** Aboard the Krayt Dragon’s Breath Y’thal **
TuQ’uan readied his equipment, inspected his blaster and checked on the details of the job one last time. It was described as the haul of a lifetime, one job that would pay better than any he had taken before, a cache inside a vault with supposedly minimal security. Allegedly the owners wouldn’t even notice it missing. It sounded too good to be true. And if he was being honest, he knew it would be. But TuQ couldn’t pass up the opportunity to show off.
The sketchy Twi’lek who had told him about the job said there would be others trying for it. That meant that this wasn’t just a heist, it was a race and a competition, and he had no qualms about killing a competitor. The Kel Dor slide his trusty DL-44 blaster into its holster with a showy spin and set his hat in its rightful spot atop his head before turning to exit the ship.
Besides, he thought to himself. What are the chances of running into someone I know out here?
Seraph, Caperion System
The flickering, dull red glow of a holocron cast long shadows across the office of J'Kast’s chamber in the headquarters of Clan Scholae Palatinae. Dust danced in the light as he hunched over the artifact, which stood amid a scattered pile of old datapads. Y'thal. The name of the planet echoed in his mind as he scoured any material he could find about the world and the organizations that influence it. He traced the jagged edges of the holocron’s structure with a pointed, bony finger, the ancient Sith text shimmering in his pale, dull eyes, which he finally rubbed, leaning back on his chair with a sigh.
The opportunity for a heist he had recently learned of was audacious. This kind of work was not his strong suit, nor did he even find it particularly interesting. But somehow, the thought of locating and escaping with a hidden cache for the benefit of his Clan stuck like a thorn in his mind. It would be worth the risk.
J'Kast deactivated the holocron, plunging the room into near darkness. He rose from his chair slowly, the echo of his stiff joints cracking bounced off the walls. He moved to rest before travelling, leaving his desk piled with the material he had been reading on one side and a carefully arranged set of equipment on the other. A small hold out blaster, the remote for his microdroid swarm, a small packet of provisions, and his lightsaber – this mission required traveling light. This operation required more than mere brute force. It demanded finesse, subterfuge, and the precision of action that can only be achieved through careful study.
He still needed more information. Current events on the planet, the politics of its social hubs, the prevailing commerce… any detail could be crucial. There would be time on the flight to its system to delve deeper and scour more records. For now, he retreated to a silent rage, a meditation bordering on madness that maintained his focus. The Force would guide him… or it would consume him. Either way, Y'thal would yield its secrets.
What were the chances indeed…
Titius stepped off his own ramp, eyes darting around in search of the one thing that he needed after a long haul.
“What do you have to do to get decent caf on this rock?” The quiet of the spaceport echoed back, offering no leads. Typical backwater scum pond.
Strutting forward, Titius was sure there would be something passable nearby. Glancing around, he failed to see any likely establishments but someone looked familiar… was that TuQ? The Twi'lek had mentioned something about a Kel Dor with a large hat coming through earlier but gaining that information had required extra pulled teeth. Poor guy would probably not eat solids for a few months.
Giving a coy wave towards his potential adversary, Titius moved on. Mental note: take down a landing strut or two on their ship later. But first, caf.
As TuQ walked away from his ship he thought he was ready for anything this mission may throw at him. Unfortunately, he spotted Titius here as well. While it was probably no coincidence that the former Quaestor had found his way to here, it may provide an opportunity for distraction while he took a more subtle approach. Titius’ penchant for explosives certainly left an impression on those nearby. Shaking himself from his musings, the Kel Dor noticed another man here that looked out of place here on Y’thal. The pale man had an intense air about him that sent chills down TuQ’s spine.
Lowering his head and quickening his pace, the Plagueian Proconsul set out on his mission.
<@131481261867794432>
As J’Kast descended down the ramp of his Delta-class T-3c shuttle, the bat-like wings of the craft finished folding above the chassis and finished closed with a click. Y’thal felt suffocatingly humid after being in the dry air of the ship for the spaceflight here.
He noticed two other recent arrivals. One, a Kel Dor, noticed him, too. J’Kast gave a small nod to him before pausing at the end of the ramp and closing his eyes.
The wrinkled Sith cracked his neck with a bend to the left and a quick snap before taking a deep breath. The silent madness of a precognitive meditation took hold.
« At the very least, these are temporary adversaries » the thought pulsed in his mind. « Dank air. Dripping walls. The cave from the geological study of the planet. » The vision of the place was painted in his mind’s eye and then vanished. This was the goal.
With a slight movement to hold and manipulate a switch on a device in his cloak pocket, a small swarm of microdroids flew from inside the ship and into the sky toward the northwest of the landing zone.
“Scout ahead and pinpoint this cave,” he said lightly into the device. Looking up, he saw another ship inbound to the location. “It seems our company is only growing. We will need to be swift and exact.”
TuQ fanned himself with his wide brimmed hat as he made his way toward the rumoured location of this hidden cache. While his antiox mask filtered the air around him, it did nothing for the oppressive feel of the humid air on his body. His normally relaxed fit shirt felt like it was being stuck to his body with the plasti-wrap one would use to cover up last night’s leftover food. Needless to say, he hated it. But it was just a minor inconvenience for the haul of a lifetime.
“Remind me to never come back to this stupid planet,” he mumbled to himself as he left the spaceport and made his way into the surrounding jungle. According to his intel, he should be able to skirt the perimeter of the small settlement under the cover of the foliage and after a short hike he would find a ravine. The prevailing theory was that someone very powerful and very wealthy had hidden a few things away inside a cave system within the cliffs walls.
After hiking for what felt like far longer than it actually was, TuQ found the tree line thinning out. Running the back of his hand across his forehead, wiped away an absolutely disgusting amount of sweat as he stood at the cliff’s edge looking down into the deep rocky abyss. It was deeper than he expected, far deeper. In fact, in his opinion it looked less like a ravine and more like a crack in the planet itself. He took a deep breath and said a silent prayer to whoever may be listening before stepping over the edge and letting gravity do its thing. Hopefully his jet pack would have enough power to slow his descent.
When the blacked-out Star Courier finally landed and a petite Togruta disembarked down the ramp, she took a look around the landing pads, searching for her brothers fighter.
“I thought I was supposed to meet him here, not the other way around,” sighing she beegan walking towards the small city, if you could call it that. Looking at all the ships, docked there, she finally spotted her brother running up to her.
“Sorry,” he stopped, hands on knees, out of breath from trying to find her. “I had to park way out there.” The younger Togruta pointed further out. “They only let the shuttles and ships that carry a crew park closer to the city.”
“Makes sense,” Tahiri couldn’t help by smirk a little. “I thought you’d be used to run…” Pausing, she had spotted something over his shoulder. “Ummm, give me one moment, Ro.”
She walked towards where the landing workers were milling about. A few glanced in her direction and quickly shied away, a few other more cocky ones let out a few whistle’s and clicks, while the few who were older and in charge it seemed greeted her.
“How can we be of service, ma'am?”
“Did a Kel Dor, with a large brimmed hat get off that ship? And if so how long ago?” she pointed towards the ship she thought she recognized.
“Ummm, that ship ma'am? I believe so. Couldn’t miss a bigger hat than that one,” scratching his chin, the man thought for a moment. “As for how long ago, I’d say no more than an hour, maybe more.”
“Ok thank you,” turning on her heel, she headed towards the ship, keeping an eye and looking around at the other ships nearby.
“Hey, Hiri! Wait up, what’s going on?”
“Give me a second, Ro,” she replied as she stopped near the blacked out UT-60D U-wing. “I have to check something.”
She stopped and saw the familiar hazardous warning covered Zeta-class Cargo Shuttle also parked nearby. Grabbing her brother, “Let’s go. We’ll do another job, but I’m going to let Titius and TuQ deal with this one.”