Ask The Beast of Yavin IV: Chapter 2

[The Storyteller]

West of the Temple, Yavin IV ​

With the waning of the light, a new face of Yavin IV loomed. Rich in life, the swamplands were not without their dangers; the nature there knew how to defend itself.

Outlanders would have to navigate an endless sea of sinkholes; green grass might look solid to the unwary eye and next minute easily turn to water the moment a foot makes its tread. The lucky drown quickly, the murk of swamp swallowing them whole. Those who are unlucky got to meet what lurked in the water instead. Aquatic monsters with teeth like daggers and never enough to eat; their poisonous maws worked just as well as any weapon.

Let it be known that the western swamplands weren’t always like this; eons ago, they were but a small portion of the terrain. The land, once fertile, had become a victim of near-constant conflict. Again and again, the folly of wars wrought themselves upon the jungle, decimating large swaths of it till only stagnant water was willing to lay claim.

From the bowels of these marshes came a horrid sound. A shrieking, shrill cry that made many a prey quiver. Shadows moved freely with the coming of night, revealing that indeed something truly did lurk within those mire pools.

Something vicious… Something hungry…

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[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara was careful as she walked through the swamp. She was glad she had not worn her good robes and opted for the taller boots; she already had mud splattered on her boots and the bottom of her pants. She paused when she heard the horrific shriek of the beast they were hunting. She turned to Kyosuke, her fellow knight who had come with her this way. "It sounds closer," she said. Her fear for the little nautolan boy grew. What if they were too late, and he was already dead? She shoved that thought out of her head. Those were not encouraging thoughts; they would find the boy.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Yeah." Kyo suddenly regretted not bringing armor, and considered the idea of calling his ship for a quick change of attire. But there wasn't time for that, and they didn't need the commossion to scare away or alert their quarry. "And I get the feeling something is close..."

The focused Knight slowed his pace, each step carefully and quietly placed before he finally stopped and knelt several meters away from the swampy water. Gremlin shook lightly and watched over his bestie's shoulder as the two of them gazed out across the murky liquid in the direction of the horrid shriek. He felt instinctual fear bubbling under his chest, and took a deep breath while he steadied himself as best he could. "Watch my back?"

The young man then closed his eyes, sprawled his shock glove covered fingers across the ground, and began to feel outward with the ebb and flow of the Force. He constructed a faint image of the surfaces he felt in his mind's eye as he extended his Sense, and gradually attempted to visualize a vague Sight of the presence that lurked within the mire pools.


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[The Storyteller]

The waters of the swamp were deceptively still, the surface utterly devoid of a single ripple. Yet there was movement amongst its shadows. On the cusp of the naked eye, gangling silhouettes dashed about, moving from one side of the marsh to the other.

Then came a succession of shrieks , from the right and then again from the left. The sounds grew louder and louder, the distance between them evaporating with each passing second. There wasn’t a single creature out there…there was a pack of them.

From the water's edge exploded a mass of muscle, with claws swiping at anything within its range, including Jedi Knight Yamato. From its gaping trap of teeth came an unbearable sound, a noise so visceral it rendered lesser beings near thoughtless with fear. Multiple appendages, all equally clawed, tore into the earth in an attempt to gain more ground. Reptilian in nature, the creature was indeed a dangerous beast. But it wasn’t the beast. The two Jedi had been unfortunate enough to stumble across a newly established den of howlers

They were a predatory species native to the planet and rightfully earned their ominous name from their method of attack; the power of their ghoulish howls was so effective, they could paralyze prey in an instant. What preceded after was nothing short of malicious as the prey would then be torn to shreds, its life ended in a frenzy of feeding. They were vicious and dogged in their hungry pursuit of flesh. Little could deter them, and even less could fight them off.

The largest of the pack (the alpha) was littered with scars, with some wounds still appearing fresh. Aggression radiated from its whole body and in a show of dominance, it awkwardly rose, positioning up onto its hind legs thus extending to its full, monstrous height. Thick, translucent mucus dripped from its cavernous jaws as it let out yet another harrowing screech; not a moment later, it was answered by a series of several, similar calls.

The pair of Jedi would quickly realize one thing. The alpha was calling the rest of the pack. They were about to be surrounded.

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[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara nodded when Kyosuke knelt by the edge of the swamp. She unhooked her lightsaber and held it tightly in her hands, preparing to turn it on at a moment's notice. She scanned the humid swamp, her muscles tensed with anticipation.

She turned her saber on when the shrieks picked up. It sounded like it was coming from all directions and panic flooded Edaara as she realized there was not just one, but a whole pack. She shouted with surprise when a massive creature leapt out of the swamp water. Its dark blue body landing with a massive thud on the ground. "Kyosuke!" she exclaimed. He was right in the line of danger, and those claws were merciless. She used as much of the Force as she could to hold the creature's claws away from the raven-haired knight.

The alpha, who was severely scarred, stood up on its lower-most legs, stretching up to its fullest, most terrifying height. Edaara tilted her head up, following the beast as it rose into the air. A terrible screech emanated from its massive jaws and Edaara knew it was calling the rest of its pack.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

A faded image of the creature's face flashed across his mind's eye before Kyosuke was suddenly pulled out of his concentration. "Guh!!" His eyes shot wide open in time to see the monstrous howler lunging for him. Gremlin cried out loudly and tightly clinged to the back of his bestie's upper back.

Thankfully Edaara was there.

"Hn!" Kyo gratefully huffed and nodded as the emerald Knight bought him just enough time to steel his resolve and react. His right hand swept across his elegant saber's silver hilt, unclipping it from his black Jedi utility belt as he engaged it and drew it forth in time to flick the dark blue blade toward the incoming claws. His azure saber sung through the air as the tight arcs of his swift slashes painted a graceful cross in front of him.

Just as the attacks would go to collide, the focused Shadow then leapt back several more meters from the howler and away from Edaara, attempting to draw its attention with him in the process. "This howler is a danger to the -!" The monster's intense screech forced him to flinch and wince. He grunted and landed with a staggered slide, boots roughly pushing through the deteriorated swamp grass and dirt. "- to the Order!"

Knight Yamato then snapped the thumb and middle finger of his left hand next to his left shoulder. Gremlin hooted affirmatively and shot the other half of his bestie's split-saber out of his modified equipment hopper. Kyo opened the free hand, caught the silver handle, and immediately ignited his second dark blue saber as he dipped into the Force and readied himself to follow its guidance. "Let's deal with it fast."


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[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara nodded, letting out a sigh of relief when Kyosuke didn't get mauled. "Yeah, it is," she replied, letting a surprisingly unusual amount of sarcasm enter her voice. She let the Force wash over her to calm her, and her lightsaber steadied. Thundering sounded in the distance and Edaara knew more were coming. "I fear we may be outnumbered," she said, before charging at the howler's side. Since it was distracted by Kyosuke, she managed to run up its hide, using the Force to help her. She punctured its eye with her blue saber and tumbled off it backwards when it reared up, roaring in pain. She softened her fall with the Force, her boots leaving two tracks. Her saber was still lit and she stared up at the creature as two of its clawed forelimbs covered its eyes.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Fear not." The pommels of the Shadow's sabers snapped, twisted, and locked together to reform his lightsabers into a single double-sided piece. The weapon was horizontally held low and out to the sides in front of him as he gradually began to walk toward the alpha howler. He considered how many young Jedi they'd be saving by slaying this monster here and now. How many they'd prevent from being snatched away like Davï. Kyo's index fingers both curled down towards their opposite wrists, and tapped the activation button next to the teal displays of both shock gloves.

"The Force is with us." It had to be.

Kyosuke could feel the electrokinetic energy as it rippled through the gloves' shock pads. His concentration immediately reached through the ebb and flow to grasp the sparks and pull them across his weapon, binding the energy to his split-saber's azure blades. He picked up his pace as Knight Tonor made her crippling attack, and then he'd dash forward with his right hand and sabers held out behind him once she tumbled back.

The focused Knight swelled with the Light as he'd sweep his body low under the raised forelimbs, nearly sliding along the ground while he swiftly approached its hind leg furthest from his comrade. His left hand then slapped back onto the hilt of his combined sabers, engaging the shock pads once again to feed into the loop he continued to maintain on the electrically charged blades. Most of the charge would be expended in the following whirlwind of slashes, which all came from a single elegant twist of his body and skillful control over the spinning sabers as they whirled above and around him.

Then he quickly stood and stepped out of the low spin, released his right hand's grip, and powerfully swung the blades to his left side while he aimed the fingers of his free hand at the creature like a set of claws. The last of the electrical charge bound to his lightsaber then beckoned to his will. It arched through the air, bounced across his fingertips, and then suddenly bolted toward the monster's side. It was then as the light from Kyo's shocking burst of stunning energy lit up the howler's side that he finally noticed the alarming clue that had been hidden by the darkness. The Beast's large signature claw marks embedded deep in the alpha howler, right where he incidentally sent the electric blast.

The sudden realization of the Beast's actual size and the resulting distraction left Knight Yamato open to the massive howler's counterattack. Though, hopefully the staggering combo of both Jedi would leave the alpha flinched just long enough for Kyo to pull himself together and evade its retaliation.


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[The Storyteller]

The howler racked itself in agony, rearing back in lieu of Edaara’s grievous blow; the eye socket now nothing more than a smoldering mess. Writhing and withering, it turned from her with such speed the tail at its end swung about in tandem; like a whip, it struck, slamming into Edaara with enough force to send her tumbling back.

Two of the smaller howlers decided to take advantage of this and charged on the green knight, their lumbering limbs making clumsy progress. They swiped and snapped, one locking its jaws on the cusp of her ankle; the thick material of the boot was her only saving grace as it halted most of the bite. Nevertheless, the grip was solid, and whilst one howler made a pest of itself, the other began dragging Edaara aside. Its intent? To take her into the water. The rest of the pack held firm in their position, swiping with claws and snapping at any appendage carelessly enough to come within range.

Pain only incensed the alpha and with its one remaining eye focused on Kyo, the creature set itself yet again on the shadow. It charged at the Jedi, all whilst shrieking from the electricity coursing through its body; the noise was near enough deafening. Muscles convulsed and its body lost speed, but still, momentum carried the alpha on. It rammed directly into Kyo’s sternum and in the process allowed cranial barbs to embed themselves into the left side of his shoulder. Then came the fire. A burning hot, piercing pain began to run its course throughout the wounded area. Few knew of howlers’ poisoned barbs; unfortunately for Kyo, he was about to endure its exclusive sensation.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

"KCHH-" Kyosuke heard and felt a painful crack at the center of his chest as the monster's heavy skull bashed him into the purple-bark Massassi tree. The raven-haired Knight's painful yelp was suddenly cut short when the back of his dome slammed against the tree and was momentarily dazed. His arms flew out to the sides during the impact, and nearly whipped back against the thick trunk, which caused his saber to disengage and fall to the soggy ground.

The young man's senses faded out, then back in. "GAH--!!" Just in time to feel the tormenting sting in his left shoulder. Gremlin's distorted cries could barely be heard from behind Kyo as his little chassis was crushed between his bestie and the massive tree. Both of them were pinned. Kyo's feet struggling desperately to reach the ground. He nearly panicked, franticly pushing against the large heavy head to get it to stop crushing his torso, but only his right arm seemed to react.

The alpha howler hissed and screeched as the shocking grasp of the Shadow's glove danced across the monster's damp surface and finally overloaded its system enough to cause it to recoil. The creature shook its head as it reared up, and Kyo crumbled onto the tree's bulky roots. His ears were ringing from the point-blank screech to the face when he heard a familiar yet muffled voice emanate from the comlink on the front left of his belt.

The disoriented Shadow's heavy shoulders wavered, focus split between the excruciating pain wracking the majority of his left arm and torso. His hand instinctually went to activate the comlink, sluggishly reaching the device and engaging it just as the large howler roared in his face once again, reaching through the comlink to the Jedi on the other side. Then it lunged it's maw of dagger-like jaws toward the young man.

A pain-wracked grunt escaped Knight Yamato as he swiftly pulled his split-saber into his right hand, and punched it into the gaping maw. Both ends of the saber ignited with an azure flash as Kyo twisted his wrist and inverted his hand, whipping the dark blue blades across the entire width of the creature's neck with a brief disc of light trailing in the arc of his sabers. The briefest shriek emitted from the alpha before its head was severed and fell onto the Knight.

Kyo disengaged his sabers and cried out in pain as a pair of sharp fangs pierced down into his saber arm in the process. "Buh--" He gritted through his teeth and tensed nearly every muscle in his body as he tried to hold back the overwhelming mix of pain long enough to reply. "Busy!" Another strained grunt. "Howlers!!" The last thing the other team would hear over the comlink would be the cacophony of howls and hisses from the suddenly demoralized pack of howlers that remained before his shaky grip released the comlink, and his left arm slumped to the ground.

He couldn't see Knight Tonor over the carcass that crashed to the ground in front of him, but he could still hear the commossion from her direction. "Edaara!!" He called out over the noisy howlers, hoping that the emerald Jedi was still alright, and hopefully wasn't about to be pulled into the mire pools.


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[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara was sent flying by the alpha's tail, and didn't get much time to recover before one of the smaller beasts grabbed her by the ankle and yanked. Pain shot up her ankle and she let out a cry as it attempted to drag her back to its lair. She summoned her lightsaber back to her hand and rolled over as much as she could. She turned the blue blade on and swung it in the beast's direction. She managed to slice the surface of the howler's neck but it would take a greater force to break the hide. She cursed and tightened her core, using the Force and her strength training to sit up, even as she was being dragged through the mud. She put the Force behind her blow and slashed downwards harder on the neck. She severed the neck halfway, and it took another hit to completely sever the creature's thick neck.

She pulled her boot out of the creature's stiff jaws and scooted backwards, hissing in pain. Her thick armored boot was the only reason she hadn't lost her leg, but the teeth had broken in two spots, and blood dripped from her open wounds. She pushed herself to her feet and limped over to Kyosuke. She paused when she took in the situation he was in now. He had somehow managed to decapitate the alpha, but in the process, had gotten bitten in his shoulder and his saber arm.

She started to head in his direction but when she put weight on her bad leg, it buckled and she fell back down to the ground. There were still more howlers, and now that their leader was dead, they were confused and angry. One such creature turned its head to her, noticing she was weak and open to attack. Easy meat.

Edaara squeezed her eyes shut. Not here. She could not die here. She had a duty. She had to do her part to protect Yavin IV. Again, she pulled herself to her feet, using the Force to support her bad leg. She turned her saber on again and in one brutal move, decapitated the monster coming for her. She made it to Kyo and collapsed again by his side, and picked up his fallen comlink. "Backup," she breathed heavily, trying to get words out over the noise, over her pain. "We... we need backup,"

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[The Storyteller]

With the alpha dead, the howlers’ formation turned into chaos. They snarled and snapped, their indecision made painfully clear given their grievous losses; agitation bled through in every movement, especially as the surviving numbers began to pace. They seemed wary now, cautious even, but none willing to give up the assault just yet.

That was until they heard a sound, one that was entirely different from their own hellish shrieks. It belonged to no howler, that much was clear, given the baritone bass. These hollers were far louder, the volume itself was enough to travel across miles of jungle.

Strangely, the howlers began to whimper, their barbed tendrils quacking in blatant fear. They knew this sound, and to that extent, they knew the creature that made it. Without another moment of hesitation, they turned tail and ran, scurrying for cover in the surrounding swamps. They abandoned their dead and fled without so much as a second glance; the ground they had so hotly defended was not worth the wrath of the true beast.

And just like that, the fight was over. The Jedi were victorious. Bloody and bruised, but nonetheless, victorious.

 

[Edaara Tonor]

When the beasts suddenly turned tail and ran at the new sound, Edaara fell over onto her back in exhaustion. The mud seeped through her navy robes and was smeared all over her body and face. She knew if that larger beast hadn't scared the howlers off, they may not have made it out alive. Neither of them had made it very long without getting injured. She gave herself five minutes before rolling over and pushing herself to her knees. She reached out a hand and nudged Kyo, who seemed close to unconsciousness. "They're gone," she said, "Can you stand?" It was pointless to ask if he was alright because neither of them were. They hadn't even found Davi yet.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

The insurmountable pain increased as the monster's fangs sunk deeper and deeper into Kyosuke's right forearm and bicep with each moment that passed. He tried to hide the agony as best he could, clenching his teeth and holding back each weak mewl while his body lightly trembled in the overwhelming struggle to remain calm.

The wounded Knight couldn't move either arm, Gremlin continued to whine and continued to break free from between Kyo and the tree, and the pain in his cracked sternum combined with the weight of the alpha howler head on top of his lower half kept Kyosuke from moving for the first two minutes. He just remained, trying to hold what little concentration he could together to mitigate the multiple sources of pain across his body, even though he was failing and essentially wasting his weakened stamina in the process.

Once the numbing effect in his left shoulder finally faded, Kyosuke was able to throw his left hand against the front of the monster's upper jaw and began to struggle against it in a failed attempt to lift it and release the dagger-like jaws from his arm.

"H..." He struggled and groaned through his teeth. "H-nngh...!" The left arm was still too weak, and would need more time to recover fully, but that didn't stop him from trying. The right arm remained unmoving, almost as though he'd lost function in it from where the fangs landed along the top, and from where the bottom fangs eventually punctured him around the elbow from the sinking weight above.

Kyosuke hadn't wanted to ask Edaara when she seemed like she was exhausted, but once the emerald Knight began to make her way over Kyosuke would finally relent. "Help..." He barely squeaked with a weak voice and a small whimper, still struggling to lift the heavy jaws.


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[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara gathered up her last remaining strength and gripped the howlers' head, yanking it off of Kyo. Her muscles trembled and the head was so heavy that when it broke free it rolled backwards onto Edaara, spilling blood and flesh all over legs. She hissed in pain and kicked it off before collapsing back against the ground again.

Squeezing her eyes shut she called on the Force, reaching towards the light side. She felt symbolic waves of light wrap around her gently, like a threadbare blanket that had been sitting in the rays of a sun. She peeled her eyes open again and stared up at the sky of Yavin IV. The jungle was still quiet, and the deeper roars of the new beast echoed throughout the forest, getting closer.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

Kyosuke grabbed his right wrist with his left hand and jerked it back as Edaara yanked the monster's head off him. He failed to hold back another pained grunt as the fangs were ripped out of the deep wounds, forcing globs of dirtied blood to gush out from them. Then his body bucked to the side, and he crashed to the ground. Gremlin also fell free, unintentionally crying out as he tumbled down next to his bestie in the process.

"Thanks..." The young man finally pushed out between several heavy breaths while he laid on the swampy grass. "That sound..." He took another deep breath, then turned his head over to his little scout droid, who was slowly steadying himself and getting back to his feet. "The pack clearing out..." The injured Knight hissed through his teeth as the pain from his chest stabbed at him, pinning him to the ground when he tried to sit back up. "I think... that's the beast we're looking for..."

"G-Grem--" He held his left hand up while Gremlin hooted happily and ejected the first medical stim pack from his equipment hopper, leaving one more for the team if they faced the mysterious beast. As soon as the vial landed in Kyo's palm he gripped it as tightly as he could, and slammed the tip of it into his right arm. "Ngh...! ...thanks buddy..." The vial quickly emptied, injecting the healing fluid into his body to begin sealing his wounds and restoring some of the damage that he'd suffered across his sternum and right arm.

"Guh..." Kyo collapsed into the mucky ground, and released a deep sigh of relief at the pain finally beginning to subside. "I've got one more stim left... I can either give it to you now, or we can save it for if anyone else gets hurt." Knight Yamato then turned his head, his raven fringe falling away from his dim blues as he gazed at Edaara. "Or for the Youngling, if they find him..."


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[Edaara Tonor]

As soon as Kyo offered her the medical stem pack, her fingers twitched, itching to take it and relieve her pain. But her injuries were not as bad as Kyo's or even the youngling's, if they found him. She could make it as she was. It wouldn't be pleasant, but it was the right thing to do. "I will be fine," she said, resting as much as she could now before the beast came again. She sat up, her muscles crying out in protest. She gritted her teeth. "What do we do if backup doesn't come," she said, turning to Kyo, who was laying in the mud.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

"Well..." The eerie silence lurked between each breath. "I could call my ship." Kyosuke looked away in thought, his azure eyes shifting toward the direction of the beast's last call. "I'm not sure that'll scare if it off or not, or even be able to do anything in a fight with it other then setting this place on fire."

Gremlin cooed worriedly and tilted his head up to his bestie, who turned his gaze back to the scout. "Can't use Gremlin to scout, because we know the beast might take him out." The young man released a somewhat agitated sigh between the mix of the slowly withdrawing pain and the dreadful situation the Knights had suddenly wound up in. Realizing it was probably best to get away from the mire pools, Kyo finally mustered enough strength to push himself up to a low hunch.

"We should call them back, let them know the beast is probably on its way to us." He scooped up his fallen split-saber and clipped it back onto his belt, while Grem perked up and began to follow alongside the staggering Shadow. "Maybe we can... set a trap in the meantime...?"


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[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara nodded even as her head pounded. "A trap would be good," she said, reaching for Kyo's comlink. "I am not in the best condition to make a trap, so I will contact the others," she said, holding the com to her mouth. "The howlers are gone. They... were not the beasts we were looking for... there is a larger creature coming. Come here as fast as you can," she said, sending their coordinates. She dropped the com and her hand went limp as she leaned forward over her legs, trying not to throw up.

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[Hailee Lightwood]

"We will be on our way soon, but right now we need to deal with a certain situation. We've found Davï and he's fine, but he's not in our custody yet". The Padawan's voice sounded rather calm, but every sentient being must have been able to sense a certain amount of nervousity in it, if one would just listen closely. There was tension in her voice, a type of tension that was somehow oppressing. Right after that, the response coming out of the comlink faded again, probably leaving a few questions for those who had just received the message.

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