With a jolt the transport left hyperspace, entering the Jedha system. Onboard a team of the Brotherhood, sent to explore the ruined crust of the pilgrim moon. Among them the Kushiban, Knight Wenet C Bannog from clan Odan-Urr, quietly sitting in the back with a holopad containing information about Jedha on her lap. The moment she felt they left hyperspace she looked up, glancing at the others, a group of strangers; two Jedi she had never met, and a Sith.
This was Wenet’s first mission since the terrible events on Quermia. Even after many meditation sessions, the Kushiban still had nightmares of the things she had witnessed. But that was something she hadn’t told anyone, or they wouldn’t have allowed her to go on this mission. And she desperately needed to get away from the Jedi Praxeum, she needed a break, an adventure to find herself again. So here the tiny marauder was accompanied by a techweaver, a sorcerer and a sentinel, to find any Holocrons, scriptures or lost weapons buried at the bottom of the crater.
While the transport entered orbit, Wenet shifted in her seat and cleared her throat. ”so.. ehm.. guys?” she tried to get their attention ”what’s the plan?” she asked them with genuine wonder.
Kor snapped back to the moment at the Kushiban’s words. He’d been reading through lists of artefacts that had last been seen on Jedha but whose location was currently unknown, and he’d been so focused he hadn’t even noticed the ship had left hyperspace. Through the viewport he could see the moon of Jedha, an angry orb raging against its own death. He turned to the Kushiban.
“I think we should land at the edge of the crater and work our way in. There may be some underground shelters or old mines that survived the blast somewhat intact, and we can hope someone had the forethought to hide something interesting there,” he turned warily to the powerful Jedi who were with them, “Unless our wise companions had any better ideas?”
“I agree with you, Vaal.” Sanguinius replied, “Better to work our way in, as it will also give us time to investigate the area.” The Sadowan placed his datapad back into his backpack and glanced around him, studying his companions. “Any complaints?”
“I thought not,” he smiled. The Entar activated his comlink, connecting to the pilot of the transport. “Land us on the edge, we’ll be trekking in.”
“Understood, sir.” the pilot responded, several minutes later the shuttle jolted to a halt as it landed, the engines whirring down. A green light lit up the seating area, denoting that it was safe to stand up and move around.
Turel fidgeted in his seat as he studied a datapad containing the latest intelligence on Jedha. He frowned at the idea of going in relatively blind; there was not telling who else would be also searching the crater ruins. That’s before one considered any traps or threats of a more mystical nature. “Stealth will be our ally going in. We may not be able to call for reinforcements should things go to poodoo down there.”
“Stealth?” Wenet repeated as she hopped of her seat and grabbed her gear. “I can do that” the small Kushiban said with a smirk. Stealth wasn’t exactly her style, but she had learned from experience that sometimes it was indeed the best course of action.
The engines of the ship began to quiet down and they would hear the outerhatch unlock. Wenet’s excitement grew instantly and she immediately walked to the exit. Standing on top of the ramp she gazed at the view, her blue eyes widened her furr fluctuated in colour “wow” her jaw nearly dropped at the size of the destruction. “kark!… are you sure it’s safe?” she asked her companions.
Kor walked to join the Kushiban and flipped open his scanner, cycling through to a meteorological data screen. “There doesn’t seem to be any seismic activity at the moment. There appears to be a stormfront incoming but that shouldn’t hit for several hours yet, and none of the magma seas seem to have reached this far,” he flicked through several other screens on the pad and furrowed his brow, “I’m reading intermittent life-signs somewhere nearby, but I can’t tell what or how many. Something in the crater is causing interference.” Wenet looked up at the Kel-Dor expectantly, “So? Is it safe?” “Oh, I have absolutely no idea,” Kor said as he put away his scanner and descended the ramp, “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”