A Sith Holiday

[LadyM]

Free time had been given to Avreet and myself from Sith Master Volitu to pursue our quest for whatever our heart's desired. After some discussions Avreet and I came to a perfect outing that would assist us in both training and mental fortitude. We were going to Abraxin, a planet that was more swamp and marshland than anything else but a planet riddled with various types of dangerous predators. As a Sith, I craved combat and though most predators in the galaxy were no match for a wielder of the dark side, I discovered two things about Abraxin during my research. The planet had some nasty beasts that would give Avreet and myself a strong challenge putting our skills to the test such as Marsh Haunts. The other, it was rumoured that a vicious beast known as a Terentatek hunted the marshlands of Abraxin. And that alone appealed to me.

Sitting in the co-pilot's chair on Avreet's personal ship, Your Grave, I was staring out at the planet before me. The thrill of the hunt and the thrill of the unexpected tugged on my mind like a puppeteer tugs the strings of its marionette. Without looking at Avreet I said, "Can you feel it? The pull and the lure of the dark side from the planet is amazing." Stretching my senses further through the Force I began to feel the presences of the inhabitants of Abraxin as we drew closer to our destination.

"I can feel the primal cravings of the beasts. I can feel their desperation of survival; the relationship between predator and prey. I can feel the fear from the weak and the confidence of the strong," I said turning my head toward Avreet. I knew he was powerful in both the Force and dark side and I was sure he could feel what I was feeling, but he and I were different though we both served the same Master. I was Chaos and he was Order.

"It will be good to work together once again," I added as I turned my head and eyes back to the planet.

 

[Bubák]

Meeting her again after so many years went far better than expected. To Avreet’s surprise, it was the Sith warrior finding him, an Assassin, in Grima’s palace, not the other way around. She caught him unprepared, reading books in the SIth Witch’s library, so he did not even fully realize the young white haired woman was Yr’il, now called Ghenna, his old friend. The two agreed on going to the swampy surface of Abraxin, a planet not that far from the Mon Cal’s homeworld and hunt the local wildlife. While not exactly a challenge, lightsabers being to blame, the young Sith Assassin wanted to try hunting the planet’s dangerous predators, making them his prey. The trip would also be a nice way of getting know this Ghenna, working alongside her and observing her skills, seeing how much from Yr’il had survived through the last years. Avreet knew the woman wanted to hunt dangerous Terentatek, although the Mon Cal had to admit he wished to test his skill against the dangerous beast too. The Sith duo packed what they needed and met in Your Grave parked on the landing pad connected to the Sith Master’s palace.

Avreet did not answer to the woman’s question, simply staring at the planet. It seemed peaceful, but he knew better. The Force did not speak to him yet, not giving him any information of the world. Focusing harder, he could almost feel the Force on the planet, so much life and death. When his old friend mentioned working together again, he blinked and ripped his stare off the growing green jewel in front of them. "Yes, of course, Crusader. Lots of catching up." The ship’s computer signaled the ship had entered atmosphere, so the Mon Cal initiated landing sequence and let the computer find the best spot for landing as they flew above the vast swamps and marshes. After being given a signal, the Sith carefully slowed down and began descending, the ship not even shaking as it’s undercarriage buried itself into the soft clearing. Luckily, it was not deep, posing no threat of burying the ship.

Turning all systems off and standing up, he instinctively grabbed his cloak, ready to put it on, then left it hanging over the seat. He wouldn’t need it. "Let’s go." He told to the other Crusader and went to the back of the ship, opening the ramp and walking out, stepping on grass that bobbed under his steps. Watching the surrounding marshes with both of his orange eyes, he noticed how moist everything was. The high humidity in the air felt good to his sensitive skin. "I am sorry for not being there for you and stopping you from falling," Avreet said with sadness in his voice as the female Crusader walked beside him. His eyes showed he was bothered by Yr’il’s death. "How much of Yr’il is still there, Ghenna?"

Briefly glancing at the woman, his sight darted back at the surrounding area. His senses felt so many lifeforms in the endless marsh, but his eyes caught little to none. The wetness made him feel rather optimistic though, suddenly having a good feeling about this hunting trip. If nothing else, he should enjoy it and relax, hunt a few beasts and spend time with his old friend, or whatever remained of her.

 

[LadyM]

I looked outside the view port at the swamplands and marshlands now surrounding us and the ship. This planet was none like I have seen before; primitive yet greedy in holding onto its secrets. I began to get the feeling that this planet was not visited on a regular basis nor was it on any of those galaxy tours that rich people with nothing better to do with their lives booked in hopes of finding some sort of entertainment or sights at the expense of those they desperately fought to separate themselves from. Avreet left the cockpit and headed toward the back of his ship, but I lingered a little longer looking at the view before me. After a few minutes, I headed toward the back and exited the ship.

When I emerged from the ship and touched down on the wet grasslands, I moved toward Avreet and as I arrived, he spoke to me about my fall from the person he once knew as Yr'il and found some reason to apologize as if it was his fault or that my falling was in some way a curse. "I stumbled upon a holocron from the Jedi Order years ago when my former Master was imprisoned and it spoke of the horrors of war and how it could corrupt the inner self of a Jedi. As Sith, we crave chaos and war and the horrors I saw or the horrors I had inflicted on others may have changed me but it made me more powerful and more deadlier than ever. No longer did I fear the unknown, no longer did I fail to see my path before me, and no longer did I wish to hide in the shadows, shivering at the demons in my head. The dark side had last came for me and I went willingly into its cold and dark embrace."

I turned my head to look into the nearby swamplands feeling the various presences moving to and from destinations. I was eager to hunt and hone my skills both with the lightsaber and the Force but I would not shun Avreet away. His concern for my welfare may have been unwarranted in my opinion but he was a friend and so I elected not to chastise him for his behaviour or concern.

"What I became is still better than what other Sith are. Yes, I kill and the thrill of killing is more than just craving, it is passion to me. However, I do not kill because I can; I kill in regards to what Master Volitu teaches; self-preservation. You ask how much of Yr'il is still there," I said turning my head toward Avreet, then added, "What I was is no more, and what I became I have no regrets. Not my choices or my actions."

 

[Bubák]

For a while, Avreet closed his eyes and pondered about what his friend told him. While she still claimed Yr’il was dead and nothing remained, Avreet knew that was not entirely true, as she remembered their friendship very well. Or did she just want to get Volitu’s Hand of Order away from the Togruta Sith Master and kill him, severing one of the last connections to her old self? Even that was a possibility, but what purpose would it serve other than proving something to her? Ghenna needed Avreet, there couldn’t be chaos without order. Opening his eyes, the Mon Calamari smiled at the woman while glaring at her with his big orange orbs. “I hope you are stronger than your former self, Ghenna. Yr’il was too weak to resist the temptation of the Dark Side; she became its slave instead of enslaving it. She was too weak to set herself free. Master Volitu had to help her. And then you were born...“ His eyes darted over the white haired woman, trying to remember Yr’il the last time he had seen her. This new version definitely looked somewhat more immersed in the Dark Side with her skin sickly white. Even her presence was not the same; it’s been forever changed and twisted, irradiating the Darkness. Ghenna was so corrupted, way beyond the line Avreet had ever crossed, and yet so perfect. If Avreet and Ghenna morphed into one person, Master Volitu would be the result.

The Mon Cal’s face grew serious, his gaze hardened, “If the Dark Side takes over you again, you may not be so lucky this time, Hand of Chaos. Use the chance given by Master Volitu wisely.” Finished, Avreet closed his eyes again and turned his head towards the swamp, letting the Force talk to him and show him what he wanted. Unfortunately, he could not distinguish tens of dozens of lifeforms living in the marshlands around him. This hunt would test his skills, without the Force interfering too much. Taking a few steps towards a vast pool of swamp hiding Force knows what; he crouched and gently touched the opaque surface of the swamp water, creating circles in the liquid. The wetness felt very pleasant to him, changing his neutral expression to a smile. Getting up, the amphibious Crusader undid the case on his right thigh and slowly assembled his sniper rifle, feeling he might need it. The blaster weapon could take his opponents out from far away, something his lightsabers wouldn’t do.

Flinging the sniper over his left shoulder, he felt more than ready to take on anything this planet had to offer. “We should go through here, Hand of Chaos,” Avreet shot Ghenna a look with his right eye and pointed in the direction he was touching the water a while ago, “The marshes northwest should offer us many beasts to hunt. If we’re careful where we step, we should be able to reach one of those small islands in there safely and not too wet… Dry land is a rarity here, it seems.” The Mon Calamari then added a location of the ship into the map in his datapad, just to make sure they'd be able to easily find it later or if something happened and they had to quickly leave the planet.

 

[LadyM]

"She was both weak and pathetic. She, unlike myself, feared the true nature of the dark side. It was a necessity for her to 'die' in order for me to be born; but born into some far greater. However, I still possess many of her memories and she believed you and her were good friends. I find no fault in why that friendship should end," I said slowly turning my head toward the marshes. Something was out here, hungry and stalking.

Looking back at the Mon Calamari I let out a small chuckle, then waved my hand at my actions. "The dark side is me and I the dark side. We are now one in the same. I control it, just as I control the Force; not the other way around Hand of Order." I watched him crouch and examine the marshlands. While he did that, I began to scan the area once more in search for our ultimate prize, but alas, it was eluding me. Not feeling frustrated, for I knew there were other things out there worthy of a challenge of my skills.

I turned my head to see what he was describing and after assessing the situation myself, I accepted his plan. I began to move carefully through the wetlands in the direction of the small island. The closer we came to the island, the stronger the presences I could feel. Silently and methodically, I removed Serpent's Breath from my waist sash.

 

[Bubák]

“Do not get overconfident, my dear fellow Hand,” Avreet kindly said to his white haired friend, following her through the marshes and being careful where to step, “The Dark Side wants you to believe you control it, make you incautious. It is like a servant, while it serves you well, it’d rather be your master,” smirked the amphibious Sith as he walked. Some parts of the marsh were solid enough to allow them to travel without any trouble, others were treacherous and Avreet often found his feet sinking in. He was glad for his knee high boots, as Force knows how many beasts dwelled in the murky water, waiting for the prey to get stuck and slip on the slimy ground, not fast enough to get up and defend themselves against a surprise attack from the depths…

As they came closer to the small islands sitting in the middle of the swamp, Avreet rotated his right eye at Ghenna, only to see the Hand of Chaos removed her lightsaber. Extending his senses, he noticed several lifeforms getting closer. A brief glance over the swamp around them revealed nothing, but the Force clearly warned him, telling him to act. His webbed hands reached for the sniper rifle hanging over his shoulder, firmly grasping it and aiming in front of himself. Squeezing the trigger, the young Mon Calamari released a shot into the mud where he felt the disturbance. Nothing happened; the Force must have warned him about something different. The sniper rifle flew back on his shoulder, but not before he felt another Force presence, this time behind himself. As if the marshlands wanted to play with his head. Avreet shot Ghenna a look and shrugged, when two monstrosities suddenly emerged right in front of him. “Our prey has come to us, Ghenna,” he said, his gaze quickly turning to look at the two predators.

The twin lightsaber hilts flew into his hands, his gaze fixed at the two Marsh haunts that appeared. From what he read about them, the beasts were Force sensitive, explaining the confusion he felt in the Force a moment before. They also liked to hunt in packs. Another, third Marsh haunt rose from the swamp behind the two Sith. Launching himself high into the air, igniting the crimson beams in the flight, the Mon Cal jumped and landed on top one the closest Marsh haunt in front of him. Avreet intended to bury his lightsabers into the beast, but he underestimated the slimy mud covering the creature, making him slip before properly finishing the move. This resulted in half of the lightsaber blades being in the creature as he fell, nearly cutting the Marsh haunt in half vertically. It was gross and definitely not a clean kill he would have liked, but the deed was done, one of the beasts was dead and slumped into the water with a loud splash.

As Avreet landed, trying to keep his balance, he felt the muck and swamp water reaching over the top of his boots and finding its way in. The second closest beast attacked, swinging it’s deadly claws at the Sith who simply positioned his lightsabers in defense, letting the beast wound itself. The surprised and angry Marsh haunt was temporarily paralised by sudden burning pain, giving Avreet time to get back to more solid area of the swamp, one of the small islands. Both lightsabers found their place on his belt in a second as the sniper rifle started talking again, shots aimed at the beast’s vital organs.

 

[LadyM]

From behind us rose two Marsh Haunts, quickly followed by a third. I pressed the activation stud on my lightsaber and felt the call of combat ringing through out my head. Moving toward one of the creatures, I witness Avreet defeat one of the beasts then engage another. I knew these monsters were Force sensitive but I was unsure if they could be affected by the Force so I chose not to use my gifts and met the beast head on.

The creature swiped one its webbed and clawed hands toward me. I ducked underneath it and brought Serpent's Breath up quickly severing the arm. The creature leaned back and roared in pain leaving itself vulnerable to more attacks, which I did. Moving fast and with calculated movements, I slashed my blade across its stomach area opening a massive wound then brought my blade up cutting its throat, ending its existence.

I watched the body fall backwards into the swamp water and slowly fade away when I heard from behind another series of howls and growls. Spinning around as fast as I could in the swampy water, I saw that two more Marsh Haunts had come to join in the action. Using the Force to guide my lightsaber, I hurled the weapon at the closest beast and followed quickly behind it. The blade caught the beast in the chest region and held there.

The Haunt reached down and removed my weapon and simply stared it. Leaping through the air, I removed from my waist sash the enchanted knife Avreet had given to me so many years ago and plunged the dagger's blade into the Marsh Haunt's throat, cutting its arteries. I called my lightsaber back to my hand before it fell into the water and turned to engage the last beast after retrieving my dagger. But the Haunt had already passed by me and was now en route to the Hand of Order.

"Behind you Order," I said to him through the Force.

 

[Bubák]

A brief glace at Ghenna let him know the woman was doing just fine. No wonder, she was a warrior, so fighting the beast this close must have been almost natural to her. Avreet's finger kept pressing the trigger, hitting the wild beast into several areas Avreet thought its vital organs would be. It took several hits before roaring and charging the Mon Cal. Avreet knew he'd hardly outran it in this sort of terrain, co he calmed his breath and aimed a little higher, blasting the monster's brain into mashed eggs-like substance by scoring a lucky shot right into its eye. The Marsh hunt made a few more steps before falling in front of the Mon Calamari, who sighed in relief. Had the thing gotten close...

Suddenly, he heard a voice in his head, realizing that one creature distracted him enough not to feel another approaching. Swiftly turning around, he squeezed the trigger and fired just as the big predator swiped its hand and knocked the weapon out of Avreet's grasp. The young Sith's blaster bolt managed to hit it though, into its shoulder, angering it. Avreet was not fast enough to ignite his lightsabers as it hit him in the right side with its arm moving back. Flying through the air, he tried to absorb the pain. The amphibious Sith landed directly in the marsh, disappearing under the water. The dirt would not do his gills any good, but he did not dare to emerge, feeling the beast quickly approaching to find its prey. The pain strengthened his connection with the Dark Side and the Force, letting him know as the predator dived and got closer to him, close enough to hit the beast with a lightsaber. In that very moment, Avreet ignited his weapons and impaled the Marsh haunt through its neck. Avreet yanked the weapons to both sides, severing its head.

Surfacing, he coughed out the water that had gotten into his mouth. Despite his skin greatly enjoying the wetness, he quickly rose from the swamp and made his way to the small island, looking at Ghenna. "Thank you for the warning, Chaos," he smiled at the fellow Sith. "That was close. Had you not warned me, the thing would have ripped me in half." One particular item caught his attention. "That's the knife I had given you during our training, right? That was the day you have met Master Volitu for the first time...," his smile grew wider as he kept staring at the dagger, lost in nostalgia. That sight also reminded him of his own weapon, so he searched around for his sniper rifle. It'd have to be cleaned from mud to be usable again, but at least it was not broken.

 

[LadyM]

I watched as Avreet exited the swamp water and began to laugh uncontrollably at the sight of him. I knew he came from a water world and he was at home being in water but the sight of the dirty water dripping off him was amusing. "You are welcome Order," I said once my laughter finally died down. Looking at the knife now resting on my waist sash briefly, I added, "Indeed it is. As I said, I still retain her memories but that is all that remains of the one who call Yr'il."

Looking first at the dead creatures then the surrounding area, I figured it was time we continued the hunt. "I think it would be best if we moved on from this area. The stench of these dead beasts will surely attract predators to feast on the dying flesh and I have no desire to fight needlessly."

I began moving through the swampy landscape in silence for a bit until a thought struck me. Looking over at the Mon Calamari Crusader I said, "I know the girl Yr'il died and I was born, but what of you? Surely the war has changed you."

 

[Bubák]

Avreet gave the woman a weird look as she laughed. It might have looked funny to her, but now he had to get the dirt from his gills! That was not that amusing. His webbed hand gently tried to get rid of the worst, the Mon Cal hoped to meet clean water soon. The wet clothing felt really good to him, but he wished the water was clean and not a mixture of Force knows what. “I agree,” he told the Hand of Chaos after hearing her plan to move away from the dead beasts. The two Sith silently walked away from the bodies, not talking about anything, as there was not much to talk about. Finally, Ghenna broke the silence with an interesting question. Avreet pondered about the question for a minute. “I suppose it has changed me. I am stronger, wiser and more powerful. The war was terrible, but it allowed me to advance more quickly and become what I am now. Most importantly, it allowed me to see Master Volitu’s truth. I feel I am on the right path. Just as you, Ghenna,” Avreet paused for a second, placing his webbed hand on Ghenna’s shoulder, the trio of suction cups on his palm kissing lovingly. “I am glad you have seen Master Volitu’s light.” Avreet almost whispered, thinking about something else to say. Then he realized the white haired Hand probably did not know about Vyrzen. “I have an apprentice. He’ll become a powerful Sith one day.”

That was all Avreet had to say, his excellent sight noticing something on the horizon, coming from a thick forest sitting in the middle of the marshlands in front of them. His cybernetic eye magnified the image, seeing smoke and some movement between the trees. The figures he saw looked like people, not beasts. That indicated the area was good enough for camping. “It looks like we are not the only ones hunting animals. Look over there,” he pointed towards it with his clawed finger, “That is definitely a campfire. I can see someone moving around. They have weapons. Let’s check it out...” The beings could have been simple workers or hunters, but also smugglers. Abraxis was not very civilized, but it was famous for one thing; Abrax, an aquamarine cognac. Since the planet belonged to the New Sith Imperium, smugglers could make a small fortune by smuggling Imperial goods to the independent space.

Avreet went first, his quick pace not interrupted by the terrain. The Mon Cal moved surprisingly silently, ignoring the swamps around and all creatures hiding in them. When he reached the forest, the Cursader used the Force to hide his form and observed the humans. Their weapons did not say much, as even simple woodcutters had to protect themselves in a place like this. In an attempt to be diplomatic, Avreet decloaked, revealing himself to the humans. Most of them froze in shock at the sight of a walking fish-like alien suddenly appearing in front of their very eyes. “Greetings, gentlebeings. Please do not be alarmed, I come in peace and mean no harm.” Avreet opened both of his palms to show them he held no weapons, though he was more than ready to telekinetically grab the lightsabers on his belt. The two cruved cylinders obviously gave away his allegiance, as no Jedi would dare to come this deep into the Imperial space.

 

[LadyM]

I felt something on the horizon but when Crusader Zatarus directed my full attention, I saw a small campfire. Where there is a campfire, there is a camp, and with a camp comes campers. But I was not sure what or who they were. Stretching out with my senses in the Force, I felt that the camp was inhabitated by people and not beasts. My curiosity was peeked. Who would come to this backwater planet that held no true purpose in the galaxy? As I thought about this, several scenarios began to play out in my mind.

Avreet, the Hand of Order, decided he would go first. I watched him disappear from my sight but I could still feel him through the Force. Since I did not have knowledge of that particular ability yet, I silently moved from tree to tree keeping out of sight. If I had been spotted or was in danger, the Force would alert me to it.

When Avreet finally revealed himself to the people, I stepped from behind one of the trees, thus revealing myself to them. I could sense they were both wary and nervous at seeing us. I caught one of the people looking at the hilt dangling from my waist sash but I made no attempt to spook them. I was still unsure of who these people were. They could be Imperial citizens far all I knew. When the Hand of Order spoke to them, I felt they still were not at ease.

I moved to Avreet's left side and said to the people, "It is odd to find Imperial citizens roaming about this planet. There is not much here in ways of resources and if there was, I'm quite certain the Empire would have scouted the planet and made some sort of attempt to extract them. My questions to you are these. Who are you and what are you doing here?"

 

[Bubák]

The men gripped their weapons tighter as the second Sith revealed herself. It was obvious the two Hands surprised them. Avreet took a step forward, dozen of eyes watching him with great suspicion. "We are members of the Sith Order. For your own sake, put down your weapons. We mean no harm, so give us no reason for it to change." Most of the men reluctantly put their weapons away, slowly returning to whatever they had been doing before the Sith duo showed up. Only one man remained. He did not have a weapon, but he started confidently walk closer to Ghenna with a smirk on his face, reaching for something into his jacket. Avreet remained cautious, but chose not to do anything, as the Force did not warn him and Ghenna was a better warrior than him anyway. She'd be able to handle one being. The man did not pull out a weapon though, just a piece of paper, offering Ghenna a look.

"We are hunters. As you can see, we are permitted to hunt in this area. Our ships are parked about three kilometers west, but they make a lot of noise when they land, scaring the animals away. That is why we're camped in this area," he paused and showed the paper to Avreet, who began thoroughly inspecting it. The man continued talking to Ghenna. "You know, there is a very large animal nearby, much bigger than the ones we usually hunt. Perhaps you could help us take it down? We'll let you and your companion stay in our camp. We have showers...." he lustfully looked at Ghenna's hips. Avreet could not find anything wrong with the permission, glancing up, he noticed the man's look and immediately gave him an angry glare with his right eye to clearly let him know he did not appreciate him gawking at his fellow Hand like that. "I will gladly have a shower!" the amphibious Sith exclaimed loudly to make the man turn his attention elsewhere, "Take me there, hunter."

The man had no choice but to lead Avreet away. The Mon Cal followed him, walking past the fireplace and venturing deeper into the forest. The camp consisted of four large tents, but the shower was something different than Avreet expected. A bag full of water hanged on a tree, wooden boards around it barely protecting privacy. The young Mon Cal really wanted to get rid of the dirt from the marshes though, so as the man disappeared in one of the tents, Avreet slipped behind the boards and quickly dressed off, hanging his clothes over the wooden panel. Finally, he turned on the water and let it pour on his head, running over his muscular body and cleaning it. First, he cleaned his gills, a much needed task, before washing the rest of himself, letting his mottled skin soak up the moisture. He enjoyed it, he really did. His webbed claws absent mindedly reached up, gently stroking the long barbel under his chin.

Avreet had a pretty good idea of what the big beast could be, so he had no intention of letting the hunters interfere. This was a test for the two Sith, not the hunters. Hopefully Ghenna had the same idea. As soon as he'd be done with the shower, he needed to talk to her about the beast and form a plan.

 

[LadyM]

I kept my eyes trained on the campers watching for any signs that they wished to make a mistake and attack us, but they reluctantly put away their weapons. A man emerged from them and walked directly to me. I watched him as he fumbled around in his jacket for something and then finally he produced a piece of paper, which he allowed me to read. While I read the paper, he began to explain who he was and why they were here.

I caught him looking at me with hungry eyes and I suppressed the urge to knock him around a bit. "We do not need your permission to camp here or anywhere, nor do I need your hospitality. Your eyes and your lust is betraying you," I said but was cut off when Avreet intervened quickly diffusing the situation. I watched the man and Avreet walk away and I took the time to scout out this camp. There was something off about the whole situation. The man had mentioned a great beast and if was the beast Avreet and I came to hunt, then we might have competition.

As I strolled through their camp, the other hunters barely gave me a glance and again I felt something was not right. For one, they did not have that much equipment that was used for hunting and the equipment they did possess would not bring down the great beast. I took up a position at the edge of their camp that bordered one of the marshes and just stared out into the horizon.

I sensed there was a trap somewhere in the works and I wondered if the trap was meant for us or for someone or something else or if there was something different altogether. I began to open up my mind through the Force and slowly and with great care began to invade the minds of the other hunters one by one. I could detect they were uneasy with having two Sith in their camp but there was something else they were fighting hard to keep hidden. I grew frustrated with the situation. I looked to my left and saw another hunter patrolling another borderline with the swamp. I moved over to him and when we were facing each other, I used the Force on him.

"You will tell me why you are really here," I said to the man as I waved my right hand in front of him. The man blinked at me then responded, "We are here to find a downed Imperial ship carrying supplies to the Empire." I smirked slightly then repeated the process again asking why they were interested in the cargo and he responded, "The Jedi are paying double, even triple for any supplies. Especially if they are of Imperial orgin."

I knew it! They were not hunters but pirates or worse, smugglers. I next inquired how they got the permission to be here and he told me they bribed an Imperial official. Corruption! I left the man standing there confused. I returned to the camp looking for the Hand of Order. I thought it would be best to discuss with him what I had discovered before I took it upon myself to rectify this situation myself.

 

[Bubák]

The Mon Cal wandered around the camp when the other Hand found him. The two walked aside, closer to the swamps to have privacy. Avreet felt greatly refreshed after the shower, his good mood quickly diminished to the point of non-existancy as he heard Ghenna’s words informing him of what she had found. His expression changed from neutral to annoyed, he just wanted to enjoy hunting with his friend and now he had to arrest or kill the smugglers and retrieve the cargo from the downed ship. Taking a deep breath, Avreet calmed himself, knowing his duty to the Empire came first. Or was it his duty to Master Volitu? Hunting definitely had a lower priority than retrieving the property of the New Sith Imperium. If the smugglers paid by the Jedi knew of the ship though, why haven’t the ship already been retrieved by the Imperial forces? Something about this whole situation seemed off. Before speaking, he scanned the area through the Force to feel any lifeforms that might hear their conversation, but felt only thousands of small signatures belonging to bugs and insects.

“Why has the Empire not sent a team to retrieve the valuable cargo yet? In its own space? What about the crew of the ship? And where is the wreck even located? Is the ship’s distress signal even transmitting?” Avreet said softly, pondering about the questions. The two Sith definitely had to find out what happened and secure the ship’s cargo and possibly even the crew, but they needed a plan first. The Mon Cal’s right eye scanned the swamps on his right, trying to find anything weird, but not even his cybernetic eye could see the downed ship in the distance. “Ghenna, I will use my stealth powers to sneak into the tents and try to find a map, or a datapad containing the location of the ship,” whispered the amphibious Crusader to his fellow Sith, “You find their leader. I want to know how the Jedi contacted them, the method of giving them the stolen supplies and everything that could tell us of the location of our Jedi enemies. Also ask what happened to the ship’s crew and why is the Empire not here. Do not kill the leader though; I want to have him arrested so he could answer more questions asked by the Imperial specialists. Once we have what we need, we apprehend the smugglers and go to the ship immediately.” The reason for sending Ghenna to do that was fairly obvious; Avreet did not possess such skill at Force persuation as she did.

Bending the light that surrounded him and disappearing, he left Ghenna to her task as he quickly walked towards the tents with fast and long strides, hoping the smugglers would not notice. One of the men just entered the tent, giving Avreet an opportunity to follow. Once inside, his large orange eyes goggled around to scan the tent for anything useful. Going over a simple bed in the far right corner of the tent, several bags to his left and the man crouching in the far left, Avreet did not see anything. Peeking over the smuggler’s shoulder, he saw the man was simply cleaning his blaster. After gazing at his belt, finding nothing, Avreet waited until the man was satisfied with the state of his weapon and left the tent, the Mon Cal in his wake.

The tent right next to it would be harder to get into, as two smugglers sitting around the fire could clearly see the entrance. Going around, the Mon Cal let the Force find anyone inside, and feeling there was no one, took out his phrik dagger and cut his own entrance. This tent apparently served as headquarters, judging by a large table in the middle, several maps sitting on top of it. The Sith did not bother to study the maps now and waste time, his cybernetic eye simply took a picture of all of them and he was gone. Outside, he went back where he spoke to Ghenna before, taking out his own datapad (thankfully waterproof!) and comparing the maps. Surprisingly, the downed ship was not far from his current location, explaining why the smugglers went on foot. Too many ships in the crash site wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by the Imperial radars. The young Sith put the datapad back to his pocket and went to find Ghenna. The two Sith now had to deal with the smugglers…

 

[LadyM]

"I do not have the answers you seek from your series of questions Crusader. Though I believe there is more to this story. I only spoke with one of these so called hunters but he may not have been told everything. That's how it works, the rank and file only get glimpses of the big picture. We need to set our teeth on the bigger dogs," I said with annoyance in my voice. I came to this planet with the Hand of Order to hunt down an elusive and rare beast only to find myself being dragged into someoneelse's mess. And the mess belongs to the Empire not two Sith out on a hunting expedition.

I nodded my head at Avreet's plan and after pulling my hood over the top of my had, I made way to find the leader of this group. After a few inquiries into the location of their leader, I found him standing on top of a formation of rocks in one of the many swampy waters with his hands holding binoculars up to his eyes, his head facing the west. "Looking for that elusive great beast are we," I said as I joined him on the clusters of stones. He lowered the binoculars with a smile on his face. "Perhaps I am," he said allowing his eyes to steal a quick glance of my body. I should have killed him for not heeding my first warning but I needed information and Avreet wanted him alive.

I used my powers of persuasion via the force and asked him a series of questions. At first he was quiet but once I had him spellbound, he began to tell me what I wanted to know. "The Jedi did not contact us directly themselves. There is some sort of former G.A. Captain with the Jedi who acts as their go between. I do not contact them, they contact me. When they contact me next they will reveal to me where they wish to meet to make the exchange of the goods, once we acquire them but with that beast roaming about it is making things difficult for us," he said.

I thought about what he said then still holding him under my control, I asked him another round of questions which he answered. "I have no knowledge of their camp but I do know it is here on the planet deep in the marshlands to the east. I know this cause a couple of my scouts returned with their eyes glazed over. As for the ship's crew, I can only assume the beast got to them. We found several ruined bodies out in the swamps a few days back, which has given us reason to be cautious."

I looked first to the west then to the east briefly. This outing is getting more interesting by the moment. I asked him if they picked up any responding signal from the downed ship and he told me their sensors are not registering such a signal. I released him from my hold and when he came to, he asked what I was doing out here and I simply responded, "Nothing now."

Avreet and I found each other and I explained to him what I had discovered. "In order for us to uproot these Jedi, secure the Empire's cargo, and arrest these smugglers we first have to deal with the mighty Terentatek. So we assist them in securing the cargo and in doing so, we get to kill Jedi, arrest these smugglers and most importantly, we get to hunt our beast."

 

[Bubák]

Avreet heard Ghenna’s words, nodding. “I see. They want to use us to kill the beast they are so afraid of. Must be our Terentatek. Once we have its head, we leave and they will be free to steal the cargo and sell it to the Jedi. Of course. Well,” he suddenly turned his head to gaze at the marshlands sprawled in front of them. The beast was there, waiting for them. “We shall do what they want. Kill the beast and leave,” his gaze shifted back at the white haired Sith, his whisker wriggling, “Leave their dead or unconscious bodies to the authorities. Or to the wild life of this planet, whatever gets to them first. If we happen to run into Jedi, we deal with them, but I have no intention of looking for them in the marshes unless we really have to. It is not our mission.” Avreet’s amber eyes stared right into Ghenna for a second, her very soul being penetrated by the Mon Cal’s piercing gaze, “Let’s rest for now, Crusader. I am sure the smugglers will notify us. We are the most vital part of their group, after all,” chuckled the amphibious Sith and went back o the camp.

Kneeling down next to the fire, Avreet looked into the burning flames, thinking about the Dark Side being just like that. So powerful, yet it had to be fueled. Such an obedient servant, yet a terrible Master. The amber eyes closed and their owner meditated, drawing energy from everything around except the dead fire and could stones. He felt his body relaxing, accepting the energy the Force offered. The heat of the fire dried up his clothes rather quickly, but also felt very unpleasant to his skin. Avreet grimaced, but took no action although it would have been so easy to move further away from the fire. He was a Sith though, he had to endure small hardships as this, which led to being able to handle worse thing that could happen a lot better. Deeply exhaling and inhaling, he coughed a bit as he smelled the smoke entering his nostrils.

Many Force presences around sang to him, but it was for the first time that he noticed and realized Ghenna’s presence. There was so much anger in her, but he felt there lied purpose in all her emotions. He couldn’t put his claw on it, but there was something dark about Ghenna, darker than Master Volitu’s signature. Whatever it was, Avreet did not care as long as the Hand of Chaos stayed on his and Master Volitu’s side.

His ears picked up a sudden hissing sound and the heat of fire was gone. The smugglers readied themselves to move out. Slowly opening his orange bulbous orbs, Avreet swiveled his eyes around and upon confirming his suspicions, rose up from his kneeling position. Again, the Mon Cal tapped into the Force and found Ghenna’s familiar signature. “I hope our next holidays will be less eventful,” said the telepathic message that had been sent to the woman’s mind. Quickly pacing behind the ‘hunters’, Avreet stepped into the marshes the second time this day. Such a large group of people would scare most local beasts away, meaning the two Sith did not have to bother with those small annoyances.

More solid than before, the ground did not give away under their feet as they walked through the dangerous and endless marshlands. That made the way much faster, and Avreet realized the smugglers must have walked through this path before when attempting to get the cargo for the first time. That explained no hesitation in their movement. It also gave away the location of the Terentatek; the smugglers started glancing around, their movements slower and more careful, hands tightly gripping the blaster rifles they carried. Suddenly, the first man leading the whole group stopped, making the train of people following him do the same. The main catch could be seen in the distance, staring right back at the group but waiting for them to get closer to attack.

Avreet stepped forward, walking past the leader, his cybernetic eye zooming in and studying the big animal. Even with Ghenna on his side, the monster would still pose a great challenge. A sound typical for lightsabers could be heard as two crimson beams of pure energy rose from the twin hilts held in his webbed hands. “This is what we came for.” Avreet hissed through his teeth, staring at the imposing beast and walking towards it.

 

[LadyM]

"Yes, let us rest for now and in time everything will be revealed to us," I said leaving the warmth and comforts of the camp fire. I sat upon a fallen log, my legs crossed over each other, and fell into a strong and much needed meditation state. I allowed myself to be submerged into the sounds and feelings from this part of the planet. From the nearby campsite I could almost taste the fear and apprehension from the smugglers or whatever they wanted to call themselves. I hated being lied to and if Avreet had not been here with me, I would have slaughtered the whole lot for their disrespect toward me. But would that have solved anything? Probably not.

Turning my focus now away from the campers, I began to sense Avreet and found that what I was feeling from him was almost like sadness or was it confusion. I sensed he cared about the one that was no more. But she was dead, long dead and the dead do not return. So his grief was his to bear and his alone to bear. If he wanted to mourn the passing of this Yr'il Ber'ong, then it was his choice to do so.

I shifted from him to a feeling of something powerful near by. Was this our beast? If it was, then this beast was indeed powerful. Then something happened that I never felt from an animal, it vanished from the Force. I could not detect it anymore and just when I was sure it was gone, I began to pick up slight vibrations from it through the Force. I opened my eyes quickly. Was this beast able to hide its signature through the Force?

I saw the smugglers were forming up and felt the words echo in my mind from Avreet. "Come now dear Avreet, are you telling me you're not enjoying yourself? Simplicity is the backbone of stagnation," I said directly to his mind while rising to my feet and hopping off the log.

I did not trust these 'smugglers' so I walked close to Crusader Zatarus through the wetlands and swampy marshes yet again. I kept my eyes on the 'smugglers' and my mind open through the Force against any signs of dangers, like those of the Force sensitive kind. I knew their were Jedi out there and though I could not feel them exactly, I was unsure if they felt us. My eyes began darting between the 'smugglers' as they began to lower their hands to their weapons. So we must now be in the hunting ground of our hunting prey. And the vibrations were back.

Standing on Avreet's right side, I saw the great beast and it saw us. I nodded my head at Avreet's words and withdrew Serpent's Breath from his resting place. I glanced over at Avreet and said, "Shall we?" I ignited my blade and began to walk, not run, toward the great and mighty Terentatek. And as if accepting the forthcoming challenge and welcoming such a battle against the two Sith appealed to it, the great beast began to slowly walk toward them.

 

[Bubák]

“Please Ghenna, wait for my signal to attack,” sent Avreet into the white haired woman’s mind via telekinesis. “May the Dark Side watch over us!” Avreet called out as he sped up his pace, confidently walking towards the great beast that supposedly fed off the blood of Force sensitives. He remembered what he had read about the Terentatek, their tusks and claws were highly poisonous, so the two Sith would do the best if they stayed out of its reach. Of course, to use their lightsabers, they either had to throw them or get close to the beast. The Terentatek had an advantage in terms of reach, strength, speed, but the two young Crusaders had sentience. The beast was regarded as a Jedi killer, not a Sith killer, so while highly capable of eliminating the Jedi and foolish or weak Sith, it should not be able to defeat two experienced Crusaders at the same time.

Getting closer, Avreet’s eye swiveled up to look at the beast’s head. He noticed blood dripping from its mouth; it must have fed recently. Given no other Sith were supposed to be operating in the area, the Terentatek may have eaten the Jedi. Or perhaps a Sith, if there was one on the crashed ship? It did not matter, the beast feasted on blood of a Force sensitive. That might explain why it had not attacked immediately and chose to simply allow the group to come close to it before actually doing something.

Using Force speed, the Mon Calamari Crusader charged at the beast with a lightning speed, becoming just a dark blur with an orange tip, hoping to get all its focus so the Hand of Chaos could get close enough to attack unnoticed. The Force massed in the young amphibian’s legs and he took off from the marshy ground, mud and water splashing around. In his flight, the Mon Cal pointed his lightsabers down, the burning plasma merely scratching the Terentatek’s forehead as Avreet flew over it, being gone before it reached up with its hands. The Sith’s attack did not seriously wound the beast, but it was never meant to. It angered it, making it turn around to the Mon Cal who landed in the water and waited for a second. Once the beast positively turned all of its attention to him, he started to run, Force enhanced jogs to keep himself from getting stuck in the marshland and to be fast enough in order to not become the beast’s dinner.

Running towards a tree, Avreet pivoted around to glance at the beast. It certainly seemed angry, running after him. This made him smile as he ran towards an ancient tree. Right before hitting it, he called upon the Force once again to make his jumps long and powerful, getting high into the branches and watching as the Terentatek hit the massive tree trunk with its head. Avreet’s expression remained blank; holding onto a strong branch as the whole tree violently shook upon the impact, the Mon Calamari hoped the hit had made the Terentatek desoriented, maybe even giving it a brain concussion, greatly reducing its fighting ability. “Now!” called the Mon Cal through the Force, giving Ghenna the signal to attack.

 

[LadyM]

When the words from my partner and fellow Hand rung through my mind, I stopped. I was headstrong and he was patient. What a great team we made. Master Volitu was wise in choosing us as her Hands. It seemed to me that the Sith Witch knew more about us than we did about ourselves. So I waited for Avreet to catch up and together we would take the beast.

I saw something crimson, probably blood, dripping from its maw and wondered what gotten itself eaten. Jedi perhaps? If that was the case, then I would be cheated from killing the Sith's sworn enemies by this beast. I began to feel my anger rise through out my body, but I was in control of my emotions. Master Volitu had taught me how to control my darker emotions and turn them into power.

I felt Crusader Zatarus swell himself up with the Force and took off like a blur toward the beast. I followed suit, filling myself up with the Force, enhancing my speed and my reflexes. I watched Avreet jump over the beast, dragging the tip of his blade of the beast's head. When Avreet had made it to the tree and forcing the beast to be distracted, I attacked when I heard Avreet's voice in my head.

The beast was shaking its head back and forth trying to shake out the cobwebs from headbutting the tree when I made my fist attack. I grabbed a fallen log from the marshes using the Force and hurled it at the beast. When the damp log connected with the creature, it knocked it to its left, forcing it to stumble. Since a beast of that size is both slow in terms of speed and slow to maneuver, I called on the Force again and gripped the beast's legs tripping it face first into the marshes.

Moving my right hand out in front of me, I began to scan for its important organs and when I found its beating heart, I began to apply pressure to it using the power Master Volitu had taught me, Force Wound. The beast began to howl and thrash at the pain in its heart but I was not a master of this ability so I could only hold the beast for a short while leaving it vulnerable to Avreet.

I stepped onto a rock, leaving the marsh water as a thought occurred to me. As I struggled to hold this power, I sent a mental message to Avreet. "The beast is in the water! Use your lightning on the beast! The water will act like a conduit and add power to your attack! Fry that beast quickly!"

I could feel my hold slipping and I didn't want to risk spending all my energy on this hold so I prayed that Avreet would act swiftly and end this beast.

 

[Bubák]

The disoriented beast got hit by Ghenna’s log thrown at it, but that was not enough to end it. The Hand of Chaos made it stumble into the marsh, Ghenna using some sort of power to keep it immobile, and for a second Avreet thought his fellow Crusader wanted to drown it. That’d certainly be a plausible method of dealing with the Terentatek, but it looked like Ghenna would not be able to hold the beast long enough for it to actually drown. The white haired woman telepathically commanded the Mon Cal to use Force lightning on the water and fry the beast, but Avreet hesitated. Still in the tree, he watched the scene, quickly thinking of a better plan.

Force lightning did not work like electricity, and even if he would be able to muster up enough power to make it work like that, it would not hurt the beast due to its size and high resistance to the Force. No, Force lightning was out of option. If the beast survived the attack, Avreet would be left with little to no Force power in his body, becoming an easy prey. “Try to keep it from moving its head!” the amphibious Sith sent a message back into the woman’s head as both of his crimbon lightsabers flew out of his webbed hands, flying through the air somewhere under him. Both of the Mon Cal’s eyes closed in concentration, focusing on telekinetically moving his lightsabers and cutting down the tree he stood on.

Upon hearing a crack and feeling the tree started slowly but surely collapsing, the young Sith retracted both of his weapons and fully focused on guiding the tree in the right direction. It was not until long the gravity overpowered Avreet’s telekinesis, signaling there was nothing more to do for the Hand of Order. Jumping from the falling tree, he softly landed in the marshy, allowing him to jump right back at his feet and get away. Same could not be said for the tree, as it landed on the Terentatek’s neck, loud crack could be heard as it broke the beast’s neck, the tree being heavy enough to partially force the Terentatek’s head into the swamp. The beast was finally dead.

Avreet looked at the white haired woman, smile on his face. “Their hide is supposed to be highly Force resistant. What do you say to a brand new cloak? Or any piece of clothing, really?” he laughed, one of his eyes darting back at the dead beast and watching it with pride. The smile quickly disappeared as he turned to face the smugglers, watching them carefully. If the men knew how to skin a large beast like this, they could do the work. They have claimed to be hunters, after all.