Heir of the Sadow'een

An Assassin's Return : Part I

"Life is going forth; Death is returning home." -Laozi

[Planet Hoth]

Clone troopers crossed the frozen wastelands of Hoth, in tight formation no more than a meter apart, and eyes peeled for any hostile wildlife. At least, should there be any hostile wildlife beyond the solitary wampas that roamed the tundras of the planet. The was little sound beyond the howling winds that rushed past and between them, and little to look at besides the frozen ground. Good thing the ground was what they were supposed to look at, more specifically what was potentially underneath it.

"Anything on the scanners Dent?"

"Nothing captain," The trooper with a notable dent in his shoulder-plate replied calmly through the comm-link. "Nothing out here for kilometers so far."

"Joker, anything on the EMI?"

"Nothing yet sir. The ground is just as empty as when we started."

Captain Marx sighed lightly. His team had been out here for a few hours today, the ninth sector of this valley out of the grid presented during the official briefing of the team. It had been seven days now since the start of their mission, and there had been zero results.

"Hey captain," Joker buzzed on the comm-link, "What are we supposed to find out here again?"

The captain sighed. "We are supposed to find a tomb."

"I still don't believe that. Why would anyone have a tomb on Hoth of all places?"

"So whoever's inside wouldn't be found genius." Techie chimed in, "There are a lot of things that can be put into a tomb too, not just a body. Tombs are meant to be hidden, that way things don't get stolen by tomb raiders."

"So what do you think we'll find in this tomb that General Plo Koon is sure is here?" Blaster asked, and the response from Captain Marx was solemn.

"That's exactly why we're looking for it, but if you ask me... Sith artifacts."

There were several deep moments of long silence between the clones as they crossed more of the frozen valley.

"You're not serious are you?" Joker said disbelievingly. "Why would there be Sith knick-knacks on Hoth? There's nothing here for them!"

"And there won't be," The captain said sternly, "Because we are going to find them first. We can't let the Seppies get ahold of them if they are here. The General is sure that something is here, and we should trust him."

"Yes, captain," and "Yes, sir," responded through the comm-link and they continued to trudge through the snow. A few minutes later, the EMI device in Joker's hands started beeping.

"We've got something!"

A rush of excitement and caution washed through the team, and the captain took control of the situation with absolute professionalism.

"How deep?"

"Thirty meters to what looks to be an entrance, following a staircase leading another ten meters down into a large chamber. And also..." Joker moved further left of the team several meters, "What looks to be an antechamber, about half the size of the main chamber."

"Alright boys, you know what to do. Start marking out the perimeter while I contact the General."

They did just that, Dent, Joker, and Techie set up the gear they brought from their packs while the captain walked a meter away and commed the General.

[The Triumphant]

Jedi Master Plo Koon, aboard the Venator-Class Star Destroyer Triumphant that was hovering just out of Hoth's gravitational pull, was on the bridge when the holo-communication request came through.