Clarke clambered across the dismal landscape, struggling through the deep snow as it lapped over her boots with each step and dragged her pace down to a slow crawl. She found herself unusually tired after the recent ordeal, the crash having left her shaken and it was far colder on this planet than she ever could have imagined.

A faint column of smoke still rose into the crystal blue sky and it was a relief to know that she was not far from her destination, the wreckage of the ship soon coming into view as she slid down  the snow bank in which it had become partially embedded.

It was not a large ship however, and Clarke was thankful that the door was located towards the rear or accessing the interior would have been a far harder task to accomplish. The Republic guards had saved her the trouble of breaking through the door thanks to their rude and unannounced entry not an hour earlier.

She stepped carefully over the mangled door and ducked inside the ship, finding no escape from the almost unbearable cold that the frozen planet offered. She rubbed her gloved hands together in an attempt to warm them up before crouching on the snow spattered floor to slide a storage box towards her.  

The first few attempts to enter the correct code failed miserably due to the shaking of her hands and it was only on the third attempt that she finally succeeded. The lid snapped open to allow access to the goods that had been stored inside before departure and wth a triumphant grin, she pulled free a blaster pistol along with a tanned, leather belt holster that would fit snugly under her jacket.

It was a rather standard DH-17, not dealing anywhere near as much damage as the T-6 Thunderer, but as a short-range blaster it would be effective if she found herself in any trouble. Clarke clipped the holster onto her belt and tucked the weapon away, tugging down the heavy jacket to conceal it. She then continued to rifle through the box and pulled free a small hand-held monitor. She thumbed a switch on its side and the screen flickered to life, showing a grainy image of the surrounding landscape. Clarke rapped the machine against her palm a few times when the image started to fade out, a dull red light shining on the side of the device, it's purpose unknown.

The image may not have been in the best quality but it wasn't the latest model so that was to be expected.  A pulsing region was clearly seen to the left of the ships position, some distance away but not impossible to reach. The machine flickered off once more and Clarke shoved it into her jacket pocket with a sigh. From what she could tell the device had been picking up some kind of energy reading. Whatever it had been, the location had been a fairly large structure and was her best bet of finding a decent place to stay for the night.

Clarke knew enough about this planet to want to get somewhere sheltered before night set in and the temperature plummeted even lower, she didn't fancy dying on this remote, unforgiving planet. Having some idea of where she was going and feeling far more confident with a weapon in reach, she backed out of the ship and into the isolated landscape, glancing around before choosing the direction that had been highlighted on the machine. She had gotten herself out of worse situations than this before, if only her luck would hold once more.

The ship crashing on Hoth had been very unfortunate. The last thing she'd wanted was the attention of Republic soldiers, or just anyone at this point. She would get what she came for and then get off this hell planet without looking back. 

After trekking through the snow for just over an hour, Clarke heaved her tired body to the top of a snow bank for a higher perspective and found herself gazing down upon some kind of military base. It was too far for her to make out any clear details yet but it would certainly provide the shelter that she was looking for. Pulling free the machine from her pocket, there seemed to be no trace of the pulsing region that had appeared previously, but the coordinates had saved automatically and it had definitely come from inside this base.

Puzzled by the strange reading, Clarke flicked the machine off again and returned it to her pocket, observing the structure for a few moments longer before retreating back down the rise and heading for the base. It appeared that the whole structure had been carved into a large mountain, the entrance itself at least twenty paces wide. 

Her footsteps stretched out far behind her in the ankle deep snow as she approached the base, her pace slowing when she saw a group of hunched figures going in the same direction. Clarke watched as they stumbled towards the base, a family from what she could tell, the father carrying a small child on his back as he led his partner through the snow. Clarke  hurried to catch up with the Zabraks, recognising their distinctive horns, who were not even aware of her presence as they hurried onwards to safety.

Two armed figures emerged from the large entrance and approached the family as Clarke drew back a few metres, taking note of the non-military clothes that the men wore. She could only assume that they were civilian volunteers, charged with protecting this base and its inhabitants from any danger before they were flown off world.

All attention was firmly fixed on the small family as they were ushered inside the base, the guards assuring the parents that their child would be looked over by an onsite medic. It was almost laughable how easily Clarke entered behind them without any bother, wondering how the civilians would fare if any danger truly did fall upon the base. That was always the risk with untrained civs, they had a tendency to slip up on the finer details, not having been trained rigorously by the military.

Without even a sideways glance in her direction, Clarke strode in through the cavernous entrance, shuffling her feet and hunching slightly to appear less threatening to any who may have actually been alert to her presence. The last thing she needed was to be searched and have these fools discovering the concealed weapon. Ducking her head, she advanced unnoticed past the armed men and appeared to blend in perfectly with those mingling in the main area, easily disappearing into the crowd.

There was a surprising range of people milling about and Clarke listened in on a few passing conversations to learn that the pirate threat was pushing everyone to abandon planet. It was now down to the Republic to sort out the criminals and make this a relatively safe place once more. That explained the cold reception Clarke had received from the Cathar earlier, and why there was so much interest in this Zaroth person, who she now knew to be the main ring leader behind the pirate operation.

The majority of people remained in the large open area just inside the entrance where they could gather and wait for the next shuttle to arrive. It was certainly large enough to hold them and Clarke guesses that you could fit at least ten good sized star ships in here if you so desired. It had most likely housed such items at one point as a military base.

Clarke had other ideas and continued on down a corridor to the right which led into a complex of seemingly never ending corridors , taking random turns until she was deeper inside the base. This was a strict personal only area, but it seemed abandoned with her light footsteps the only sound to be heard. She eventually pushed back her hood and abandoned the deceptive posture, there was no one here to question her presence.

She paused for a few minutes to get her bearings, pulling the black device from her pocket again and thumbed the screen to life, noting how close she now was to where the burst of energy had originated from. She wondered what could have caused such an immense surge as she pocketed the machine, perhaps a weapon of sorts?

From what she had observed on the display there was a room situated at the end of this corridor which was where the energy had originated from. After a quick check to ensure that she was still alone, Clarke continued down the corridor and stopped outside the door in question. It had a small keypad on the wall next to it which would have prevented any other civilian from entering without the code. Fortunately, Clarke had recently picked up a few neat tricks when it came to getting into places she most certainly wasn't meant to be. She pulled the plastic covering away from the pad to reveal a set of wires, tilting her head in concentration as she spent the next few minutes rearranging them with practised ease and before long the door hissed in response and the metal plates slid back to allow her access.

Carefully placing the cover back as it had been, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention, Clarke entered the small room before any patrols wandered past. The door closed at her back and she found herself in a storage area, a collection of boxes and shelves lining the walls on either side of the room. There was a narrow beam of fluorescent light on the ceiling which illuminated the interior with a dim white glow. It was not a large space, only a few metres either way, but this was definitely the right place. 

At first glance there didn't seem to be anything of interest inside but a double check assured her that the source of the energy pulse was in this room and Clarke intended to find it, that was if it hadn't already been moved. She crouched down to where the closest container lay at her feet, prying open the lid to reveal packaged food, nothing out of the ordinary in this temporary shelter. She checked another three containers and found nothing suspicious in the slightest, this must be the reserve supplies to be used in emergency. Clarke stood back and swept her gaze across the room, she could be here for hours checking all of these containers and that was time that couldn't be spared.

If there was anything of importance in here, then it surely wouldn't be stuffed inside these cargo containers for anyone to access. Ignoring the boxes for the moment, Clarke looked around for any clues, thinking where she might hide an invaluable object. The answer finally became apparent when her gaze fell to the metal floor, and she dropped to her knees to inspect the interlocking panels.

Pushing the containers aside she tested each panel unsuccessfully until she got to the far end of the room where, hidden away from prying eyes under a container, she found exactly what she was looking for. This panel was not as secure as the others and with some fiddling she found the slightest indent on the side which allowed her to pull it upright. She heaved at the panel with some effort, it certainly held enough weight, and gently set it down at her side.

Filled with anticipation at what might be discovered, she reached down into the hidden rectangular compartment, about half a metre deep, and heaved up a smaller storage container, the lack of handles providing no problem due to it's unexpectedly light weight. Clarke set the box down to her left and sat back on her heels.

She observed the locked box for a moment and wondered what could be worth going to so much effort to hide away in here. Clarke was burning with curiosity about what the box contained but the keypad served as one last challenge that she would have to overcome.

There were only four keys with symbols on each, though the length of the password could be anything from three digits to fifty. Without time to waste on every single combination Clarke grasped her blaster and jumped to her feet, aiming the weapon carefully at the pad as she stepped away.

Averting her gaze she pulled the trigger, a flash of energy bursting from the gun and smashing straight into the keypad, frying whatever circuits had been in place.With a distinct click the container lid unlatched. Clarke had been basing this idea on the sense that this object would take more than a small blast from the gun to damage it, she only hoped she hadn't just destroyed the contents after all this trouble. For a moment, she could only stare at the container, caught up in the numerous possibilities of what she was about to find.

Approaching the container with an exhale of air, Clarke crouched down in front of it and after only the slightest hesitation lifted off the lid, her eyes scanning hungrily for whatever was to be revealed. Lowering the lid down onto the panelled floor, her breath caught in astonishment at what she found.

A pyramidal object was placed in the centre of the container, a perfect mould of the base holding it in position. The metal framework was etched with strange symbols that Clarke had never seen before and ancient inscriptions ran along the bottom of the device. The most breath-taking feature by far had to be the soft, red glow emanating from the centre, drawing her gaze from the inscriptions into the pulsing depths of light. It was almost hypnotic how alluring the device was and, without stopping to question the action, Clarke reached out to pull it free from the container.

It was even more magnificent up close, each design carefully crafted by a skilled hand. Clarke twisted the object in her grip, noting that the red light seemed to be somewhat sharper than before. Without warning it flared to an almost blinding level and she was forced to quickly jerk her head away from where the device had been held mere centimetres from her face.

Clarke blinked forcefully a few times as the light receded back to its original glow, her vision impaired for a moment until the surroundings finally came into clear view once more. Her grip was tight on the object, not wanting to risk dropping it to the floor. That must have been the source of the energy burst, thought what it meant though she could not guess.

Still having no idea what this mystery device was, Clarke slipped it carefully into her jacket pocket, the bulk of the object easily disguised by the thick fur layers that the material provided. She returned the storage container into the hiding space, dropping the metal panel back into place to avoid suspicion.

Clarke knew that she couldn't hide away in here forever and needed to find a way off the planet and that meant returning to mass of civilians at the main entrance of the base. Patting the jacket down self-consciously one final time, she assured herself that the blaster was hidden from any prying eyes and slipped out into the corridor.

She pushed the door shut gently behind her, though her actions didn't go unnoticed when a patrol of the guards stumbled across her location as she emerged from the storage room.

'Hey!' one of them called down the corridor, 'do you have clearance to be back here?'

Clarke sighed internally at the inconvenience, she couldn't afford suspicion due to what was hiding under her jacket.

'I seem to have gotten lost, main entrance is this way, right?' she said innocently, pointing down the corridor ahead and turned away from them with the intention of returning to the main civilian area.

'Not so fast, stop right there!' the second man instructed, the two of them pulling out blasters as they advanced down the corridor towards her. Clarke reluctantly turned back to face them, raising her hands in defeat as they regarded her suspiciously.

There was still a chance that she could get out of this mess, she just had to appear innocent and have them take her back to the waiting area for civilians. The man closest, with dark black hair and a hint of stubble, glanced at the door that Clarke had just emerged from, a frown forming on his face when he saw the keypad.

'How did you get in there without a code?'

Following a lengthy silence in which Clarke thought it best not to respond, the two men exchanged a look before deciding that there was more to this stranger than met the eye and fixed their stern expressions back on the blonde.

'You're coming with us, Sal can decide what to- '

He didn't get to finish his sentence when Clarke sent a forceful kick up between his legs, a whoosh of air escaping his lips as he doubled over in agony. She then attended to the more immediate threat and with a skilled manoeuvre, twisted the weapon from the lighter haired man whilst he paused in shock at the sudden movement, not even reacting in time to prevent the butt of the gun from slamming against his skull.

This was the problem with civilian guards, she thought for the hundredth time that hour, they had little to no combat training and it was almost too easy to take them down. With one man already taken care of, the other was whispering desperately into an ear com whilst Clarke was preoccupied, but that soon came to an end once she slammed him back against the wall, the senses knocked out of him as he slid down to the ground.

Before she could even take a breath, flashing red lights came to life on the walls, accompanied by a screeching siren that alerted the base to imminent danger. All of this just for me?  Clarke thought with a wry smile. It was almost a compliment If not so irritating in the disruption of her plans.

She sighed, smoothing down her jacket before kicking the guards guns across the floor to the opposite end of the corridor. The last thing she needed was one of them shooting her in the back as she walked away. Hardly the heroic end she had always envisioned. It didn't look like this base was all that safe for her anymore and Clarke hurriedly set into a jog back towards the front of the base, hoping to find a solution along the way.

She had no such luck when a group of five soldiers came striding purposefully down the far end of the corridor, investigating the source of the wailing alarms, breaking into a sprint when they caught sight of her. Cursing silently, Clarke turned left into the aligning corridor and realised that she would have to lay low somewhere for a while before slipping back into the civilian mass.

Glancing around desperately, she found herself at another storage room, this one thankfully unlocked and hurried inside, quickly sliding the simple lock into place with a click. The thudding of boots could be heard faintly from outside but to her relief they passed by in a matter of seconds, the raised voices disappearing into the distance as the alarms continued to sound from the corridor.

Even in the storage cupboard, the flashing red lights persisted as Clarke glanced around the small room. It looked like this was where she would be staying for the moment, at least until the heat had died down. She was more than aware of the pulsing object in her jacket and wanted to find a way off of this planet as soon as possible before anyone noticed it's disappearance. She lowered herself down onto the closest storage container, drawing her legs up to sit cross legged as she readied herself for the long wait.

----

Lexa was trudging across the snow-covered planet for at least an hour before she arrived at the base. There had been no further energy bursts registering on her wrist band but rather a distress signal had been broadcast on and off since she had set out from the ship. The last reading had shown that whoever was sending out the signal was going in the same direction, straight for the military base. They would most likely arrive there just before her, at least this way Lexa could investigate both alerts at the same time.

The base was nestled within the snow drifts and, using the micro binoculars from the bag, Lexa made note of the guards stood on duty at the entrance who were stopping each person that entered to ensure that they