Rathtar Roundup!

[Fennex Zeerda]

Location: Hemelder Aurek
1900 Local Time


"HWWWOOOOAAAAAKKK HWWOOOAAAK"​

What an awful sound, Fen thought as a disgustingly slimy tentacle wrapped itself around his tail. It was hard to think up a response for that. What do you say to HWOAK? It's not like a Rathtar would stop to appreciate any witty comebacks. The other Jedi here probably wouldn't hear anything, and if they did they would chock it up to some sort of pitiful death wail as he was devoured by the monstrous mass of teeth and tentacles that was now dragging him back into the transfer tube, and how embarrassing would that be? No. He was past witty responses on this one. Just done for. He wasn't going to dignify this monsters triumphant roar with a response. Or, at least, that was the plan, right up until its suckers took hold and yanked on his furry hind parts.

"YAIP YAIP YAIP!!!" Fennex yelped as the creature pulled free chunks of fur.

Go on a blue milk run, they said. Take a youngling or two, they said. What's the worst that could happen, they said. It was always the blue milk runs that turned to poodoo the fastest. They'd come here to Hemelder Aurek for the absolute milkiest of those milk runs. They were just going to run out to the mid-rim and settle a meaningless little trade dispute between a pair of old rivals that somehow still had some shred of respect for each other AND the Jedi- a rare combo in this galaxy. All they had wanted was a truly neutral voice in their disagreement. But nooooo, the emissaries couldn't be bothered. Not enough impact they said. Not worth the time they said. Send whoever, they said. And so now here Fennex was, negotiations complete, and about to get eaten by a Rathtar on his way home. Ugh, the indignity.

Fennex fumbled for his lightsaber as he was sucked back toward the opening of the tube that would sweep him and the Rathtar across the tarmac lot together. No way he was getting back in there with that thing, he told himself as he reflected on how in the great Corellian hell they'd gotten themselves into this mess. Literally all they had to do was walk back to the ship, and they would have gone home safe and sound. That was it. But nooooo. It wouldn't be right if something wasn't trying to eat him. Some dolt of a smuggler thought Rathtars would be a good idea for exotic animal smuggling. It hadn't exactly worked out. The smuggler and some unfortunate cargo handler had both quickly been devoured by the creature after its container was dropped by a worthless old loading drone. Two more cargo handlers met their doom before the Jedi, in their infinite wisdom, lured the things (oh yes, things, plural) away from the populated freight terminal. Now they were stuck battling the ravenous flesh monsters in a maze of cargo containers, loading cranes, freight droids, and a criss-cross of vertical and horizontal transfer tubes.

"WHY," Fennex called out as he got a grip on his lightsaber, "ARE THINGS", the knight hacked at the end of the tentacle gripping at his tail, "ALWAYS TRYING", he finally cut through the suckered fin that had hold of him and tumbled to the ground as the Rathtar HWWOOAAAKKEED at him again, "TO EAT ME?!"

@Sreeya @Wit

 

[Ekaj]

Ekaj stood on top of a cargo container look at the mass of tentacles and teeth try and climb up to eat him, good thing they where stacked just high enough. Aiming down with a pistol he fired 2 shots that seemed to only only make it angry. And Ekaj was lucky, at least he was not being gripped by one of the tentacles. He knew for sure he would have nightmares to night of those teeth.


Hearing Fennex scream Ekaj jumped from one container to another. The Rathtar moved far faster than it should as it slammed in to the bottom container causing all of them to shake. Ekaj wondered how they where captured and loaded in to a ship and then he wondered why. I mean they where not the most pleasant of creatures and tended to eat there captors far to often.


Running along the top of the containers with the Rathtar below scratching at him. Ekaj jumped next to Fennex. Replacing the blaster for a lightsaber. "maybe because you look tasty" the stack of containers behind him where the Rathtar was trying to brute force his way out of the maze of containers to get to him showed that to a Rathtar everything looked tasty. Though the Rathtar right in front of them looked hungrier or maybe it was hungry and angry. "either way we should probably seal the exits, these things would cause a lot of damge in a passenger terminal"

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

Yup, definitely cursed. Evalyn was certain she had done something to offend the Force. It was the only reasonable explanation for her repeated horrible luck. No one could possibly be this unlucky. Even the simplest missions turned into complete disasters at a moments notice. This was supposed to an easy negotiation mission. A trade dispute requesting Jedi intervention. A dispute so small, the Emissaries wouldn't touch it. This was hardly a high stakes operation. Evalyn had agreed to come because of the simple appearing request. She hadn’t even done any of the negotiating. The heavy lifting was completed by Fennex, with Alais and Vin hopefully learning a thing or two. She was mostly there to make sure no one got into trouble. Things had been going rather smoothly, she was feeling relaxed, and then the chaos broke loose.

Some idiot had been smuggling Rathtars. Of course, the Rathtars violently escaped their confinement. Evalyn would have loved to be on their merry way, but leaving Rathtars to run rampant wasn’t exactly the Jedi way. Fennex had the brilliant idea of leading the creatures into the cargo area. They were away from the civilians, which was good. Rathtars were hunting them amongst a maze of cargo containers, transfer tubes, and cranes. That was bad. Evalyn had gotten separated from the rest of the Jedi while they were making a mad dash from the Rathtars. She was wandering the maze of crates. Of course, because of the incredibly high chance of being eaten by a hungry Rathar, she was hyper alert. Her eyes whipping back and forth, her senses thrown wide. Her lightsabers were hidden beneath a nondescript cloak. She wasn’t desperate enough to pull those out yet. For the moment, she still appeared to be a lost civilian in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Evalyn needed to find the rest of the Jedi. She had missed Fennex nearly becoming Rathtar kibble, but he could handle himself. She was more concerned about the younger Jedi. Really, she was mostly concerned about Vin. That girl could be troublingly absent minded. Evalyn’s walk didn’t bring her into contact with any Rathtar. She found herself near a control panel. Evalyn flicked on her secure coms to the rest of the Jedi. She assumed at least a few of them still had coms on. “I’ve found a control panel. Looks like we could seal the exits, but we’d be trapped in here with the Rathtars.” That didn’t sound like an appetizing option. Evalyn kept careful watch throughout all her actions. She heard several roars as she waited for a response. She swore she saw tentacles writhing above some of the containers. By the Force, this was terrible. @Wit @Loco @Sreeya @Andrewza

 

[Saeros]

Pursuing the trail of a fleeing Exile Assassin had never been so difficult for Saeros. The Shadow had tracked him deep into the depths of Hemelder Aurek, but of course there are many places to hide and escape in an Ecumenopolis. The Rishii was simply more effective where he could fly above the forests and cities and use his eyes and senses to find his quarry. Places such as Coruscant and Hemelder Aurek had levels...levels that went miles and miles deep into the ground and too many ways to escape. Thus, Saeros had decided to fly low over the sprawling city and back to his ship to get some well-earned rest after a day's searching. As he glided silently through the air with his giant wings typical of his species, Saeros heard something that no living being ever did.

The HWOOAK of a Rathtar. Chills went down the Rishii's spine as he directed his keen eyesight down to the depths of the city. Below was a large cargo bay, thankfully free of civilians, but multiple individuals were still running around. These beasts were creatures of death and destruction — if they were not rounded up or slain, then they could wreak untold havoc and anguish to the populace. Saeros could not and would not let that happen. Circling around and dipping forward into a steep dive, an animalistic yelping echoed across the large cargo containers, and Saeros spotted the unmistakable hue of a brilliant blue lightsaber. The reassurance of other Jedi gave him hope, and sure enough he spotted Master Evalyn Dan'ela in the group. While not having met her previously, she was a well-known Guardian in the Order.

Slowing his descent and alighting next to her, Saeros quipped, "Êl síla erin lû e-govaned vîn." <A star shines on the hour of our meeting.> Seeing the Rathtars up close was not a comforting feeling, and the Rishii pointed at the containers as another one unnaturally climbed and rolled, tentacles waving madly, out onto one of the crossbeams. "Anglauri," <By the Light,> Sauros murmured again in his nigh-unintelligible tongue to most others. "Iúanys thelmedi ammen pân!" <The monsters intend to eat us all!> Deliberately, but calmly, Saeros reached into his unassuming racial robes and withdrew his lightsaber, igniting the violet-hued blade as the Rathtar let out another great roar.

Saeros eyed the massive, unmoving cranes. Equipped with great claws to grab containers, he wondered how useful they would be in trapping one or two. Currently, Saeros had no idea how many of these beasts were loose — there must be at least three of them. The Rishii was deeply concerned for the safety of his fellow Jedi and the city's people, but he was completely calm. There was no cause for panic — not yet. His faith in the Force allowed him perfect clarity, and he pointed up at the cranes. While the others were unlikely to understand his tongue, they certainly would realize something of Saeros' plan.

 

[Andraste]

OOC: Pre-Exile​

If there was trouble, Alais was always among the first to find it. This time, she was also getting dragged along the floor, a tentacle around her foot. She realized this was a very poor time to not have a saber on her. As soon as the thing grasped around her ankle, she dropped like a sack of potatoes and was comically being dragged across the floor with her hands clawing at anything she could hold onto. There was no one by her, and this only posed more problems.

“HEY! SOMEONE GIVE ME A WEAPON OR SOMETHING! I HAVE TOO MUCH ANXIETY RIGHT NOW TO FOCUS ON MY FORCE POWERS!” She screamed hysterically as she kept skidding along, flipping on her back to look down and regretting it instantly. She could see the huge mouth at the end. Why did its mouth have to be that big? Why was she so short? The world would never know.

As she kept sliding along and began to pass the little fox, she saw Fen barely break free of one of the tentacles. Alais tilted her head to look at him, “THROW ME YOUR SABER OR DO SOMETHING! PLEASE I'LL NEVER TRY TO KICK YOU OR PET YOU AGAIN PLEASE!” She half expected him to simply sit there and nibble on some snacks as she was dragged to her death. Alais had no idea where Evalyn was, though she could sense her nearby. It took every fiber of her being to keep herself from bursting into tears. What a terrible Jedi she was…

@Loco

 

[Vin]

Vin stood atop a cargo container and started at the spectacles unfolding with her with her mouth hanging wide open. On one side was Fen, almost getting sucked into a transfer tube but somehow managing to chop the tentacle that was attempting to pull him away. There was a little boy jumping around shooting at the thing, seemingly only making it angrier. And then right below her was Alais. Only moments earlier the black young Jedi had gone sweeping down the "corridor" between the containers and was now whizzing towards another Rathtar's waiting maw.

Shall I go look for some popcorn mistress? I am told that is the sustenance of choice when viewing something entertaining.

Vin dragged her eyes away from Alais to look at KR3CH with questioning eyes, whatever was he on about. The droid seemed to be as confused as her. She is about to eaten alive, are you not entertained?

While she was not in fact entertained, something about what he said triggered an idea in her mind. In her ears she heard Evalyn's voice, informing them that she could seal the exits, trapping them in with the beasts. An enticing proposition indeed. But for now she had to do what she could to help Alais. Raising both hands, she reached out to the Force. Opening herself wide open, she grasped the droid in a telekinetic grip, and lifted him into the air. As he let out a metallic yelp of surprise, she flung him through the air and sent him flying after Alais, straight at the Rathtar and into into its open maw.

She didn't have a lightsaber to help Alais, nor did she think the vibroswordd she carried would be of any use against the beast, but if she got something stuck in its throat at least it wouldn't try to eat Alais. At least not straight away.

Seal the exits! She shouted out to Evelyn one the comms, These things are everywhere, better we're stuck in here with them than they be out there eating everyone else!

@Sreeya @Valen Pelora @Loco

 

[Fennex Zeerda]

"Maybe," Fennex snarled at Ejak as he bounced to his feet and swiped a saber at the next tentacle to come flying down at him, "I should feed him a youngling! Calm him down a bit!"

Fennex jerked his head toward the tower of shipping containers behind them for Ekaj to follow, and he leaped, the wounded Rathtar HWOAKING after him. He had one youngling in tow now but there were still twoout there, not to mention Knight Dan'ela- but she could handle herself. Fen landed lightly on top of the crates, well out of the creatures reach, and immediately started scanning for sight of the others. He heard Evalyn's voice buzzing through his comlink, but he didn't have time for her now. He darted across the metal surface, searching the criss-cross of alleys below.

"ALAIS!" Fennex called out as he leaped from one container stack to another, "VIN!"

There! Fen could hear Alais high pitched childish wailing echoing through the cargo yard, and moments later he found her. Vin was there too with her insufferable scrap heap of a counterpart, he saw. Fen called his second saber into his hand and squinted as he took aim for a throw... no, wait, what am I doing? He had been just about to throw his saber to Alais, but that was a plan doomed from the start. The only person in the Jedi order clumsier than Alais was probably Vin, but the two were in fierce competition for the title. The voracious creature yanked the girl into the air, ready to devour her whole, just as Vin tossed her droid into is Maw. Fen adjusted his aim, activated the saber, and threw it. If not for Vins well timed dropping of her droid, the saber would never have made it in time. As it was, the sapphire blade sliced clean through the tentacle holding Alais by the foot, dropping her unceremoniously to the ground.

The Knight bared his teeth in a grin, happy with the throw and glad to see KR3CH take a dive for once. His glee was short lived, however, as the crate he was standing on shook once, twice, and then started rolling out from under him as the stack of pallets collapsed as the rathtar crashed against it over and over, eager to reclaim its meal. Fennex lost his footing and began to fall until he could get one foot on a container in midfall- he pushed off with the Force, flinging himself into the side of another stack, and from there onto the top of a third stack. The monsters tentacles flailed around him, narrowly missing, and Fennex couldn't help but look down at the gaping toothy maw as he passed over it.

HWWWOOOOAAAAAKKK

Why me?

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

The screech howling of the Rathtars filled the cargo area. Evalyn frowned. How many of them were in here? Vin’s voice came in clearly over the coms. She didn’t make a practice of taking orders from dorky children ,but no one else offered any insight. Evalyn shrugged and hit the button. The exits and entrances all seal with a telltale hiss. Well, it didn’t matter how many Rathtars were roaming about now because the intrepid Jedi were locked in with them. Evalyn sighed. She had just wanted a few days to relax. Force forbid they go a day without a near death experience.

The screech howling grew louder, it sounded like a giant honking bat. She shook her head. It was time to try not to die. Evalyn reached for Alais and Vin in the Force. She didn’t know Fennex well enough to zero in on the little Jedi. Thankfully, Alais and Vin were close together, both balls of panic in the Force. Evalyn assumed a Rathtar was trying to eat them. She pushed the Force into her limbs. Jumping to the top of a container, she began to leap towards her troublesome student. Alais, Vin, and the miniature Jedi against a hungry Rathtar seemed like a terrible combination. Fennex wouldn’t exactly satiate the beast. Finally, she could see the band of Jedi battling away. Oh lovely.

Alais was about to be eaten, Fennex was being chased after, KR3CH was being eaten. At least something good might come of this. Evalyn hoped Fennex could handle himself. The younger Jedi were more important. At any moment, Alais or Vin might trip right into the mouth of a Rathtar. She jumped a few more times to get closer. Sadly, she’d have to save clever quips until after they weren’t all about to die. Evalyn reached out in the Force and gripped the Rathtar trying to munch Alais. She wrapped the Force round and round the creature. She strained to hold the wriggling beast in place. “Hurry!” Evalyn wouldn’t be able to hold the beast for long. Hopefully long enough for Alais to cut free. “Unless you want to join KR3CH!” God she hoped that infernal droid became spare parts. @Loco @Sreeya @Wit

 

[Saeros]

In his moment of studying the cranes, Saeros heard the hiss that indicated the Jedi he'd alighted aside had taken the boy's advice to close all the access points. While now the Rathtars were contained, the Jedi were all clearly contained with them. They'd have to either kill all the beasts or somehow trap them back in their cages. Alais' screams of terror echoed through the cargo bay, and Evalyn took off at a breakneck speed to her aid. Spreading his wings, Saeros took off in flight following close behind. He ducked and swerved through the air, avoiding crates and scanning for the rest of the Jedi in such peril. He spotted the Rathtar eating....a droid, but clearly having Alais next in mind. Flapping his wings mightily, Saeros shot towards the hangry beast even as Evalyn gripped it tight with the Force.

Folding his wings in, the Rishii dived with great speed and extended his foot talons forward. Plunging them into the disgusting hide of the immobilized creature, Saeros forcefully embedded his violet-hued lightsaber hilt-deep into the creature and slid down its side, dragging his talons and lightsaber with him. Hopefully this would severely wound the Rathtar if not outright kill it — the droid's fate was still unknown. Regardless of either KR3CH or the monster's fate, Saeros extinguished his blade and took off once more in Alais' direction. The little brown furball had successfully freed her from the tentacle holding her, allowing the Rishii to swoop low and grip his claws carefully onto Alais' shoulders. With some effort, Saeros picked her up and glided low to the ground until they reached Evalyn's side.

"Lle band si! <You're safe now!> he encouraged, alighting and replacing his lightsaber beneath the folds of his robes once more.

 

[Ekaj]

Ekaj ran with the small knight as the large beast chased them. With a force aided leep he landed back on top of the container. The mass of teeth and tentacles that was the Rathtar slammed in to the bottom container. "At least they not the smartest bests"


Following Fennex from container to container with the Rathtar all ways one step behind as it tried to climb up to get to its meal.


The sight of the Rathtar eating the Droid made Ekaj sick. Ekaj all ways thought droids where never respected enough. But at least they could feel pain.

Watching the rescue Ekaj was not ready as the containers began to fall. Trying to steady him self for a leap Ekaj took to long as the container tipped to far. Loosing his footing Ekaj fell on to the floor skidding in to a container as the stack he was on crashed around him followed by the Rathtar.


The beast could not get to him with the containers creating a sort of a cave around Ekaj. But the beasts tentacles could. As one through a gap Ekaj fumbled for his lightsaber, retrieveing it as the his leg was grabbed. "ahhhhhhhhh" the scream was the primal scream from a boy in distress as he swung his blade. Cutting deep he watched the tentacle recoil in pain allowing Ekaj to stand up. Now trapped by the beast.

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

Evalyn strained to hold the Rathtar in place. Her face was scrunched in concentration, her hands outstretched as she poured the Force forth. She wanted to scream at Alais to hurry the kriff up. Thankfully, the Rishii Jedi literally swooped in to save the day. His violet blade split the Rathtar down the side. A horrible screech burst from the writhing creature. Evalyn took this chance to slam the Rathtar backwards, hurling it into one of the containers. A black pulse flashed in the Force. Evalyn nodded slowly, the Rathtar was dead. A better Jedi might have felt some sadness at the loss of life. She didn’t.

Those damn things were all teeth, tentacles, and horribleness. She could not image what purpose they could ever serve. Rathtars were nothing but nightmare fuel. Sadly, there was still at least one roaming around. They needed to shove it back in a container or slice it up. Evalyn looked at Saeros. She had many talents, flight was not one of them. She’d only heard the Jedi speak what she assumed was Rishii. Hopefully he understood basic. “Find the other one.” Evalyn pointed up. He had an advantage the rest of them didn’t.

She started to jump between the crates again, keeping her senses thrown wide. Just one last little Rathtar and they might make it out of this. Unfortunately, holding the last beast in place had taken a toll on her. The Force was an incredible ally, but it came with a price. Sprinting towards Alais, jumping from container to container, hold the Rathtar in place, and shoving it into death, was tiring. She could already feel the effects of exhaustion pulling at her limbs. Evalyn moved a little lower, the Force burned a little less brightly. This was a dangerous path. All they had to do was take care of the last one and then she could rest. @Vosrik

 

[Evalyn Dan’ela]

As usual, Evalyn was left to take care of this herself. She didn’t like playing hero. She’d never been very good at it. Her hand was forced. The rest of her brave Jedi companions weren’t exactly springing into action. Evalyn would put an end to this Rathtar roundup. She had better things to do than get slobbered on by writhing masses of tentacles. She continued to hop from crate to crate, searching for the last remaining Rathtar. The beasts were notoriously dangerous and intelligent. Their insatiable hunger drove them ever forward. Evalyn scowled. The Rathtar was hiding.

She reached out in the Force. Her mind flowed through the cargo hold. A bundle of hungry rage pulsed in the corner of her mind. There. Evalyn started to bounce closer to where she sensed the Rathtar. Oh, this would not be fun. Facing down a Rathtar alone was incredibly stupid. It wasn’t the dumbest thing she had ever done, but it certainly was in the Top 10. Evalyn was close now. The Rathtar was a pulsing sensation smooshed by one of the crates. It was hungry. So very hungry. Evalyn jumped down, her lightsabers glowing brightly. The Rathtar roared. Innumerable tentacles lashed out to snatch her. A horrible smell flowed out of the creature. Teeth filled a disgusting mouth. Evalyn knew exactly what she was going to do. She launched herself at the Rathtar.

She went flying towards the mouth. Teeth bit armor, flesh, and blood flowed. She hacked. There was no precise form and no careful movements. All she did was hack and hack and hack. The Rathtar screeched a terrible noise as her sabers bit into slimy flesh. She didn’t know how long it lasted, only that eventually she emerged from the creature’s mouth. Her body was a mess. Evalyn was covered in every type of fluid imaginable. Blood dripped from a hundred small cuts. Her body ached, her mind was weary. Horrible things dripped off of her. Evalyn deactivated her sabers and clipped them to her belt. She whipped the slime from her eyes. A heavy sigh escaped her lips. She was so done with today. Evalyn only wanted to do one thing. Take a kriffing shower. She headed for the exit. This was the last leisure mission she’d ever take.

OOC: Exit Thread

 

[Vin]

With one Rather down, Vin was about to move to help Evalyn with the other one when she noticed the older Jedi do something that made her stop in her steps. She was standing there, facing down the thing all alone. It seemed stupid, something Vin would expect from herself or Alais. But before she had time to spend on time on that thought Evalyn had launched herself at the Rathtar. Vin could only look on with her mouth hanging open in surprise at Evalyn went to work on the beast.

Finally snapping out of her awe inspired bewilderment, she snapped her head around this way and that to see if anyone else had seen that. She could only look on in awe as Evalyn went stomped towards the exit. Covered in slime, blood, and more gore than Vin had ever seen in one place, she still looked like the most brilliant thing she had ever seen. A wide grin appeared on her face, one of pure enthusiasm. She had had her doubts at first, but first Fennex with the stomping he had given her and now Evalyn with her little stunt were starting to reiterate her proof in a childhood dream. The Jedi were frakking cool!

OOC: Exit Thread.