Blazing Saddles

[Hol Horse]

MISSION: A Matron's Steed

OBJECTIVE: Aquire a bull rancor and deliver it to the Singing Mountain Clan.

TIPS: Rancor are a sign of status among the Nightsister clans. Those clans that tame them have more political clout amongst the other clans than those that don't. Bull rancors, however, are an entirely different story. It is rare for a clan to take command of such a powerful steed and those that do are considered unquestionably superior to the others. Your job is to assist a hunting party of the Singing Mountain Clan in obtaining a bull rancor and delivering it to their Clan Mother. Doing so will hurt the political clout of those clans who support the Dominion, strengthen our ties to the Singing Mountain Clan, and establish a debt that can be called upon whenever we need the Clan's strength — namely in taking the planet for our own.

​

"I tell you what, sensing may not be my forte, but I am sensing that these Dathomiri clans are comprised of basic bitches" Sal bemoaned to his new and temporary partner as he sat atop the landspeeder he had been given for his assignment. He had met Jakkar when the two landed at the rendeveuz point a few clicks north of where they were now, and ever since Sal had met the other man, he had been running his mouth nonstop. It was great fun really, even over the sound of them both speeding towards the meet-up spot the Devaronian had been talking about everything under the sun. His research, his personal life, his secret fetishes- a true compilation of all the juiciest of tidbits. After all, wasn't this how you became ⣧ț ƒȑȋ£ñď§ ƒ¤ȑ£√£ȑ? Soon enough they'd be like a couple of peas in a pod getting ready to pulverize some pesky padawans. Hah, alliteration, he made himself laugh so.

"I mean really, if the only thing that gives your society self value is the reverence of a lumbering and bufoonish creature then surely you are primitive enough to not understand the finite workings of our reality and its secrets... Basic as basic can be" the sorcerer bemoaned, espousing the traditional researching jargo that he was used to using in the company of other scientists. Indeed, there was a certain irritation that the white robed Sith had. He had been dragged from his laboratory in the Deep Core, pried from his research of the galaxy's black hole, and placed in some farcical mission to capture a Rancor. Jakkar seemed like easy enough company- mostly because he seemed a bit more like the moody brooding type, a good vent for the gregarious Sith, though he didn't seem to appreciate the other male's constant talking.

They had been here for nearly an hour now. They were situated atop a small red rocky hill overlooking a virtual wasteland in every direction. There were crags and valleys scattered as far as the eye could see, but no sign of the hunting party they were sent to work with. Sal was starting to get somewhat impatient, something never enjoyable for whoever was around. Sure the hunting party from the Singing Mountain Clan would eventually reach them, this was their meet-up point after all, but in the meantime, they were very much alone in the middle of nowhere... Which meant, the other sith was the irritatingly loud sorcerer's only company, "Iiiiiiiii spyyyyyyyy, something that's Red. Okay, go" he said, looking around ine very direction as he swayed on his hovering speeder, waiting for something to happen.

@Japkot @Malon

 

[Japkot]

He was still talking...

Although he was hardly listening, since his eyes were focused on the below ground, looking for any sign of the creature that they were looking for, to little success mind you, Jakkar did not qualify as an expert scout, any type of scout really, he was primarily a fighter, on the front lines of a battle, as the painful defeat at the hands of the Selkath Jedi some times past made him realize, his lookout moves were mostly just attributed to his paranoia-like caution now, he did not want to be in a situation were defeat was a possibility.

Although he was more comfortable in this situation than he would be if he was alone, with there being somone to actually support him, even if they were more likely to invite trouble with their reckless disregard of potentially hostile ground and just yammer on and on about personal information that no one in their right mind would ask for if they wanted to keep their sanity, especially if one was a quiet person such as Jakkar, he felt like any quiet remarks he'd made got lost in the shuffle. He didn't even know a person could talk for this long without suffering some ill-effects of dehydration, and he was talking since they'd met after Jakkar's landing, having reached the levels of 'painful' after he'd had to endure a whole speeder-ride behind him, learning about the concepts of 'Too Much Information'

He supposed the mission was alright to be a bit relaxed, after all it was a rancor they were looking for, and they weren't known for their Practical Proficency and Extraordinary Understanding of Military Tactics. although his contemporary companion didn't seem at all relaxed, complaining about the triviality of this mission, prompting him to thinking he was like this whether he was relaxed or tense, which was a fatal flaw during a battle. Only thing they needed to be careful were the Dathomirans and their strange politics that required them to have a Rancor to be relevant, quite fascinating really.

He suddenly pulled himself out of his thoughts because of the fact that he was directly adressed instead of being forced to listen to meaningless rabble, although he really couldn't decide which after he heard what he said.

Games... Really?

Fine,

"The Sky,"

@Malon @Ravendark

 

[Hol Horse]

"Aha! You got it right! Yay!~~~" the sith cheered as he picked up some dirt on the ground next to his speeder and tosed the stuff over at Jakkar. Maybe they didn't have glitter or confetti mind you, but that didn't mean they couldn't find something to celebrate! Damn, he was such a cool guy. Sal grinned to himself as he leaned back in his speeder. Jakkar sure was a smart pickle it seemed, he guessed what the white clad sith had been thinking almost instantly! Like, what was the chance of that? Almost literally on this entire forsaken planet was red after all, aha, good times- classic times even. Why, no doubt, they'd be gaggling about this like a couple of crazy bloodthirsty old bastards together in no time. Damn, he was such a good best friend. "Alright, I'll go again. I spy, something with my little eeeeeye, thaaaaaaaaaaats Red" he said, looking around before spotting yet another Red object on the red planet to single out for his companion to look for.

Thankfully, for both the clearly disinterested sith as well as for Sal, a loud horn interrupted their one-sided banter, piercing through the area behind them.

There would be no doubt in either Sith's mind as to who created the trumpeting sound, as a herd of Dathomiri Zabrak thundered into sight, riding a number of speeders, flanked by what looked like a large hovercraft of sorts, dominated by a large metal box that was most likely to be used to capture and transport the Bull Rancor. This was their hunting party, their mission was about to begin. Sal finally shut his mouth as the hunting party approached them, zipping along the red flatlands of Dathomir towards them. Most of the hunters stopped at the base of the hill the two sith were waiting on, while one yellow Zabrak slowly hovered to a stop in front of them both. "I apologize for the delay. There were complications back at the Tribe grounds. Some of the men were reluctant to join since they thought you two would be eaten alive. It normally takes three tribes to capture a rancor alive, though, we've never had sith helping us before with this sacred task" the lead hunter said before adding on, "I am Tovalt, son of Tovalt, grandson of Tovalt, great grandson of Tovalt, descendant of Tim" the muscular and large zabrak said before nodding to them both.

Sal raised an eyebrow, but managed to hold his tongue from a traditionally snarky remark, "I am Saladin D'vant, Sorcerer" he simply stated, turning his head to Jakkar so that he might introduce himself. The two of them might not have been the equivalent of fully armed tribes per se, but they certainly had the almighty power of them on their side. Tovalt was keen to get their operation underway though now that pleasantries were out of the way, "A Bull Rancor is the head of his pack, usually the only male in it save for juveniles. Getting past the females will be difficult, let alone subduing a fully grown bull and capturing it" the lead hunter said before looking past the two sith to the red expanse beyond, "Rancor live in the caves and crags of the valleys usually, if we want to find a herd, we need only look around there. Be on your guard though, we are not the only hunters out here in these lands" he warned before restarting his speeder and descending the hill once again, zipping off once more with the company of hunters. Sal followed, contemplating this new information as well as how best to educate his jolly fellow sith Jakkar to render them both two lazy loonies lounging about. Hah, alliteration, he killed himself sometimes, he really did.

@Japkot

 

[Japkot]

It was an unpleasent suprise when he'd actually gotten it right, for he'd only encouraged this behaviour, plus was rewarded with a shower of dirt. He would have snapped at the Sith if his anger wasn't controlled properly these days, caution over uncontrolled strength, more caution over a dead ally, it would look really bad to his higher ups if he returned without his companion, and his moral choices as a whole.

Thankfully, he was absolved of answering the question, as a big group of Zabrak rolled in on their speeders, signaling the end of his talking and the start of the mission, his sanity was thankful. One particular one that appeared to be the leader approached them while the rest waited below, he made excuses and expressed his men's doubt on the two people that would help them out of mutual need, that was not a smart tactical desicion.

Couple with a dreadful, dreadful name syndrome that was common on primitive dynasties.

It was going to be a real treat wasn't it?

He nodded at them, "Jakkar," He kept it brief, they would not meet again after all.

He listened to the instructions and information intently, nodding once he'd understood it, mounting and following on his speeder once everyone was seated. Thankful to have found some reprieve to thing about how to not get ambused, there were rivals after all...

@Ravendark

 

[Hol Horse]

Sal continued to grin as he felt the cold air bite and nip at his face, his speeder propelling him at great speeds along the red ground of Dathomir. The Dathomiri zabrak seemed intently focused as they honed in on their surroundings. They were hunters, hunting the most dangerous game of all on this planet. It was fun, it was exhilerating, it made his blood pump with energy. Perhaps these primitives were not so intolerable after all. Jakkar certainly seemed to fit into their line of work rather well as he seemed just as focused as they. Eventually, after perhaps a few hours of riding or so, the party began to gradually descend. The decline was gentle at first, but, over time, became almost dangerously so. The large metal cage that was to transport the rancor had to move at a snail's pace for fear of losing control of that important cargo. Sal accelerated into the decline, "Wheeeeeeeeee" he screeched, his purple lips cracking even more into a thrilled smile as the party descended into what was becoming the bottom of a deep valley.

On they rode, the hunting party speaking to each other more intently now that they were closer to the traditional Rancor hunting grounds. Tovalt mainainted the lead as they all flew through the narrow and rocky valley floor. Faster and faster they went, there was blood in the air tonight, the sith could just feel it in his perfectly white bones. Still, just as it seemed they were all zipping to their maximum velocity, Tovalt looked up ahead of him and raised a closed fist. Instantly, the Dathomiri hunters braked to stop. Seeing their group was no longer moving, Sal did so as well, though with a tad of a frown on his face as he did so- he was really hoping they'd go so fast someone would lose control and die, that would have been swell.

"We walk from here, Rancor pack is near" the descendent of Tim stated before grabbing his slugthrower and tossing it over his shoulder. Sal hopped down from his speeder and grabbed the tools he had brought with him for this mission, some blasters and firespray. "Up ahead is the Vile Maw, a tunnel system that stretches underneath these lands for miles in every direction. It is forbidden to come here normally, Rancor packs now call this place home. Very dangerous" he followed up with before once more leading the pack again, "Come, we go". They were off it seemed, now walking, though the large metal cage was precariusly manuvered behind them as they slowly made their way along the valley floor.

After some time, the party would begin to round a corner in the pass. Here, Tovalt motioned for them all to squat down and hide. Sal grunted as he fell as flat as a board to the earth, looking up at the leader of the hunters expectantly. Though, when the zabrak pointed ahead of the rocks he was hiding behind, it didn't take much to see why he had called for them to hide. The group was now positioned at the entrance to a large clearing, filled with boulders and other rock formations. Bones of varying animals and people littered the dirt and pebbles. A massive black hole lay on the other side of the clearing, the entrance to the Vile Maw, no doubt.

However, the more pressing matter at the moment, were the two Rancor devouring what seemed like a herd of cattle between the two of them.

The two were massive, each nearly the size of a small house, easily grabbing and holding onto the livestock they swallowed whole. Tovalt grunted some sort of swear as he looked at the two now feasting between the hunters and the entrance to the caves, "Juveniles. They most likely were banished from their clan now that they are older, chased away by the Bull. Not adult, not bull, but almost" Tovalt said before looking to Sal and then to Jakkar, seemingly admiring the council of the more sane looking man, "Okay Sith, get us past these two. Prove that you are as strong as an entire tribe" he asked, not having the stomach to try and fight off two juveniles at once.

 

[Japkot]

Jakkar's knowlege on how to deal with feral beasts were somewhat regretfully, non-existant, and as much as it pained for him to admit it, he would have to rely on whatever knowledge his companion had and provide the muscle if they were to complete this mission succesfully, although they would certainly be easier to deal with then the Bull Rancor itself.

He turned his gaze to Sal, his hand hovering above the hilt of his lightsaber, the second one still staying dormant. Indicating his head toward the two 'Juveniles' (Stupid name, they didn't even look young, just ugly) in his gaze lying a question to the other sith. What would be their strategy? He would prefer if it didn't get him killed....

 

[Hol Horse]

Everyone was staring at him. Why was everyone staring at him?

The scientist-sorcerer sat hunched over on the ground behind the rock as he blinked a few times at Jakkar and Tovalt, who had now shifted the focus of their discussion to him. Uh oh, did he have some mascara plastered on his cheeks in a smily face again? The last time that had happened nobody had said anything to him for nearly a week. This time around though, it seemed the hunting party and Jakkar were expecting him to come up with some sort of inspired plan to get them past the young rancor and into tunnels of The Vile Maw. Sal, admittedly, was clueless with how to deal with animals. Usually whenever they had given him any trouble back at his lab he'd just hit them with an inhumane amount of sedatives until they relaxed, here he had just a couple of zabraks and a human.

"Hmmm" Sal 'hmmm'd' to himself, placing a single index finger on his pursed lips, contemplating his current situation. "Let's just FUCK with them, eh?" Sal said with a chucke as he nudged Jakkar's leg irriatingly with his elbow, "Nudge nudge? Wink win? You smelling what I'm cooking me bucko?" the Devaronian insisted before looking back up over the outcropping of rocks that they were all hiding behind. A Rancor's hide was thick, thick enough to withstand blasterfire of all kind despite the highest degree. Sure, a juvenile might have thinner skin, but even Sal was sane enough to know that attempting such a foolhardy attack would get him killed. Instead, the man lowered his shoulders, relaxing as he began collecting the power of the dark side from all around him, as well as within him. He was a sorcerer, the dark side fueled him as well as embodied him- it had slowly degraded his body over the years but given him tremendous power to compensate. While his primary focus had initially been Telekinesis and Energy Manipulation, Mental Control was a skill that he had been seeking to improve. What better time to practice than now?

After some time, Sal would lash out with the dark side of the force, aiming to slip into the mind of the larger of the two juvenile rancors, influencing it's primitive mind. The process was tough, fueled in part by the distance between him and the two juveniles. He was powerful with the dark side, it was his everything, he had researched it for years while other sith had practiced their skill with lightsabers, yet with all of this power, influencing such a large beast was difficult. As loathe as he was to admit it, he needed some help or he'd be bamboozled, "Focus your hatred upon the beast. Let the fire of rage burn within you, expanding and growing until it grows too large for its furnace- at that point, and only at that point, release your power upon a lesser mind like this, and it will surely fall. Such is the power of the dark side" Sal managed to say with a calm and collected voice, aiming to give some minor advice to his fellow sith. He had been studying the force for years, hopefully Jakkar would accept some of his advice, "Try it now, with me. Project your rage into the big beastie with me, let it fill your very being until it overflows into this brutish creature" he ordered, seeking help in influencing the Rancor.

 

[Japkot]

Jakkar let a grin envelop his face as they were finally going to do something that involved his line of work, not with lightsabers mind you, but he could still use his force powers, and who knew? They might be stronger than he thought, he'd never given them a chance before, anything to be done with this needless talking would be profit for him.

He moved beside Sal, and did as he said, focusing his hatred on the beast. Everything he'd went through before coming to this point flashed before his eyes, his training, the constant fighting of five years, his loss of weapon and pride. He certainly had a lot of hate to spare... He felt sorry for any beast that would be subjected to it.

It was easy taking advice, certainly better than what he would have thought of...

 

[Hol Horse]

Alone, influencing a juvenile Rancor was difficult, but now with Jakkar lending his hatred, the task became easy.

Rancor were naturally rather aggressive carnivores despite living in packs, the two sith did not need to strongly influence it, just nurture its mind into a haze of anger. In a sudden roar, the larger of the two rancors lumbered around to face its brother, who now seemed uncertain on how to react to its sibling's changing mood. In a flash of incensed anger, the larger of the two lashed out with a large claw at the face of the smaller creater, scraping across its grotesque face with a furious blow. The younger creature howled in pain, falling backwards in surprise. The dark side was with the large beast, Sal and Jakkar were firmly injecting it with the essence of the dark side, fueling the flames of its bestial anger.

Sal grinned as he saw the result of his and his partner's mental influencing, his grin only widening as he watched the rancor stand tall over its younger brother and begin slamming his balled fists into the face of the downed creature. Again and again it struck, with a surprising speed accompanying its ferocious strength. The roars of the two beasts filled the valley as the one sided fight unfolded. The creature pummeled the smaller one into a bloody pulp, blood and organs began splattering across the valley floor and nearby boulders, the sharp claws of the creature ripping into its internal organs like a frenzied beast. Finally, once its youngesr sibling was a pile of flesh and blood, unrecognizable compared to its former shape, the enraged Rancor suddenly jabbed its sharp thumbs into its eyes, blinding itself in blind and unfilted fury.

Tovalt spoke something behind the two in Dathomiri, the tone one of awe as it witnessed two sacred creatures be butchered to death with only the two sith raising their arms. Sal laughed now as he saw the Rancor flail about in pain, its mind still influenced by the rage directed by the two sith. Finally, after ten minutes or so, the large juvenile Rancor fell to its knees before dropping to its chest, stone dead, a result of blood loss and slef-inflicted trauma. Once the dust had settled, the white skinned sorcerer gave his companion a pat on the back, "Good, goooooood. You are in tune with the primal nature of this universe, the uncaring storm of rage that characterizes it, the power of the Dark Side. You show more promise than I thought boy" the gaunt Devaronian said, his voice rather raspy and level for once, contrasting his earlier ravings.

The sith got up to his knees, "Come hunter, lead us towards our prey. I fear our task will not be so easy moving forwards" the sorcerer hissed, walking out of hiding towards the entrance to the Vile Maw. Sal jumped into a puddle of Rancor blood, similar to how a child might jump into a puddle of rainwater, "Wheeeee!~~" he screeched as a splash of blood came up and landed on his perfectly white robe. Ahhhh yes, this was good fun, he should go hunting like this more often! After crossing the clearing, Sal, presumably Jakkar, and the rest of the hunters, entered the dark caverns.

 

[Japkot]

Jakkar raised an eyebrow at being called 'boy', having reached 32 years of age months ago, one would imagine they would shake off that title, but he didn't say anything, the allure and the use of the Dark Side changed ones perception and they had used plenty of it at that moment. Unleashing violence upon the two Juveniles.

It made him chuckle, how everything was so susceptible to violence. The show of violence in front of them was among the most brutal of things he'd seen and inflicted, the thrill it gave making him want to join in his companions merriment, the previous annoyance forgetten with the giddiness that came with it, although he would still keep his distance because blood often made tracks that could cause an ambush.

"Do quiet down, remember we are in hostile territories," He said as he followed behind, throwing an amused look at the terrified hunters, being extra careful to avoid any bloodstains.

 

[Hol Horse]

"Sowwy daddy" Sal said with a pouting face to Jakkar, his purple lipstick glowing slightly against the red light of Dathomir. The sorcerer, seeing that the party was continuing into The Maw, reluctantly stepped out of the puddle of blood. He was now head to toe covered in splatters of Rancor blood, spots and spatters of red that dripped from him like a wet paintbrush. Still, the sith had the common sense to follow the hunters as they all disappeared into the darkness of the cave. The path that they were on descended gradually, with large rocky slabs of stone and earth making a gentle ramp into the depths of Dathomir. Down, down, down they went, walking for nearly half an hour without seeing any signs of Rancor. Sal, used to seeing in the darkness of his lab through sense rather than purely sight, gleefully collected a surplus of dark side energies around him. These dumb beasts were so silly, silly, silly.

As the group continued, now walking on level ground again, Tovalt put up an arm, the area around them was lit now by a series of strange glowing red crystals. The effect of the colored lighting was eerie, like everything around them was covered in a permanent red sheen. The scientist poked one of the crystals but found no abnormal effects upon doing so, instead shrugging and looking over to where their lead hunter was. "Rancor up ahead, big one, be ready" the lead hunter said before leading the party down a branching tunnel deeper into the earth. The light of the red crystals pulsated the tunnels of The Maw with a crimson glow, providing some dim illumination in the darkness of the tunnels.

Finally, after some time, the group reached a large cavernous area. Nearly a football field in length and width, this open space had a high arching ceiling with numerous red crystals providing dim lighting. With stalagtites and stalagmites littering the open field, there was certainly good cover and space all over. PErhaps more pressing though was the pack of 6 Rancor females, each roughly 25 feet tall, with an even larger black one, the bull male, standing at what must have been a whopping 40 feet high. The Rancor Bull was massive, its black skin contrasting against its red eyes. The beast grabbed a sheep-like creature with one hand that it had maimed and picked it up with one hand, tossing it into its mouth with ease and devouring it clean. A few seconds later, the gargantuan beast spit out its cleaned bones onto the floor of the cavern. "Black Rancor, very rare, very prestigious. If we capture we become powerful clan" Tovalt said in a hushed voice as he and the rest of the party stood in the dimly lit entrance to the cavern. There were too many Rancor here for Sal and Jakkar to try and get them to fight each other again. Sure, Sal could think of some other ways, but he was more interested this time around to see what the ambitious warrior might have had in mind. "What do you think then, eh?" Sal asked, his blood covered face turning to look at Jakkar expectantly.

 

[Japkot]

"We need to seperate it from the others," Jakkar said immediately, examining the stalagmites and stalactites on the cave in an effort to find a place where they could do just that. These rancors wouldn't be as easy to influence as the others, they would have to extort all of their strength to even get them to attack each other, and even then the numbers advantage the beasts had wouldn't even let it be a fruiltful endeavor, and they would be too exhausted to be any help once the plan went wrong.

"If I guess correctly and your tribe needs the creature unmaimed, we would be better off killing the females on a large collection of stalactites," His giddiness had been replaced with his old seriousness again as he looked at the Lead Hunter for confirmation, "If they all die, it would free all of the hunters to help us deal with the Black Rancor, if they don't the Hunters will be dealing with them while we distract it," He adressed Sal on that last detail, thinking of ways to distract the creature already as the gears on his head was still turning.

"I would be open to suggestions, you are the... smart one here after all," He would be a fool to discredit the intelligence and the quick thinking of the scientist when dealing with the Juveniles, the fact that he was even asked an opininon mattered a lot actually, and it would be good for him to not dismiss talkativeness for foolishness, he'd been proven wrong multiple times after all.

 

[Hol Horse]

Sal kept quiet while Jakkar elaborated his plan. Using the natural world around them was an essential trait for any strategist, even the most innocent of factors could be enough to turn the tide of battle. The albino's yellow eyes turned upwards and looked over the ceiling of the large cave. There were plenty of razor sharp rocks to pierce the thick rancor hide, though controlling such an area of effect would no doubt be difficult. They would need to kill the other rancor in the pack without hurting or maiming the Black Bull lumbering around. "Hmmmmmmm" Sal thought to himself, taking the proposal in. As much as he would literally kill to see a rancor-kebab, he wasn't so certain how that plan would play out in practical terms.

"Separate the bull from the pack we must, then we kill" the sorcerer said in a short burst, contemplating their options as he wondered the best way to pull the Bull away from the pack without the latter joining in any sort of fight. They had neither the manpower nor firepower to take on a pack like this, especially since rancor hide was reportedly resistant to blasterfire. They needed something to lure it away. They needed, "Live bait" the scientist whispered to himself, a knowing smile slowly crawling up onto his face as an ingenious yet unabashedly reckless plan fermented in the forefront of his frontal lobe. Ohoho, the bucko was going to hate him later for this, maybe even kill him, but it was the only way to complete the mission wether he liked it or not. Besdies, Sal was certainly not known for his physical skill, unlike a warrior such as Jakkar, he would be more fit for this plan.

In a whirl, the sorcerer spun to face the other sith, telekinetically grabbing him and tossing him out from behind cover towards the center of the cave where the bull was lumbering around. Provided that Sal did indeed do this, the pack leader would undoubtedly spot the puny human thrown at its feet from out of the blue. It would roar a mighty roar of anger and begin lumbering and swiping at Jakkar, chasing it away from the pack while it in turn stopped what it was doing upon hearing the alarm be raised by the alpha male. Sal would watch these events unfold, "Comon Jakkar ur just a little chicken! Here chick chick chick! Chirp chirp chirp!" the sorcerer heckled as he goaded the sith to run towards him to both flee the black bull as well as probably beat him into a bloody pulp in revenge for the albino's deception.

 

[Japkot]

For all of Jakkar's flaws, this one would be the death of him, as his trusting nature got him into one of the worst binds he'd gotten into in a long while, being thrown straight at the Bull Rancor without any sort of warning. He'd landed on his feet of course, his agility was one of the things he'd prided himself in, but it was too late to back away from the huge Rancor that immediately spotted him.

Hatred flared and his anger made to rise as his eyes focused on Sal, barely moving aside from the swipe the monster threw at him as the Sith goaded him like he was not in a life and death situation, but he had a bigger problem ahead of him, as he dodged one more swipe, then another and another. Backing away little by little until it was completely seperated from it's pack, which were too focused on the pack of prey around them to notice the tiny human leading away their leader, foolish creatures...

He would do something potentially fatal to his unruly partner of course, he wasn't one to easily forget a slight done against him, the face of the Selkath that had humiliated him still shone brightly in the depth of his mind, but this was something that required his full attention, and caution trumped wroth as he slowly led the creature toward it's captors, hoping this was the plan of the untrustworthy Sith...

 

[Hol Horse]

Sal watched with glee as the rancor pack's attention turned to the human now at the feet of the Black Bull. The massive lumbering creature roared, attempting to swat Jakkar's head clean off his shoulders, though this was no easy feat for the fast man. Little by little, the Bull stumbled and fumbled forwards towards the entrance to the tunnel where Sal and the rest of hunters were anxiously watching. The sorcerer jumped up and down excitedly, animated as ever, as Jakkar shot him a glare of utter loathing, they both knew that there were going to be some very strong words about this turn of their fortunes. Still, the importance of the mission trumped all other factors, no? That was the kind of silly rhetoric their silly commanders might espouse, hopefully a silly sith like Sal would be able to live by it well here and talk the same sense into his companion.

Closer and closer the bull rancor chased Jakkar, the rest of its pack seemingly having lost interest in the measely small fry who now was being fended off by the alpha male. As Jakkar goaded the creature on, Sal's eyes would narrow, his gaze turning from the action up to the ceiling. Slowly but surely, he raised his arms upwards from his sides, his mind channeling the power of the dark side to the tips of his fingers. These creatures, these hunters, they were all worms in the face of the absolute power that he and the other followers of the Dark Side posessed. In a mighty roar, Sal lashed out with a torrent of thunderous lightning which crackled into the stone ceiling of the cave. The earth above them trembled as the sorcerer's empowered sith lightning sizzled into the stone ceiling, rubble fell down onto the cavern floor below. After a few moments of channeling this energy, and as the Bull continued to chase Jakkar to their position, the fragility of the cave began to give way. In audible cracks, large stalagmites fell from the ceiling of the cave in a torrent of stone down to the floor below. The conical stones pierced the bodies of the pack, they were gored in an agonizingly painful and unexpected death. Still, thanks to Jakkar's actions, the Bull Rancor had been spared such a tragic fate. It now was almost upon the party while the stalagmites conitnued to fall on the other creatures nearby, killing them.

They had isolated the Bull, now they needed to find a way to take it down without killing or injuring it. A problem not so easily solved. "Don't just stand there you imbeciles! Shoot at it!" the sith yelled. The awestruck hunters snapped back to reality, grabbing their slugthrowers they shot tranquilizer dart after tranquilizer dart at the Rancor. The hide may have been too thick, but that wasn't what the skilled hunters were aiming for it seemed. Instead, as the creature roared and lumbered towards them, the hunters shot their tranquilizer rounds into the open mouth of the beast, all while the group backed up further and further. Finally though, the creature lumbered to a halt and teetered for a bit. The old beastie was like a tree about to be felled.

"Timber!" Sal quipped as the creature fell to the ground in a thud.

As the dust settled, the party looked over its catch. Sure enough, the thing was out cold. The hardest part of this mission, was over.

Over the next few hours, and through no small feat of ingenuity, the group transported the tranquilized black rancor back up through the maw to where the cage was located. It took them a great deal of time, but at the end of the day, they had their rancor locked up right where they wanted it. Sal huffed and puffed as he and the party hiked back up the canyon to their speeders, preparing to return to their ships. "Our emissary will be in touch" Sal stated bluntly as he mounted his speeder and turned it on, "Pray your chieftess doesn't forget the boon brought to her today, for her sake" the sith threatened before smiling, "Ta ta" and promtply disappearing, likely with Jakkar, riding into the sunset.

MISSION COMPLETE
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