Wounded Grounds

[Sleegath]

Sahmina-Morning​

Sleegath watched as the ramp lowered, their chartered ship evidently coming in for its landing. In rushed the cold air of the morning chill, the breeze ruffling his tendrils ever so slightly. The burly Massassi stood up and reached for his helmet, donning it in one smooth motion. He also checked about for his weapons, making sure he had his swords and lanvarok. The force of course, was always with him, and required no such checking. He then turned to check on his companion who had been seated beside him, pointedly looking FAR down to make sure she wasn't sleeping or anything.

His new group had insisted on sending someone with him and honestly, Sleegath was actually ok with that. He was investigating an abandoned Exile temple after all, and on an outer rim planet like Sahmina. Danger, he'd be lucky if mere danger was all he'd run into here. Still, he would've been happier if it hadn't been her. Eice? That was her name right? He'd heard good things from the others about her...but she was just so small. Really, she looked like pathetic in every way imaginable, and if he was still on Korriban he'd have considered her prey.

But this wasn't Korriban, and he was here to do NEW things. Entertaining a weak little creature like this, well that certainly counted. And he'd have bait at least, bait was always a good tool to have on hand. The ship lurched suddenly, lowering itself a bit more and the ramp fully lowered and Sleegath braced himself against the wall. It was time to go, as the pilot had only agreed on the condition that he not have to stay and wait. Apparently the area wasn't very safe for idlers. Whatever, Sleegath could care less so long as the pilot came back at the assigned time.

The ship touched down, and with a gesture for the Eice to follow, the Massassi quickly strode down the ramp and onto the planet surface. Behind him, immediately after they'd exited, the ship instantly took off, the freighter zipping off into the distance. Sleegath took the chance to look around, noting the indent in the earth a little way in front of them. Ah perfect, they'd been dropped at the right spot, right in front of one of the side entrances. He could already sense the dark side swirling about him, almost welcoming him in. They would now have all day before their assigned rendezvous, hopefully enough time to satisfy him. First though, Sleegath turned to the smaller figure, conjuring up the halting unfamiliar Basic words. "Is you ready for this entry? Here from it will be very dangerous."

He drew one of his blades to give the statement more meaning, already on his guard for the surely inevitable. @AutoFox ​

 

[Eice Frex]

@Narsi

The Massassi was looking at her.

Eice Frex, not for the first time, wondered why she was here. The little Tintinna had taken a job, was the short answer, but knowing now what she hadn't then, she wondered if it still wasn't too late to cut her losses. The little rodentoid in theory had no true animosity toward the Exiles - the Sith, they now styled themselves - or indeed the Jedi. As far as Eice was concerned, they were both Force traditions, and when it came right down to it, they were both responsible for many of the ills that plagued the modern Galaxy.

Eice had recently come to an awareness of her latent Force sensitivity, but had no formal training in reading or manipulating it, let alone picking a "school" of Force use to guide her efforts in that regard. In truth, the little Tintinna would have been happier without her "gift," although it had occasionally gotten her out of trouble.

At the moment, it only made her feel the intimidating presence of her partner that much more keenly.

The hulking Massassi had been staring down at her throughout most of the flight, apparently making sure she did not slack off on the job. The Tintinna's few feeble attempts to strike up conversation had been non-starters. On top of this, his gaze seemed to carry a weight to it, one that felt like it was bearing down on her very soul, transmitting his contempt. Eice wondered what might happen if she tried to match that gaze; surely there was no way she could muster a presence like that, could she?

Abruptly, Eice felt the ship change course, and looked around. They were descending, and would soon arrive at their destination.

Absolutely wizard.

Briefly, Eice took stock of her equipment. She carried her usual in terms of armament, a KLR blaster pistol, a matching set of DM-T Foe-Remover pulse-wave pistols, and a tiny P1 slug revolver, her backup weapon. She wore a hip pouch filled with spare power packs, blaster gas refills and slug cartridges. She hoped not to need any of it, but where she and the Massassi were going, she doubted very much they would be that lucky.

Eice felt her companion's presence lift from her to focus on the door, and felt a bump as the ship landed. The larger being rose and strode out as the hatch opened, and Eice quickly hopped down from her seat, hurrying after him. Once outside, she felt the ship dust off behind her, looking up to watch it fly away.

Then the Massassi spoke, and Eice's attention was drawn back to the larger being. At his words, she swallowed, and drew her blaster; next to the Massassi's blade, it seemed small and feeble.

"R-Ready as I'll ever be." She replied, trying to muster her courage, or at least her determination.

 

[Sleegath]

Sleegath snorted at the timid response he got, shaking his broad head slightly in exasperation. Yeah, that reply had been about what he'd expected, a pitiful display of courage from a pitiful being. He was going to be spending all his time protecting her without a doubt, another load on his shoulders. That said though, she had at least brought weapons, several of them. These "blasters" were very effective, and while the Massassi had yet to really learn their use, they should still help their pathetic wielder make up the difference. For that though, Sleegath would have to take the lead position, which was great since he'd intended to do so anyway.

Offering a simple nod to the smaller alien, he continued striding forward, heading for the indentation in the ground. His long strides, which made no allowance for his companion, quickly ate up the distance and before long he was looking down into it. As the descriptors had said, it was just a small pit with a collection of dirt, rocks, and debris at the bottom of it. Supposedly there was a secret side entrance here, with a hatch hidden under the all that stuff. Sleegath gradually descended down into the pit, now it was time to see how trustworthy such stories were.

Reaching the bottom, he stepped carefully towards the center and with a huff, thrust his sword down into the ground. CLANK, his blade hit something solid, jarring in his grip. The Massassi smiled viciously, so some tales still held truth after all. Leaving the blade lodged in, he crouched down and started digging at the dirt, shoveling away with his broad palms. In a minute or two, he was brushing dirt away from a metal covering and feeling around for a handle. When he found it, he stood up and PULLED, fighting against the dirt still weighing it down. The hatch surrendered to his superior strength easily and popped open in a cloud of dust and dirt, revealing a dark hole and a narrow metal ladder.

Hmmm, it wasn't locked? Sleegath inspected the opening, finding a broken lock on the inside. Well that was a stroke of luck, a sign that the force was with them? Sleegath considered the opening for a second, estimating just how cramped he'd be, and thus how defenseless he'd be climbing down it. Yeah, he wasn't relishing that, but thankfully, he had a canary to use. Holding the door open, Sleegath stepped back and affixed his glare on the little mouse girl, motioning towards the ladder.

"After you," he rumbled.

@AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice would have called out indignantly to her huge companion as his long strides quickly outpaced her own, but the oppressive boil of Dark Side energy that radiated off him caused her to hold her tongue. She jogged to keep up, scrabbling and sliding more loudly than she would have liked down into the pit; she narrowly avoided bumping into the Massassi as he stopped.

She blinked, peering around. There didn't seem to be anything here.

"What-"

Eice squeaked as the Massassi raised his heavy blade, plunging it down into the loam. It clanked loudly on something metallic, and Eice watched with curiosity as the warrior crouched, shoveling the dirt away from a broad hatch buried just beneath the surface. Staring at it, Eice felt a chill up her spine, reaching up to adjust her glasses in a nervous gesture. When the Massassi took hold of a handle he uncovered and pulled, she edged back a pace, listening to the squeal of un-lubricated metal as the hatch drew back.

Fear came naturally to Eice's people. Unlike many other sentient species, who had risen to the top of their home-worlds' food chains through predatory guile, Tintinna had always been a prey species, achieving their sentience through complex social interactions and the imperative to survive against fearsome predators. Eice may have been a thousand thousand generations removed from those cowering warren-dwellers of the dim past, but the same instincts that effected them still existed in her.

Eice was therefore at a loss to explain the reason that when Sleegath finally pried the hatch completely open, the Tintinna took a faltering step toward the open pit, peering down into the impenetrable darkness. She thought she could feel tendrils of the Dark Side wafting up from the abyss like a bad smell, and it made her shiver, but not turn away.

Even so, when the Massassi indicated that she should go first down the shaft, she turned to look at him with shock on her features.

"You kriffin' serious?!"

Eice's ears folded back in fright, her expression approaching defiant, but the Massassi's baleful gaze eventually caused her to look away, back down into the pit. She swallowed...

"Of course you are."

With a monumental effort of will, Eice forced herself to move toward the pit, stepping onto the rungs of the ladder and beginning her climb down inside. She trembled visibly as she descended, feeling the darkness around her begin to close in... eventually, she reached down to the glowrod on her belt, igniting it to provide more illumination; it helped, but only a little...

@Narsi

 

[Sleegath]

Sleegath watched and waited for several moments as Eice descended, slowly swinging his arms about to work out the kinks. He gave her plenty of time to trigger any ambushes or traps, listening intently for a scream or scuffle. Nothing, not even when she activated a glowrod on her belt. He still sensed nothing with the force either save for the dark side and...something that just seemed to linger on the edge of his senses. Whatever, the hole was obviously safe, so Sleegath sheathed his sword and started clambering down the ladder as well.

As expected, it was a tight fit, his limbs folded in awkwardly on the tiny ladder, and his armor occasionally brushed up against the passageway sides. He had a suspicion the ladder wasn't happy with his weight either, as several ominous squeaks and groans coincided with his descent. When the darkness started closing in, it was his turn to break out the lights. Of course he was above overreliance on technology like that, instead he simply reached for the force and concentrated. A small light popped into existence near his shoulder, a dim ember in the darkness that gradually brightened until he could see by it. Heh, most Massassi wouldn't know this trick, already his journey was yielding results.

There it hovered, only drawing slightly on his inner energies as long and he only need paid it minimal attention, perfect. Reaching the bottom, Sleegath put a hand on his blade as he took stock of their surroudings. It appeared to be a simple stone room, finely carved with runes and symbols but nothing overly fancy, cobwebs and dust staining many surfaces. With a flick of his head, the small light zipped out and around the room, briefly illuminating each area like a searchlight. The room was mostly bare, save for a darkened passageway the only exit they could see.

Hmm, Sleegath drew his sword again and stepped towards the tunnel, taking the lead again. He could smell something now, though only faintly, and the force was whispering a hint of a warning. He stopped at the front of the tunnel, bending down as his light revealed marks in the floor. Paw prints, semi fresh too, some kind of wild animal? Huh, well he had anticipated as such, the temple was exposed to the elements after all. Sleegath advanced further down the tunnel, halting when he got to the next room. Again, he sent his little light about as a scan, showing a much bigger room with far more entrances visible so far. There were even tables and chairs scattered about, but that was all he had time to truly identify, as he noticed a trio of shadows come rushing from the shadows...right at them. He had just enough time to growl a warning before they were upon them.
@AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice glanced up as the Massassi filled the tunnel above her, blocking out what little light filtered down from outside and leaving her with only her glowrod for illumination. The Tintinna gulped, continuing down into the darkness below, the creaking of the old metal under her companion's weight making her uneasy.

When the Massassi conjured his own light, Eice at first though he had brought his own glowrod, but looked up to see it was indeed something else. She raised her eyebrows, a little impressed; she preferred technology, she found, but an ability like that might be useful in a tight spot.

When the duo reached the bottom of the ladder, Eice looked around, finding her glowrod unnecessary as Sleegath's light zipped around the room. She took in the dusty stonework; it all looked innocuous enough, but even so, Eice could not help be feel uneasy, although she was not sure if it was the Force telling her to be wary or just a perfectly natural response to her situation. A little of both, she decided, especially as she noted the paw-prints in the dust at her feet.

As they moved into the next room, Eice felt her senses tingle even more strongly. The she spotted movement out of the corner of her eye, whirling and drawing her KLR just before Sleegath's growl of warning. Her eyes widened at the shadowed shapes rushing toward them...

 

[Sleegath]

Two of the shadows came right at him, one of them charging past him to leap at Eice, and Sleegath had just enough time to get his sword into position. They split up as they charged, both leaping at him from opposite sides and he saw the trademark flashing of bared teeth. Imposing his blade in the way of one set of teeth, he spun and shoulder checked the other leaping shadow, knocking it away momentarily as he held the other at bay. Unfortunately it gave the one attacker a momentary free shot in passing, though its teeth just glanced off his armor.

And then he had a moment of breathing time, his dim light revealing their attackers as he fed it a burst of power. Dogs, of some sort, obviously wild, both foaming at the mouth. They were huge too, easily reaching his waist, but still just DOGS. The Massassi growled deeply, anger rumbling within him, how could MERE DOGS think to attack him! He was a MASSASSI WARRIOR, the default APEX PREDATOR of any environment he entered. Even now, after repelling their pathetic attempt at an ambush they were still coming, both charging forward for another lunge.

Hissing a challenge, he took the initiative and went to meet them, firing off a double handed strike at the first. Caught mid-leap, the dog had no time to evade was neatly decapitated. Doing his best to keep the momentum, Sleegath kept turning and tried to extend the strike into the other beast, only to narrowly miss as it backed off. Suddenly a lot less confident, the dog retreated beyond melee range and started circling, trying to get behind him. Sleegath snarled and kept his eyes on it, pivoting with it, just daring it to try again. @AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice cursed gods old and new, raising her blaster as one of the great canine beasts split off from the trio and leapt toward her, fangs glinting in the dim light. The Tintinna felt the primordial fear of her distant ancestors well up inside her, denizens of an age when stone, fire and muscle were all that stood between the life of a Tintinna and gruesome, slavering death.

But as the Sith well knew, fear could be a gateway to strength, and Eice grasped it.

With a cry that was as much fear as rage, Eice brought up the blaster she already wielded in one hand, the muzzle of the weapon climbing to aim at the leaping creature. She jerked the trigger, and the first shot went wide, the report echoing and the flash bright in the enclosed space, but the bolt only singing the fur of the canine. Eice cursed, and with a strength and speed born of panic, she scrabbled aside, the heavy beast plunging past where she had so recently stood to crash into an old set of table and chairs. They collapsed in a dusty heap on top of the canine, and Eice took the moment to climb back to her feat, steadying her aim as the creature extricated itself from the debris.

The second and third shots struck home, burning neat holes in the head and chest of the beast. It went down hard, having leapt before intersecting the bolts, crashing to the floor and skidding to a halt at Eice's feet. The Tintinna instinctively danced aside, but the thing was dead.

Eice, adrenaline coursing through her veins, turned to look at Sleegath. One of his attackers was already down, but a second, luckier and now warier than the first, circled opposite him, facing off with the great Massassi. On instinct, Eice brought up her blaster, and loosed a pair of bolts in rapid succession.

 

[Sleegath]

Sleegath's contemplation of his next move came to a halt as Eice's blaster rang out once more, two shots briefly adding their light to the interior. The first bolt struck home, knocking the dog down flat with a whimper, while the second narrowly missed its target. Sleegath remained in his guard for a moment longer as he listened for more, sending his little light in a lap about the room, but relaxed when nothing showed itself. Well, nothing new at least, the downed canine was still squirming about slightly whilst whimpering.

Sleegath slowly strode over to look down on it, eliciting a handful of snarls as he drew closer. It was downed allright, a oozing hole visible in its chest from the blaster bolt. It was trying to rise now, and failing miserably, was the injury perhaps not fatal? Too bad for it, because Sleegath had no intention of allowing it a chance to ambush them later. In one smooth motion, he stepped forward and thrust his sword down into it, aiming for the heart. The dog let out one more high pitched yelp and then fell silent, life draining from its eyes.

Hmph, he pulled back his sword and wiped it on the dead beasts fur, still feeling about for more danger. Oddly enough, that sense that something was off was still there, the truth of it lurking beneath the surface. Sleegath frowned and cast a look around, searching for the hidden danger. He'd HOPED it was the dogs, and that it wasn't didn't sit well with him. Not that he was afraid or anything, he feared nothing, just WHY couldn't he sense it fully? Hmph, the Massassi offered a nod to Eice as a gesture saying well done and took the lead once more, choosing one of the other exits at random.

He hadn't traveled all this way just to turn and run from the unknown, and he certainly wasn't going to run from mere shadows in the dark. Actually, shadows in the dark were exactly what he'd come for, to search for the forgotten knowledge these Exiles had once held. Sleegath sent his little light flashing about the next room, grunting when it revealed nothing special save more random furniture and doors. Here he stopped, growling slightly as he looked about. Was this entire trip just going to be a blunder around in the dark? He turned to the little being behind him, contemplating her for a moment before speaking, "Could you know maybe where a book place might be putten? Or how maybe to find it more quick? "
@AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice raised her eyebrows in mild surprise as the Massassi inclined his head to her in a gesture of respect; she returned it. She had assumed the big warrior held naught but disdain for her, however, so any acknowledgement of her skill was surprising.

Casting a nervous glance at the dead hounds, she sidestepped the corpses warily and moved up beside Sleegath, peering around in the gloom at what the floating light revealed. Her blaster was still held in both hands, glowrod still lit, but clipped to her belt.

At his question, she looked up.

"You mean a library?"

Eice pursed her lips, looking around at the various doors that led off into the darkened temple. She shook her head; Exile architecture was a mystery to her, and she had never seen a layout of one of their temples. However, knowledge she knew was something they valued, and so she made an educated guess.

"I've no idea... I've never been in a place like this. Well, not one that wasn't actively collapsing at any rate."

She looked up at Sleegath and shrugged.

"Toward the center, I guess? If I had books containing spooky magic powers, that's where I'd put them..."

@Narsi

 

[Sleegath]

Sleegath just held the females gaze for a moment, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Go to towards the center? Was that really the best she could offer? The Massassi huffed and turned away, silently considering his options.....Ok so he didn't have any better ideas, but really, why bother stating something like that. Especially as they didn't even know where the center laid in relation to themselves. But maybe....Sleegath closed his eyes momentarily and reached for the force, allowing it to become his eyes for the moment. He probably stayed that way for nearly a minute before he felt it....a sense of where to go, of where his path lay.

Opening his eyes again the Massassi set off without a word, seamlessly moving from room to room without pause. The force was with him now, taking his steps for him, towards where he needed to go. That said however, Sleegath was very careful to stay on his guard, just because he knew the path didn't mean he knew it was safe. Surprisingly enough however, they encountered nothing else on the way, though they did once pass a collection of bones, picked clean. They were deep into the temple now, and close to his goal, he could feel it. But...so was that feeling of....wrongness, steadily growing stronger with each step.

He ignored it, turning another corner and feeling a sense of finality, sending his light forward once more. It revealed a heavy wooden door, locked with several thick chains. Or rather...they HAD been thick, they seemed...decayed or something, enough so that he could likely shear through them with one strong swing. Sleegath promptly did so, and then kicked the door open. Only, as he did so...that feeling of wrongness erupted fully into being...right in front of them. Sleegath hardly had time to comprehend the trademark chill of the darkside, before he was thrown back down the hall. Landing heavily, and shoving himself up...he beheld a misshapen mass stepping into view. An abomination!
@AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice glowered at the Massassi's back as he huffed and turned from her dismissively. What was she supposed to say, lost knowledge is on the 3rd floor, corridor A?

Great olds gods! He doesn't have any more idea what he's doing that I do!

As if to prove her point, Sleegath then did not move. Eice suspected he was trying to come up with a plan on the spot, one which he should have had from the beginning. Abruptly, however, he moved off down the corridor, and Eice blinked, scurrying to keep up with the taller being's long strides.

"H-Hey wait up!"

As the pair moved deeper into the temple, Eice felt more and more of the fur on the back of her neck stand on end. The whole place felt wrong to her senses, but the further they journeyed toward the center, the more her sensitivity to the Force began to tug at her awareness. It wasn't just dark down here, it was evil, and Eice felt the overwhelming desire to turn back.

She wondered if Sleegath would have tried to stop her if she did.

They continued on for some time, before coming to a door. With his trademark disregard, Sleegath bowled ahead, kicking the door down at stepping just past the threshold.

Eice's awareness of the Dark Side flared, and she had a brief but searing experience of unremitting horror before a burst of power scooped her and Sleegath up and blasted them down the hall. Eice squealed as she was hurled against a wall, the wind knocked out of her. Collapsing to the floor, she fought for breath as she staggered back to her feet, shaking her head before looking up to behold the thing looming over her.

Words failed her...

 

[Sleegath]

Two separate heads, mottled lumpy green skin, and elongated limbs that made it look like a stick figure. Honestly not a terrifying figure to the Massassi, not after all he'd seen in his life so far. Were he not in a dark underground temple with no real backup,, he might've even laughed it off. But Sleegath knew how to look beyond the surface, and doing so made his blood freeze like ice. The thing was strong...very strong, and it radiated a hate and malice he'd only seen in Sith masters.

Hmmph, Sleegath extended an arm and focused his power, shoving away his worries. It was just an abomination, a failed science experiment nothing more, and yet it had the NERVE to attack him! Gathering the force into his palm, Sleegath let a bit of his rage seep into the attack, and fired. A bright bolt of lightning flashed into being, temporarily bringing spots to his eyes as it ripped into the monster. A vicious screech echoed through the corridors and the abomination was blown off its feet, thrashing wildly as the smell of burned flesh filled the air.

Hah, it had obviously been badly injured, now he just had to finish. Sleegath charged forward to do just that, sword raised, when he suddenly felt....so tired. No...it was more than that, the force was abandoning him? Leaving him along with his strength? His run broke off into a weak stumble, and it was only through stabbing his blade into the ground that he kept his balance. What was happening to him? He felt so weak...and the dark side just wouldn't come. Looking up, he saw the monster back on its feet, four red eyes staring right at him....into him. It was the one doing this! @AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice stared up in horror at gaunt, mutated thing that loomed over her and Sleegath. The Tintinna only had a limited command of the Force, but she could sense things just fine.

All she could sense now was hate.

It was then that Sleegath gathered the Force to him, and sent a cascade of lightning at the thing, cascading from his hands and causing the beast to shriek and thrash. It went down, and Eice watched as the Massassi advanced with his sword raised, ready to finish it off...

And then he went down.

Eice's eyes widened as Sleegath stumbled, using his sword as a crutch as he faltered before reaching the fallen abomination. The creature regained its feet, its twin gazes burning red as it seemed to focus on the Massassi; even from where she stood, Eice could feel it pouring its will into the alien warrior.

She gritted her teeth.

Slipping her KLR back into its holster, Eice withdrew two of her other weapons, the pair of DM-T Foe-Remover pulse-wave pistols. Not only were there two of them, but they packed a heavy punch, and Eice suspected that she would need all the firepower she could bring to bear. She brought up both weapons, aiming at the creature's center of mass.

"Sleegath! Get down!!"

@Narsi

 

[Sleegath]

He knew what this was now, the effects finally triggering a bell in the depths of his memory. Yes, a long time ago whilst perusing the archives, he had read of an ability named force drain. It was said to suck the power and stamina of other force wielders, absorbing it for their own purposes. It was exactly the kind of thing Sleegath had come searching for, though this wasn't exactly how he had imagined it would go. How had a simple abomination come about such a power though? Taught to it by the ancient Exiles? Whatever, Sleegath was more worried about escaping it first.

He flooded himself with extra strength suddenly, hoping to perhaps temporarily overwhelm the drain enough to act. But instead that burst of power disappeared as quickly as it came, resulting in an even greater loss. Ok this was bad, it was starting to get hard to even stay upright. The Massassi felt the stirrings of something like fear in his chest, and he strained even harder, hesitantly managing to step forward. He growled, giving his strongest death glare at the creature, which had no effect whatsoever. Then, in his peripherals, he saw his companion drawing her weapons, and shouting.

Get down? Why? So he could be an even easier target? As if, he wasn't so stupid as to leave his fate in HER weak hands. Digging deep, the Massassi took another step forward, and lifted his sword into the air. He then promptly fell over, having just given up on his primary pillar of support. @AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Despite the situation, Eice could not help but roll her eyes as Sleegath seemed to ignore her, struggled to take another step forward, and collapsed after lifting his sword.

Idiot!

The Tintinna could feel it now, the tug of something at the currents of energy that flowed through her, drawing it away toward the great creature that stood over her fallen partner. This would take more than brute strength and will, for clearly, this thing had a way of sapping the former.

"Hey Double Domes!" She shouted at the beast. "Drain this!!"

The report of Eice's pulse blasters sounded four times, the incandescent bolts speeding at the abomination's center of mass...

@Narsi

 

[Sleegath]

Sleegath hit the ground hard, his jaw bouncing painfully off the stone floor, and he let out a grunt of pain. Immediately he put his efforts towards regaining his feet, before the abomination took advantage of him. His arms though, they were so weak, and he just couldn't seem to push himself up. His efforts were temporarily suspended however, as he heard the Tintinna shout out, followed by the sound of blasters being fired.

As he watched, three out of four shots zipped overhead and smashed into the beast, ripping right through and knocking it off its feet. A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air, and the beast flailed about upon the ground for a moment. Its movements started slowing immediately however, and Sleegath was aware that he could taste the scent of blood in the air. He was also aware that he could move again, and that his strength was no longer being siphoned away.

Pushing himself up, the Massassi reclaimed his feet and sword, stepping forward to finish it. There was no need for such efforts however, he could see that the moment he looked over the fallen monster. The bolts had ripped huge jagged holes in the abomination, leaving gruesome fatal injuries that were far beyond what Sleegath had expected. Even now its movements continued to slow, death but mere moments away. Huh, He looked towards Eice, quizzically eyeing her and her weapons. She had...saved him....kinda. He would've been able to get up and finish it, he'd just needed a few more moments that's all. All the same....she had been admittedly helpful, more than he'd expected. The Massassi looked away pointedly, speaking softly with a quiet huff. "Thank yous for assistance."
​

@AutoFox

 

[Eice Frex]

Eice panted for breath, watching as the great beast keeled backward, sprawling and flailing grotesquely, but weakly. The Tintinna felt a wave of exhaustion fall over her; the thing had been sapping her energy as surely as it had Sleegath's, and so even the aftermath of aiming and pulling the trigger felt like recovering after a fistfight. Even so, Eice staggered over to the flailing beast, gritting her teeth; it was plainly dying, but the Tintinna still aimed a blaster at each of its heads.

In reply to Sleegath's words, she double-tapped both heads from close range, before holstering one of her weapons and offering a hand to the fallen Massassi.

"D-Don't mention it."

@Narsi

 

[Sleegath]

Sleegath reluctantly took the proffered hand and pulled himself to his feet, though he was careful not to pull too much on the smaller alien. Standing, he beheld the fallen beast for a moment, now dead without a doubt. Hmmm, it had actually been quite formidable, despite its physical inadequacies. Perhaps he would have to look into the methods for the creation of such beings later, though that was surely a long ways off. For now, it would be best to see what they'd achieved with this victory.

The Massassi offered a nod to his companion and amped up his little glow light again. He then strode forward towards the room the beast had come from, shoving the door open. The sight of what awaited them was....gratifying to say the least. Books, several large stacks of them piled in one corner, alongside a collection of scrolls and crates. A rare smile crossed Sleegath's face, this was excellent, a worthy reward for their trials. He would be able to learn much from these books, of that he was certain, even if they didn't contain exactly what he sought.

Even better...he had gained something else too. A feeling in the depths of his gut...a heightened sensitivity of the force. It felt...like he could somehow draw on it...or maybe even drain it? And he wanted to do it too....as if there was a hunger within him for it, a slight one, but still just barely noticeable. Sleegath shook his head clear of the thoughts, stepping forward to start claiming his prize. He could figure that all out later, this was far more important. He gave Eice another appreciative nod as an admission of respect, even if only slight. Perhaps she was a worthy companion after all.
@AutoFox
/endthead