Hoth: Blood and Ice

Omandri wandered through the hangar getting a feel for the base. Hopefully he would have a ship here soon enough.

Walking along, the black greatcoat draped over his shoulders trailed behind him a bit as he moved. His eyes scanned the structure and the ships that made it. Seemed few to none made it through unscathed. The base itself had certainly seen better days but luckily the hangar was at least accessible unlike many wings of the building.

He would stop every once in a while and examine either a particular ship or an especially damaged part of the base.

A woman was currently standing at the large open entrance to the hangar bay, usually there would be an energy barrier to keep the atmosphere in and the external; world out but with power fluctuations, it was not running so the hangar was still exposed to the outside frozen world.

The storm was beginning to abate allowing dark swirling clouds to dominate with infrequent flurries of ice and snow. Once satisfied with the silence she began making slow movements as if doing a dance or movements which allowed her to display a level of flexibility and dexterity that was rather impressive.

All while singing a song to herself.


Meanwhile near her was Lana Beniko seated on a crate meditating... her closed but perhaps her senses open to the world.

Galen was wandering around as well. The common room was becoming a bit crowded, as people began to settle in for the night. There were still people in the hangar, of course. But the flow of the wind, as it snaked around the ships, felt calming to him.

Dapper Dog wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 13, 2022 1:40 pm

A woman was currently standing at the large open entrance to the hangar bay, usually there would be an energy barrier to keep the atmosphere in and the external; world out but with power fluctuations, it was not running so the hangar was still exposed to the outside frozen world.

The storm was beginning to abate allowing dark swirling clouds to dominate with infrequent flurries of ice and snow. Once satisfied with the silence she began making slow movements as if doing a dance or movements which allowed her to display a level of flexibility and dexterity that was rather impressive.

All while singing a song to herself.


Meanwhile near her was Lana Beniko seated on a crate meditating... her closed but perhaps her senses open to the world.

Omandri observed the strange happenings for a minute from a distance before approaching the pair.

"Not many willingly spend time in one of the colder parts of the base." He said as he approached, the chill evident event through cold weather gear and thick coat over top.

He had heard the Turtle was with the mission but hadn't seen Lana or her friend except possibly in passing.

Lana turned to him and rose and gave him a proper greeting for one of his station. She said, “It reminds me of Ziost, colder, but similar. Hoth has not changed much since the last time I was here. It’s a rough place, but I can see why someone would live here willingly.”

The other woman continued her dance like meditations.

The Sith added calmly, "Alderaan has sent some of their best.”

"You've been here before?"

He had seen movement by the hangar entrance and was curious.

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 13, 2022 2:22 pm

"You've been here before?"

He had seen movement by the hangar entrance and was curious.

"Yes, it was one of my earlier assignments when I became Sith after my service on Nar Shaddaa, Prince-Consort," she responded respectfully.

"I'd like to hear about it sometime." He nodded. "Other than the pirates, it seems like an interesting place."

"Pirates have always been an issue on Hoth, but never have they been so organized or dangerous. Mostly they war amongst themselves for scraps on the surface. Extremist groups are common as colonists or secretive cults. But the natural beauty of Hoth is quite the draw for me, I enjoy silence," she said honestly.

“The pirates are also interesting in themselves,” Tethys enters the conversation with a dry chuckle, having ducked in from the howl outside the hangar bay entrance portal where she’d been, for as long as she could stand it, trying to trace the lines for the force field projectors and guess whether they’re actually broken or intact but without power.

She tugs down the thick insulated scarf wrapping her head to better reveal her face, and nods in greeting at Galen and Omandri, whom she’s met; Lana, whom she knows by reputation and occasional encounter, and the mysterious dancing woman, whom she doesn’t know at all.

“And it’s interesting they’ve chosen to stay in a place like this as they grow more powerful. For a group of the strength they showed today, there are other remote planets that aren’t so inhospitable.”

"The ships they used in battle did not seem like anything produced in known space," she offered. "I also considered that the pirates have not pursued as heavily as expected. They have the space superiority, yet nothing."

Omandri listened and nodded as people joined the conversation returning and giving greeting in turn.

"They already sounded dangerous on paper. As Lana said pirates usually spend as much time squabbling amongst themselves as they do harassing residents or governments. Three crews showing this level of coordination is exceedingly uncommon."

He grimaced slightly "and seeing them in action I'm even more worried than I was before, diplomacy just became much more difficult."

"I'm not sure that's an option at all, doctor." Galen said. "They were waiting for us. Not just the Republic, but the Empire as well. I don't think they want to talk."

"Diplomacy may not be an option. But utilizing deception or simply playing to the weakness of many pirates... greed could work," she offered.

Omandri nodded "I never thought we would just nicely ask them to stop being pirates. We brought some of the best negotiators and sharpest minds in the Republic. I hold out hope this can be accomplished with minimal bloodshed."

Lana seemed dubious but then relented and said, "You have brought some of the best the Republic has to offer, I will not argue that point."

"Some of the best the galaxy has to offer." he agreed. "We just need to figure out what we're facing."

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 13, 2022 3:50 pm

"Some of the best the galaxy has to offer." he agreed. "We just need to figure out what we're facing."

The woman did not stop her meditations and just listened but she had to think they had recovered quickly and seemed to come together but they had also been beaten quite easily and if this was the best the galaxy had to offer…

She pushed the thought aside, it would not do to write them off so quickly.

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 13, 2022 3:50 pm

"Some of the best the galaxy has to offer." he agreed. "We just need to figure out what we're facing."

Omandri nodded "information is one of the top priorities, of course first we need to get this base functional so we can run proper ops out of it And take stock of what we have and sweep for survivors." He tallied things out, mostly thinking out loud "Certainly a lot of work ahead of us."

"We found a couple more out there tonight. he nodded. "They were lucky. It will be a harsh night for anyone still out there."

Songbird finished her exercises and said, “I hope you can find them all, this world is unforgiving, and it feels like something is coming.”

She shivered, not from the cold but from the fated encounter she knew was lying before in the ocean of the future.

The Daughter of the Dragon was coming.

"Yes, it does." he nodded. "Hopefully, we'll be prepared for it."

Galen Panteer wrote: ↑

Sat Aug 13, 2022 6:59 pm

"Yes, it does." he nodded. "Hopefully, we'll be prepared for it."

There was a frown in her tone as she said, "We are not off to a good start."

"No we are not. But now we know we aren't dealing with any mere pirate situation. We underestimated our opponent but I think they are underestimating us too. Giving us time to rebuild and gather."

"We'll see whose mistake was bigger."

"They likely underestimated our willingness to coordinate and work with one another." he nodded. "But, I imagine they have a fairly good idea of who made it down here. Not by name, perhaps, but they probably have a good idea of what we're capable of."