Voidbreaker II In Orbit Above Arx
Mune sat in their cabin off the bridge of the Voidbreaker II, the light from their desk console reflecting in their ruby eyes. Topographic maps, holoimages of the terrain, and weather projections sprawled across the screen—Uskil in its marshy glory. It was not a place one would have visited on vacation. The tropical climate meant high average temperatures year-round. It also meant abundant rainfall.. Which meant high humidity. The Oracle had visited Arx perhaps a handful of times, and one would not be mistaken to presume it was the humidity that kept the Shistavanen away.
They tapped their datapad to flash the data on their target onto the console’s screen. Kosst Rissokt, Trandoshan. Mune eyed the still image of the man. A Trandoshan, hiding out in the marshes of Uskil, with the skills to survive lengthy periods and go undetected.
“So, know where he is?”
The questions came from a tall human leaning near the door to the captain’s cabin. Lontra Boglach. Mune had yet to get to know the man, now, here he was. Messy brunette hair with a vital, boyishly charming face and sharp green eyes. The man had swaggered in and taken up station by the door, there was no doubt about the confidence with which he carried himself.
Mune wondered if the confidence was earned.
“Sorry?”
“Your dossier suggests you are a powerful seer,” Lontra clarified.
Mune’s gaze shifted for only a moment to meet the green eyes across the room. True, the Shistavanen knew things, though it was rude to assume that extended to anything dropped in front of them. “Are you asking me to… fetch?”
Lontra arched a brow, his grin widening. “I think it is the Envoy Corps asking us to do that. Or I suppose… seek and kill?”
The Shistavanen’s eyes were back on their screen. It was the kill part they were uncertain about. Was it necessary to eliminate the target? Of course, Mune knew if it was a capture mission, there was a likely less merciful future in store for the man who dared attempt to steal from the Brotherhood. Their memories, only recently restored to them, minus those permanently lost, indicated it was not beyond the darker entitled of the organization and even some of the clans to partake in dirtier dealings. Remembering the things they have been through made them reminisce about exposing someone else to the potential fate of a lab rat.
“You’re all serious,” the Human pointed out. “Your ears give you away.”
Mune huffed and brought their hands up over their ears, using their hands to put them upright. “At this time, I have no more of an idea of where Rissokt may be than any other Envoy.”
The Human watched the Voidbreaker II captain closely for a moment. They hadn’t known each other long, but the few interactions they did have indicated that Mune was not one to be deceptive. Of course, that was a more feral Mune. The aedile nodded, “Okay. If you do gleam anything…”
“I will share.”
A soft chime sounded from Mune’s datapad. Without hesitation, they accepted the call. The crewman’s voice came through clearly announcing the arrival of guests from Odan-Urr.
“That would be Remalia and Rurr,” Lontra noted.
Mune nodded, “Please, escort them to my cabin.”
It was a short time later that a tall Echani woman, accompanied by a towering shaggy-furred Wookiee, was led in by a crewman. Remy, tall and slender with pale skin and angular features, had her dark hair pulled back in a tight bun. Her bright red eyes scanned the office and the two occupants. The mountain of a Wookiee behind her was nearly ten feet in height, muscular, brown eyed and brown furred. He was like a physical wall behind the woman’s back. The crewman left them with a nervous glance at the huge figure and without a word spoken.
“Welcome back to the Voidbreaker II. Remy, it is a pleasure to see you again,” Mune rose to greet their guests.
“Remy, Rurr,” Lontra started. “Thank you both for accepting my invitation to work jointly on this Envoy mission.”
Remy snaps a salute, “Captain Mune. I have returned to undertake my first mission for the Voidbreaker. I was briefed on the way, but would welcome orders from the commander.”
Remy relaxes, knowing that most of her commanding officers, especially those of the Voidbreaker, tended to get annoyed when she tried to maintain that rigid of militaristic propriety. Indeed, she wasn’t wearing any of her standard uniforms today. Her convictions of perfection had been shaken in the last months, and so she had swapped it out for something more fitting to a Jedi of Odan-Urr. She was not exactly uncomfortable in the robes, but it was still strange to be dressed in something so… loose.
Turning to Lontra, she gave something halfway between a nod and a bow, acknowledging his seniority, before motioning to Rurr.
“For some reason, my superior has deemed it prudent to give me a student. This is Rurr. I hope you are not opposed to our assignment to this team.”
Rurr eyes Remy as she salutes the captain and does his own greeting in the form of a bow, while being careful as to not bump his head on a console and keeping an eye on Mune
“Raarrrrgh! Uughhrrr, rwarrwuh!” (It is an honor to meet you Captain Mune, I’ve been looking forward to my first mission with the brotherhood)
He stands up straight, his brown eyes wandering the cabin with a considerable degree of excitement for being on the bridge of a ship and he studies the holoimages and screens as to try to glean any information
As the rumbles of the Wookie ceased, Lontra had a private moment of thankfulness for the protocol droids onboard. He also reminded himself he had a translation visor in his pack that may become useful should he and the Wookie get separated from the rest.
“No concerns, Remalia. The more, the merrier!” Lontra added a smirk as he continued, “And frankly, if I have to go into the swamps of Uskil - I’d rather do it with a Wookie friend. Welcome Rurr.”
Lontra was quick to carry the conversation forward, he imagined Remalia would appreciate cutting out small talk. Before the other pair had arrived, Lontra had gotten permission from Mune to use one of his holoprojectors to provide a rough battleplan for the group. Having stepped across the room to the set up holoprojector, he waved the other three to crowd around and pointed to several locations marked out on a map of Uskil.
“As each of you would have seen in the assignment dossier, our target is the Trandoshan Rissokt.”
A growl came from the Wookie, but Lontra continued before the protocol droids could translate for Rurr.
“I know, buddy. Trandoshans and Wookies don’t mix,” Lontra made a winching face before continuing. “Rissokt was last spotted fleeing from the Shadow Academy campus into the swamps. A check of the Brotherhood’s security feeds show he didn’t make it to the Combat Training Centre to the southeast, so I imagine he’s fled further into the marsh to the northeast where there’s a scattering of ruins. My bet is he’s got a makeshift landing at one of the ruins and he’s running back to it to get offplanet.”
A somber tone seemed to settle into the group as they each reflected on the potential dangers of the area they were heading. There’s a reason nothing has been developed in that region and why Shadow Academy students were strictly forbidden to visit those ruins.
“Did I miss anything?” Lontra let a moment of insecurity slip through, knowing that leadership wasn’t always like riding a bike. Looking from Mune, to Remalia, and then Rurr; a hush filled the room until Mune continued with a reassuring nod.
“I just want to add that Rissokt is an experienced hunter,” It was Mune’s turn to look between each of the mission members. “It’s noted that he is a cunning tactician, survivalist, and a dangerous fighter not to be underestimated. He’s known to lay down traps for unwary pursuers, setting ambushes, and therefore may be using the marshy terrain to conceal his tracks and his traps. We must be careful.”
“He may also have a reserve group protecting his ship.” Remalia was quick to add and Lontra nodded in agreement.
“Well, sounds like quite an adventure to be had!” Lontra found a renewed sense of confidence knowing he had a group that could be counted on. “Mune, please lead us to the dropship.”
Mune nodded and led them from the cabin. Without a word, they traversed to the bridge’s large holoprojector before keying in an overview of Arx. Zig Kaliska, glancing up from where she was chatting with an ensign, shot her Captain a questioning look.
“Zig. Have the ship hold orbit over this point.” Mune indicated an area above the atmosphere that put the ship roughly in line with the ruins.
“Captain?” Lontra arched a brow.
Mune shot him a wide, sharp-toothed grin, “Just making sure to account for certain potentialities… that… and I want my ship nearby so I can get out of that swamp as soon as possible upon mission completion.”
All three looked surprised, and Mune brushed past. “Coming?”
They led the way to the hangar where a small shuttle waited. Crewmen were doing their final system checks. Lontra made his way into the cockpit, where he slipped into the pilot’s seat. A crewman took up the co-pilot position, seeing as none of the others knew how to fly. It was only fifteen minutes later that the ship launched from the hangar and made a beeline toward the planet’s atmosphere. The three passengers rechecked their fastenings moments before the thrusters pushed the shuttle from the exosphere into the thermosphere. The craft vibrated and shuddered, external plating heating, but nothing the craft was not designed to handle.
“We should be at our landing point in a short order, gang,” Lontra called back.
The shuttle rattled again. The craft plunged through the mesosphere. Through the change of vibrations under their feet, they could tell they were levelling out, Lontra adjusting their trajectory. The skilled pilot glanced at the gauges on his console before chiming, “Hey Mune, we lucked out, it is only about 22°C.”
Mune sighed in relief.
“About 80% humidity,” Lontra added with a smirk.
The Shistavanen groaned.
The shuttle banked and made for the Combat Training Centre. It made better sense than the Shadow Academy ground, considering it was a bit of a halfway point. There was every possibility the Trandoshan was still somewhere between the Academy and the ruins. Going directly to the ruins could risk their ship being targeted on its approach, given there was no certainty if backup forces were waiting for their target to join them. It was not worth taking the chance of being shot down.
Eventually, the four Envoys set foot upon solid ground. Combat Centre staff greeted them. Pleasantries were quickly exchanged. They were furnished with the latest local weather and environmental details before the four turned their gazes to the vast marsh sprawling before them.
Mune was already panting. Words would be had with the Exarch when they got back to the Voidbreaker II.
“The ruins are northeast of us,” Remy motioned.
“Right.”
The Force shifted through the Shistavanen. Their eyes dilated, the power shivering through them from ears to toes. They closed their eyes and breathed out, taking a step toward the swamp, a step that began with them standing upright at the side of their companions, and ending with them as a large Cythraul, 3 feet at the shoulder and over 6 ½ feet in length, covered in pure white fur. The beast turned ruby eyes on their three companions, Mune’s voice brushing their minds lightly, “Let us hunt.”
“It would be wise for us to stay in eyesight, but far enough apart that any traps cannot affect the group as a whole,” Remy spoke quietly as she moved to begin forming a fan, with Mune at the center, “It is unlikely that our target would waste time setting anything in the open with limited time, but assumptions is how fighters like that get their kills.”
Remy lowered her hood for the first time, but otherwise gave no hint that the muggy weather might be affecting her. Truthfully, her constantly flat expression gave away little at all. As the hunting party progressed into the wetlands, she seemed almost to not be watching where she was going, though she was in truth keeping her mind suspended in the Force for anything that might be hidden in the shallows or in the trees overhead.
The sounds of birdcalls and gently moving water were not particularly loud, but drowned out sound deceptively well, making Remy raise her voice to be heard. Hopefully it would prevent any eavesdroppers as well.
“If you’ve read our dossiers then you will know neither I nor my apprentice are practiced at doing things quietly. Things are likely to get chaotic fast when we get there, presuming he did set up a camp there.”
Rurr mirrors his master and takes the opposite flank, making sure to keep the same speed with the group as to not outpace them. He observes their nearby surrondings, a slight nostalgic feeling crosses his mind thinking back to the jungles of his homeland.
“Raaaargh! Groooargh kyyaaa naaargh!” (Of all places to hide this Trandoshan would make an difficult quarry to hunt, save for the fact I too am familiar with this environment)
Rurr makes contact with Remalia’s gaze and nods his head
“Gree-wakka raaah teeoo raguu! (Once we do find him we must make sure to not leave an opening for him to escape”
The musical notes of a bird singing in the distance was the only comfort as the group pressed further into the marsh. Each step was a constant reminder of their unsteady terrain. As one of their crew slid in the mud, another would sink and risk losing their boot in the mud. With his height advantage, Rurr appeared the most stable but that wasn’t by much.
As they all trekked on, the sound of running water grew and the terrain slowly solidified into a river bend. The whups and whistles of distant mating pairs continue to play out in the canopies of gnarly looking willows and gnarlroot trees. If this was a different kind of journey through the marsh, things may have been feeling tranquil.
Yet, the fast moving river proved to be an obstacle.
As the group came to a stop at the river’s edge, Lontra stomped up through the group and was quick to plunge his muddy boots into the waters. Shaking his boots violently, balancing from one foot to the next and then back, the man was relieved to find a place to remove the extra weight from his boots. Soon he was beckoning the others to join him when an eeriness could be felt settling into bushes around them.
“Hold!” Remalia was quick to shout at her apprentice before Rurr could stomp into the waters and join the Jedi. The entire group froze, including Lontra who was in the midst of bending over and had his hands in the waters. Back on the safety of the riverbank, Remalia continued slowly while scanning the landscape. “This would be a great place for an ambush.”
“She’s right!” Mune growled towards the other river bank after several sniffs of the air. “Something smells…”
A splash of water drew everyone’s attention back to Lontra, who now struggled to pull his hands from the water. Stumbling from shore and into deeper water, the man wrangled with a creature beneath the water’s surface. He reeled back to free them from the water before being tugged further into the river to the point he was waist deep. At this point, the man’s back straightened and he let loose a great groan as he lifted the creature by its gills out of the waters before positioning it above his head like a trophy. After several moments to catch his breath, Lontra shot a smug grin at the Shistavanen.
“…Fishy?”
The word barely left the man’s mouth before a hellish howl erupted from the bushes across the stream. A hairy, snarling beast leapt from its place of hiding and charged the riverbank from the opposite side of the group. Lontra was quick to tuck his prize beneath an arm and started back to the riverbank that Remalia opened fire from. The screams of her Korben pistol paused long enough to question the others.
“What the hell is it?!”
“Raarrrrgh! Uughhrrr, rwarrwuh!” Answered the Wookie, but Lontra didn’t want for a translation.
“Veermok!”
“Veermok? Aren’t those Nabooian?”
Remy stepped forward, switching out her pistol for her saber, which ignited with a Kraytish roar. Her other hand clenched in a fist as the huge primate smashed across the river, screaming the whole way.
“If it’s not native, it may be planted here, the first strike. Be prepared for backup!”
Remy could see everything. The Force let her eyes see the creatures muscles tightening and releasing, it let her see it’s simple rage and aggression, and it let her see it’s first swing coming. She stepped into it, a surge of the Force giving her fist the strength to elicit a loud crunch when she uppercut the Veermoks jaw. The blow made it’s swing high enough that she could step under it, where she swung her saber up, burning a nasty cut of dragons fire up it’s side. She blew out her nose quietly when it didn’t fall, apparently these things possessed enough brutal cunning to evade something that, her strike just barely not fatal.
Then, it raised it’s head and screamed. Remy reached out and smashed its head with a hammer of Force, cutting off the sound and causing it to stumble backwards up the bank, but the distant sky soon rang with the sound of more apes.
The Cythraul’s eyes traced the path of the hulking beast. They had no doubt Remalia had the creature well in hand, and within moments, the ape was stumbling backward away from them. However, the cacophony of its companions came echoing from the distance, heralding the arrival of the beast’s backup. The howls of the feral sapiens did not bode well for the small team.
Mune rose from their transformed state, from Cythraul to Shistavanen. The Force sang through their blood and sinew, the Oracle opening their mind wide to it. Calmly, the Arconan whispered back, drawing upon the power that streamed through their being. They felt it, like any other appendage, like an arm, a leg, their tail… it was part of them and they were a part of it. Centering themself completely within the surging tide, they exhaled, and the first of the creatures crested the bank. The rest were close behind, the first leaping with a shriek of rage toward Remy. It took barely a thought and a gesture, and the Veermok was torn from its airborne path and flung bodily into its counterparts. They tumbled in a mess of flailing limbs and snapping jaws as they clawed at each other in confusion.
“Indeed… they are certainly not native to Arx… I question if it was the target or the hubris of some councilmember that finds them here.” Mune raised a hand, and flames whipped to life in a brilliant cavalcade of wicked green embers. The Force made manifest. “Be that as it may, we have a mission to complete.”
The Shistavanen flicked the flames and in an instant, the butt of one of the beasts was a raging inferno. The creature shrieked and disappeared back over the bank. It would look for water, no doubt, Mune purposely ensuring the attack upon the beast had little likelihood of proving fatal. It did, however, serve Mune’s main purpose… to cause the remaining Veermok to hesitate in their attack upon the group.
“Leave us, and none need be harmed further…” Mune growled.
If only they understood Basic.
Rurr following Munes lead sets aside his blaster on his sling and raises his Bokken Saber over his head activating the stun function on letting a slight crackle from the wooden blade. Using his great size and natural intimidation Rurr let’s out growls and roars while bashing his saber on the ground to hopefully send off the aggressors. He moves close to the bank across from the few Veermok remaing, if any still fight in them left they will have to get past him first
“Wrooooaaarrr, hrrum, yaaah” (*They’re not the kind to give up without a fight, I hope one of you has a plan in case they all charge in for us!)
The roar of the wookie gave the group of Veermok pause. Whether it was from Rurr’s stance showing a clear commitment to violence or something primal connected them all, it was clear the Veermok were not willing to commit to the fight. Instead the group began to show its cracks.
A smaller, perhaps younger, Veermok male didn’t back away from the waters edge like its comrades. Instead of pacing within an arm’s length of the water, like the rest of his group did, the young male splashed into the river ankle-deep and howled at the Envoys. Quickly the ape was pulled back to its group by its hindlegs, and disciplined just as suddenly with a nip from a larger female. As the group drew back behind the female, a large male came into view and pressed past the group to the waters’ edge.
Instead of thrashing the water and roaring at the Envoy, the large male sat on the riverbank with a strained groan. For a moment the beast appeared to want to lunge forward at the Wookie and accept Rurr’s challenge, but something held the creature back and caused it to stare longingly back across the river and over the Wookie’s shoulder to where Lontra stood on the riverbank.
Amidst the conflict, the Jedi had been quick to retreat from the river and climb the riverbank back to be behind his comrades. There he stood with one outstretched and open hand directed towards the Veermok while his brow strained in concentration - all the while, the fish slapped away angrily under his other arm. Sweat beaded down both sides of the man’s face as he relaxed his focus on the large male Veermok and a whine from the Veermok grew into a defiant roar and this time the creature smashed a fist into the waters between them. Whatever stillness the Jedi had infused into the situation would not control this creature or its group. Yet, the beast remained seated and appeared to beckon something from the man as it waved its arms towards its chest.
Perhaps an agreement could be arranged.
“Have it!” Lontra mustered while he tossed his trophy catch towards the large Veermok male. As the beast turned to present its prize to its pack, Lontra called after it. “But I expect something in return in the future.”
The man’s terms were clearly ignored as the animals withdrew from the riverbank. The pack began howling happily as their leader sunk its teeth deep into the fish’s head, and then dropped the corpse to be claimed by the next in the pecking order. The crunch of bones snapping pierced the chatter of pack while the Veermok male wandered away slowly with its family in tow.
A shared look of bewilderment was exchanged by the Envoys as they each silently processed what had just happened. Yet, it was the sigh of Lontra that finally broke the silence before he trotted towards the river again and marched up the opposite riverbank to continue their journey.
“When you are telling this story later, make sure to include the part where I caught the fish with my bare hands.”
Seeing that the Veermoks were pacified for the moment, Remy powered her legs and jumped up to the rest of the group, hoping to get out before she had to kill the one she was fighting. They didn’t ask to be here.
“The fish will be an important part of the report, as will the Veermok. But I suggest we move on before they finish it and move back towards aggression. The marked out ruin should only be another half-hour ahead, and that will be where the troubles really begin.”
With that, she slinked back into the foliage, the greater altitude giving somewhat solid footing for a time. Now knowing where she was going, Remy moved by herself, more quietly and through more difficult terrain, which of course would be less likely to be trapped, but also focused the Force to enhance every physical, spiritual, and temporal sense she had to see traps before they happened. Captain Mune may be a batter tracker, but navigating a battlefield, no matter the speed, was her specialty.
Sweat ran down the man’s face as he struggled to keep up.
A lifetime of military and police activities demanded an active and fit body for Lontra. Yet, he found himself cursing his prior self for not taking more wilderness training. Running on a flat, rubber school track was not the same as trying to make it through the underbrush while remaining silent.
Lontra had been aware of every muscle in his body as he strained to move through the foliage without sounding like a freighter train passing by. The concentration he exerted would have made him swear that they just spent 4 hours moving through the undergrowth and the fading light into twilight would reflect that reality. However, as the group approached the ruins, Lontra was informed that only thirty minutes had passed and a curse was given under breath as he attempted to control his breathing.
Once settled, the man left the comfort of the tree trunk he rested against and started crawling along the dirt to join the rest of the group. The trio had each taken a separate path through the underground and had already snuck up to the edges of the foliage to scout ahead. As the trio retreated back to congregated, Lontra crawled up to join the group.
“Whatcha see?”
“Nothing pleasant, Remy said, dropping from her vantage point in a tree, "I sense sixteen life signs, all underground. This ruin has been recorded as small, but mostly subterranean with a tunnel going out east to who knows where. We have to give chase and spring their trap if we want to catch our target today.”
She pulls out her weapons, though leaving her saber deactivated, and begins scanning closer with her eyes, rather than just the Force. Finally, she points up to the overgrown spire, nearly twenty meters tall, at the back of the ruin.
“Does anyone have any explosives? I see a few laser trip mines hidden in holes and crevices down there. If we can knock down the tower we might set them off at once, as well as gain an unplanned, and untrapped, entrance to the lower floor.”
“I knew this would be useful!” Lontra declared with a grunt as he had plucked the impact grenade from the back of his belt and hucked it. From his kneeled position, the Jedi didn’t have the stance for a proper throw and it showed as the grenade arched early in the air and sailed to fall short of the tower. “Oh frack!”
Lontra was quick to recover, his right arm shot forward as he focused on the falling grenade. He commanded it to fly forward, his mind urging a wave of energy to blow the grenade into the tower as if hurled by torrential winds. After a dull knock sounded from the tower’s wooden leg, a deafening explosion followed a bright display as the tower was compromised by an initial fire but then disappeared from view as the remaining structure toppled to towards the ground.
The wreckage hammered into the ground and several more comparably minor explosions lit the darkening twilight. An eerie calm slowed faded in as Lontra noticed his hearing returned. Concerningly, a deep howl sounded in the distance from behind the team as if the howl was responding to carnage.
“Let’s go!” Lontra barked at the others before taking to his feet and running towards the tunnel entrance. Not doubt, Lontra intended to keep well ahead of their ape friends. When the man arrived at the opening, Lontra pinned himself against the right side of the door way and began rolling back the sleeves of his robes while the others crowded around and prepared themselves to enter.
When Lontra was done adjusting his clothing, he lifted his forearms up to display a pair of mandalorian vambraces readied to fire. Exchanging a look between each of the team, all confirmed they were ready, and then Lontra turned into the opening.
A wave of heat washed over the Jedi’s face as flames erupted from his left vambrace and danced deep into the tunnel.
Remy started as Lontra began his attack on the lower level. What was it with these people and fire? All consuming agony followed by suffocating death, a torturers toolkit for use on the battlefield. In her opinion, the more legendary powers of the Dark like lightning didn’t compare to a simple can of jellied fuel for maleficence.
Her saber ignited again with a crackling roar, and so used it less as a weapon and more as a tool for focus, point touching the cracked stone in front of her. With a single upward swing, she lashed out with the force, splitting the blaze long enough for her to crash down through the opening, a shockwave emanating from her point of impact. She barely paused as she cut the neck of one burning man and shot through the chest of the other, making a quick spin to gauge the true extent of the trap laid out in the opposite direction.
“The target has fled along the tunnel,” she called up in the momentary silence, split only by the still crackling flames, “He has three guards, probably his most reliable. Leave the rest to me.”
As she finished speaking, she felt, more than saw, the first to recover behind her. With a flick of her wrist he flew up to the ceiling with a choked cry and a loud crack as his body armor smacked into the stone. Like a spell had been broken, the remaining bandits began to raise cry and let loose with blaster fire. Remy was moving with the smoke around her, leaving them shooting at nothing.
It was almost easy at first. The man in charge may be a notable warrior and danger to her, but these mercenaries were barely on the level of trained soldiers personally, and much less effective in a group. The first two went down easy, a pair who had been knocked against a nearby wall by her entrance. Sliding in under the darkness and smoke, she cut out ones legs with a swift kick, smashed the face of the second one with a hammer of Force, and turned to beckon the first to unconsciousness with a heel to the temple. Turning to move to the next, she saw the rest of her group taking advantage of her rampage to slink into the mentioned temple, as well as a much more organized squad moving in.
The two in front held spears, not beskar, thank the Force, but electrified and likely able to block her blows. Behind them were another three carrying an assortment of whatever blasters they had managed to find over their ill-fated careers. She approached them rapidly, determined to give the rest an unimpeded advance towards their true target, and parried the few shots of plasma the back line was willing to sneak past their larger defenders. Just as she was about to crash into the front line, she vanished, the bladed tips of their weapons cutting into the stone as she reappeared behind the formation, her pistol hand crashing down over the head of the unluckiest of the trio.
“This one is just a distraction! Get down the tunnel and let them deal with her!”
It was another bandit towards the back, probably some sort of officer, or whatever “big and strong” variant these thugs used instead, and incredibly unfortunately, it seemed the other half of the group seemed to be following the order. Remy flinched as the momentary distraction led to a burst of blaster fire from behind her to spray across her shield, the blue light flickering as it nearly died almost immediately. Turning to fire her blaster, it only sparked with the superhuman pistolwhip she had given out a minute before proving too much for its integrity.
Too much. She had always relied on her aggression and constant movement for missions like this, but she was used to going it alone. If she could take things at her own pace, this whole room would be easy to manage, there was enough enemies that she could use them for cover against their allies and perform enough acts of brutal strength to demoralize, she could even do it without a single death, but now…
She felt it inside again, like she had so many times before. What she had thought was some kind of battle focus attained by giving herself to the Force. Only, it likely wasn’t that, was it? She had several uncomfortable epiphanies over the last few months, not the least of them that, apparently, that single minded focus on tearing apart her opponents with her bare hands was an overflow emotion, not the opposite.
She made her mind as she spun. She could not escape this situation without death, that much was obvious, but she didn’t have to give in to the Darkness either. If she had to bear the weight of murder, then she would do it herself. With a swing of both arms and a surge in the Force, her broken pistol found a new home in the skull of one gunner, and her saber bisected the other. Stepping between where she knew the blades would fall, she punched upwards into the leftmost spearman, the sound of crunching bone slicing through the sound of yelling and blasterfire. The force of the blow carried the poor man into the air, where she grabbed his ankle and swung it to catch another three bolts destined for her back, before it slammed into the other spearmans body with enough force to send them both crashing backwards over ten feet into a wall.
This was horrible. All the times before she had been able to convince herself that she was some cold judge, or that the guilt of these murders were on those giving her orders, but this time it was on her. For her weakness, for her hubris that she could take them alone, she had to accept that each corpse was her own fault. But she didn’t stop, not through severed limbs and broken bones, as the battle cries turned to screams, she found herself standing before the entrance to the long tunnel as she always had at the end of a job like this; covered from head to toe in the blood of those who stood in her way.
Looking down the tunnel, she knew she was too far to give chase, not to mention she was now exhausted. As usual, she had more or less been constantly channeling the Force since arriving here, and as powerful as she was becoming, she still didn’t have the ability to fight for hours on end like so many heroes of legend could supposedly have. Now it was up to the rest, she just hoped they would have the grace to kill quickly. As for now, there was still one left.
Remy moved sluggishly through the room spattered with plasma burns and gore, various small burns and cuts aching all over her body. Sliced and torn corpses littered the whole room, but the only living person was back from the beginning, the one she had knocked out with her foot. Wordlessly, she grabbed him by the shoulder as he tried to begin crawling away, realising she was not fooled by his attempt to play dead.
“I could let you live, if you wanted.”
The words hung in the air, almost for herself as much as the crying, bloodsoaked man.
“They would find you. They wouldn’t accept any promises that you wouldn’t say anything, either, they… we value our secrecy. I don’t know what they would do to you.”
The man was still dazed, and more or less overtaken by fear, but he seemed to think about the implications, at least a little.
“You… aren’t going to kill me?” He seemed confused, in several meanings of the word.
“If that is your wish.”
His eyes flickered around at the bodies, as Remys gorespattered form, and nearly broke down into sobs again. Traumatic head injury did a lot to break down “tough guys.”
“I- I don’t wanna die! Please let me live!”
Remy didn’t know what to feel as she did her best to get the Force to heal the man enough to walk. On one hand, she was left to bear one less sin, but what would they do with this one? Would she be responsible for what they did to him then?
“The footsoldiers are dealt with and I have a prisoner, but I am unable to continue,” she said with a finger to her earpiece, “I will escort this one back to the ship. The rest is left to you.”
She led the prisoner out of the roof, the same way she had come in a short few minutes before. Maybe he would be flensed or something similar in the depths of Arx, but at least she had done what she could to save someone. That would have to be enough.
Mune would not question the opportunity to leave the fighting to someone else. They trusted Remy to succeed. Their goal was further ahead, beyond the obstacles that had been placed in their path. There was no hesitation among the three left behind. The Human took point, the Wookiee taking the rear, his blaster rifle at the ready. Any time one of the cannon fodder was to draw too close, Mune saw in time to warn Rurr, who brought his rifle to bear, blasting the threat. No one ever drew close enough to lay weapons upon them. Most were busy being butchered by Echani.
Had Mune been inexperienced in battles, they’d have certainly recoiled at the display. They did wonder if the woman remembered she was supposed to be a Jedi. Was she forgetting herself in battle? Was the blood and death drawing her across that line into darkness?
The Shistavanen had no choice but to leave her to figure it out for herself. She had to find the stopping point. To decide for herself. Mune glanced back upon the massacre once before following Lontra into the depths, after Kosst Rissokt. They had a mission after all.
“This one is just a distraction! Get down the tunnel and let them deal with her!”
The group, short one Jedi, had made quick ground. That ground was being eaten up rapidly by the closing enemy.
“Lontra! Stun grenade!”
The Human removed the stun grenade from his pack. He spun around as Mune too, turned, and together they extended a hand. The Force grabbed hold. The two Arconans thrust the grenade at once through the tunnel, sending it like a projectile into the group of men that managed to escape death by the hand of the Echani. Before it could go off, the Force users turned as one to keep running, now at Rurr’s back as the grenade went off. They could hear the cries of shock and the crumpling of unconscious bodies against rock.
They could all be thankful for the new obstacle between them and the rest of the forces at their rear.
Rurr was the first to burst into the wider cavern.
The Elder closed the gap in the blink of an eye, Sarr’mun gliding from its sheath as they moved. The ring of durasteel against the metal of the Force blade rang loudly in all their ears as Mune deflected the tip of the spear that was intended for the Wookiee. The surprise was brief. Rurr brought his blaster rifle up around Mune and fired, forcing the guard to twist out of the way and disengage. Rosst lay beyond, sneering in the team’s direction, two more guards between them and him.
The spearman gasped, the air exploding from his lungs before a second strike knocked his legs out from under him. Mune switched positions with Rurr, the Wookiee, opening fire into the men beyond. Lontra emerged from behind the two, directing the Force in a third strike that the man managed to avoid, a rock nearby exploding into shrapnel.
“Grrraaaruuh!” The Wookiee bellowed.
The warning was unnecessary.
The nearest guard was on his feet and leaped behind cover. The two grenades arced downward toward the group. The explosion shook the cavern. Dust and debris filled the air. Stalagmites crashed into the floor below. The air currents dispersed the smoke to reveal that the three envoys stood unharmed.
Mune was calm. Their barrier was brilliant against the gloom–the last ripples of the blasts were dispersing through its opalescent surface. The Force was a gentle hymn that sang through their mind and body, forged into a protective wall that kept them all from harm.
What was more… the Elder Oracle was unfazed. Their eyes opened, and the barrier unravelled. The Force came pouring back in as though unspent. Mune breathed out, centred, resolute.
Their target bellowed orders to his three guards, and the fight was on.
Rurr seeing what is left between them and their target feels a rush of determination to see the mission through. He fires his blaster at the remaining three guards as to seperate them from each other to even the odds on their side though when has it been a even fight with force users at your side and he internally grins at the thought of fighting alongside jedi like the long lost days of the clone wars on kashyyyk.
Seeing one of the guards take cover behind a wall, Rurr moves forward suppressing fire in order to close the distance while weaving through rubble until he comes upon lone guard. The wookie let out a roar as he towered over the man and swung down with his Saber sending the guard against the wall with tremendous force but it only momentarily stunned the guard and responds in kind with his own Vibroblade. Rurr manages to take only a glancing hit thanks to his armor and locks blades with the guard while wielding his blade with one hand, his ample strength is more than enough to hold them in place.
Rurr knowing he cannot waste time dueling one man as he hears Lontra and Mune engaging their opponents shrugged at the poor man and unholsters his blaster pistol and fires shots into the guards chest til he stumbles down dead. Rurr not satisfied with how he got his kill bellows out a roar and moves on to provide support to the jedi
Mune felt the Wookiee move past and engage one of the guards. That left Lonta and Mune facing the other two. Kosst was making to continue his escape. The Shistavanen grew wary of the chase. The mission needed a conclusion. “Lontra, go for the target.”
“What?”
They sheathed their blade in one smooth motion before extending their hands out. Their lightsabers snapped to hand. Violet and cerulean light sent their shadow dancing against the cavern walls, haloed vividly by the emitted vibrancy of the two weapons. Mune’s eyes narrowed, they centred themself within the wellspring of the Force, felt it as an extension of their being, their essence.
“Now,” Mune ordered their superior.
The Human hesitated, then bolted past.
One of the guards made for the man, but the Shistavanen was having none of it. The Force honed their reflexes, surged through their flesh and sinew. The man only just managed to dodge the arching slash of the lightsaber. The second guard pulled a blaster, but his aim was ruined when Mune jerked their arm to the side with the Force, sending the plasma bolt wide. They reverse their grip on their left-hand weapon and catch an incoming overhand swing of the first man’s purge electrobaton. The impact sent a jolt through Mune’s arm, but they managed, noting the man had a lot more strength and weight on them.
They were made to slash wide with their second lightsaber when they sensed the second guard firing, forcing them to defend, and the first man to disengage to take another swing. Mune twisted, narrowly avoiding the blow. Dropped low to dodge another blaster bolt.
It was safe to say they had both men firmly distracted, permitting Lontra all the space he needed to close on Kosst.
Mune parried. Dodged. Twisted and leaped. Weaving through the joint mixed melee and ranged attacks. Both men were growing frustrated with how slippery the Shistavanen was proving to be. Mune somersaulted and was quickly on their feet to block another plasma bolt. Their eyes saw seconds ahead, images overlaying reality, paths diverging. Their mind calculated, weighed the potentialities. Their weight dropped back on one foot, the baton passing within a hair’s breadth of their cheek–fractions of a second ticked–the man’s eyes slowly widened as he was relieved of his left arm. The Force thrust out with a gesture of Mune’s right hand, and the guard was sent tumbling backward.
Another millisecond ticked past.
Mune twisted out of the path of a plasma bolt, singing the fur on their left shoulder. The melee fighter down, the ranged fighter became less shy at trying to pepper the Force-user with blaster fire. Mune found themself unable to close the distance, lightsabers arching and spiralling to deflect the incoming hail of destruction.
Rurr had no such issue to contend with.
Abruptly, the blaster fire ceased. The guard crumbled unceremoniously to the ground, sliding free of the Wookiee’s blade.
Mune gave a nod of approval before glancing in the direction Lontra and Kosst had gone.
“You good, Rurr?”
“Grrarrrruuurraaah.” The Wookiee responded.
“Thanks for the back-up. Care to give Lontra a hand?”
They both took off in the direction of their companion and their target.
Sweat poured down the man’s face as Lontra took off running from the group and made after the fleeing Trandoshan. While his footsteps thundered off the stone walls, the sound of his heart racing filled the Jedi’s ears. The pursuit, the adrenaline, and the stun cuffs hooked on his belt, all made for an all too familiar feeling and Lontra briefly got lost in the nostalgia of it.
It had been over a year since he last chased down a perp like this. And damn did it feel good to do so once more. It felt inspiring to be setting out to deliver justice again.
But was this justice?
The Jedi’s footsteps slowed as he approached the back of the chamber and spotted the overgrown lizard barricading himself behind equipment crates and readying himself for one last stand. Lontra knew better than to charge recklessly into the makeshift defenses of a desperate mind. His uncle would’ve made a comment about a literal animal trapped in a corner.
“Come and get me, prick!” Rissokt snarled and followed it with several blaster bolts sprayed across the ground between them. A calm settled into Lontra’s chest as he stopped in his tracks and squatted, taking a moment to rock himself on the balls of his feet while reaching out through the distance to understand the Trandoshan.
A gentle breath from Lontra drew his mind in alignment with the Trandoshan for a brief moment. Fear was the most powerful emotion that could be sensed, but once felt it retreated to thoughts of worry and anticipation. Not for Rissokt himself, but that the Jedi wouldn’t come closer.
That’s what brought Lontra’s attention to the first mine.
As the Jedi stood from his position, he took inventory of the dangers scattered between him and the mined-in Trandoshan. After reaching a count of over a dozen, Lontra shook his head with disappointment and abandoned the task. While the cries and attempted goading of Rissokt fell on deaf ears, the sound of rapid footsteps stole the man’s attention.
“Watch your step!” Lontra hissed and threw up an arm of caution as Mune and Rurr trotted up to the Jedi. “He’s got himself barricaded and created a minefield between us.”
“Grrraaaruuh!” The Wookiee wallowed and while Lontra didn’t understand the words, he felt the Wookiee’s meaning.
“Yeah, so much for ‘dangerous fighter’ we were promised.” Lontra huffed as he looked between the Wookiee and Shistavanen. Lontra’s hand was quick to dart into his bag and begin digging around before he pulled a device out and passed it to the Wookiee. “When I give the word, I want you to throw this to the ground and make sure both you and Mune are behind it.”
A whine of agreement came from Rurr as Lontra turned his attention back to the fidgeting Trandoshan. With an air of caution, the man stepped to the edge of the minefield and called out.
“Kosst-”
“Suck laser, Sith!” Rissokt was quick to answer with several bolts sent towards Lontra. A cold blue washed over the stone floor just before the blaster bolts were batted away by Lontra’s reserve lightsaber. The weapon’s hum added to the calm Lontra pressed into his voice.
“You are mistaken, Kosst. I am no Sith.” The words carried a firmness to them as Lontra raised his lightsaber so the blue hue highlighted his demeanor and then he switched off the blade. “And I do not come here for your death.”
“Like hell!”
“If I wanted you dead, you already would be.” Lontra’s claim was backed up by the dance of a mine that rose from the ground. As the weapon spun in the air, it hovered to an equal space between the two and paused to float about five feet from the ground and in direct line of sight of Lontra’s outstretched arm.
“Are you crazy, you drop that and we both die!” Rissokt snarled as he pointed a finger at the Jedi.
“Perhaps,” Lontra nodded with a smirk, then turned his head over his shoulder and nodded at the Wookiee, before he continued. “But I’m going to give you one chance to willingly put on my pair of stun cuffs and come with us for judgement.”
A sigh of disappointment briefly came from the Jedi’s chest as the Trandoshan answered with another blaster shot. After this, time seemed to slow down. Lontra abandoned his hold on the mine and ducked beneath several shots from the Trandoshan. Rurr followed his direction and threw the device he was given to the ground. Mune watched as his view of Lontra was distorted by an energy field that popped up in between them. Yet, Mune was able to make out the view of Lontra drilling his fist into the ground as he knelt to the ground.
A ripple lifted dust from the ground as a wave of energy spilled out from Lontra’s fist. Deep into the minefield, the wave lifted dust, stone, and mine and tossed all backwards towards the back of the cave and into the focal point that was Rissokt’s barricades. Yet, before carnage was unleashed Mune watched with sympathetic eyes as Rurr reached past the energy wall and gave a firm tug on the collar of Lontra’s tunic.
A choked gasp came from the Jedi as the Wookiee dragged them both back behind the energy wall as a deafening explosion rang out through the cave and connected the tunnel. Dust fell from the ceiling and the earth itself felt like it shook but the energy wall held through the intensity and only failed upon the final heat of the blast. For several minutes, only an intense ringing could be heard in the room but damned if anyone could see each other from all the dust that had fallen. Finally, as senses were reclaimed, one by one the group confirmed they were okay.
“Lontra, you’re a lunatic.” Mune growled and a howl of agreement came from the Wookiee.
“No argument here.” The Jedi laughed, though strained and followed by rubbing the sore in his neck. Slowly the man tiptoed his way back towards Rissokt’s barricade until he found what looked like the charred remains of a clawed foot. A flash illuminated the full extent of the damage while Lontra’s datapad took a holo of the carnage for proof of completion.
“This job will leave you changed.”