Tecian looked out upon the forestry spreading before him through a pair of binoculars. He was surrounded by about half a dozen humans dressed in tidy military uniforms but the men weren't standing in any sort of formation but rather crouched down, rummaging through their equipment or simply standing at ease next to the Sith. The plain where they were stationed was at the edge of the forest that was only getting denser as one would traverse deeper into it. About half a mile behind the group stood a large stone fortress, dominating the grassy landscape around it.
Lord Zird's estate
Next to the Sith's feet lay a dead creature, muscular in it's appearance, dirt brown fur, large jaw easily capable of swallowing a whole head and it's front legs appeared to be more muscular and longer than his hind ones, allowing it to run on all fours as well as stand on it's two back legs. Across his chest and head a huge carving cauterizing wound indicating the creature's cause of death was no doubt a lightsaber slash. Tecian arrived on Celanon a day ago, dispatched on a mission for Lord Zird, a high ranking Sith within the order. Zird requested a capable warrior for this mission but did not hand pick his choice, instead through a mixture of Tecian's current success and his father's push through his connections the young Sith was pushed to be picked for this assignment. Apparently the native beasts that lived in the forest surrounding Zird's estate had started acting strangely, becoming more aggressive to the point where they rushed the gates of the estate a couple of times resulting in death of a number of Zird's security as well as damage to the overall estate. Zird himself was occupied elsewhere off world. Considering this nusance beneath him but clearly too much for his own forces to handle led to Tecian's arrival on Celanon.
''Did you or your men notice anything unusual prior to the beasts attacks ?''
Tecian asked lowering his binoculars. ''Nothing really happens here on Celanon, at least in this region. Most of our service we were trying to fight boredom than anything else. The last interesting thing was that Jedi Lord Zird killed months ago.'' the man said with a flat tone as he kept rearranging his gear. Tecian squinted for a moment ''A Jedi ?'' he asked. ''Yea, Lord Zird himself encountered him a little after he moved to this estate. He disarmed him and threw him off the cliff over there on the plains.'' Tecian glanced in the direction of the rocky plains the man was pointing at. ''Was he alone ?'' ''We found his ship a few hours later, seemed to be traveling alone. No idea what he was doing here though, the ship's comm systems were empty.'' Pondering for a second and pacing back towards the dead beast Tecian disregarded the strange incident seeing that it obviously didn't hold any importance to Zird or his men. Instead he focused on his plan of action - to proceed deeper into the forest, supporting Zird's security men and try and figure out what was going on with the beasts. The men in Zird's service never had the chance to explore deeper as the forest terrain provided more cover and the thick spread of trees would force them into close combat with the beasts where they stood no chance especially if they were swarmed. They had the advantage at a distance and a clear plain, such as the one between the forest and the fortress but even then the beasts were able to penetrate their defenses a few times.
The crouching man stood up and threw a rifle over his shoulder ''All set.'' and the rest of the force joined him. Tecian glanced at the group behind him from under his hood and proceeded to stride towards the forest. Around ten minutes into their exploration the Sith came to a sharp stop and raised his hand hastly, signaling the men behind him to remain quiet. He observed his surroundings, focusing on the forestry around him until he could hear the cracking of the branches somewhere in the distance, as if something was walking over them. All of the security men looked at each other before strapping in for an inevitable encounter with the incoming beast.
Soon they came.
The first one came into view, roaring and charging the group. The men all opened heavy fire on the creature bringing it down. The second one rushed as the blaster bolts mowed down the first one and Tecian understood just why and how the security force could get so easily overwhelmed by these creatures. Igniting his lightsaber Tecian threw it at the incoming creature, hitting it in the jaw and knocking it off its course and down on the ground. He charged forward, catching his weapon on it's way back, and slashed the downed beast one more time, this time carving through his torso and killing it. He noticed the third one being shot by Zird's men, it seemed that each beast required a focused effort from all of the men's blasters at once to be kept at bay and brought down. The fourth one was coming from their flank but was relatively away from them. Tecian raised his arm and focused intently on the creature. But nothing hapened, it didn't seem to slow down or stop it's charge. He lowered his arm in a mix of confusion and rage as the men screamed, firing at the beast. ''Sith! We need you over here!'' Tecian sprang into sprint towards the creature as it pinned one of the soldiers down under it's arm while the others fired at it. He came around it and slashed widely across it's back, forcing the beast to straighten back it's back and scream in pain. The second slash was across it's right leg, cutting it down the size as it fell to a side. With the beast's head now on a reachable level he slashed once again ending the creature's life.
Panting from the exertion he looked around, that seemed to be all of them for now. He noticed all of the men were still alive with only two injured. One that was slapped back into a tree by the last beast slain and one that was pinned down just moments ago by the second one, though they were minor injuries it seemed. Disengaging his lightsaber and standing straight he barked out ''Set up the perimeter here!'' in a commanding voice.
Lord Zird's estate
''Did you or your men notice anything unusual prior to the beasts attacks ?''
Tecian asked lowering his binoculars. ''Nothing really happens here on Celanon, at least in this region. Most of our service we were trying to fight boredom than anything else. The last interesting thing was that Jedi Lord Zird killed months ago.'' the man said with a flat tone as he kept rearranging his gear. Tecian squinted for a moment ''A Jedi ?'' he asked. ''Yea, Lord Zird himself encountered him a little after he moved to this estate. He disarmed him and threw him off the cliff over there on the plains.'' Tecian glanced in the direction of the rocky plains the man was pointing at. ''Was he alone ?'' ''We found his ship a few hours later, seemed to be traveling alone. No idea what he was doing here though, the ship's comm systems were empty.'' Pondering for a second and pacing back towards the dead beast Tecian disregarded the strange incident seeing that it obviously didn't hold any importance to Zird or his men. Instead he focused on his plan of action - to proceed deeper into the forest, supporting Zird's security men and try and figure out what was going on with the beasts. The men in Zird's service never had the chance to explore deeper as the forest terrain provided more cover and the thick spread of trees would force them into close combat with the beasts where they stood no chance especially if they were swarmed. They had the advantage at a distance and a clear plain, such as the one between the forest and the fortress but even then the beasts were able to penetrate their defenses a few times.
The crouching man stood up and threw a rifle over his shoulder ''All set.'' and the rest of the force joined him. Tecian glanced at the group behind him from under his hood and proceeded to stride towards the forest. Around ten minutes into their exploration the Sith came to a sharp stop and raised his hand hastly, signaling the men behind him to remain quiet. He observed his surroundings, focusing on the forestry around him until he could hear the cracking of the branches somewhere in the distance, as if something was walking over them. All of the security men looked at each other before strapping in for an inevitable encounter with the incoming beast.
Soon they came.
The first one came into view, roaring and charging the group. The men all opened heavy fire on the creature bringing it down. The second one rushed as the blaster bolts mowed down the first one and Tecian understood just why and how the security force could get so easily overwhelmed by these creatures. Igniting his lightsaber Tecian threw it at the incoming creature, hitting it in the jaw and knocking it off its course and down on the ground. He charged forward, catching his weapon on it's way back, and slashed the downed beast one more time, this time carving through his torso and killing it. He noticed the third one being shot by Zird's men, it seemed that each beast required a focused effort from all of the men's blasters at once to be kept at bay and brought down. The fourth one was coming from their flank but was relatively away from them. Tecian raised his arm and focused intently on the creature. But nothing hapened, it didn't seem to slow down or stop it's charge. He lowered his arm in a mix of confusion and rage as the men screamed, firing at the beast. ''Sith! We need you over here!'' Tecian sprang into sprint towards the creature as it pinned one of the soldiers down under it's arm while the others fired at it. He came around it and slashed widely across it's back, forcing the beast to straighten back it's back and scream in pain. The second slash was across it's right leg, cutting it down the size as it fell to a side. With the beast's head now on a reachable level he slashed once again ending the creature's life.
Panting from the exertion he looked around, that seemed to be all of them for now. He noticed all of the men were still alive with only two injured. One that was slapped back into a tree by the last beast slain and one that was pinned down just moments ago by the second one, though they were minor injuries it seemed. Disengaging his lightsaber and standing straight he barked out ''Set up the perimeter here!'' in a commanding voice.