The Most Dangerous Game

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Location: Ithor

Ashlyna had never been to Ithor before. If nothing else, it was a very green world, probably one of the greenest she had ever seen. With her was the adorable fellow padawan @Firen and @Devrim Wolfe, who while she had never worked with was at least aware of him. Wearing her Rebel combat armor as the moved through the jungles, Ashlyna kept her eyes open for a sign of a clearing; something potential poachers could use to set up a camp. Using her force senses, she branched out, feeling across there area, trying to feel if there was anything left behind that could lead them in the right way; trash, empty energy cells, death stick buds. Using her force senses, she did stumble upon one thing, it looked to be a blood trail and fresh too from the look of it. Ashlyna dropped low and examined the trail, as it seemed to come out from the underbrush and forward of their position. Look back to her fellow padawans, she alerted them. "Hey, think I found something here. Looks like they caught something and were hauling it away. Looks fresh too, might not be too far ahead of us."

@Raydo @Vosrik

 

[Firen]

He followed Ashlyna through the jungle. She said she was following the Force, but Firen didn't feel anything, at least the way she described it. Was he broken? Maybe they had made a mistake. Maybe he wasn't a Jedi.

A bug landed, on his face, a big bug. He scrambled to get it off before it could carry him away. This place was not great. It was hot, or at least too hot for these silly Padawan robes.

He had brought along his blasters, since no one had taught him how to use a lightsaber yet. The Jedi Masters were very busy, and Firen was a slow learner. He knew he had to annoy some of them. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be.

Not paying attention, he ran into the back of Ashlyna's legs. "Sorry." he said stumbling backward. She had found something? Great! They had been out here forever.

He pulled the blasters from his belt and looked at trail Ashlyna had picked up. "Lead the way!" he said enthusiastically.

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

theme​

Today Devrim would be joined by two other Padawans, ones who he'd never officially met before. It was good to see that the Order was indeed growing steadily, even if it was slow. The biggest obstacle that they now faced were teachers — though at first there were five Masters to carry on the knowledge and leadership of the long-lost Jedi, now only Master Luy remained. That was why Devrim, now that he had been granted the rank of Knight, was more than willing to teach those who were looking for guidance. Though Master Leah had been his own teacher, the Jedi Knight had in fact found most of his teaching at the Deep Stone Temple on Ellora. The multitude of knowledge that the memory crystals contained there was more than sufficient to teach a new generation of Jedi.

Trudging through the thick underbrush of the untamed wilds of Ithor, Devrim felt very privileged indeed to be here. These jungles were held sacred by the Ithorians, which is why hunting there was so highly illegal. Unfortunately, that made it even more enticing to poachers as the fauna here were worth tenfold more on the black markets. If anything, it made these heinous poachers dangerous. But they almost certainly wouldn't expect the Ithorians to call on the Jedi for aid. Though the Order had shown themselves to the Galaxy some time ago, now they were actually setting out to fulfill their duty as peacekeepers and defenders of the innocent. Devrim's internal thoughts were rudely interrupted as he walked headfirst into a tree branch. "Ackpth!" he sputtered, waving his arms around to push the leaves away from his face.

Ahead of him, it seemed Firen bumped into Ashlyna's legs as the Padawan had discovered something. Crouching underneath the branch and approaching the other two, Devrim scanned the ground to find the blood trail that Ashlyna had found. It certainly was fresh. "It's possible it was left by a predator," Devrim observed, standing upright and observing the underbrush around them. "But it's still worth checking out. I'm not so skilled in following tracks, are either of you?"

@Algarus @Raydo​

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna had to stop herself from checking on Firen as he bumped into her; the poor little guy. He told her to lead the way, but honestly tracking wasn't her skill set. She looked to Devrim and shrugged as he asked if any of them were good at tracking. "I'll be frank. No, I got no clue about tracking. I fix things, not follow them." She looked down to Firen and smiled. "You wouldn't happen to know any tracking skills would you Firen?" She asked, before looking back at the trail. "I mean, it could be a predator for all we know. But it's all we got right now." Ashlyna looked at the dirt in the ground, pausing to wipe a bead of sweat off her brow; maybe the armor wasn't necessary for this mission, it was getting uncomfortable. She couldn't make out if the faint disturbances of the soil were man made or not. The prints either looked like part of a boot, or a medium sized animal print. Or she just had no clue what the hell she was looking back. Standing up, she looked back to Devrim. "Well, we got two ways we can go, through the undergrowth, or straight ahead." That was all they had at the moment, one of the paths would at least give them something to work with.

@Raydo @Vosrik

 

[Firen]

"Hrrrmmmmm" he sounded, obviously thinking very hard. "Yeah, I can track. There was this one time I track..." he said cutting himself off, realizing he was about to go off on a long story. He had gotten in trouble for that since he had been a Jedi. It was a good story to...guess they would never know.

"Lets see..." he said looking at the tracks. "This way!" he said making his way through the undergrowth. For someone small, like himself, it was only a minor hassle, but for the other two, it would not be a fun experience. Firen wound them around through bushes and thickets until they finally came into a clearing.

In the clearing, they found a camp of several tents. He looked around before stepping out of the bush. It was empty there is no one here. "I found it!" he said, not particularly quietly "See I told you I could track!" he said puffing out his chest triumphantly.

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Listening attentively as Ashlyna spoke, he wasn't necessarily surprised to hear that tracking wasn't part of her skillset. It was a rare one, to be sure. However, their little fuzzy companion spoke up shortly afterward, revealing his ability to track. He didn't seem particularly overconfident, although was aptly able to lead the way for the other two Jedi. Struggling to follow Firen as he pushed aside all the underbrush and thick foliage, Devrim's eyes widened as the sight of the camp reached his vision. Waving his hand frantically as the Padawan spoke loudly into the clearing, the Jedi Knight watched for any more movement in the camp. Surprisingly, there was none.

Stepping cautiously into the area, Devrim quietly whispered back to his companions. "I think they are all out hunting." For the most part, it seemed the black-clad Jedi was right — but of course, there were still lookouts posted in the area. "What was that?" a voice was heard from across the camp. Devrim crouched down low, looking for cover. "Ambush them," he whispered to the others before taking refuge behind a few crates. Before long, two poachers armed with large knives and rifles stepped into the clearing, searching the area.

Reaching out with the Force, Devrim gripped the ankle of one of the guards, yanking on his leg and causing him to fall. The other whirled around, raising his rifle and scanning the underbrush. "Who's there!?" he shouted, not even bothering to help his companion up from the ground. Devrim smiled, finding the trick rather funny. Perhaps some of the Masters would disapprove of using the Force like this, but they weren't around right now.

@Algarus @Raydo​

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Thanks to their little rabbit friend, it seemed the pair of jedi had stumbled upon something quite sinister. Bushes. Ashlyna waded through the foliage, as the twigs and branches bounced harmlessly off her armor. As they moved forward though, she noticed that camp up ahead. "Hm. Well then." Ashlyna muttered, kneeling down to congratulate Firen on his discovery, before a pair of guards made themselves known. It seemed congratulations would need need to wait. Ashlyna ducked into the bushes beside Devrim, watching as he made one of the hunters trip and fall over. He seemed to find it amusing, so Ashlyna thought she could out do him. Reaching out with the force, she ejected the standing man's energy cell out of his rifle, and had to hold back a laugh as the man's eyes seemed to almost jump out of his skull as his rifle died in his arms. "I told you this place was haunted! You angered the spirits!" His downed companion cried, scrambling up and taking his rifle, sweeping the area like a madman. "Shut up you idiot! T-There has to be an explanation! Ghosts aren't real!" There was a silence in the air for a moment, as the two looked about frantically, the man with a de powered rifle began looking for his energy cell in the undergrowth. Ashlyna readied her blaster rifle, as the two unknowingly crept closer.
@Raydo

 

[Firen]

"Wait, ghosts aren't real...are they?" he said his fur growing rigid for a moment as he whispered to Ashlyna. The other two Jedi, used the force to disarm or distract the two guards but they didn't press their attack. Why? Now seemed like the best time to press their attack.

They were supposed to capture these guys, now may be their best chance. He really didn't know any fancy force tricks, so he just dashed into the camp, picking up a stick along the way.

He ran straight towards the man on the ground. Firen was fast, and very quiet. The man only looked up and instant before. THWACK. The stick Firen carried broke over the man's head. It was effective, but the stick shattered. It was good a stick...

*OOC-We are asked to keep to a 48 hour posting schedule so we can wrap this up quickly. If you can't post in your 48 hours just let the others know and we can skip. Thanks!

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Seeing as Ashlyna further distracted the guards, Devrim reached for his belt to grab a Thermal Detonator — only to see the furry figure of Firen rush out into the two poachers and courageously land a blow with a stick on one of their heads. The guard in question sat stunned for a moment, as being hit in the head even with a weak stick was still unpleasant and caused him to raise his arms up in self preservation.

Rising up from his cover and igniting his lightsaber, Devrim reached out with the Force once more and held the standing one in stasis. Without the ability to move or run, he would be helpless as the black-clad Jedi closed the distance and cut him down in one swoop with his lightsaber. Having full confidence that his companions would be more than capable of taking out the second stunned poacher. Sweeping the area, Devrim ensured that for the time being, they were alone. "This noise won't go unnoticed," the Knight said, lifting up the edge of a tent and peeking inside. All he could see were animal remains and cruel weapons to hunt them down. Grimacing, Devrim tore his eyes away and stopped to listen.

Off in the distance was the sound of blasterfire and yells. Clearly, the poachers had found more game to take down. After a moment, their cries fell silent and so did the beast. "They'll be coming back with their kill to harvest it," Devrim noted to his companions. "We could ambush them when they return, or..." he paused, looking toward multiple cages nearby that held sleeping creatures of various sorts. "We could release them and cause some panic." Walking closer, he raised his lightsaber high and brought it down onto the hinges of one of the cages. With a loud clang it fell open, and the beasts raised their heads with curiosity. This was about to become very interesting for the three rebels.

@Algarus @Raydo​

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna felt her heart sink when Firen rushed the two men and began to beat them with a stick. She was about to act, when Devrim moved to finish the two off, only for the sounds of far off blaster fire to come from near by. Hearing that, Ashlyna set her rifle down and drew her lightsaber, knowing this was going to get bad real quick. Devrim was giving his thoughts on the situation when he mentioned freeing the animals. "Wait, are you sure those are predators? It might not-" She didn't get to finish as Devrim sliced the cage open, freeing the beasts within. Well, this was happening now. Ashlyna moved herself to be closer to Firen, aiming to protect him in case the animals confused him for a snack. "Don't worry Firen, I won't let them get you." She said, trying to reassure the smaller padawan. Ashlyna recalled what her master had taught her about emotions, and how they can be used to affect the minds of others. Using that knowledge, the padawan calmed herself, and spread herself out through the force, trying to pacify the animals in the hopes their efforts would be directed at those who had wronged them, and not their liberators. "I for one am fine with ambushing them. Though, if the animals get to have some revenge that's fine with me too." She stated, looking and waiting for the on coming hunters to make their move.
@Raydo @Vosrik

 

[Firen]

The finished off the two guards quickly. Firen's ears twitched and turned in a couple of directions as he tried to listen further.

Firen smiled as Devrim opened the first of the cages, that sounded like trouble, and Firen had a certain enjoyment for causing trouble. He didn't even think about the possibility of them wanting to eat him instead.

One of the creatures eyed him as it came out, starting to crouch low. Ashlyna calmed it with the Force, causing it to move away rather than swallow Firen whole. He held out a furry thumb to the woman. "Thanks, friend!" he said giggling "I don't think I would like being a meal very much." he added before scurrying up onto one of the cages so he was off the ground.

"So now what?" he asked

 

[Devrim Wolfe]

Seeing as neither Firen nor Ashlyna dealt with the final guard, he stood up and turned on the three. "Intruders!!" he shouted, grabbing his comms and alerting his fellow poachers. "We have Jedi at the camp!" he shouted before Devrim wheeled around and drew his Quickdraw, firing off two blaster bolts into the man's chest. He dropped lifeless to the ground, but the damage had been done. "Get ready," the Jedi warned. "They definitely know we're here now."

With the now-realized predatory creatures having been successfully calmed by Ashlyna, their pent-up aggression was redirected towards those who caged them up in the first place. Their nostrils flared and they pawed the earth as the sounds of a commotion echoed through the undergrowth and signs of movement drew closer. With a great roar, the creatures trampled off into the forest and for a moment, only the rhythmic thudding of their great paws could be heard. Then, a great outcry sounded from the poachers along with the sounds of blasterfire. Only moments later, a handful of bloodied survivors burst from the foliage into the camp, only to face the glowing lightsabers of Devrim and Ashlyna. Leaping toward them as the poachers raised their rifles and began opening fire, Devrim deflected what bolts he could before cutting down one of the hunters and clashing blades with one who wielded a vibroblade. Three others directed their attention to both Firen and Ashylna, shooting several red bolts of plasma toward them. Though Devrim couldn't be sure, he assumed that the vicious predators they had released had made the rest of the hunters their meals.

@Algarus @Raydo​

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ashlyna was caught off guard as one of the guards rose and began shouting, she had thought the man was dead, but clearly she was incorrect. His single act was quickly cut short, as Devrim gunned him down. Yea, the rest of the group definitely knew they were here. Ashlyna reached out with her senses now, as the freed animals began to leap into the under bushes and lash out at their attackers. She heard the blaster fire going off in the mess of trees beyond her and her fellow jedi, so cautiously, she pulled her blaster pistol with her free hand. She turned behind her, feeling a presence try and move up behind her. A lone hunter stood at the edge of the clearing, firing at her with his hunting blaster. Ashlyna steeped to the side, knocking the blaster shot away, before reaching out and flinging the man's rifle out of his hands, as her free squeezed off a blaster shot that hit him dead center. She felt another presence to her left, and turned just in time to see another hunter fire off at her, the blaster shot glancing off the side of her armor. Ashlyna winced in pain, as she fired several shots at the man, tagging him in the leg and shoulder. Damn that stung. "How many of these guys are there?" She called out, a tone of pain in her voice now.
@Raydo @Vosrik

 

[Firen]

Everything descended into chaos as the man shouted his alarm. Men cried out in the distance, which drew the ire of the freed beast.

The three Jedi moved off as well in pursuit, Firen kept an eye out of to make sure none of the beasts circled back around to turn him into a snack. Without warning, people started firing at them. Firen didn't have a lightsaber to deflect shots, so he dove to the side, hitting the ground hard. He crawled, making his way to cover.

Once behind cover, he shot the guard that had taken aim at him, and then shot several times at the man Ashlyna had already hit. They both fell to the ground dead. Firen looked around, careful to see if there were any others. There was yelling in the distance, likely hunters become dinner. "You okay friend?" he asked Ashlynna.

 

[Ashlyna Talmount]

Ash felt the stinging in her side as some of the heat had passed through the armor of her side. Gritting her teeth, she looked around for another target, only to find another hunter lurking in cover, Ashlyna dropped him with a shit between the eyes. "I'm okay Firen, just keep an eye open for more of those bastards!" She replied back, wincing as she put the pain out of her mind, instead focusing on trying to find more hunters; Sith lightning hurt far worse than this, but than again getting shot was pretty high on her list as well. Ashlyna only heard distant shouts and firing off in the trees now. Perhaps the hunters had become the hunted now. She didn't ease up yet, as she kept her senses up, expecting an attack to follow. "Do you hear anything Firen?" She asked quietly, as the sounds of the hunters had now stopped. Perhaps it was over, nature having asserted itself above those who sought to control it.
@Raydo

 

[Firen]

He kept a lookout while Ashlyna tended to her wound but no one else came. Between the poachers they had dispatched and the beasts they had freed, they were all toast.

He stood slowly "I think we are good." he said brushing some dirt off of his fur. "We should probably get out of here though, I don't want to be some hungry creatures lunch. Plus, we need to get you to a medic." he said looking over here as they prepared to leave.

It wasn't long before they had made it back to their rendezvous point for pick up. Firen couldn't help but think someone was hiding in every bush to jump out at him, but the creatures must have had to fill on poachers. He stomach growled. Speaking of lunch...I'm hungry." he said as the transport arrived.

END THREAD