of the fighters approaching us?"
"Yes, ma'am, the fighters will escort you through the debris field to our orbital terminal."
"I wish to go to the surface," I replied.
"I'm sorry, my lord, but all flights must first dock with the orbital terminal to receive an acclimation briefing and drop schedule."
"Of course," I muttered.
"It's for your safety, my lord. The planet is inhospitable, and there is minimal dockage within the shielded hangar at Dorn Base."
"Carry on, then, Lieutenant."
"Of course. If you'll just activate your port pilot controls, the escort fighters will take your ship in."
I looked over at Andronikos, who leaned forward and touched some controls on the console. The fighters swept over us, and the nav computer chimed as the engines engaged. Andronikos explained that port pilot controls meant that the lead fighter was controlling our ship, and we mimicked the smaller ship's maneuvers as it banked and accelerated. The Intrepid trailed our guide and the white planet came into view out of the front windows, growing larger as we descended toward a lower orbit. There was a lot of wreckage around us, everything from whole derelict ships to sparkling fields of dust spread out in chaotic interlacing orbits. Andronikos continued, describing one of the largest space battles of the Great Galactic War which took place in the Hoth system. Both the Republic and the Empire were too debilitated and preoccupied afterward to mount any sort of salvage operations, so for over twenty years, the wrecks drifted into decaying orbits around the ice planet, some crashing to the surface and others breaking up in space above the frozen planet.
The fighters began to slow as they approached a clump of large derelicts, one with lights flickering through portholes. As we grew near the old freighter with signs of life, I noticed that the docking bays were active with blue shields across their openings. Maintenance droids were floating around the battered hull and some were moving on its surface. Slowly, we drifted to a stop next to the derelict.
"Kilo-Victor-Four-Ten," our pilot guide's voice came over the com. The nav computer chimed as we regained control of the Intrepid. "You're off our guidance – await docking authorization before proceeding."
"That is the Imperial station?" Andronikos muttered as his eyes scanned the side of the wreck.
As if answering his question, the com chimed as the station hailed us. "This is Adamas Station," a female voice came through the com. "You have a smaller ship docked to you. It will need to be released and brought into the hangar separately."
"Affirmative," Andronikos stated before muting the com. "I've linked the recon controls into the Intrepid and can do it remotely if you'd like?" he asked me. I nodded to him, and he proceeded to undock the smaller ship. Once that was completed, the docking code appeared on the Intrepid's nav computer, and Andronikos initiated the docking sequence.
"They did tell us that Imperial activities out here were ad-hoc," I sighed as the ship rotated and slowly lined up with the docking bay. A few minutes later the Intrepid's struts clanked down on the landing platform with the recon ship close behind. Outside the front windows, all I could see was a lonely maintenance droid rumbling toward us.
"Not much of a welcoming committee," Andronikos mumbled as he got out of his chair.
It did seem a little odd that no one was there to greet us considering the Emperor's Fist would have radioed ahead that we were coming. Andronikos, Ashara, and I walked to the ship's exit and Khem joined us along the way. We walked down the ramp into the docking bay, which looked old and had signs of wear and damage. Light gray painted walls were scraped and faded, leaving reddish-brown rust smears and runs. Broken equipment and parts were stacked in piles along the perimeter. We walked around the front of the Intrepid toward the interior personnel door. As I approached it, it swished open to reveal a lone serviceman who looked surprised to see us.
"Oh," the thin man said when he noticed us, his eyes focusing on me. "Welcome aboard, my lord." He dipped his head in recognition of my status.
"Who are you," I asked, "and why was I forced to land on this wreck?"
"Ah," the man stuttered, "I'm Ensign Reyal." His eyes scanned the rest of my team, lingering on the hulking Deshade before returning to me. "This wreck is Adamas Space Station, ma'am. All inbound vessels are required to dock here."
"This is a space station?" Andronikos asked skeptically.
The ensign seemed to stiffen at the comment. "It may not look like much, but it is the strongest military presence the Empire has in this system."
"Where is your commanding officer, Ensign?" I asked while looking around the hangar again.
"Lieutenant Halpern is in Bay Four overseeing the dropship launch. He sent me here to welcome you to the station and get you acclimated."
"I don't want to acclimate. I want to head to the surface."
"Oh," the ensign looked at me nervously, "well, it doesn't work that way, ma'am. Ships don't land on the surface because it's dangerous, and there isn't enough hangar space at Dorn Base. The dropship is the only transport with the modifications needed to get through Hoth's atmosphere to the surface."
My mind could not help wondering if there would ever be a time when things happened smoothly. "I'm looking for a Lieutenant Drellik. It's very important that I meet with him."
The ensign shook his head. "I don't know anyone by that name."
"Imperial Reclamation Service," Andronikos added.
"Oh, right, all IRS personnel are planet-side. I can help you contact Dorn Base and see if he can be located."
"Thank you," I sighed.
It did not make sense for the whole team to go parading through the station, so I took Andronikos with me while the others went back to the ship. The ensign led us into the main corridor of the derelict freighter and up several flights of stairs to a makeshift control room. I counted at least seven maintenance droids but no personnel along the way and only a single operator at the main com within the control room. The 'station', as they called it, looked old and smelled stale.
The ensign walked us up to the main com and got the operator's attention. "Can you raise Dron Base?" he asked the large, muscular woman.
"Not right now," she replied in a husky voice. "Another high-intensity storm is blowing over, and it's scattering out radio signals. Looks like we're going to have to drop another coms buoy down to them when we pass over."
The ensign looked at me. "The storms are pretty common. Our communication is interrupted about half the time."
"I can't believe that, with our advanced technology, it's not possible to maintain communications with someone on the surface of a planet."
"I'm sorry, my lord," the ensign replied anxiously, sensing my frustration. "It's something we've been dealing with for a while now."
The coms operator gave me an appraising look. "You've never been to Hoth before," she muttered. "There are numerous difficulties in penetrating the planet's atmosphere, beyond the crappy coms equipment they supplied me with. A heavily ionized layer of particles in the lower ionosphere eats radio waves, and the snowstorms blowing across the planet's surface carry a significant amount of dust and ice, creating an inordinate amount of atmospheric electricity. On top of all that, there is an almost constant cloud cover dense enough to block direct laser communications. So, we're left with a frustratingly patchy coms network."
"Can I see the last planet-side log entry?" the ensign asked the coms officer. After looking at the tablet for a moment, he turned to me. "This log indicates that the IRS team left Dorn Base five days ago for a location south beyond the Icefall Plains. They have been out of contact for over twenty-four hours."
"Of course, they have," I grumbled, wondering how much more complicated things could get.
"If you don't mind," the ensign stated, "I can give you the Hoth acclimation training that my commander ordered me to. It will only take fifteen minutes or so."
"And the reason for this training?"
"Well, it was instituted after we had multiple fatalities in the first weeks of operation in the system. It's sort of a lessons learned – best practices training."
"By all means, ensign, carry out your orders."
We spent the next half hour learning how hostile and inhospitable Hoth was, and I could not help thinking that the Empire was wasting time and resources in the system. Anyone going to the planet needed to be fitted for thermal gear that was specifically designed to keep people warm on the surface. Space suits were tried initially, but they proved to be too bulky and cumbersome. Dorn Base was carved into a bank of ice and rock and could not be heated without the danger of melting and collapse, so the thermal gear had to be worn all the time. The base was also small. It only had one hangar for several ships and enough room to house about thirty people. Considering there was already a team of twenty-five operations and maintenance specialists there, it did not afford a lot of room for visitors. I asked about the Republic and pirate presence in the system, and the ensign seemed to brush my question aside, mumbling something about everyone trying to stay out of each other's way. At the end of the talk, he stated that the station commander would contact me as soon as he was free.
We went back to the ship to wait. Andronikos muttered something about trying to figure out who was controlling the pirate organizations present in the Hoth system, and I was curious about how he planned to do that but chose not to ask and instead sought out Ashara to get in some training. The packing up and trip to Hoth had cut into our practice time and we had not done anything more than some meditation since our duels with Lord Vashcar. The training with Ashara was helping me and I wanted to get back to it. I could feel my body getting stronger and the consistent exercise was improving my appetite and making me gain back some of the weight I had lost. My hand was getting better too. The pain blocker was still necessary, but the intensity was gradually falling. I was almost able to keep the cybernetic glove active full-time.
Ashara was in my room and agreed to stretch and exercise with me. When it came time to meditate after our physical training, something odd happened. I asked Ashara to meditate with her lightsaber, and she gave me a sheepish look. Not thinking anything of it at first, I drew out my lightsaber and ignited it to focus on the crystal. After a moment I realized that Ashara was meditating without her weapon.
"Is there a problem?" I asked.
"No," she shrugged, "I just wanted to meditate without it today."
"Take your weapon out and meditate with me," I urged. She hesitated some more. "What's going on?"
"I . . ." she began to say before reaching for her lightsaber hilt. Lifting it before her, she engaged the blade, which bloomed a bright blue. She had switched her crystal back.
"What did you do that for?" I complained.
"I don't like the red one. It's not tuned to me and is difficult to focus on."
"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"
"Well, you haven't so far," she admitted. "I've been switching it out when we were done practicing together so that I could meditate with it by myself. I can modify its sound and Force power much easier."
"I see," I sighed. She gave me a somewhat defiant look through our glowing weapons. "You know, I don't care about what crystal you use - it's the rest of the Empire that will."
"I know," she replied.
"If you ignite your weapon with that crystal in it - other Sith or Imperial authorities are going to assume the worst."
"I just don't like the red one; it stifles me."
I pondered a moment, wanting to insist that she change her lightsaber crystal back to the red one but at the same time wanting to keep her happy. An idea drifted into my mind while simultaneously I got a sense of a ghost stirring within me. The idea seemed like a good compromise, so I turned off my lightsaber and got up to walk over to the counter where my things were. I picked up Corrin's lightsaber and walked back to Ashara. Sitting down, I held it out to her.
"Take this lightsaber and keep it," I said. "When you need a Sith weapon, you can use it."
"Really?" Ashara asked as she took the hilt in her hand. "It seems kinda wrong to take someone else's weapon."
"She's dead," I said flatly, "so she doesn't own it anymore."
"That doesn't make it better," Ashara frowned. "It's kinda gruesome, actually."
"Okay," I shrugged, "don't keep it, but make use of it or put Kaal's crystal back in your lightsaber. Those are your choices."
As an answer, Ashara ignited Corrin's weapon, and the red beam of light hummed to life next to her blue one. "It seems odd to have two lightsabers," she said thoughtfully as her eyes watched the beams of light.
"Some Sith fight with two weapons," I replied.
"Some Jedi do too."
"You could consider it a challenge to try and control both crystals; get them to play nice together. Anyway, can we do our meditation now?" It was a rhetorical question as I reignited my lightsaber and closed my eyes. We spent time meditating in the Force, and Ashara was better at honing her blue blade. The affinity with it seemed to be helping her. Afterward, we practiced warding, and double lightsabers helped her form a stronger ward. Some of my Force pushes still made it past her guard, but she was improving. I then told her we should spar with her using two lightsabers. She seemed to like the idea, so we went out into the main hold and sparred for a bit. I found that using the glove was becoming more natural, and the grip was improving. I almost felt like a functional Sith Lord again, and with my glove working as intended, we were almost equally paired with lightsabers. I was not a very strong duelist and Ashara was, but I was stronger in the Force and more aggressive. With dual lightsabers, it was harder for me to get past her defenses. She seemed to take to dual-wielding easily. Sensing her confidence and wanting to test us, I began to attack her more forcefully. Our pace accelerated, and I began to use Force push and pull to put her off balance. She used her ward effectively but still began to lose her equilibrium, and I managed to get a cut in against her knee. She jumped back with a sharp cry, and I pursued her.
"Hold a moment," she said.
"No hold," I countered with a couple more slashes. "Fight me off and turn the battle."
"I'm not going to duel you," he complained.
"Biz-click-duooh," Pez also complained as he puffed between us.
"We're already dueling," I cut at her knee again, forcing her to block with her blue lightsaber. Then, I Force pushed toward her and made her stumble backward. Her ward was not strong enough.
She looked at me angrily. "I yield."
"Beep-click-tweep," Pez agreed with her, puffing between us again.
I moved toward Ashara and Force pushed the droid away as I stabbed at her shoulder, making her strike my lightsaber away. "Respect the duel," I snapped at her while slashing back and forth across her guard. Her eyes narrowed at me, and her Force aura surged. What followed was the most intense conversation of blades we ever had against each other. I was not prepared for her flurry of attacks, and the second blade created a challenge that I was not familiar with. As a result, I barely avoided a cut to the arm and was struck on the hip cleanly, but I managed to slice her left wrist strongly enough to make Corrin's weapon fall to the floor. We did not hesitate or separate but continued our assault on each other with red and blue blades of light whirling and humming between us. The activity drew the attention of Andronikos and Khem Vaal.
"What's this?" Andronikos called out as he entered the main hold from the crew quarters. "Should I pick sides?"
"We're dueling," I replied while blocking one of Ashara's slashes. "Surely you've seen us before."
"I've heard noises coming from down the hall at the penthouse," he answered with a grin, "but I chose to not get involved in Sith business."
"Well, get involved and shoot Ashara."
"What!" both of them shouted at the same time. My words made Ashara back off in surprise.
"I haven't tested my apprentice's ability to block blaster fire. Set your weapon to stun and shoot her."
"Maybe I should shoot you," Andronikos answered with a tight smile.
"Beep!" Pez agreed loudly, popping his little blaster out and aiming it at me.
"Don't you dare!" I pointed my lightsaber at him. To my astonishment, the little orb fired off two shots at me, one that I slipped sideways to avoid and the other I deflected back at him.
"Dee-doop," he swished away from me.
I ignored the droid and charged Ashara again. She was still stunned by my command to shoot at her and had to quickly bring up her guard to block my attack. Pez fired two more shots, but I was ready this time and moved around Ashara to put her in the way. She had to turn quickly and block one red bolt up into the ceiling and dodge another one that went past me and struck the doorway to the engine room near Khem. I tried to close on her again, but she Force jumped backward over the holo-terminal. Andronikos chose that moment to take one shot at each of us as I circled the terminal to attack my apprentice. His shots were not aimed well, but Ashara moved into one as she tried to keep away from me. Whether she meant to or not, she deflected the bolt back at Andronikos and almost hit him in the arm. Pez came rushing up to me chirping and warbling, his little blaster threatening. Frustrated with the little annoyance, I Force pushed him harder than I wanted, and he bounced off the ceiling with a clang and went spinning away toward the conference room. Surprisingly, Ashara chose to attack while I was busy with Pez, and she almost cut my legs out from under me. We fought sharply, almost toe to toe, and I could feel a sense of confidence mixed in with her anger. Our Force auras were all twisted up together yet I sensed a hint of danger from beyond us and decided to shift position. Blaster bolts came at us from both Andronikos and Pez, and Ashara was in the way. She quickly twisted her torso to avoid one of the bolts, but it grazed her side and she cried out. At the same time, I slashed out across her right wrist to knock her lightsaber away.
"I yield," she snapped in a tight voice. Her eyes looked at me fiercely.
I nodded to her, stepping back and shutting off my lightsaber.
"Well, that was entertaining," Andronikos drawled as he put his blaster away. "For a moment it was hard to tell if you two were trying to hurt each other or not."
"She was trying to hurt me. It's her crazy way of training me," Ashara complained.
"Zwip-click-beep-duooh," Pez griped as he drifted close again.
"You cannot get better without being tested," I replied.
"You both need to get better," Khem uttered in his strange language. "You are still weak, little Sith."
I glanced at the Deshade. "I grow stronger by the day, monster, so watch your words."
"You are lucky I honor my bond, little Sith," Khem responded while pointing his clawed finger at me.
Ashara walked off to our room with Pez in tow, seemingly angry about dueling me. I was left with the others staring at me awkwardly. "Let's go see if the commander has time for us now," I suggested to Andronikos while stepping past the Deshade toward the exit.
The commander did not want to make time for us, but I insisted. He seemed reasonable enough but was in way over his head. The Republic was the first to have a presence above Hoth with a small orbital station. Their shielding and defense batteries were formidable enough to fend off anything the pirates or the Empire possessed in the system, and Commander Halpern had been forced to create a makeshift station out of a wrecked Imperial transport drifting in an orbit synchronous to the Republic station on the opposite side of Hoth. They had only been creating Adamas Space Station for a little over a month, and things were still in a state of disarray. Because of Hoth's strange atmospheric conditions, communications were spotty with the surface, and Republic and pirate ships constantly destroyed orbital satellites, making contact with the broader Empire spotty as well. Only temporary hyperspace probes could be used to get news to and from the system. Commander Halpern had very few resources available to keep the station functional and was not going to be much of a help to us. Walking back to the ship, I told Andronikos to search for alternatives.
The trip down to the surface was as harrowing as Lieutenant Halpern and his ensign had warned it would be. I was not a great pilot, and when nav controls failed and I had to take over, things got tense. The guidance lapsed when we passed through the lower ionosphere, which was highly ionized, and global positioning could not be reacquired until we neared the Imperial base because of ions in the atmosphere. The recon ship, which Andronikos had unceremoniously named the Skirr now that it seemed to be ours, had been modified with shielding that could handle the ice and snow in the atmosphere and engines with more thermal shielding. It had a modified com antenna as well, but it was not strong enough to handle the ionized field we were now surrounded by. I flew us downward through the swirling whiteness, watching the elevation closely while we descended. Strong, gusty winds buffeted the ship and made both Ashara and I cry out now and then from the violent bucking. Finally, the navigation re-engaged, showing my approach was off by several miles. I happily clicked the nav computer back on and allowed the ship to guide us the rest of the way in.
"They weren't kidding about landing a ship here," Ashara stated anxiously. Her eyes were staring out the window with mine, but all we could see were swirls of white. She was sulking a bit from our duel and had not said much since I told her she was going to the surface with me.
"Bleep-click-twibble-zwip," Pez warbled while hovering between our heads.
Relieved of the need to pilot the ship, my mind thought back over the past thirty hours and how we got here. It had been a frustrating negotiation to get to this point. Lieutenant Halpern wanted me to wait until the dropship came back and was reloaded, but that would have added at least a three-day delay in searching for Talos Drellik. In a meeting on the Intrepid, Andronikos said it might be possible to modify our ship to make the landing, and I insisted that Lieutenant Halpern let us proceed. There was enough room in the base hangar planetside, barely, and the commander on the surface was not happy, but I insisted. Then, the complications started. The orbital station did not have the parts necessary to refit the Intrepid's larger engines and shield generator. After further digging, it turned out that there were parts that would fit the Skirr, but Andronikos and Khem were not happy with refitting the recon ship. In a meeting, after we entered hyperspace from Nar Shaddaa, we had agreed to keep the team together, considering my difficulties when going it alone over the past weeks, and the Skirr only fit two people comfortably.
They were frustrated with the idea of splitting up the team again, but I urged Andronikos to modify the recon ship, arguing that the quicker I could find the archaeologist, the quicker we could be away from Hoth. He reluctantly did so, and after more negotiations with Commander Halpern and much tinkering with the ship modifications we finally debarked from the station. Terrain appeared hazily through the low cloud cover and blowing snow as we approached the area identified on the guidance as Dorn Base, but searching with my eyes I could see nothing man-made. Finally, a snow-covered landing platform with marking lights around it appeared, but we saw no buildings or any other sign of Dorn Base as the ship's engines whined and surged to keep us above the platform in the winds. The landing struts bounced hard when we landed, and the engines revved to stabilize us. Almost as quickly as we were down, the platform began to sink. Panic shot through me until I realized we were being lowered on a lift and our vision became blocked by ice and rock and then a cover closed over the place we had just landed, shrouding the space beyond the windows in darkness.
Ashara and I exchanged a nervous glance. "At least we're out of the storm," she offered.
"Are we at Dorn Base?" I wondered out loud, "I didn't see anything but the landing platform."
"Neither did I," she agreed. "Lieutenant Halpern said it was carved into the side of a cliff to avoid the winds."
The platform descended for longer than I expected before clanking to a halt. Dim light lit up the bottom of the shaft, but all we could see out the front windows was a wall of carved gray stone and snow still drifting down from the cover above us. I got up and made my way to the hatch, checking my belt to make sure I had my lightsaber. Ashara came up next to me with Pez drifting by her head as I hit the activator to open the hatch. The ship was facing away from the hangar in the lift, so I had to step around the back to see anything. About a dozen people were standing around inside the dim hangar looking at our ship when I appeared. No one made a move toward me or called out a hail, so I stepped forward.
"Dorn Base I presume," I stated while looking across the crowd.
"You got it," said a short man in dark gray thermal coveralls, "welcome to Hoth. That is one hell of a storm you decided to fly through."
"Yes," I agreed as I stepped up to him. "It had its moments. Commander Tritan?"
"Nah," the man shook his head. "Commander's getting some shut-eye. We had a problem with one of the generators yesterday, and he stayed up nearly twenty-four hours to help. The damn snow has been driftin' so high it's mucking up all the outside equipment."
"Who's in charge, then?" I asked as I gazed across the faces again.
"Might as well be me," the short man responded. "I'm Sergeant Pelb, hangar, and maintenance crew chief."
"Nice to meet you, Sergeant. I am Lord Kallig, and this is my apprentice, Ashara."
"We know who you are," he nodded, "the drop probe from Adamas contained your credentials and a heads up you were planning on coming down. I would have thought you had the sense to wait out the storm though."
"My mission is time-critical, Sergeant."
"It better be worth riskin' your life for."
"It is," I replied. The crowd looked suspicious and not very welcoming. "I'm looking for a Lieutenant Drellik of the Imperial Reclamation Service."
"Another reckless soul," the sergeant huffed while throwing a harsh grin at some of his fellows.
I did not like his tone and took a step toward him. "Care to explain that?"
"Sure thing, ma'am," Sergeant Pelb replied as he held his ground. "Lieutenant Drellik marched around here blustering about his mission and wantin' to push ahead despite Commander Tritan and others recommending he wait. He disregarded weather reports and prudent mission planning and led his team out into the snowstorm about five days ago. Haven't heard from him since. And now, here you are, disregarding common sense and landing in the middle of the same storm."
"I made it, didn't I?"
"Yes, you did," he nodded with a frown. Everyone stood around staring for an awkward moment before the sergeant continued. "Well, we're here to move your ship off the platform and out of the way so we can prep the drop ship for its return to the station."
"I assumed that we would be taking off soon - after I obtained the coordinates for the IRS team."
The sergeant shook his head slowly. "Didn't they tell you ships don't fly around on Hoth?"
"They did, but I assumed that the alterations made flying possible."
"Well, you could fly it for a while, but once you land, you're screwed. There's no hangar at any of the forward outposts, and if you land in the open the ship'll freeze up in no time, unless your shields are operational on the ground, which I highly doubt."
"I don't understand?" I asked in frustration.
"Ship shields are designed to operate in space, not in contact with matter. Shields that operate in contact with physical objects like the ground are highly sophisticated and don't normally get installed on a spaceship."
"How did the IRS team travel to their current location?"
"Ground vehicles, and it's slow going, especially in hard weather like this. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't make it."
"Do you have any of those ground vehicles available?"
The sergeant looked at his team again before answering. "Commander's pissed that he lent the junk diggers several of our repulsorcraft already. We don't have much equipment prepped to handle Hoth's conditions, and what we have is at a premium. If you want to go after your friend, you'll have to work that out with the commander when he gets up. In the meantime, do you mind if we move your ship out of the way?"
I was not happy with the idea of the Skirr being shunted off to the side, but I did not want to argue with the stubborn sergeant and his team so I relented. In short order, the hangar crew put wheel jacks under the ship's landing struts and rolled it out of the lift and over to a quiet corner of the hangar. Once out of the way, the crew left us alone, and Ashara and I made something to eat. We sat at the little table in the ship and ate MRE's Ashara heated up, sitting in the funny-looking thermal gear we were told to wear for our safety, the same dark gray onesie-style coveralls that the sergeant and his crew were wearing.
The thermal gear handed out on the makeshift space station consisted of layers of protection. First, there was the coverall with a hood that had attachable gloves and booties. It was comfortable but awkward to move around in and did not look very flattering. The garment was quite advanced, with a flexible touchscreen on the right cuff that controlled the wearer's body temperature. Energy cells in packs on the thighs could keep the gear functional for over forty-eight hours before needing a recharge in Hoth's conditions. Over the coverall, a heavy grayish-white pair of snow pants and jacket could be worn with a thick hood and face shield. Finally, there was a pair of gloves and snow boots with cleats. Ashara was still brooding and there was little conversation while we ate.
After lunch, we went out to see if we could find the commander. Dorn Base was a patchwork of carved-out chambers that all funneled into a main hall full of supply crates and equipment. Despite the awkwardness of the coveralls, their necessity became obvious as we left the ship and started walking through the base. The cold was sharp on exposed skin, and our breath crystallized into a white mist when we exhaled. Neither of us had bothered to don our hoods or gloves, and looking over at Ashara I wondered how her head and lekku felt. At least my long, thick hair kept my head warm. We wandered around, unsure where to go and confused by the fact that everyone looked alike in their thermal gear. Finally, we were approached by a Chiss, his blue skin and strange red eyes distinct despite his similar clothing.
"My lord, it is a pleasure to meet you," he stated with a deep, strong voice.
"Commander Tritan?" I asked, thinking it odd that no one mentioned he was a Chiss before.
"No, ma'am," he shook his head gently, "I'm Captain Yudrass, serving as Commander Tritan's second in command and Ascendancy representative for the Hoth expedition."
"Ascendancy?" I asked.
"Yes, my lord. The Ascendancy is the Chiss political federation and formal government of Csilla and its colony worlds. The Empire has requested that the Ascendancy provide technical support for this mission as part of the diplomatic treaty between our governments."
"I'm sorry, I don't know more about your people," I replied. The extent of my knowledge about the Chiss was that the Empire had forced them into an alliance and that their race had blue skin. The captain and Ashara seemed to be eying each other, and I realized the introductions were incomplete. "I am Lord Kallig, and this is my apprentice, Ashara."
"Lord Kallig," he bowed his head to me, "and Ashara," he added while turning toward her. "I've not met a Togruta in person before. What intriguing features you have." He bowed his head to Ashara as well.
"It's nice to meet you," Ashara replied with the tips of her lekku twitching. They continued to look at each other, and I could see curiosity in my apprentice's eyes.
"It's nice to see another non-human," he stated more quietly, almost directly to Ashara, before turning back to me. "If you are seeking the commander, I can take you to him."
"Thank you," I nodded.
"This way," he motioned with his hand before leading us toward a corridor. "I came to check on you earlier but noticed your ship's hatch was closed, and I didn't want to disturb you. The deck officer mentioned that you handled the severe storm quite smoothly." He glanced at me with his strange eyes while walking.
"I would have preferred a straightforward landing."
"Those don't happen very often on Hoth; weather is a constant factor we have to deal with, though this storm seems to be stronger than most. I've not seen your ship before; I believe it's a variant of the VX-9 Mailoc from Dromund Kalakar Shipyards."
"I don't know the manufacturer. Imperial Intelligence lent it to me for this mission."
"It's a sleek-looking vessel," he went on. "I'm a bit of a ship enthusiast, mostly Chiss designs, but I have become interested in Imperial shipyard offerings as well. It doesn't have the same armaments as a VX-9 gunship."
"I believe it is more of a long-range recon ship," I replied.
"Of course," he glanced over at me and then Ashara as we walked, "that would make sense. I would love to get a chance to examine it." We turned down another corridor and walked about halfway. "Here we are," the captain stopped at an open doorway and motioned for us to enter. Ashara and I stepped through into a small, well-lit room that seemed to double as an office and conference room. There was a medium-sized table with a holo terminal in the center and several desks at the back. A woman stood up from one of the desks when we entered and stepped forward, sharing a look with Captain Yudrass.
"The commander stepped out to check on a maintenance issue," the woman stated. "I'll go and see if I can bring him back."
"Thank you, Brayla. Please have a seat, my lord," Captain Yudrass motioned to the conference room table.
Ashara gave me a funny look before I sat down. "What's wrong?" I asked her.
"My lekku are starting to freeze," she whispered after turning her back to the captain.
I looked down her chest at the fleshy tails. "Can you tuck them into your coverall?"
She gave me a frown. "They don't like to be constrained." Frustrated, she unzipped her top and slipped her lekku into the front before closing it up again, having to leave it more open at the collar. Then, she tugged the hood up and worked it over her montrals. The outfit looked a little awkward bunched up around her head and neck, and she did not seem happy.
"I'm sorry about the climate," Captain Yudrass stated as he noticed Ashara's predicament. "We tried increasing the temperature of the base, but it required a massive amount of energy, destabilized the rock and ice ceilings, and made for serious water problems."
"I'm not used to such cold," Ashara replied as she sat down in one of the chairs.
I took a seat next to her, feeling like the captain was more focused on my apprentice than me.
"It can be rather oppressive," he agreed. "It's the reason I'm here. Csilla, my homeworld, is in the midst of an extended ice age, and my people have had to adapt to those conditions both physically and technologically. The Empire wanted to utilize our experience and expertise on Hoth. I take it your homeworld's climate is warmer?"
Ashara glanced my way, seeming unsure what to say about her past. "I grew up off-world, but Shili is mostly temperate and tropical."
I was about to interrupt their conversation, not liking the captain's interest in Ashara, when Commander Tritan stepped into the room with Brayla following him. "Very sorry, my lord," he stated briskly as he walked up to the table, "We had a bit of a problem with the personnel lift to the surface. Most of the equipment we've been supplied is not rated to work efficiently in the deep cold."
"I would like to proceed with my mission," I stated directly.
"Yes," he agreed thoughtfully. "I was told that you need to get in contact with the IRS team."
"Talos Drellik, specifically," I replied. "It is of the utmost importance."
The commander tried to conceal a frown as he sat down. "Of course, I will do anything to help," he stated as his hand reached up to stroke his goatee, "it's just that this storm has got everyone on edge, and I was told to minimize the risks to personnel. Colonel Vannis was here a month ago when we lost a scout team to suspicious circumstances and was adamant about not having further casualties. I tried to stop Lieutenant Drellik from taking his team out into the storm but he went around me and got authorization."
"What was so urgent that the lieutenant left in the middle of a storm?" I asked.
"He mentioned that his mission to Hoth was critical to Sith history and that he was searching for a long-lost temple."
"A Sith temple on Hoth?" I wondered out loud.
"He was pretty tight-lipped about it. That is all I know. The storm was just moving in when his team left, and things did not look as bad as they do now. Our weather forecasting for this region is still pretty crude, and the lieutenant discounted the severity of the storm that we forecast after noticing that our predictions were inaccurate in the week he was prepping his team. I'm afraid that if they got caught out in the open then they might be in dire straits or even dead by now."
"I can't let that happen, Commander. I need Talos Drellik."
"I'm sorry, my lord. We've had no communication with them for over two days and I don't know where they are or what condition they're in."
"Did they have any experienced guides to advise them?"
"I sent my most skilled scout, Corporal Sevens, to get them to their destination. They took several of my most capable vehicles as well. The loss of Corporal Sevens and the equipment would be devastating, let alone the loss of the IRS team."
"If you were to mount a rescue mission, what would you do?"
Commander Tritan and Captain Yudrass exchanged a look. "We've never mounted a rescue of that size. There are over twenty people out in that storm, and they have my largest vehicles."
"We have to do something," I complained. "Can the drop ship do a sweep of the area to try and find them?"
"My lord," Captain Yudrass spoke up, "telemetry and communications are problematic with Hoth's charged atmosphere, especially in this storm. Any ship trying to perform a survey of the area would be electronically blind, and visibility could be less than half a mile with all the blowing snow. You'd need dozens of ships for such a survey to be effective."
"There must be something we can do?" I replied in frustration.
"I'm sorry, my lord," Commander Tritan answered. "I'm just as concerned as you about their fate. I've got two forward outposts that have lost communication as well due to the storm. I'm worried for those men too."
"How have you dealt with storms like this in the past?"
"We've got travel beacons placed along the routes to the forward outposts. In times of lost communications, I've sent an adapted landspeeder out to reestablish contact."
"These travel beacons, would the IRS team have used them as well?"
"Their travel plan was to reach the Icefall Plains Forward Bunker, which they did four days ago. Beyond that, it's standard procedure to place beacons for any long-range travel, so I'm sure Corporal Sevens would have deployed them."
"Can my ship pick up the beacon signals?"
"I doubt it," Captain Yudrass replied. "The beacons are set to broadcast laterally, and the atmospheric interference will reduce the transmission distance to the point where you'd have to fly low to the ground to pick up any signal."
Commander Tritan looked from the captain to me. "The beacons are spaced out so that a speeder can pick one up at about the point where it loses the last one; ten to twelve miles apart."
"Okay," I stated, beginning to formulate a plan. "Send your vehicles to the forward bunker and see if you can pick up the IRS team's beacon trail."
"We don't have any vehicles," the commander complained. "I told you; they took my best equipment. All I've got is one speeder bike that will work at the moment. Several other vehicles are being modified for the cold, but it'll take days to get them operational."
"So, send the speeder bike," I replied, feeling my frustration build.
"My last operational vehicle?" the commander complained.
"You can send it to the forward bunker. How dangerous could that be? You said yourself that you were concerned for the men out there. The speeder bike is doing you no good sitting in the garage."
"I suppose," Commander Tritan replied doubtfully. "At least we could verify that the forward outpost team was safe."
"Commander," Captain Yudrass spoke up, "we recently received boosted com relays from Adamas Station. They can be placed midway to the outpost to reestablish communications."
"True," the commander nodded, "that seems advantageous."
"Once your scout reaches the forward bunker, they can see if the IRS beacons are traceable," I added.
"I'm not risking my personnel and the last operational speeder on such a mission," the commander shook his head. "It's too risky. I'll send one of my men to the forward outpost to reestablish coms and verify the team is okay, but I'll not have them chasing out into the blizzard after the IRS team."
"Then I will go," I stated flatly. Everyone looked at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was, but Talos Drellik was supposed to be my answer to the artifacts - the only answer - and I was not going to let him die in the storm without any effort to rescue him.