1030, The Final Clue
The modified freighter landed on a sheet of ice on Jubal planet in what was practically a crash. There was an icebound settlement here, little more than a rudimentary camp.
After landing, the ice diggers who had been piloting the ship wanted to call their companions on the ground aboard to kill Darth Malthael. But how could that possibly happen? Darth Malthael did not even need to lift a hand. After a horrifying chorus of wails and shrieks, the mental assault from the wraiths nearly scared them into a breakdown. One after another, they fell to their knees, trembling all over.
After a thorough interrogation, Darth Malthael learned who these people were—they were indeed ice diggers. There were more than four hundred groups of ice diggers who had long been excavating ice on Jubal planet, numbering several thousand people in total, though they did not remain on the planet year-round.
It was simply too cold here. Unless a large residential area with a stable energy supply was built, permanent habitation was impossible. Most of these ice diggers therefore set up crude temporary camps like this. After mining in one place for several months, they would abandon the camp and move elsewhere.
Moreover, because of the frigid environment, abandoned camps remained in excellent condition. As long as power was restored, they could be put back into use at any time.
They were here now to mine the ice in this region because scans had shown that the ice ten meters underground contained a rare element that could serve as a catalyst for Hypermatter reactions.
"Why is the ice here black?" Darth Malthael asked.
"No idea. Legend says it's been like this for thousands of years..." The ice diggers shook their heads blankly.
"What is the difference between