Robbery

[Orbit]

Ender finally made it up to the top of the sand dune, breathing heavily as the sun beat down on him and made him sweat. He pulled out a datapad from his waistband, checking the coordinates once more. There were supposedly tombs a few hundred meters in front of him and in a valley. He didn't how really reliable this information was. Ender had been saving up multiple bounty rewards for a vendor on Nar Shadda he met, a trader selling formation on Sith tombs on a desert world.

Ender glanced to his left, able to see a sandstorm was barreling its way toward his direction. He would guess he had a few hours at most if he still wanted to see out here and not have his lungs fill with sand. He pulled his mask up above his mouth and nose before making his way down the dune. When he reached the bottom, Tu'kata began drawing closer to the valley. The storm bringing not just Ender closer to the valley but everything in its deathly touch.

When he reached the crack in the earth that was the valley and stared over the cliff, Ender was able to see there was at least some type of path that could be climbed down all the way to the bottom. He exhaled softly before simply jumping off the side and down to the rocks. Since he now knew about the power he was granted, Ender had the force swirl around him and it made his landing much more graceful then it could have been normally.

He landed in a crouched position and on one knee, pebbles and dirt blown away by the impact. Ender checked his surroundings once more before studying the datapad, the distance to the tombs shortened greatly. Having heard of the stories from before of the dangers in the tombs, he had already slipped his vibro-sword from its sheath, it resting in his right hand as he began to walk deeper into the valley.

@Logan

 

[Logan]

______________

Once again, Xanthippe's impetuous and curious nature seemed to have landed her on some random ass world dealing with life threatening shit. This time it was a freaking sandstorm of all things. Xan had landed on the surface of the desert world a little while ago, following some info she'd purchased on the dark-holonet about old sites that she could explore.. or trespass on to get some decent salvage.

The infobroker had given her some coordinates for some kind of old "tomb", or at least that was the word he'd used. It had interested Xan right away, which was probably a sign that the info was bunk, but the idea of plundering some old king's cache of gold seemed to good to pass up. Xan was hard up for cash and was becoming more and more desperate for ways to attain some. She wanted nothing more to stash a decent nest egg and not have to worry about money anymore. Hopefully this place was her key to that life.

The trek down into the valley had taken her some time, Xan not really being any sort of rock climbing expert. Hell, she was barely what one would call "athletic" at all, much preferring to take the easy route to accomplish things. Laziness and physical fitness didn't normally go to hand-in-hand. The alternative, obviously, was getting face-facked by a sandstorm until she died - which didn't seem particularly pleasant. So, down the path into the valley she had gone.

She'd been down in the valley for a little while now, not sure of how to proceed. The sandstorm seemed to be driving the local fauna towards the valley also, which was going to pose a likely problem considering Xan really only had a blaster pistol as her form of self defense. She supposed in hindsight it would have been prudent to bring some more.. formidable weaponry along with her to go spelunking through some old decrepit tomb, but what could you do.

Just as she had finally worked up the courage to venture further into the valley, Xan saw someone literally fall out of the sky and land like nothing had happened. Her curiosity getting the better of her judgement, she approached the stranger, her hand hovering close to her blaster in case he wanted to be less-than friendly.

"Didn't expect to find someone else here," She said, tilting her head a bit in an attempt to get a better look at the man. She noticed his mask and thought that would have been a good idea, Xan was simply wearing a simple spacer's outfit and had little to protect herself from the raging sandstorm. "My name's Xan. You lookin' for the tombs? Me too but, seems the storm as pushed all the nasty local beasts straight into the path there." Xan paused for a moment, deciding to go out on a limb and vaguely trust this masked stranger. "Wanna team up and clear a path? Might be easier than either of us trying to get there alone.."

Despite propositioning the man for help, Xan still kept her guard up, just waiting for this dude to do something weird. She really hoped she wouldn't have to shoot him.

@Orbit

 

[Orbit]

Before Ender could even step farther down into the valley a person approached him and he turned to find a young woman standing there. She was just dressed poorly for the desert weather and he wondered what she was even doing there in the first place. The questions he had were answered quickly however as she introduced herself as Xan and that she was searching for tombs as well. "Pleasure to meet you Xan. Name's Ender." The woman didn't bear any hostility to him and genuinely seemed to want to work together. He pulled down his mask and hood to reveal his face since they had some cover from the sand now. "Sure, sounds like a plan."

Ender had his vibro-sword and his own blaster with him and to indicate that he wouldn't try and pull any funny business, he placed his sword back in its sheath. The gusts of wind were becoming stronger above, it making a sort of howl sound throughout the entire valley. The storm was closing in on them and so was their window to get in and out unless they wanted to be stuck there. "We better move quick. The animals will be seeking shelter soon too." Not needing much else to say, Ender continued down the path and leading the two of them. He still kept his guard up, part of it because of Xan because he just met her but another part because he didn't want anything to jump out from the shadows at them.

As they went deeper and the light could no longer penetrate the shadows as thoroughly, that's when Ender pulled out his blaster and had it ready at his side. He could feel in the air, the force heavy in the Dark Side and letting him know that they were on the right path. When they rounded a rock they would be able to see a massive door, it at least twenty feet tall and the same in width. If that wasn't a sign for a tomb, he didn't know what was. As he took a step forward to the door a series a growls rung out from the valley walls. There were holes in the rocks that clearly served as a cave system and home for whatever creatures that lived there. The pair would then be able to see reflective eyes stare at them, more and more pairs revealed as they stepped closer to the light.

Ender drew his vibro-sword from his sheath, holding it in his right hand with the blaster in his left. "Prepare yourself." He warned Xan, a pack of Tu'kata walking out from the tiny caves and climbing around the rocks as they went in a circular motion around the two.

 

[Logan]

______________

"Ender, huh?" Xan asked with a nod of approval. "Cool name."

Xan followed Ender without hesitation, finding herself quite glad to have found him once they'd ventured further into the valley and the sun faded away, leaving shadows dancing in places that drew Xan's mind to all the monster books she read when she was a kid. She drew her blaster after seeing Ender grab his, not wanting to seem like she wasn't capable or taking the potential dangers of this place seriously.

Although she didn't quite understand the change she was feeling, Xan too could feel the air become somehow.. thick, as if it somehow was carrying a heavy burden. While Xan was force sensitive and she knew it, the young girl had always hidden this fact from others. It was dangerous for people out there, many viewed those that could use the force with immense suspicion of even downright hatred due to fearing what they did not understand. The darkside was a foreign concept to her.

She nodded silently at Ender's instruction, seeing the numerous eyes glinting in the darkness as well. As the creatures slunk out of their hiding places, Xan couldn't help but let her eyes grow wide when they came into full view. They looked like mutated wolves with dark, leathery skin, jaws gnashing at the air as they approached.

Instinct ripping Xan out of the paralysis of fear, she leveled her blaster and fired it several times at one of the tuk'ata. The bolts smashed into its muzzle, causing the monster to crumple into a heap with little more than a dying yelp. Xan started to smile with her success but then she noticed that the other beasts hadn't taken too kindly to her actions.

The tuk'ata began to circle Ender and Xan, their eyes shimmering with hunger, radiating the vile hatred of the darkside.

@Orbit

 

[Orbit]

Xan's bolts whizzed through the air and found their mark. The tuk'ata collapsed into a pitiful pile as the others witnessed and realized that the pair were an actual threat. With Xan able to pick them off at a distance, the pack didn't want to be open targets and they charged at the two in unison. "Move!" Ender shouted as he leveled his blaster at the same time to squeeze off a shot into the belly of the lead tuk'ata. After that, he dove to his left and away from Xan to force the pack to split up and pick their targets between them.

After one of them was killed by Ender's shot, that left two coming for him and another pair coming for Xan. He immediately got up to his feet as the two creatures fighting him closed the distance rapidly. One of them lunged for Ender's neck and intended to rip out his jugular with its teeth. But he managed to get his sword in time, it's teeth instead clamping on the sword as it knocked down Ender with its weight. Ender pushed with his strength to create some distance between him and the one on top of him so it couldn't rip off his flesh with its claws. With the tuk'ata lifted in the air slightly, it enabled Ender to finagle underneath it and he shot out a quick blast of the force from his hand. With the blaster in his grip, it wasn't powerful enough to kill it right then but enough to send into a wall with a good smack.

The other tuk'ata charged right after that while Ender was still prone on the ground. With the first one no longer blocking his view, it was easy for him to lift his blaster and place a bolt right between the creature's eyes. Ender got up quickly after that, his blade ready to counter as the next one charged. It was an easy step to the right to avoid its swipe from its claws before slamming his sword through the skull of the animal. After that Ender spun around with his blaster leveled and supported by both his hands, it aimed in Xan's general direction in case she needed help. If she did, he would wait for her to create some space so he could pull off a safe shot.