On a planet of dangerous myths, shocking fables and unspoken legends, there is also beauty. Dispersed around the untamed world are flaws: cracks formed through thousands of years of glacial rivers rushing and destroying cliffs, scooping away the soil and digging crevices untouched by all but a handful of explorers from ages long past. Isolated at the southern tip of Ilum, this particular ravine is close to the planet’s core. No-one ever dared to dive directly down into the darkness of the ravine, instead opting for laser drills that bore a tunnel into the nearby glacier. Uncharted and unexplored, this passageway is a place of nightmares for those who venture to its depths. The half-eaten carcasses of explorers who have met an untimely end litter the ravine’s descent—a warning to those who might choose to venture too far. Whether these men and women fell to their deaths, or had been murdered remains lost to the long-forgotten histories of the ravine.

The antechamber of the Crystal Cave is wide and cavernous with a winding walkway carved out of the stone itself and smoothed over with glacial elegance. The pathway ascending upwards to the top of the cave where a resilient sheet of ancient stone weathers against the raging winds from Ilum’s winter skies. At the base of the walkway is a platform of old stone used for meditation in times past.

Leaving the main antechamber leads to other tunnels carved and abandoned by miners and treasure hunters. Glinting like candlelight against the unforgiving darkness of the deep and untrodden cave, translucent clusters of kyber crystals crystals reflect the light. Untouched for decades, this place was once a common destination for Jedi Padawans seeking to build their first lightsabers. The sides of the cavern stretch vertically, terminating in a vaulted arch that was carved with embellishments some time ago. On each side of the walls, various ports and alcoves distinguish in the light. Some are known to be rivers of purified water, as displayed by the translucent sheets of ice glistening along the alcove walls.

The wind howled through the caverns, dragging the chill of the air along with it. Frost had begun to settle upon the outcroppings that jutted from the time-worn walls. Ilum wasn’t anyone's ideal location to visit unless you were after something specific. These caverns rang hollow and empty, containing nothing but past memories of those that had come before to collect their crystals. Memories of youngsters here to progress their journey along the path of the Jedi and of those whose greed drove them to steal what didn’t belong to them.

None of this meant anything to the figure that perched silently upon one of the outcroppings high above the floor of the cavern. Long silver hair stuck to the nape of his neck as the frost encircled the silent figure. Each breath sent a cascade of frozen air from his lungs into the atmosphere which fell slowly but surely to settle upon his armour and add to the cold that had already settled in.

Kojiro hated this place. The cold was simply enhancing the pain that already existed from the mutilation the Collective had wrought upon his body. From the “enhancements” they had bestowed upon him to keep him alive. The clone was even less sure now what parts of him were human and he muttered to himself as he pulled out the datapad gifted to him by the Syndicate. The mission parameters were all in check and with his own research he had already determined his Hunt target was here, he just wasn’t entirely sure where. Nor was he entirely sure why there was a marker out for this particular target, but it didn’t matter to the Ragnosian. Money was money and what this job promised would help his House rebuild.

As Kojiro replaced the datapad he plucked his helm from his belt and ran a gloved finger over the lenses, cleaning the residual frost from the T-shaped visor. The clone sighed and placed the helm over his head and let it click into place. Numbers and images danced before his eyes as the helm’s HUD booted up. As all systems came back online he became acutely aware of a clicking flowing through the earpiece.

“Ahh crap. Flick, report. Show me what you’ve found, little buddy,” at the clone’s command the ID10 Seeker droid, which he had sent out to scout earlier, began feeding images back to him. Images of a lone man, wielding a red lightsaber walking through the caverns. “God job. Ping me your location and hold. I’ll be right there. Keep an eye on him.” A series of small clicks was all the clone required to know the droid had understood. With a flick of his wrist, his jetpack ignited and sent him into the air, filling the cavern with the scream of its engine. Like some foul bird of prey on the hunt. The time for subtlety and waiting was over.

The Pau’an had known something was wrong as soon as he heard the scream emanate from the walls of the openings around him. The silence had been split wide by the roar of something and he stopped his progress to stand still and reach out through the Force hunting for whatever made it. The cavern around him was alive as the Kyber crystals resonated with the living Force. As Quejo did his best to find what he sought the roar got closer until finally, it was upon him. Blaster fire raked the air around him and the Warlord raised his saber in time to deflect those shots that got too close.

Kojiro had no time to play games, as soon as he had located his target he opened fire. Both blasters spat our their bolts of energy at a frightening pace and he watched them soar towards his target. There was no joy in this for the clone. This was simply a job. The Quaestor also had no desire to get any closer to the saber wielder than was necessary. After all, there was no point in skewering himself on the end of a lightsaber.

As another salvo of blaster fire soared towards his opponent, Kojiro felt something hard strike his left shoulder. The impact caused him to throw his aim, showering the wall with a hail of energy rather than the figure below. Something else struck his side and it took the clone only seconds to realise his opponent was utilising his gifts to send chunks of rock up at the hovering Mandalorian.

Kojiro moved away, allowing his trajectory to take him around and behind a rock formation at the edge of the cavern they found themselves in.

“Just who are you?!” The voice of his opponent carried up to him. “Do you have any idea who you’re attacking and what I’ll do to you!”

The Keibatsu sneered. “As a matter of fact, I do. That’s why I’m here. You’re worth an awful lot to someone and I’m here to collect. As for who I am, let's just say that won’t matter soon anyway. The contract never specified dead or alive!” Before the Pau’an could reply, Kojiro had already unhooked his thermal detonator and triggered it. He wanted this fight over quickly.

The jetpack roared once more, taking him from his safety and out into mid-air once more. Rocks danced up towards him but he manoeuvred around them as best he could, still clutching the detonator in one hand and his other firing off blaster fire as a distraction to keep his mark on his toes. As he passed above his target, he let the detonator go just as a medium-sized piece of debris collided with him. The detonator plummeted, but so did the clone. Kojiro struck the wall with a crunch as behind him the world turned to fire with the grenade’s detonation.