Ask The Beast of Yavin IV: Chapter 1

[Tiye Kahina]

Jedi Temple, Yavin IV​

How. Could this. Have happened? How could she have lost a youngling?! One moment he was there and the next he was gone! The poor boy. What must he be feeling, out there all alone? He was still out there, Tiye could sense it, but blast it! She was powerless to save him.

The masters had trusted her. They had put so much faith in her ability to keep the children safe. And Tiye had failed them. Now, it was all shattered, including the peace in and amongst the temple. Whispers of a beast had quickly spread, and Tiye could do little to dissuade them. Growing up on Yavin IV for most of her life, the Jedi Knight thought she had seen everything; she had witnessed all kinds of creatures, great and small. Yet this…thing…

It was intangible. Like a living shadow, it moved under the mask of the jungle’s dense cover. With such speed too.

If only she had gotten a better look. If only she had done more…

Tiye knew should have chased it, but it would have meant leaving the other younglings. They were near hysterical, calling for their stolen friend. For now, all the children were ushered inside, safe and away from any further threat. For now, at least.

What if the beast returned? What if there was more than one creature? What if they were out there, just waiting to strike? Just the thought gave her shivers.

Not all was lost, however. The search teams would be arriving soon, their numbers boasting an array of experience. If anyone could help, it was them.

So she waited, anxious for aid and the possibility of hope.

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[Hailee Lightwood]

When Hailee heard the news of the missing youngling and the so called beast who supposedly took him, shivers immediately ran down her spine. How could someone, or to be more precise, something do such a terrible thing to a child? She was not frightened, but rather angry, but she already knew that rage was a dangerous emotion. She tried to calm herself down by reminding herself of the fact that some of the Jedi could still sense his presence and Hailee herself was now joining one of the search teams, convinced that they would find him in time. She tried to stay as optimistic as possible, because she knew that the right mindset was important.

Together with her master, @Pêro Erval, she was headed towards the meeting point of the search team. So far, she only knew that other knights were supposed to accompany them, but judging from the given names, she hadn't yet met any of them. Nevertheless, she was excited to meet them, hoping that they were also rather positive about the urgent mission. From afar, she could already see a young woman pacing around nervously and she could also already feel her nervousity and her tension. Hailee assumed that she must be the one giving them more information on the circumstances under which the young boy was stolen.

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[Pêro Erval]

For many years, Yavin IV was considered a safe haven for the Jedi and housed one of their largest temples. In a Galaxy where the hate against them grew every day, such a place where they could feel safe and have peace should be protected and preserved.

However, it seemed that the planet wasn’t as safe as they had expected. A youngling had disappeared from the Temple under unknown circumstances, leaving all the Order in alert. Some Jedi believed that someone, or something, had taken the child. Now, a team was being assembled to investigate what happened and hopefully find the child.

Hoping to help in this investigation, Pêro had offered to participate in this team. He wasn’t going here alone, his Padawan Hailee was also going to help. He could feel several feelings coming from her, with rage occasionaly appearing and soon being supressed. The Knight would work control of emotions with her later, but he was happy for her progress in not letting it took control.

While the two walked toward the place where the group was going to meet, the G’weneen wondered what could have happened with the child. When they arived at meeting place, Pêro saw that another Jedi was already there and she seemed to be nervous. She would need to control herself or it could cause problems to the investigation.

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

This wasn't the reason Kyosuke came to Yavin IV. It was time for him to take his first Padawan, but that's not quite how things turned out. The situation with the Temple's rumoured beast had taken a turn for the worse, and his priorities were redirected.

The thought of having been able to do something sooner gnawed away at the back of Kyo's mind. He was a hunter. A Shadow. He could've stopped this when the rumors started. But he was elsewhere at the time, and that didn't matter now. Knowing it was better not to dwell on the thought, he pushed the feeling away to focus on the moment instead.

The young man's long and sleek black robes lightly swayed as he emerged from the treeline atop a fallen log. He landed softly after a brief hop down to the ground, and then began walking toward the small gathering. His bright blues flicked from one Jedi to the next as he quickly glanced over each of them, analyzing as much as he could in the brief moment. Then he looked toward the center of the group before he finally stopped a few paces away.

"Map." The raven-haired Knight calmly spoke with a hushed and respectful volume as he turned his chin back over his shoulder to the small jet-black scout droid on his upper back. The droid then chirped affirmatively and poked his head up over his bestie's shoulder, projecting a large holo-map of the nearby area in the middle of the group to help them make their plans.

Knight Yamato would then return his focus to the map, and empathetically address the uneasy tension that lurked in the air. "Don't worry. We'll find the youngling, and we'll stop the beast."

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[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara could not deny that she was extremely worried about the missing child. She was glad to have been assigned to the team working to find the child and stop the beast. She walked from the temple to the meeting place described, noticing she was not the first person there. There was a woman pacing who she recognized to be a knight, another woman who seemed to be repressing anger, and two men she also recognized as fellow knights. The Mirialan walked up to the group. "Knight Kahina, Knight Erval, Knight Yamato," she said, inclining her head. She turned to the woman she didn't recognize. (@LadyRen). "I don't believe we've met,"

Her attitude was somber, but even as she feared for the child, she knew fear shouldn't dominate her.

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[Tiye Kahina]

Relief washed over Tiye like a calming tide upon seeing the four arriving Jedi. They responded to the call for aid far quicker than she anticipated and for that she was thankful. Without a second to waste, she hurried to meet them, producing a small datapad whilst relaying the events that transpired.

"I am Knight Kahina. I was the one supervising the younglings." She neglected the usual pleasantries, confident the others would understand the need for haste. "The children were training here in the courtyard but Davï, the one who went missing, he had to sit aside due to injury."

The datapad came to life, displaying a picture of a young, smiling nautolan . The report detailed the cause of injury. Not too long ago, Davï suffered a fall during an agility course; he suffered a broken arm and as a result, was required to wear a protective cast whilst the bone was made to set right.

Tiye shook her head in much reproach. "He should have stayed inside but he said something about wanting to talk to the animals. The masters think he has an affinity with them." She smiled then, all be it to herself, recalling how birds often flocked about him as if intrigued by the child's own antics.

But just as quick, worry set in, "He kept moving closer to the forest's edge," she motioned behind them, pointing North, "I was about to go fetch him when...when it happened. Something just...pulled him into the forest. He screamed and kept screaming even as I tried to follow."

Closing her eyes, Tiye sought to remember more, no matter how small the detail. "It was large, with dark coloration. It moved so fast though, I could hardly keep track. Please, understand. I have lived here amongst the temple nearly my whole life and I have never seen any creature such as this. Not even our security droids captured a clear image of it."

She then proceeded to show them the most recent surveillance. Indeed, it looked like a solid, standing mass, forever shadowed amongst the treeline.

Grimly, Tiye went on. "There's more..."

Several images popped up, showing increasing damage along the high walls of the Temple. They were claw marks and they ran deep; perhaps more frightening was the fact they reached high above an average human head. The slashes were nearly two meters high, close to 9 feet.

"Whatever it is... it's intelligent. It kept destroying the security droids." Images of those were also included. The bits of bolts were smashed beyond recognition.

Just then, howls broke off in the direction to the West, towards the denser parts of the planet's swamplands. It was a horrific noise, one that carried across the jungle like some gruesome song.

"Those started around the time of the damage. Do you think...?"

 

[Edaara Tonor]

Shivers ran down Edaara's spine as the terrible howl echoed across the trees. "Holy Force..." she murmured. She could feel a slight disturbance in the Force somewhere towards the swamplands. "What is our plan of action to take on this beast?" she asked, turning her focus back to Tiye. She could tell the woman was extremely nervous and upset, and she did her best to send a calming tendril of the Force to circle the woman. This would not be difficult task, but Edaara had no doubt they would not succeed.

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[Hailee Lightwood]

Hailee walked towards the nervously pacing Jedi, also noticing that two other Knights started to appear. She knew that besides her and Pêro, two others were supposed to join the search team and since she had remembered their names, she soon found out who was who.

"Knight Kahina, Knight Yamato, Knight Tonor", she greeted the Knights politely, slighlty lowering her head in a respectful nod. Despite her difficult childhood, she knew manners and how to behave herself if needed. Pêro had also made sure of her adjusting to the Jedi Order's behavioral code. "No, we haven't met before. I'm rather new to the Order. My name is Hailee Lightwood, I'm Pêro's Padawan", she introduced herself shortly before shifting her attention to the unpleasant matter itself again.

Hailee studied the Knights for a while, sensing their emotions as best as she could, but it clearly seemed as thought Knight Yamato was the calmest. When Knight Kahina started to explain and showing the various pictures, shivers ran down her spine. How horrible. The young boy must be frightened and she also sensed that Knight Kahina's guilt weighted heave on her shoulders.

"Yes, we are going to find him. It's good that you have found the claw marks and the footage is also extremely helpful" she replied softly, hoping that it would soothe the nervous Jedi knight in any way. Hailee was optimistic even though she had never seen anything like that before, but deep inside her, it felt as though they were going to find him. When the youngling was still alive-and that's probably what the others could sense- the beast was clearly not interested in killing him just like that.

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[Pêro Erval]

Once all the Jedi that were going to participate in the search for the missing child had arrived, Pêro could feel a change in the demeanor of Knight Kahina. She became calmer with their presence. Before accepting to join this team, the G’weneen had heard about the events surrounding the disappearance of the youngling. Apparently the child disappeared while Tiye was the one supervisioning the training that day. She probably was feeling guilty with what happened.

When the group was reunited, Pêro let Hailee do the presentation, only nodding when his name was mentioned. He was far more interested in starting this investigation as fast as possible. The long they waited, there were less chances of them finding the boy with life.

Then, Tiye started to explain what had happened and showed a recording of the day that the youngling disappeared. Pêro paid close attention to what she was saying and watched the recording with great interest. He needed to agree with the other Jedi, this creature really seemed to be very intelligent, not many animals would cover their escape by destroying vigilance droids.

"We should also try to identify what this beast is. There are few animals in Yavin IV that would be able to show such a degree of intelligence." from the predators that he knew that lived in Yavin IV, Pêro didn’t know any capable of doing it. The klikniks were insectoids with simple minds, they would never destroy recording devices.

The knowledge that they were dealing with a creature that was this clever made the situation more dire. If it was indeed a predator, Pêro wasn’t sure if they would be able to find the youngling alive. No, he couldn’t think this way. Like his Padawan, the G’weneen should be sure that they would find the boy alive.

Suddenly, a blood chilling sound started. It sounded like roars and seemed to be coming from somewhere in the west. Pêro frowned, it didn’t seem like anything that he had heard before and he had lived in Yavin IV since was six. "That it could be the beast? It's very possible and worth investigating." he said to Tiye. Maybe the creature could be preparing for another attack

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[Kyosuke Yamato]

The distant howls caused Kyosuke's chest to seize up with a hint of fear. He could feel its chill ripple across his skin just before he clenched his jaws, drew in a deep breath, and concentrated on the Light Side that flickered around them to steady his nerves. The little black scout droid clinging to his upper back was also shaken by the event, based on the way he'd suddenly ceased the holo-map, and was visibly shaking against Kyo.

"Don't worry buddy, we've hunted plenty of things. I'm sure we'll be fine." Knight Yamato reached back to pat his little scout droid on the top of the head before he'd begin walking in the direction of the howl. Gremlin cooed hesitantly, then rested his metal chin on his bestie's shoulder. Kyo continued to maintain his concentration, gradually swelling the Light around himself like a beacon to bolster the courage and morale of the other Jedi.

"I've got hunting experience, I'll investigate the beast. If the youngling was taken from the North then it's possible the thing has a lair in that direction. I recommend the Padawan and her master go that way, check for the kid. If it does have a lair or something like that up there, then there's a chance you could still find him at it." Hopefully they'd recognize that he intended to keep the Padawan away from the likely danger involved with directly engaging the beast. Not that he knew what awaited them up North.

Kyo then gave the emerald Mirialun a nod, and stopped as he turned his chin against his shoulder to glance at her from the corner of his bright blues. "Knight Tonor, could you assist me with the investigation to the West?"

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[Tiye Kahina]

Despite the awfulness of the sound, Tiye listened intently till the howls finally subsided. They sounded much the same as before, thankfully with no accompanying screams. If Tiye had to guess, the sounds were almost territorial in nature; something somewhere was staking its claim.

"Davï is still out there," she muttered, "I can sense it."

Under the guidance of the council, Tiye was to remain at the temple. The sun was setting, and Hapans were near enough blind in the dark. She'd be a liability out there. This wasn't a simple training exercise, but a real-life search and rescue. The last thing the Jedi needed was more missing members.

With that in mind, Tiye handed out the last of the essentials. A holographic map, as well as a handful of long-range comlinks. Splitting up sounded sensible. They'd cover more ground, whilst still remaining safe in their pairs. Whilst now inherently dangerous, Yavin IV was no less of a wild world; there were beasts plenty here. Not to mention, the terrain itself could be rather perilous.

"Take care towards the west; the swamplands there are particularly flooded." And if she remembered correctly, "The North is different though; it densely forested. There are no trails."

With little else, all Tiye could say was this...

"May the Force be with you."

Spoiler

End