Ask Tarantular Frostbite

[Trael Osso]

Trael let out a sigh as he read the mission brief. He was assigned as the champion of a detention mission for the first time, it was assigned to him by Azar as it was something he needed. So he couldn't say no to taking it, one of the acolytes had an oddly familiar name but he couldn't make an assumption yet.

The assignment was to go to Maldo Kreis and acquire either a baby spider or a handful of the eggs for some kind of experiment. Apparently the spiders blood and the embryo juice was useful for some kind of alchemical object Azar wanted to work on. So here Trael was overseeing two acolytes on a death mission, at least it was two.

Trael glared at the dead acolyte, she had tried to use a poison dart to paralyze him and steal his ship. The burn wounds across her face left her unrecognizable, the former blonde acolyte to be soon forgotten. He dragged her to the airlock and jettisoned her corpse into space. He walked into the cockpit calling out to the other acolyte, "Your name is Lyrr'Nashyrra, correct?" He asked as the ship came out of hyperspace.

He flew down into one of the canyons searching for a cave. Once he found one he set down the ship at the opening and quickly collected his gear, his lightsaber and a backup blaster pistol leaving the dragon tooth sword. "We need either a live specimen or eggs. Don't get yourself killed in here." He said opening the ramp.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

Nash was minding her own business in her room entirely oblivious to Trael almost dying and then subsequently roasting her fellow acolyte. She had spent the last hour speculating on how the Champion looked oddly familiar. Oh well, her brain started hurting so she zoned out to some tunes. After a while she heard the familiar pings signaling that they would be landing soon. Nash opened the door to be met with the horrifying sight of the Champion casually dragging the other acolyte down the corridor by a foot. Her face looked unrecognizably charred.

Nash blinked as she stood at her doorway, silently watching as Trael stepped past her and down the length of the corridor. She could tell what was happening next on account of her and Connor having something similar not too long ago. Nash kept staring vacantly, a chill running down her spine. The Champion walked back towards her and made a vague introduction.

“Um yes, I go by Nash, sir your holy championness,” Nash blurted out all in one sentence in a nervous way that would strike Trael as oddly familiar. She had a script in her head to run by him like asking if he was ever on Nal Hutta, but all of that died after witnessing the other acolyte get dumped like yesterday’s trash.

After they landed, Nash quickly grabbed the Sith blade (‘REMEMBER SITH BLADE’ dinged as an alarm on her EZPhone courtesy of Arak), a standard blaster pistol, a supplies pack with rope, food and other useful items to keep warm and her shockboxing gloves.

She followed behind him down the ramp, still unnerved by what the hell the acolyte could have done to get jettisoned like that. Maybe she tried making a pass at the champion.. Oh well, Nash decided it was better to keep her mouth shut and follow for now.

The terrain soon turned icy and Nash was not used to this kind of planet. Almost all of her missions were in cities, jungles or swamps. They barely made it a few paces before Nash slipped on ice and fell on her ass.

“Fuck,” She grumbled to herself, slipping a few more times as she tried to get up, “Wait, don’t kill me, I swear I’m not-” Plop, thud, “-Usually this worthless-” She blurted as she somehow got into a downward dog yoga position in her attempt to get up. After slipping again, she landed on her side and propped herself up on an elbow as if it was her intent all along. Nash cleared her throat, "I'm..testing the terrain, sir," She said while patting the ice with her other hand, "There is, in fact, a lot of ice on this path," She declared confidently.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael was caught off guard by her nervousness. “Holy Championness? First I’ve heard that one.” He mused aloud as he continued into the cockpit. Nash, that was the Twi’lek’s name. He remembered Connor mentioning that the Twi’lek he saved was a girl, but was it true? Could this acolyte be the Nash he saved? His mind brought up a mental comparison of the two, there was a lot of growing needed for the scrawny Twi’lek he saved to have turned into this acolyte.

Trael had been on more missions in snowy or tundra worlds than anywhere else it felt. So he had rather useful snow gear, boots with metal cleats on the bottom of the sole paramount. So when he stepped on the ice he found no issue walking. He was about to pick a pace he liked when he heard the sound of someone falling behind him. He turned around to see Nash falling again multiple times trying to stand. “I’m not going to kill you for slipping.” He said bluntly, as she fell once again. He watched with slight amusement as she continued struggling, even Azar would’ve brought snow shoes, he’d never see this on one of their hikes.

He stepped over to her and crouched down. He took off his glove, slowly placing his hand on the ice. The ice melted quickly around his hand leaving a small circle down to the rocks, “I believe you are correct. There is in fact a lot of ice on this path.” He said as he stood up, “Did you pack snowshoes? If not I have a few extra pairs.” He said in reference to the 6 pairs of snowshoes Azar convinced him to buy in case they ever go to a snow world. “I’d rather not have to report to Voss his apprentice died slipping off a cliff.” He said with a sigh, he knew how dramatic Voss could be. So he didn’t want to deal with the theatrics he would pull if his apprentice died under Traels watch, plus she could prove useful still if given the ability to walk.

Once Nash’s slip and slide was figured out either by her getting snowshoes or getting acclimated, Trael would begin leading them deeper into the cave. It wasn’t long till they were assaulted with a putrid stench. Trael ignited his saber and continued forward. They came across a few large spiders dead and partially eaten, it seemed whatever dwelled in this cave was hunting the spiders. He tried to discern what creature it was from one of the corpses but couldn’t get a definite answer. “It seems we aren’t the only spider hunters here, we’ll have to stay on guard while we continue looking for a nest.” He called back to her as he continued forward his saber still ignited at his side.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

“Snowshoes? You mean the shit that looks like tennis rackets?” Nash scoffed, “Yo, you can miss me with that fashion war crime,” She said with a chuckle. She suddenly remembered she was addressing a Champion, “Erm..I mean.. Sir yes sir, I’ll…wear those..things..” She muttered in irritation. Nash placed the snowshoes over her regular boots and was surprised at how efficient they actually were in helping her walk across the terrain.

After they stepped into the cave, Nash smelled that rancid odor immediately. Her gaze flicked to Trael, “Yo, chief, I dunno what you ate but I gotta say that is impressively rank,” Nash commented happily, resisting the urge to clap in congratulations at him letting out such noxious fumes. A solid fart that could clear out a whole room was always a thing to admire. However, a few steps in and she realized it was, in fact, from the dead spiders.

“What the fuck would eat these?” Nash asked incredulously, actually a little unnerved by the prospect. She took a step closer to Trael, wondering if she could punch a giant spider into submission. After all, she did take down a bear with her bare fists before…

As they kept walking, they would come across corpses cocooned in spider webs. Because it was so cold, most of them were still preserved in humanoid states with sunken flesh instead of just bones. Nash grimaced at the sight, “I’d love to have a nice resort vacation for a mission just once..” She grumbled to herself as she casually tossed one of the dangling corpses aside like a curtain to keep walking, “My bad, Carl, just gotta squeeze right past ya,” She mumbled to the corpse.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael quirked an eyebrow at her comment about the snowshoes being a fashion war crime. Did that mean he’d need to get different ones for Azar? If this acolyte was complaining about how they looked… A shiver went down Trael as he zoned out thinking of what Azar would say. “You can stop calling me sir, just call me Trael.” He said once he snapped back to and she had come back with the shoes.

Trael was scanning the cave when Nash spoke up about him causing the smell. “I’d hate to meet the being that can cause this stench.” He mused as he continued in. He then saw the spider corpses which were obviously eaten. “It looks like something with claws.” He said holding up a leg with claw marks across it. He continued down the tunnels till they came to a group of corpses. Nash made a comment about a resort mission which made Trael roll his eyes, he was going to go down this rabbit hole with another acolyte. Trael used the Force to sweep the corpses to the side as he passed, glancing over when Nash called one Carl, “He seems more like a Jeff.” He stated bluntly as they passed the corpses.

They came across more spider corpses of various stages in their life cycle from infants to adults. Eventually they came to the largest they’ve seen, around it were a couple wolf like creatures. The creature was twitching before a large version of the predator burst from it, pieces of the spider in its jaws. Its jaw opened dropping the meal when it spotted the two Sith, its body language showing it went into a stance for fighting. Trael stretched out his hand flames engrossing the creature as it went to circle them. The creature roaring in pain as it rolled along the ground putting out the flames and getting up. Trael split his saber into two separate one igniting the second one.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

Jeff? Did the guy look like a Jeff? She tried to think if she knew any Jeffs. They seemed the type to wear nice polos and khakis, but that dead guy definitely didn’t appear to be wearing either of those things. In fact, what was he wearing? Why was he in a cocoon to begin with? Was he still technically alive? Why didn't Carl-Jeff smell? Nash’s spiraling was out of control to where she almost missed the wolf things springing out at them.

Trael acted instantly with the fire and Nash had to marvel at the impressive display. She couldn’t even do it, and Arak could maybe conjure a small flame at best. This dude threw it around like it was his job. Determined to make herself useful, Nash drew out her Sith blade and made a dramatic show of it as if she was leading the charge against the Separatist armies during the Clone Wars.

Nash, of course, forgot she was wearing those infernal tennis racket shoes. She took a few steps and tripped over them, almost falling on her own blade. As if that wasn’t enough, one of the wolves jumped right on her back while she was face down, knocking the wind out of her. The wolf managed to chomp down on her left shoulder, Nash unable to defend from her position. After crying out in pain, she jutted one of her feet back, slamming the elongated rear of the snowshoe right into the wolf's jewels. There was a yelp as the beast sprang off, but the damage to her shoulder was done and it was bleeding profusely.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael had severely injured the largest of the beast. He was fully prepared to take on the wolves methodically to lessen any injuries that might be sustained, Nash seemed to have the opposite idea charging headfirst before unceremoniously tripping on her snowshoes. One of the wolves sprang at Trael as the other attacked Nash, Trael dashed to the side with the Force and sliced along the wolves side causing its insides to spill out.

His focus redirected to Nash as he heard her scream out at the wolf chomping down, “Dammit.” He grumbled, watching the wolf jump back from Nash kicking it. The larger wolf went to pounce on Nash as she laid on the floor, Trael dashed to it slicing upwards as it got close to Nash, the beast’s large head landing with a thud infront of her. That leaves one more. He turned to focus on the last one, he threw his off hand saber at it slicing off a leg as it tried to avoid the lightsaber.

The one he opened up went to stand up drawing his attention, it then plopped back down its body relaxing as it died. He looked around for the one that he nicked with his off hand saber, he noticed a trail of blood leading deeper into the cave. He looked back at Nash, digging through his pack. He pulled out a first aid kit and almost tossed it to her, “Can you patch yourself up?” He asked realizing she was likely down that arm now. He pulled out a can of bacta spray and a roll of bandages, if Nash said she could handle it herself he’d hand them to her, if not he’d quickly patch up the wound.

He pulled his off hand saber back to him reconnecting it to his main and clipping it back on his hip. “I think you should stick to the blaster pistol.” He said as he looked at the patch up, “One got away and likely went to where their lair is, that means there’s more of them in the caves.” He mused aloud, “Let’s avoid unnecessary charges from here on out, unless one of us wants to die.” He stated as he began to check the corpses and that they were all actually dead. Once he confirmed it he started following the blood trail.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

Nash already had her own bacta to patch herself up and expertly bandaged up her wounds by the time Trael looked over to ask, “This better not gimme no damn STD..” She grumbled under her breath, vividly recalling Vossari’s stupid koala encounter. Nash flexed her fingers a few times, thrilled the arm was still somewhat usable, but she would give it a rest for now. She took a stim shot and slammed it into her bicep to kill the pain and give her a boost.

The twi’lek scowled when Trael told her to stick with blasters, “No one was good with sabers day one,” She snapped back. However, she remembered she was addressing a Champion that casually killed her fellow acolyte. Nash looked down, “My bad..I…want to specialize in bladework and close quarter combat,” She said quietly, “I don’t wanna rely on blasters. I just gotta start somewhere, yeah?” She said as she slowly rose to her feet to follow the trail of blood. She didn’t mind going first, knowing it was outright expected from acolytes.

Nash kept following the trail, looking at the blood, “Yo Darth Arcanos classes talk about blood magic and shit. I bet he could make monsters out of this trail or I dunno…somehow make it into a weapon to fuck up that wolf,” She said with a sense of wonder, “Dude seems like a mythical creature. Not even a person,” She mused aloud. She still couldn’t believe it was the same man that gave her that poison years ago. Except now he seemed entirely too unapproachable to acolytes outside of class topics.

Unfortunately their search led them to a dead end with no sign of the wolf. Nash’s brows furrowed, and she drew out her blade again. Something felt eerie in here. However, she heard some scuttling above and glanced up in time to see a massive ice spider with the remnants of the wolf between its fangs.

“What the fuck?” Nash barely got out before the giant spider dropped to the ground, cracking the icy ground beneath it. The thing was absolutely massive and the entire lair was filled with its eggs, “YO I CAN HEAR SOME BOSS MUSIC RIGHT NOW!” Nash called out before she rolled out of the way of one of the sharp legs slammed down where she stood.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael didn’t even have to get his first aid kit. Nash had already taken the respite to patch herself up. He heard her grumble but couldn’t make out what about. When he offered she stick to the blaster her immediate snap back drew a raised eyebrow, “It’s hard to swing a weapon when your shoulder is injured.” He remarked, he didn’t believe he should need to explain that’s why he mentioned her sticking to blasters beyond that. “Have you found a lightsaber form that feels natural?” He asked curiously, if she was truly desiring to be duelist she had to at least think of which one would suit her.

Trael let Nash take the lead as she decidedly did so herself. It didn’t matter to him who was the first to see or deal with any potential enemy. He followed along the Trael of blood and listened to Nash’s rambling about Azar, “He’s able to make something to fuck up the wolf without the blood.” He said in response to her blood talk, “A mythical creature?” He mused aloud, his mind filled with various scenarios that would fully debunk her theory. Like Azar repeatedly refusing to properly load the dishwasher, or his constant complaints of various menial tasks. Though to Trael the fact he saw that side of Azar was worth more than if it didn’t exist.

Trael snapped back to reality as they entered the dead end. He immediately noticed the eggs as Nash spotted the mama. He ignited his lightsaber opting to only use one side right now. “Why is there a cyclops spider?” He asked himself aloud. Why did Azar want one? Nash yelled out about boss music before one of the legs came down to try and strike her.

The spider attempted the same with Trael who hopped backwards avoiding it. He rushed forward slicing at the leg as another one went to come down causing him to roll to the side. It tried to strike down on him as he stopped rolling the Champion using his free hand to send a burst of Sith lightning along the leg, causing the spider to back pedal. Despite the attack the creature looked unfazed as its legs chomped on the floor in warning.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

“Vaapad or Djem So..but without the reverse grip,” Nash answered as they kept walking.

When the spider dropped and she dodged it, she kept an eye on where Trael was. Some of these Champions loved doing reckless AoE moves without a care for how many acolytes it wiped out. Fortunately this Champion appeared to focus only on the spider and adapting to the icy cavern they were in.

Nash had faced off against giant spiders when she went on a mission with Sith Master Karys, so she decided to employ some similar tactics. As the spider began to backpedal, Nash came in from the flank and swung her blade in an arc to cut into one of the legs. There was a shrill hiss as the leg was severed, but it wouldn’t be enough to down the spider entirely. The beast scuttled away towards the ceiling again, climbing high and actually disappearing briefly.

There was nothing but silence for a moment and it was far more unsettling than just facing the damn thing. Nash kept looking up at the ceiling, baffled at how they could lose the whole ass spider. Did it have camouflage abilities too?!

Before she could say anything, there was a rumble on the floor beneath them. Within moments, a small army of spiders began to rush at them, all descending from the ceiling. Nash took a few steps backwards, almost bumping into Trael. However, some of them were coming from behind them as well.

Thinking fast on her feet, Nash used the Force to bring down a bunch of icicles from the ceiling. They pierced and crashed into a sizeable chunk of the spiders, but it wouldn’t kill the whole horde. And there was still Mama Cyclops to deal with, “I’M SO FUCKING TIRED OF CODE RED MISSIONS! WHY DO Y’ALL VOLUNTEER FOR THIS SHIT?” She screeched at Trael as she began to run around in circles to keep the spiders off, swinging her blade to cut through the ones that jumped at her.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael was watching the spiders movements as it scuttled backwards. He was anticipating a counter attack or some form of retaliation, but Nash got in and sliced off one of its legs. The creature let out a shrill screech as the leg was severed. It quickly scuttled away and began making its way back to the ceiling. Trael’s gaze followed the spider as it climbed up to the ceiling, it seemingly disappeared from view.

The room went eerily silent afterwards. Trael separated his lightsaber as he looked up igniting the second one. He had heard of some lizard species that could match their appearance to the surrounding landscape but never a spider, was that what was happening, or could it utilize Force Camouflage?

Before he could fully question or investigate his theories the ground below them shook. His gaze flicked down, he was expecting something to be coming from below them, but to his surprise he heard something skittering down the walls and noticed the army of spiders coming. While Nash was dropping icicles on the group Trael looked around as the spiders closed in. Though he was better skilled at pyrokinesis, the environment was better suited for cryokinesis. He lifted up his hands, small spikes just large enough to hit the spiders shot up and impaled a section of the horde.

He was spinning his blades infront of himself, occasionally slicing along the ground, as he kept the spiders at bay from getting to him. Nash screeched about champions ‘volunteering’ for code reds. Who would volunteer to do one of these? Trael was too busy trying to work out an escape to respond, his gaze flicking around behind his sabers.

Trael realized that there was only one way in or out, that he could notice at least. “We need to move or we’ll get overwhelmed.” He stated as he continued fending off spiders. He began slowly cutting his way back towards the entrance, he needed a way to get some breathing room. Once he got to the entrance he would let Nash pass him if she followed. He would stretch out his hands pushing back the spiders right in front of him. Once he got the space to work he disignited the sabers putting them back on his hip.

A spider would jump at him from the side and he would grab it and toss it to her, “Only one is needed.” He called to her as he did. He then sent out a burst of flames at the horde as it started making its way back close to them, the sounds and smell of burning spiders filling the cave. Once the spiders began to run away he stopped his pyrokinesis usage, he was panting slightly from having to conjure the flames from nothing in this environment.

He thought that was the end of it but nope, Mama Cyclops dropped down screeching over the loss of her babies. He turned to Nash, “RUN!” He screamed to her before he began to run from the very angry and now chasing spider. Trael would lead the way going through tight, for him, tunnels trying to get the spider off their trail, but to his dismay it seemed to find a way to them. Trael’s options were limited and quickly dwindling down to just fighting, he just needed a new spot to do so. They continued through the caves till they came out to an opening where the sides of the mountain seemed to wrap up, the spider seemingly no longer behind them anymore. Trael slowly made his way forward drawing one of his sabers.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

Nash’s performance upon getting off the ship’s ramp should have been enough of a clue that she couldn’t navigate ice or snow at all. When Trael asked her to book it, she attempted just that but could hardly keep her balance. She felt very real fear as the horde of spiders chased after them. At some point Trael casually tossed her a live spider and she hated herself for actually catching it.

“WHAT?” Nash screeched as she kept running now with a deranged spider in her hands. She had been using her free hand to touch the side of the cave to keep her balance. Not only did she no longer have that, but the spider decided to chomp her right on the hand. Nash yelped in pain and slipped on the ice, falling with a thud.

Nash didn’t even bother calling out for help, knowing the asshole Champions were always the type to leave everyone behind. She remained on the ground, rolling over to try and cut down as many as she could, “COME AT ME BITCHES! LET’S GOOO!” She shrieked at the spiders as she took her last stand before getting eaten. Her hand already looked purple from where the spider bit it and she briefly wondered if she would get some superhero powers before she died.

She used the Force to blast back a few of them, but it wasn’t long before she was overwhelmed.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael was too busy worrying about not ending up like Jeff, so he never noticed that Nash had removed her snowshoes. That means when he tossed her the spider, the fact it would upset her poor ice bound balance even more wasn’t in his mind. They had made it a few dozen yards before he heard a yelp followed by a thud. I swear to all that is holy if she just fell again, NOW OF ALL TIMES.

He turned around to see Nash starting to get overwhelmed, she was making a valiant last stand, well more like lay, like she was in an action movie or game. Trael couldn’t risk using Pyro to burn the spiders as she’d get caught in it. Once she blasted back the horde and it quickly began to close in Nash would feel the Force wrap around her and yank her across the floor towards where they were running past Trael. Since his shoes were made for being in the snow and on ice balance wasn’t remotely an issue, plus he had been on quite a few snow worlds. As she slid along the floor Trael rushed after her occasionally using the Force to quickly nudge her along.

She would shortly skid out of the icy section into a rocky one. Trael quickly followed her using Pyro to quickly melt the base of the entrance behind them before caving it in on the chasing spiders. He let out a sigh before turning to the acolyte his yellow cracks moving like molten gold, “The snowshoes were so you don’t slip on ice.” He said as he looked around where they were. Luckily they were out of the ice cave and on a mountain side, unluckily Trael had no clue where they were in relation to the ship and Nash lost the spider he gave her.

He set down his bag and pulled out a little cage, it had the words Spider Cage embroidered on the side of it. “Next time we get the chance to grab a spider we’ll put it in here for Darth Arcanos, agreed?” He stated more than asked. He hooked the cage to the side of his bag and begun moving along the path ahead, his gaze searching forward as he tried to get some semblance of bearing. The path went towards another cave entrance this one not as icy but still icy. Before they could enter Mama Cyclops emerged her feet clashing down in the ground as she eyed the two Sith. Her stinger was out and she rushed towards Trael, his saber coming to life as she began charging.

He bided his time till the spider was committed to charging before Force Dashing to the side slicing horizontally, and taking a leg. The spider screeched as it whipped a leg at Trael, catching the champion before he could properly defend. Trael was knocked back a few feet, he was coughing from the wind being knocked from him by the powerful blow.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

Nash was fully prepared to go down fighting these things. She didn’t have any last moment thoughts or deep introspection. Nah. It was all about these motherfucking spiders up in her fucking grill. And that was when divine intervention happened. She was so confused that she had to tilt her head back to realize that Trael was pulling her back. Nash’s eyes widened and she felt a renewed sense of inspiration from the gesture.

“FUCK YEAH!” She cried as she drew out her blaster as an action movie theme played in her head. While she slid backwards along the ice, she hacked, slashed and peppered spiders with bolts, keeping the horde at bay. As a grand finale, she sent a massive Force push to send the group back hard enough to make some of the tunnel collapse on them.

Nash rolled out unceremoniously into the new terrain that was fortunately not as icy. She sprang to her feet and looked at Trael, “DUDE IT IS YOU! YOU’RE THE GUY! YOU SAVED ME ON NAL HUTTA FROM THAT CRIMSON DAWN BITCH! BRO YOU ARE MY FUCKING HERO YOU HAVE NO IDEA I BEEN TRYING TO GET A HOLD OF YOU TO THANK YOU FOR TOTALLY CHANGING MY-”

She watched Trael get thrown by the spider and her rage boiled over, “OH HELL NAH, NOT WHILE I’M MEETING MY HERO, YOU BITCH!”

Completely fueled by hatred, Nash channeled what she had learned from Vossari about hydrokinesis. However, with all the ice and snow around she called it froth to streak up the spider’s legs from the ground. This effectively locked it in place as it screeched and tried to move. With the spider briefly immobilized, Nash charged at it and jammed her blade right into its massive eye.

“NOT. WHILE. I’M. THANKING. MY. HERO,” Nash growled as she stabbed the eye furiously with each word she said. With the blade plunged to the hilt, she used it as leverage to haul herself up and jump on the spider’s back. She dragged the blade towards herself and cut right through the head of the spider in a gruesome display.

After the spider collapsed to the ground, Nash jumped off and punched it where its face had been just for good measure. The twi’lek glared at the spider before finally stepping back, panting heavily. She gave the corpse a rude finger gesture before the venom from the baby spider bite finally took a hold. Nash began to lose feeling in her limbs and she collapsed, her whole body paralyzed.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael didn’t stop as she excitedly exclaimed about him being her hero. He preferred to move and talk besides Nash wasn’t leaving room to talk much. Her explanation left little room for doubt, this is the same Nash from Nal Hutta. She was still breaking everything down when the spider reemerged and knocked Trael back.

Trael was still catching his breath when the spiders legs were immobilized by Nash’s Force attack. As he recollected himself she charged in and impaled the spiders eyeball. She then repeatedly stabbed it as she stated her anger at being interrupted, before using the lodged blade as leverage to land on its back. She then pulled the sword to her slicing through its head, splitting the skull open. Trael was walking towards her as she colorfully gestured to it with her finger, then all of a sudden she collapsed.

He crouched down and looked over her quickly, he noticed the purple hand and the spider bite wound. He let out a sigh, using his finger to check her pulse, he determined she wasn’t dead at least. He snapped his fingers in front of her face to see if there was a reaction, which there was none. Her eyes were still open, which confused him slightly, if she was unconscious they’d be closed unless she slept with them open. Finally he tried shaking her to see if she woke up which also didn’t work.

He let out a sigh, his mind slowly piecing together everything. If his hunch was correct the venom of the spiders was a paralytic, which would make sense considering Azar wants one either hatched or in an egg. He sat there weighing his options, she was likely fairly heavier than Azar, and he still needed to get a spider or egg. Carrying her wouldn’t be the most difficult thing, but getting a spider and carrying her was a different story. He hoisted her onto his shoulders, carrying her like if she was a wounded soldier, “The second you regain the ability to talk let me know. It shouldn’t be long after that you begin to ‘thaw’ out.” He said as he stepped into the cave. Walking with their combined weight the ice on the floor cracked and broke under him as he slowly made his way trying to find something that looked familiar.

As he made his way through the tunnels his request to find a spider was granted, though not in the way he wanted at all. He turned a corner only to find himself staring at the approaching remains of the horde. He tried to sneakily back away but the fact the floor broke below him alerted the spiders. He quickly shrugged off Nash letting her drop to the floor before using the Force to send her back along the path they came. He grabbed the cage and using the Force locked one into it before turning and running away. As he ran he quickly hooked the cage back on his backpack. He stopped to collect Nash if she wasn’t unparalyzed yet, and continued jogging down the corridors.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

Nash was immobilized through most of what happened next, so she had nothing to add. However, she was conscious through all of it. Her eyes were open and she vacantly stared back, stuck in a prison of her own body. It was the most awful feeling ever and she could only wonder why Darth Arcanos would want spiders like these. She felt like a prop as she was hoisted up by Trael and carried around like luggage.

She was thrown at some point and could do nothing, sliding along the ground uselessly. After she was picked up again, she slowly felt some of her sensations returning, “Thizzisofuuuuckeddd,” Nash said all in one word, but most of it was excessive drooling.

With the spider in the Spider Cage, there was little need to stick around in the caves. If they made it back to the ship, Nash would slowly begin to regain her mobility. She flexed her fingers and sat up with some effort, grimacing at herself.

“I’m sorry I sucked back there..” She muttered, glaring at the ground, “I guess that goes into my performance report, huh?”

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael made his way through the tunnels methodically. He used Force sight to plot a way back to the ship making sure to avoid wherever he saw spiders. The paths started to look familiar as they moved deeper in. Eventually it seemed Nash had regained some sensation as she drooled out how much it sucked being paralyzed, “I wouldn’t recommend being paralyzed either.” He said weaving through the corpses from earlier.

It wasn’t long till he got to the ship. He dropped Nash on the couch as he went and got the ship off this planet before spiders come after it. He had a piloting droid, mostly for when he took Azar on a trip he didn’t have to fly the whole time, so he had it fly them out of atmosphere. He made his way back into the ships common area where Nash was sitting up.

While she voiced her displeasure and belief she failed he was grabbing two water bottles from the fridge. He used to Force to hand one to Nash, “How were you useless?” He asked, “You killed the adult spider and drew first blood from it.” He stated, “You not being prepared for the climate doesn’t render you useless.” He added, the only time she was truly useless was after she got paralyzed, which would’ve likely even rendered Azar useless. “Besides you’re an acolyte, you’re still learning and becoming the type of Sith that fits you. Even some champions are still going through that.” He shrugged as he started taking off his gear.

He had messed up plenty as an acolyte like most, something that continued into his championship for a while. After he got all the gear settled and put back where it went he set down the cage on the table. “At least we didn’t find out what the mama could do. If a baby is enough to paralyze a grown person I’d hate to experience it.” He mused looking into the cage, he wondered if Azar would prefer the live specimen. As he looked at it and thought in the size of the adult he wondered if he’d see Azar riding a spider into battle when his dragon wasn’t available.

“I do have one critique of you.” He said after a few moments, “You rely too much on your physical strengths and don’t use the Force in ways to enhance them.” He said as her failed charge played in his mind, “For instance, I utilize Jar Kai primarily, but I can do so with two lightsabers or a lightsaber and the Force from my free hand.” He droned on, “Relying solely on blade work will only get you so far as a Sith. You still need to weave a way to build your skill in the Force.” He said offering her saber advice. With Azar and most Sith he dealt with being far from duelists he never truly had someone to just bounce ideas or theories off of.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

When he mentioned she technically killed the big boss, Nash managed a faint smile, “Well when you put it like that..” She trailed off, “Honestly I thought you were just looking for excuse to kill me,” She admitted at last as she glanced at him, “I didn’t even wanna know what Veema did to have you space her,” Nash said almost fearfully.

When he mentioned she relied too much on her physical prowess, she couldn’t exactly disagree, “It’s all I know,” She said, “A lot of the folks in the Order knew they had the Force since they could walk. I didn’t know till… well a few weeks after you saved me on Nal Hutta,” She said, smiling, “I never got to thank you for that. I had so many questions..like why you did it, why you guys were there, if all of you were really as bad as that Raze dude..” She trailed off, “But it don’t matter - it all led me here and I’m grateful.”

Nash looked down at her hand which was still purple and had what looked like black veins streaking through it. She strongly hoped it wouldn’t need to be chopped off, but she was too nervous to mention anything about it, “So do you still give lessons?” Nash asked Trael, now realizing he was the one that usually administered the saber lessons at the academy. He had been promoted to Sith Master since, so he likely didn’t do group acolyte lessons anymore.

@Javier esschoolbus

 

[Trael Osso]

Trael quirked an eyebrow at her when she voiced that she believed he was looking for an excuse to kill her. It was slightly clarified by her mention of Veema, the other acolyte. “She tried to ship jack me. I wasn’t going to risk a second attempt.” He said with no sense of regret. He had feeling the acolyte would’ve spaced them both if she succeeded, plus he wasn’t going to let someone steal the ship Azar gifted him.

He listened as she explained her journey with her Force sensitivity and knowledge of it. It made him realize that even though it wasn’t as inclusive as the academy, the slight training his father gave him was a blessing. “In all honesty, we were there as an excuse for me to spend more time with Arcanos. Though there was a goal to it. You helped us out, plus there was no reason for you to be killed. Unnecessary violence is one of the many causes the Sith were kicked from the Empire, and it’s not something I believe in.” He said, “Raze isn’t like most Sith at all. He was a different thing entirely. I doubt there’s anyone that is as bad as he was.” He mused, thinking of the multitude of Sith he knew. Sure there might be some that were close to his power or on the path to reaching it, but to have the same mentality or presence he did, none came close currently.

He noticed her looking down at her hand. He didn’t know the potency of the spider venom or its long term effects. He also wouldn’t say anything about it if she didn’t, it wasn’t his job to make sure she lived. “I haven’t in a while no. I’ve been successfully ducking getting dragged into classes again.” He said wearily, “Though I wouldn’t mind doing it more casually rather than following the book.” He mused, thinking about actually teaching people how to use a saber outside of the class. “I’ll show you some basics, but I need to know if you can use both hands first. If not I’ll have to address how to make up for a disadvantage like that.” He stated, being someone who mostly fought with jar Kai it was important to have use of both hands, after all you need to for certain Force powers.

@Sreeya

 

[Nash]

Nash blinked in surprise when Trael admitted that Veema tried to steal the ship. What the fuck? Where was that going to go? Was she going to kill both Trael and Nash? Gods, why did Sith have to be so weird? Nash began to spiral for a moment before she was shaken out of her thoughts, glancing back at Trael who was still talking.

“Spend more time? Plotting to kill him?” Nash blurted out. Wasn’t that what Sith higher ups did? Plot like movie villains to dethrone one another? Then again, she was reminded of her own Master ‘finding excuses to spend time with Arcanos’ but that was for entirely different reasons. How did the guy even maintain a relationship with someone that could turn him to ash with the snap of his fingers? Crazy.

“Imma be real,” Nash said as she flexed her fingers, “I dunno what this bite is doing but my hand looks fucked,” She said flatly, feeling more comfortable speaking plainly around Trael when she was sure he wouldn’t stab her for no reason, “What kinda spiders were these? Maybe I can Swoogle remedies..” Nash mumbled, pulling out her EZPhone to search for options. She wondered if Arak would know what to do. She decided to take a pic and send it to him anyway asking how fucked she was.

@Javier esschoolbus