[D6MA -- TBD] Le Voyage dans la Lune

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Vaya stared eagerly out the viewport as Orlandis’ blue, pockmarked surface loomed in her view. Ever since the first breadcrumb on the trail had dropped a month ago at Sister Hulia’s tea table, she had grown fixated on the thought that her years on this backwater nothing of a planet was supposed to end in this. Proof that her sometimes half-hearted faith was worth it (she didn’t let the fact that proof and faith didn’t really go together bother her right now).

It was almost enough to let her forget that not-sister Tirali was right behind her. Her face no longer veiled, but tattoo’d with a symbol that was maybe designed to be objectively disturbing to most humanoid’s brains, but worse because Vaya knew what it was supposed to mean to Tirali. And that Vaya had suggested it.

Well. Fine. I've gone on expeditions with people I've had personal conflicts with before. This is almost exactly like that time me and that prig from Brentall IV were competing for the same research grant. Except the prig from Brentall IV hadn’t been armed with anything worse than an excavator’s pick.

[Qareme Torth]

For once, Qareme wasn't sittting down quietly meditating. Instead she was leaning against a wall on the far side, looking out of the window. Or at Vaya. Or the not-sister.

It was that general direction.

[Petrus Karath]

Although somewhat reluctant to leave the base with work undone, the prospect of viewing a Jedi temple was something that he couldn't pass up.

He sat at a station, not far from Qareme. He cast the taller Jedi a curious look, accompanied by a smile, before looking out the viewport once more.

"I wonder why they put a temple on the moon?" Petrus asked. "Is there breathable atmosphere?"

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

"Nothing you'd want to go outside in without a suit, which raises lots of questions. Plenty of better real estate downside." Vaya shrugged, and smirked at Petrus. "They wanted some space, I guess."

[Qareme Torth]

"What better place to keep important secrets than in a difficult to survive terrain?" Qareme offered to the group.

[Dapper Dog]

“We are getting close now, there is a ravine and a cave system… it should be large enough to fit the ship, I pray your pilot is skilled that part will be challenging,” she said standing behind Vaya.

“According to what I learned, anyway.”

[Verse Aura]

Verse was excited about the trip; and completely oblivious to any of the tension between the others and Sister Tirali. She was going to a Jedi temple! It had been such a long time. She daydreamed about what wonders might be found there; what knowledge and artifacts and... and mostly it was just good to be on a mission to recover something of the Jedi, rather than running around fighting people and darksiders and the like.

"Wait, do we *have* suits on board?" She asked, roused from her daydream.

[Qareme Torth]

"I trust Vaya to have planned for enough suits. She seems the careful planning type" Qareme commented to Verse, her eyes remaining in the same direction.

"I am curious what state the temple will be in. I cannot imagine it has been used much in recent years."

[Dapper Dog]

Although somewhat reluctant to leave the base with work undone, the prospect of viewing a Jedi temple was something that he couldn't pass up.

He sat at a station, not far from Qareme. He cast the taller Jedi a curious look, accompanied by a smile, before looking out the viewport once more.

"I wonder why they put a temple on the moon?" Petrus asked. "Is there breathable atmosphere?"

Petrus could hear voices and with a turn of the head towards them he saw a hallway with brownish red marble flooring and arched hallways and a sense of peace washed over him… and the voice continued.

“See I told you it was still here,” Byron said as the two walked through the halls.

“Fine, you were actually right this time,” Daz responded.

“I tend to be right a lot of the time,” Byron said as a droid passed by cleaning the floor.

Daz glanced down at it and then looked at his friend and said, “Balmorra?”

“We don’t talk about Balmorra,” he mused darkly.

They turned the corner and Daz paused his weapon in hand. Before him was Drascovina, she glanced over shoulder her long blonde hair spilling gracefully over her shoulder. She turned fully holding a brown haired child, she was as beautiful as Drascovina was wicked, at least to Daz.

She spoke with her usually smugness, “Daz, I thought I smelled failure in the air.”

Byron interceded and said, “Let’s try and be civil… Daz meet our Lucinia…”

Then he is back at the ship.

[Sinnya]

“We are getting close now, there is a ravine and a cave system… it should be large enough to fit the ship, I pray your pilot is skilled that part will be challenging,” she said standing behind Vaya.

“According to what I learned, anyway.”

"I'm right here," Sinnya pointed out with some asperity. She hadn't quite figured out how to interact with Tirali. On the one hand, the punishment was supposed to have paid for all her past crimes, leaving nothing else for which to blame her. On the other hand, it also put her beyond the pale of sociality, cursed, an unperson. At least as far as half of Sinnya was concerned. The other half of Sinnya, meanwhile, wondered what schemes Tirali might be cooking up to stab the team in the back.

Whatever. She focused again on flying.

[Petrus Karath]

Petrus came back to himself with a start.

"I... just had a vision. It was..." He shook his head. "I don't know what it means. It was from a long time ago..."

He chewed his lip for a few moments. "Maybe we'll see when we're at the temple. There might be answers there."

[Dapper Dog]

The cavern came into view, a crater hides a yawning portal in the shadows and inside was a massive cavern with natural stone pillars to evade as Tirali guided them towards the location.

OOC: Piloting check at Average with a setback to fly through a cavern towards the entrance.

[Sinnya]

Sinnya guided the TBD down the ravine and into the cavern as gently and smoothly as a parent carrying a sleeping baby. But there was something she hadn't expected...

---
Great success! With one threat...

D6 MA Moon Cruise--Spess Piloting average, setback: 4eA+2eD+1eS 5 successes, 1 threat

[Dapper Dog]

The ship clipped a pillar causing a minor shifting of stone. Then Tirali pointed at a wall and said, "Straight on, Trust in the Force... so it says."

There is only a stone cavern wall ahead.

OOC: 1 point of System Strain.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Petrus came back to himself with a start.

"I... just had a vision. It was..." He shook his head. "I don't know what it means. It was from a long time ago..."

He chewed his lip for a few moments. "Maybe we'll see when we're at the temple. There might be answers there."

Vaya turned fully to Petrus, frowning. For all her hope that the Force had led her to Petrus for a reason, having him muttering about seeing things was a new and uncomfortable strain on her rationalism. “Keep me posted, Oh Master,” she said, her voice only half as wry as might be expected.

The ship clipped a pillar causing a minor shifting of stone. Then Tirali pointed at a wall and said, "Straight on, Trust in the Force... so it says."

There is only a stone cavern wall ahead.

Vaya flinched more than the impact warranted, but quashed her impulse to wail about their as-yet-unpaid-for-ship. Sinnya didn’t need the distraction, and had pulled more than her weight so far.

Then she stared at Tirali, and then the wall, and then pushed some buttons on the sensor console. Whatever Tirali was up to, she didn’t think it was elaborate suicide. “What do you think, kids? Did the Academy teach you about this sort of thing?”

[Qareme Torth]

Vaya flinched more than the impact warranted, but quashed her impulse to wail about their as-yet-unpaid-for-ship. Sinnya didn’t need the distraction, and had pulled more than her weight so far.

Then she stared at Tirali, and then the wall, and then pushed some buttons on the sensor console. Whatever Tirali was up to, she didn’t think it was elaborate suicide. “What do you think, kids? Did the Academy teach you about this sort of thing?”

"Yes it did. It taught us to trust in the force."

Qareme looked looked over the others, then towards the wall. She couldn't see beyond it, but she didn't seem concerned.

[Verse Aura]

"A vision?" She was about to ask for more information on what he'd seen when the ship clipped into a stone pillar with a thud; interrupting her train of thought.

Then came the wall, up ahead.

"The Force is with us."

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

Vaya felt chagrined by the simple clarity of Qareme's and Verse's answers. And envious.

She looked at the sensor board, and to those who hadn't spoken yet. "Well. I guess. If, uh, there aren't any objections." She didn't swallow audibly, but there was a pause. "Take us in, Sinnya."

She looked forward. I will not close my eyes.

Ooc: I doubt there's any objections, or anything the sensor board could tell me to make us not go forward. Sinnya said she's afk and would steer where we want.

[Dapper Dog]

The craft collides with nothing it slides through and is now in a large hangar capable of holding probably three ships the size of the TBD. Behind them is an energy field, and sensors pick up a suitable atmosphere. Lights start to come online as Sinnya finds a place to land.

The walls are beautifully crafted and there is a theme of flowing graceful architecture, with soft oranges and browns that look seamless and organic but are all metal and artificial.

There is one door out of the hangar and several droids doing maintenance in the now growing light.

[Qareme Torth]

The large Zabrak put her hand on Vaya's shoulder as they approached the wall in a gesture of comforting her (or at least the intent). She stared forward, not concerned. Full faith in the Force.

...And even the ever-emotionless Zabrak was speechless in awe at the beauty hidden behind. Everything looked pristine, peaceful, perfect.

As the censors went off, Qareme peered then said "It appears we may not need the suits after all. Shall we exit?"

There might be a tiny slither of excitement from the large Zabrak girl.

[Verse Aura]

"Whoa," Verse said, "are you guys seeing this? Woaw, look over there! Droids! How old was this place supposed to be again? How come the droids are still on?"

She was already out of her seat before full touch-down, ready and primed to go outside.

"Come on, let's go!"

[Petrus Karath]

"Yes it did. It taught us to trust in the force."

Petrus, who felt fear rise in his gut, felt it subside at that reminder. He gave Qareme a smile, then turned to face the front, his expression serene.

Slowly, he rose to his feet. "Yeah. Let's." He was otherwise silent as the group made their way to the ramp, his expression almost reverent.

Fortunately, there was Verse to get him moving faster. Shaking his head wryly, Petrus follow her out.

[Ru'ni Wayne]

The beautiful sights of space and the architecture were lost on Ru'ni. Space travel didn't agree with him and he spent most of the trip in the refresher.

When they touched down, he took a few moments to splash his face with water and rinse the taste of vomit from his mouth before rejoining the others, looking a little pale and worse for wear.

[Vaya Mer'darrow]

With Qareme’s unexpected but reassuring hand on her shoulder, Vaya didn't do more than squeeze her eyes half-shut at the moment of “impact.” Which means she could immediately snap them wide to drink in the sight before her. Normally quippy, she had nothing clever to say; normally full of trivia, she offered no commentary or explanation. She just looked. If anyone saw at her face, they saw the discomfort of true awe.

It was only the rush of the others to the ramp that roused her from her wonder. “Helmets!” she shouted. “I don’t care what the sensors say, this bucket doesn’t have exploration-rated atmospheric analyzers and there could be old bacteria or whoknowswhat, everyone starts with a helmet!” While putting on one of the ships emergency extravehicular suits, intended for depressurization or emergency patch jobs, she racked her brain for any other archaeological procedure that might apply under the circumstance. And boiled it down to “Just don’t touch anything yet! Tirali, anything else we should know?” She was standing in front of the ramp controls. Someone would have to shove her aside to go out quite yet.

[Dapper Dog]

Tirali said, "The old tales speak of a guardian, so be prepared."

"To enter we must utter the sacred sutras, I know them well."