It is immediately apparent when faced with the barren landscape of the storm-stricken of Eadu why it was this location that was chosen by the Galactic Empire to house a secret weapons research facility. Jagged, mountainous terrain stands tall, shrouded in a blue hue as constant rainstorms batter the landscape with wind and lightning.

As a result of the hazardous weather, Eadu appears to be nighttime no matter the planet's cycle, its cloud-cover countering any potential daylight. Visibility is difficult but not impossible, the southern hemisphere providing a home to village clusters capable of withstanding the harsh conditions.

Within this pockmarked landscape lies the Eadu Energy Conversion Laboratory, where the Death Star's superlaser was initially developed. The facility itself is built into the mountains with a free-standing platform playing host to the only landing pad providing access to the lab.

Based on the available data, this lab served as a kyber refinery in addition to its developmental role. Although it is marked as destroyed by the Rebel Alliance, it is rare that something is left utterly annihilated. There's always a chance that backup systems remain or at least part of something can be found that might lead to a new discovery.

Such opportunity is key to military and vagabond alike. For some it may lead to profit, for others it could be just the boost they need to attain supremacy. Your reasons for coming may be your own, but the end goal is the same as anyone else's. Pick the remains of the facility apart and escape the hazardous storm churning around you. Preferably with a discovery in tow.

Just don't let it slip through your fingers, or into the grasp of another.

The Taldryan shuttle that Cassandra and Bale had borrowed from the summit pierced the dark skies of Eadu and quickly descended through the dark storm-filled clouds that covered most of the region they were going for. As it did, rain pelted the shuttle with incredible force along with severe wind shears that shook it back and forth violently with the occasional sudden drop in altitude. It was Bale's idea to come here, hoping to find something within the Energy Conversion Laboratory. Without a doubt she knew it had most likely been heavily picked over in the decades since the Empire abandoned it, but for her it was more the history that she was interested in. Looted or not, the amount she could learn would be virtually limitless.

What it was that Bale wanted, however? That was the larger question. One which upon asking, she never seemed to get a straight answer on. The shuttle finally cleared the worst of the storm as it entered the lower mountains and headed towards the base's location. It wasn't long before it reached a long shuttle platform that extended from the canyon. As it touched down the pilot lowered the ramp, Cassandra and Bale making their way off off onto the platform.

There were numerous crates scattered about, old decrepit supplies and rusted panels, clearly showing signs of disuse and a lack of maintenance. Given it had been abandoned for so long, it made sense.

"Come on, Cass!" Bale called out through the pouring rain and the harsh winds as he ran down the landing towards the entrance of the laboratory. She bolted from the shuttle, augmenting her legs as she shot past him just past the halfway point and made it inside the far doors as he was just over two-thirds of the way there. What little clothes she had were already soaked, primarily in the front from the speed at which she advanced along the pathway. Water dripped off of her as Bale made it inside, who was already laughing at her. "Gee, a little wet are we? Hahaha."

She glared at him, but opted not to react. Instead, she raised her right hand with her palm open. Bale looked at her a little confused, suddenly surprised when a flame appears in her hand.

"Wait, how are you-" he started but then stopped, followed by a shrug. It didn't really matter, Taldryan had been known for its pyrokinesis many years ago but it's users had all but gone extinct. Somehow, she had managed to learn how to utilize it however. Similarly to outside, the inside of the laboratory was just as trashed. Wall panels had fallen, along with ceiling panels. Wiring hung down in numerous spots, mold growing in various crevices. Together they began moving further inside, Cassandra using the flame to light their path. As they continued, she noticed several skeletons in imperial researcher outfits that were heavily degraded but the imperial crest emblazoned on the shoulders was still clearly visible.

Further inside, the laboratory ruins were far worse than she or Bale had expected. Collapsed corridors, blown electrical panels, and melted terminals. Even blast doors that were blown open, pried open, and even one that was clearly opened by a lightsaber. That one caught her curiosity the most, with her stepping inside to investigate. Inside was one of the vast wide open laboratories, with consoles, testing platforms, and massive broken holotables. She stood there for a moment, taking in the brilliance of what was once forged here. This was one of 'the' locations where components of the Death Star's main weapon were forged. Schematics etched into wall panels, broken data cores in opened containers.

"It's all here." Cassandra whispered as she ran her left hand over one of the consoles, brushing the dust off of it. "Not just the plans, but the people's emotions. Their fears. Their regrets."

Bale strode inside, watching her as he glanced around for his own purposes. This was why he brought her along, he knew she would be more than content in her own world with this place. Not a threat that would offset him from his goals. But even as he did, his tensions were high given the gravity of what she said. "I always wondered, if most of the researchers left after stardust was finished or if the empire killed them all."

Next to one of the consoles, he saw carved into one of the durasteel walls in long-faded crimson were the words: "They will know what we did here."

Chills traced down his spine, Cassandra immediately turning her attention to him as she sensed his unease.

"What is it?" she asked. Bale pointed to the message as she made her way over towards him. She let out a soft sigh as she read it. "Indeed, many did end up knowing. And knowing what I've learned of the Empire, I'm sure they murdered them once the research was complete. I can't see them leaving any loose ends."

"Ah, but you forget," Bale remarked, "There was a loose end. Caused them to lose the first Death Star."

"Scarif, yeah. Wasn't that Krennic's failure, not really a loose end?" she questioned as she went back to looking around, this time examining the containers on the ground. There was one she just barely noticed hidden in the corner, buried behind a massive section of ceiling that had collapsed. With a swipe of her left hand, the ceiling panels and giant metal sheets were tossed aside with a loud bang to reveal the entirety of the container. She crouched down and foraged through it, the container filled with yet more broken data cores.

Bale began looking around himself, examining what he could within the room. He needed to go deeper if he wanted to find what it was he was looking for, it was doubtful it would be this early within the facility. If it was even still here. "It was a flaw built into it. Planned from this very facility, from what I'm aware of." He looked up at her as she pulled what looked like a dusty, yet intact data core out of one of the containers. She looked it over, her pulse quickening a bit as she saw none of the cracks or fractures that were on the other ones. For her, this hopefully was more than data.

"Of all the times I didn't bring my slicing droid." she remarked dejectedly, with hopes of what could lie within. Bale's eyes narrowed with deep thought and consideration. He had thought for sure everything here had already long been pilfered, but given how much had been on top of that container, it made sense for it to be overlooked or ignored if those who had been here before didn't have the right tools to try and reach it. If it was indeed intact, he needed to know the contents.

If it was what he was here to find...he could not risk it in her hands.

It wasn’t the value of the item, nor was it some classified information he needed to hide from Cassandra. No. It was the shame of it all. It was the reputation-shattering notion that he’d put himself into a position to be blackmailed by some Hutt crime boss. That wasn’t like him. Not anymore. Ever since he’d retired, and despite his less-than-savory past, he’d done his best to run an honest business back on Chyron. Best blasted swoop shop this quadrant, he’d always say. Sure, he had sidelines, all of them above board. It wasn’t a secret that he dabbled in weaponry and armor, in fact, he’d recently signed a lucrative contract with the Vornsrk Batallion for just that reason. All thanks to said reputation.

Now, that was all in jeopardy.

Why? Because daughter dearest had gone and got herself in trouble with Coruscanti gangs, and, of course, Bale had stuck out his neck to get her off the hook. Of course, he would. No one messed with his daughter and got away with it. No one. Except it turned out she didn’t need help, no. Far from it in fact. She’d been working for some big shot from Hutt space, and she was right where she wanted to be. So Bale came in, gonked it all up as he does, and now, well, he owed one big peedunky Hutt. The kind that can snuff out your peaceful life running a swoop shop with one snap of his slimy, grubby, toady fingers.

So here he was, clothes drenched, spelunking through some old Imperial lab on a planet wetter than a Happabore’s slaghole in search of some experimental, and highly illegal, weapon schematics. He could have come here alone—probably should have—but Cassandra, well, she had a soothing way about her and she too had a reputation. She was one of few willing to jump up when a stranger asked for help, and he believed he could trust a Jedi of all people to be compassionate, should she figure out what he’d gotten himself into. That, or she’d turn him over to that Chiss creep Anders to face justice. Not for the first time, he doubted the wisdom in bringing her along. With some luck, they’d discover something in this shiessi dank hole that could be of use to her… help her people and the refugees they looked after. That would buy him some good will.

Right?

He shook his head, turned his attention back to the data core, frowned down at it. It was highly unlikely that he’d find what he was looking in some heap, not five steps inside, but then, what was it those Jedi say? The Force works in strange ways? Whatever.

“I reckon we’ll need a working terminal. That means we double back to the shuttle or we’ll need a power source. Me, I vote we keep going.” He nodded to the data core. “Pocket that for now and we’ll check it out if we find something working inside. Agreed?”

Cassandra did as he proposed, slipped the data core into the folds of her robes, then they pushed on ahead. They left the chamber behind, moved down an auxiliary corridor, more of a metal skeleton now, its once slick Imperial architecture blasted beyond recognition. The light of Cassandra’s magical flame danced upon the walls, casting long shadows. It would have been smart to let her lead the way. But smart wasn’t exactly the Bale way. Not when he was so impatient to get the job done. He almost paid the price for it too. If Cassandra hadn’t been there to anticipate the fall and hook his arm, somehow managing to hold his massive weight despite her lean frame, he would have stepped right off the ledge into the chasm ahead of them where the hall had collapsed. He squawked as she yanked him away.

“Huh,” was all he managed to say.

“I can sense your impatience, my friend,” she said. “Be mindful of your surroundings.”

The first rule of scavenging: impatience gets you killed, he reminded himself.

“Yeah, uh, there’s a hole there,” he said, his deep voice a croak.

She looked at him with a befuddled smirk on her face, then shook her head. Together, they both leaned over the hole to peer inside, Cass holding her flame out over the darkness. The light of the fire licked down at the walls, crowning the edges of busted metal and jagged rock, but died well short of the bottom. Bale reached to his belt, pulled a glowrod from it. He twisted the device, wincing, momentarily blinded by the eruption of green light. Vision adjusting, he leaned forward and lobbed it down into the chasm. It bounced off the walls, the clatter of plastoids on rock and metal echoing up to them. It ended its journey on a heap of debris below. It wasn’t as far down as he’d feared. They could easily climb down.

“I think I can make out a passage,” said Cassandra.

“Aye. Down and forward, I say,” he confirmed, already unraveling the grappling hook from his belt. He bent down, searching the ground around him for a safe anchor point, found one and fastened the fibercord around it. Satisfied with the solidity of his knot, he looked up to his companion and asked, “Need a lift?”

“I think I’ll manage,” she said with a soft chuckle before swiping the device out of his hand and swinging over the edge. She zipped down into the darkness with feline-like reflexes, feet finding the bottom floor in record time. He followed after her, clambering over the edge, working his way down slowly, muscles bulging, straining against gravity. He reached the bottom to find her yawning and stretching.

“Jedi,” he grumbled with a rolle of his one good eye. She grinned at him.

“Looks like we’ve got two directions,” Cassandra said, pointing to either side of the collapsed tunnel. “Where to?”

He took a deep breath, then pointed in one direction with all the confidence of a seasoned scavenger. Truth was, he didn’t know, but someone had to make the call. Worst case scenario, they’d double back, but if he knew one thing about Imperial bases, it’s that all corridors led to the same nexus in the end.

So he grabbed the glowrod off the ground and held it up as he stepped forward, leading the way down the corridor where he rounded a corner, and got suckerpunched by a big hard metal fist. Stars went supernova in his vision, head snapping back, as he was sent careening for balance. He was slumped against a wall, arse on the floor when the world stopped spinning. His eye found the glowrod where he’d dropped it. It was right next to the droid’s foot. Huh, he thought. He followed the foot up, found himself blinking up at two round eyes glowing white in the darkness. Photoreceptors. A K-X series security droid towered over him, his massive barrel frame highlighted by the green light of the rod.

“In-i-in-intruder,” it said, metallic voice glitching. It looked like it had seen intensive repair, rebuilt with mismatched parts, some of them definitely not of Imperial design. It sure looked like some past scavenger had decided to leave a gift for future adventurers.

The droid lumbered towards him, feet clanking and thumping as it reached for him, but then Cassandra stepped between them, plasma bursting to life, lava and ice, with the familiar snap-hiss of lightsabers.