Toxic Pelt Trade

[Syan Forossa]

The jungle of Ithor. It was much more impressive than he'd ever expect it to be. It was his first time on the planet and while he had seen quite a bit of jungle planets, this one felt different. The Ithorians were a friendly species and their love for nature was certainly visible. Sadly, the beautiful jungle attracted more than just tourists.

The Molsume, a native predator to the planet, has been a popular target for poachers. Not too long ago, the Ithorians learned of a small gang of poachers, with their eyes set on poaching the Molsume. In order to protect the animal from this small group, two Jedi knights were dispatched. And Syan Forossa happened to be one of them.

Syan turned to his fellow Jedi, Aliyah Phoenix. He had never met her before, although he had seen her walk around once or twice on both Jedha and Tython. "Are we nearing the sanctuary of the Molsume? I'm losing my sense of direction in this jungle."

@Aliyah Phoenix

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

Here there be greenery, and over there is some shrubbery.

In fact, Aliyah could almost swear this biome looked identical to the one they just walked through, and the one before that. Ithor was a nice planet, as far as she could tell so far, pretty peaceful and altogether a joy. The Ithiorians were a completely different story, being some of the kindest and most fair hearted beings in Galaxy. Aliyah hadn't met any until today, and oh boy had that gone well. They were generous and greeted generously, their hospitality was legendary and their long winded speech about the dangers of the Molsume was... long.

Luckily she made up for it by moving as quickly as she could through the long jungle trails to their destination. Unfortunately for both her and the new Jedi she hadn't really met yet - looked similar to Bri'ella though - so she assumed he was either Cathar or Farghul. Taking a lead, as a scout should, she doubled back and hopped over a bush, pulling into a roll and rising to her feet. As Syan raised his head and turned to her, asking whether they were close, she nodded.

"We're close. Should only be a short walk ahead from here."

She noticed that he was a little disoriented, and his comment seemed to confirm that. Aliyah wasn't, but then again she'd been on plenty of trips to worlds that had heavily forested and jungle areas. The Twi'lek had learned to rely on the flow of the living Force, and the energy of the life around her. She'd learned to listen to the songs the trees hummed when the wind whistled across their face. She'd followed the animals and their burning presence in the force, of light and life, and that had led her this far. Being small and agile enough to clamber on top of trees really helped. Her eyes casted downwards for a second as she thought about what advice her father would have given, shook her head, and decided to go with her own words. He had been an incredibly wise man, and she'd pass on his lessons, in her own unique way.

"Sense of direction? Then why don't you use all your senses? Feel the life around you, listen to the Force as it works, and it will guide us. You've been walking the right direction so far! Might be onto something, eh?"

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Syan Forossa]

Using all his senses. It was useful advice, something he was definitely going to try. Syan took a deep breath, simultaneously opening himself to the light side of the force. Tying physical actions to certain techniques of the force made it nearly always easier to use the technique. Extending one's hand to push an object or person away, for example. It was easy, but highly effective. Now able to feel the life around him, the Cathar felt a lot less disorientated. After all the years since he had joined the Jedi Order, he still saw the force as a power that should only be called upon during emergencies. But it was much more than that. It was part of him, the other Jedi, part of everyone as far as he knew. And yet, he still had trouble seeing it as a natural part of every being.

Syan ran and climbed his way through the jungle, following the smaller and slightly more agile Twi'lek. The fast pace with which they moved often forced him to protract his claws and move on all fours. He was a lot heavier than his fellow Jedi, so he needed a better grip on the trees to keep his balance. With his somewhat unique movement guided by the living force, he managed to keep up with her.

"Where do you think the poachers have set up camp?"

He jumped over a large fallen trunk covered in an exotic looking moss. But as he landed on the other side, Syan picked up the scent of something completely out of place. Metal. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have noticed, but right now he had opened himself to the living force, as his fellow Jedi had wisely recommended.

Jumping over the trunk lead him to an area with very few trees, many small bushes and fern-like plants. What bothered him in this small area was that he could no longer feel nor see the small animals above him move through the thick green foliage which formed a green roof above his head. As if something or someone had been here not too long ago. Connecting the dots, Syan turned to Aliyah.

"Something is not right about this place.."

With his bright amber-yellow eyes, the Cathar scoured the area in front of him. The metallic scent made him uneasy, but he had no clue where the metallic scent came from. Nothing, except the lack of animals, seemed out of the ordinary. Were his senses truly wrong?

"Sorry, must've been my imagination.." he mumbled, a bit ashamed that he had alerted his fellow Jedi for apparently no reason at all.



@Autumn's Firefly

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

She exhaled lightly as she felt Syan wrap himself into the living Force. Aliyah always tried to stay connected to it, in some ways, and the process had changed her. There was a time where she also thought of the Force as just a tool to be used only when needed, but she knew better now. It was more than just a tool to be used, and it was a whole lot better if you just asked nicely anyways. If asking nicely with your willpower was possible, anyways, Aliyah was pretty sure she'd figured it out. Her training had been pretty strict on the idea that serving and listening to the Force above all else was important. Passing that little lesson on was important, especially for the younger Jedi. They needed to learn to rely on the Force, not just use it every so often, it was their greatest ally after all.

When the feline Jedi was ready, she shot ahead, dodging and weaving through the jungle's brush until they reached a large clearing, still forested but not as dense. Aliyah was impressed that the her partner could keep up, even her master had no way of keeping pace with her when she went at full speeds. She was trained primarily as a scout and defender, finding the enemy first and regrouping with others or flanking and taking them by surprise. When she needed to fight openly, though, she wasn't a chump either. Being the Phoenix of Vahla had it's perks, after all. Was this clearing the spot for mammals to mate or make a den? She couldn't know for sure, but from the looks of things and the markings on trees nearby, this was the place. Taking a single step forward, she paused, her eyebrow raising.

"Probably close by. There are a few ways we could draw them out, if we wanted to, but taking them by surprise... now that sounds like a plan to me."

Stepping calmly down from the log they had just passed over, she watched her ally's head rear back and nostrils flare. What could it be? Aliyah boosted her senses through the Force, searching the surrounding area. She could smell the metal too, it was a mixture of rust and a metallic, copper like smell. Blood, and something else entirely. Her eyes slowly thinned as she walked forwards, slowly, moving closer to the center of the circular cropping of trees. Her eyes flashed and sparked with blue sparks and power as she willed her power to pour out of her. If this was a trap, the ones ambushing them would regret it. Her right hand flicked downwards, and her saber flicked into her hand, a familiar and comforting feeling around her fingers. She sensed something... something off about this place, just beyond the edge of her sight.

"...I sense it too."

She put her hand out as he started to walk forward, her eyes scanning the sky and treetops first. It took her a few seconds, her pupils darting rapidly across tree after tree, one after another. Next, she scanned the foliage around them, looking with both her eyes and the Force. Nothing. Her foot raised, and she went to take a step, only to have a shiver run up her spine suddenly. She held the foot in the air for a second, and moved it back, looking downwards oddly. Cocking her head to the side, she began to kneel a little bit, seeing the slightest glint of metal underneath a pile of leaves. Well that was weird.

"Your imagination? Mmh. I don't think so."

Aliyah waved her hand outwards firmly, gently humming a high note to help with her concentration as a gentle breeze of energy blew the leaves clean off the metal traps, revealing all four. They were hidden around the edge of the clearing, probably so that the Molsumes didn't hesitate before walking up. A normal bait trap was probably not worked, which meant these poachers had been here for a while. And these traps looked fresh, maintained. They were nearby. She went to turn and tell Syan to trust in his instincts more often, but her senses picked up on something else. Another metallic clang, that almost sounded like... the sliding of a safety? Her eyes widened immediately as blue fire blasted our of her lightsaber hilt, covering them both in it's glow. The flash of a barrel came from a more than a dozen meters away, but with a roll of her eyes she swatted the blast aside.

Ambushing Jedi. Not. Smart.

"Oh hey, look, a poacher. Mind catching him?"

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Syan Forossa]

He was delighted to see that his instinct and senses were right. Aliyah had almost stepped on one of the traps, which would've resulted in quite the bloody injury, that much he could tell. Syan was about to say something concerning the traps and the distance of the poacher's camp, but the sound of the sliding of a safety filled the air instead. The Twi'lek who stood before him, reacted in the blink of an eye. Following the direction of the blasterbolt back to where it came from, Syan found himself looking at a muscular poacher.

"I'll consider it, since you asked so nicely."

That was all he had to say before he bursted into motion. The feline knight was overprotective, especially when it came to his family. Of course, Aliyah wasn't related to him, but the Jedi Order slowly began feeling like his home, his family. And Syan Forossa would do anything to protect that family.

While he preferred to use the force passive and defensively, he would not hold back against the man who tried to kill his fellow Jedi. Syan opened himself to the the Light Side of the Force and stretched out his hand with a pushing motion. The unconcentrated burst of kinetic energy wasn't meant to hit the poacher, but the ground between them instead. Unfortunately, telekinetic force attacks weren't exactly his specialty. He hoped that it would kick up enough dust, sand or leaves to blind the poacher for a while, but the result was mediocre. It was barely enough for the poacher to temporarily lose them out of sight. That brief moment, would be enough time for Syan to react. He activated his lightsaber, which bursted to life in a bright yellow color, as he darted towards the poacher invigorated by the force. He crossed the distance between them in the small amount of time the poacher was blinded.

Syan attempted to go for a fast Sun Djem strike, but the poacher read Syan's attack. The man had fast reflexes, stepping back in an attempt to dodge Syan's strike, but he couldn't get out of range quick enough. The Cathar cut straight through the barrel of the gun, which would no longer be useful for the poacher. Instead, the man pulled a long vibroknife out of his jacket.

"Surrender and no harm shall come to you"

The poacher grinned at Syan's remark.

"Nice fur."

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

"Oh well how nice of you."

As Syan ran forward, Aliyah just sighed and calmly reached out one of her hands. She started to imagine a ball of wind forming in the center of her palm, swirling and growing. By the time she opened her eyes again, the aerokinesis was already forming. It wasn't as strong as she would have liked it to be, but it was big enough to do the trick. Telekinesis was useful and all, but nobody really expects a blast of wind to hurt. She arced her hand above her head for a second before swinging it downwards. It sent a small whip-like wave of energy towards the poacher, thin enough that it was barely visible. It passed straight through Syan harmlessly, and the instant it found the poacher all the kinetic energy would impact the man.

Focus on the tail, release the energy... neat trick

She was already halfway across the clearing by the time the hit struck, as the Poacher keeled over in pain she would draw her Outrider bow off her back and knock two arrows, aiming for the soft spot on his temple. She stopped around 15 meters away, letting Syan deal with the man up close, while covering him from a distance. That stupid little vibrosword wouldn't help him now. And even if he did decide to attack, that force manipulation was only the beginning. She'd be sure to tell her Knight friend after this little battle, but by concentrating the Force around him, she could do almost anything to him. And since the Poacher's only real hope was somehow breaking her concentration, the fight was pretty much already over.

"I know, right? Sword down, hands up, or you get two in the dome."

"You reall-"

"Sword down, please. You can boast later."

The Poacher's face became as pale as paper. He dropped the vibrosword and almost fell threw himself into the air by putting his hands went up so hard. Shaking like a leaf. She had absolutely no idea how she just did that, but Aliyah was actually pretty impressed with herself. She wasn't a Jedi Master yet, but she wasn't a half-bad Knight either, apparently. She could already imagine what Dad would've said about it, something sarcastic that made no sense. This was the kind of mission she needed to get her back into the swing of things, the last time she did any criminal hunting was on Zeltros. And that had been months ago. Besides, the Molsumes didn't deserve this, the Ithiorians didn't deserve this, and these poachers were terrible for the planet. She didn't want to kill him, though, and Aliyah was glad he surrendered. She turned back to the Cathar Jedi and smiled, nodding towards the poacher.

"Alright, easy done. Let's find out where that camp is."

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Syan Forossa]

The yellow light of his lightsaber died away as his lightsaber turned off. Syan used the bottom of his hilt to smack against the poacher's temple. His experience with bar fights and gangs on Ord Mantell and recently Jakku had learned him exactly how hard he had to hit to knock a man out. It wasn't a killing blow, but the poacher would definitely not feel good when he woke up. Just like Syand did right now. His fellow Jedi had been incredibly persuasive.

"Are all Twi'lek women this persuasive? Or is it just you?"

It was a joke, although Syan made a mental to note to never get on her bad side. He turned back to the many trees ahead of them. Somewhere between those trees had to be a camp, but he had no clue how well the poacher would defend it. They certainly weren't expecting two Jedi knights to show up, and the Ithorians weren't much of a challenge either. Syan looked at the poacher again, who had collapsed right in front of him. What if the man had been the sentry for this late noon?

@Autumn's Firefly

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

The poacher went down like a sack of bricks as Syan struck him over the head. Aliyah smiled, releasing the tension on her bow and slowly setting it back into a normal position. Dropping the bow and slinging it over her back, Aliyah jogged the 15 meters and joined Syan just barely inside the jungle again. The clearing was a decent ways away now, and the blood scent was pretty much gone. She felt her right lekku bend upwards slightly as he asked his question about whether all twi'lek girls were persuasive. In away, she supposed, yes they were. Or, if they wanted to, they could be. But this seemed like more of a circumstantial thing, not really anything to do with her style of convincing, or even the arrow threat. She shrugged slightly, and her lekku went back to normal

"Nah. It's just me, I'm special like that."

Looking through the brush for a second, she knelt down near where the poacher was found. There wasn't any tracks around him, but it wasn't likely that he was just out here taking a stroll. If he was here, that meant the camp was nearby. Turning to Syan, she motioned just ahead and started to walk into the trees again. Ducking under a branch, she managed to spot a small flicker of light in the distance. A figure moving nearby made her stop and kneel down, turning her head slowly to see a small fire surrounded by some makeshift tents ahead. One of the poachers, rodian from the looks of things, was slouching near the edge of the fire on his rifle. There were two more walking around the edge of the camp, dressed in strange armor she couldn't recognize, and an unknown amount inside. Turning around slowly to Syan, she moved one finger up to her lips and waved towards a nearby fallen log for cover.

Hopping over it with a gentle leap, Aliyah pushes against the side and sinks low, whispering softly. "Alright. I can see three outside. I could draw their attention over here... Take them down one by one?" She shrugged. It wasn't exactly her best plan, but between the two of them they could take those three down easily and move on to making sure there weren't any others. She wanted to avoid making a huge scene if possible, but if Syan wanted some action she didn't mind. As long as nobody died, a little excitement and some practice against blasters could do the two some good.

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Syan Forossa]

"Drawing their intentions is fine with me. Let's dwindle their numbers first before going in to make a scene."

He kept his eyes focused on the camp as he whispered to Aliyah. They could just dash in, try to take down all the poachers and get out. But that would be too risky, considering that the lone poacher from before had read him like an open book. He moved a bit more to the left, getting in position behind a large bush. He could the poachers by surprise if Aliyah manage to lure them back to his position.

"Go ahead."

@Autumn's Firefly

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

Nodding, Aliyah turned back and looked over the tree stump. Drawing people away and distracting them was starting to be one of her most used tactics. Not that she could complain, it barely if ever didn't work. Hopefully Syan would take these mercs one by one as she called them over, but if not she had a few backup plans to rely on. As the Rodian turned around, for whatever reason, Aliyah rapped her knuckles against the wood. Of course, this startled the mercenary and he began to slowly walk towards the log. Sinking as low as she could, Aliyah started to fold the force around her to make the air almost reflective, disguising herself from sight. She let the Rodian walk right past her, Syan could deal with that one. The other sentry couldn't be drawn away, so she would have to go to him. Carefully sneaking up along the side of the encampment, a gentle hop sent her to the top of the walkway the sentry was patrolling. Unfortunately, she overestimated how high the hop was supposed to bring her and fell to the ground hard. "Oh."

The human sentry looked down for a second, totally shocked to see a Twi'lek basically materialize out of nowhere. Aliyah returned his look with a gentle smile. "Hello there." Reaching out through the Force, she put him in a stasis before the merc had a chance to cry out for help, kicking herself to her feet just as quickly. Aliyah didn't bother to keep him there very long, throwing a punch to his forehead and taking him down hard. Kneeling low, she listened and waited for the other poachers to stop what they where doing and start swarming the area, but nothing changed. She could hear them below her now, talking and gaming away with what sounded like dice. The area reeked like blood and corpses, but it didn't slow the girl down, she'd smelt worse than this. Besides, there poaching operations where pretty much over.

The Rodian would approach Syan's location from the front of the log, his hands just barely on the sling of his rifle. Aliyah knocked her bow calmly just in case she needed to take him down, but from the look of things he was walking straight into the ambush without any clue what was going on. After her ally took the Rodian down, she gently reached out with the Force and offered Syan a connection through the Light Side of the Force. It would be easier to communicate through thoughts than with a commlink, especially if one of them got into trouble. Don't freak out, I'm sorry usually I'd ask in person but we're in an interesting situation. We Jedi can link ourselves together, you can push me out if you'd like, I won't mind.

But this is probably more beneficial.

@Powerfullhorus

 

[Syan Forossa]

The now established connection between him and his fellow Jedi felt reassuring. I didn't know members of our order still used this form of communication. He had to shift his focus a bit towards answering Aliyah. Syan had studied beast control back on Jedha and he had coincidentally stumbled upon more than just beast control. Therefore, he knew how to use the mind link as well, although establishing it was still just a bit too hard for him.

Syan shifted all his focus back to the Rodian, who had walked straight passed him. And that was his chance. With a feline grace and agility, Syan pushed himself up and grabbed the rodian, putting him in an headlock. The Rodian struggled for a moment, attempting to free himself from Syan's grip. The Rodian struck the cathars chest a few times a few times with his elbow, but Syan's kept his grip tight enough to prevent the Rodian from escaping. The Rodians struggle grew weaker and weaker, stopping after a while due to his lack of oxygen, or so Syan hoped. The Jedi Knight let go of the knocked out poacher before turning to Aliyah. His chest was hurting where the Rodian had hit him.

How many do you see? Do you think we can handle them?

 

[Aliyah Phoenix]

The Rodian went down pretty easy, which left Aliyah with the mercenaries in the tent below. She didn't know how many of them there where, but she was going to find out. It would be a dangerous trick, but she was sure Syan could handle the extra challenge. Once this was wrapped up, they could be arrested and left for pickup. Not sure. One sec. Leaning down on her chest, Aliyah slowly crawled to the edge of the makeshift walkway and looked down, careful not to let her lekku fall. She could just barely see between the cracks of the fabric and the inside of the tent. It was a gruff looking place, with furs lining the walls, and four mercenaries in armor. They each had a blaster rifle or pistol and a melee weapon, but they all seemed focused on other things right now. We've got four of them over here. I'm going to draw them outside and attack from behind. You take the front.

Grabbing a random stone along the walkway, she cocked her arm back and threw it at a nearby tree hard. The impact caused a small clack to ring out. One by one, she watched the mercenaries stir, and start sitting back down. Annoyed, she grabbed another stone and threw it again, this time at a nearby rock, causing a very loud crack. They started shuffling out of the tent, but they weren't heading towards Syan, but away from him. Usually, she'd turn them around, but if they kept going this way they'd pass by his log without running into him. Staying low, Aliyah rolled behind cover to avoid being seen and waited until she was just outside their field of vision. Around the same time they hit Syan's location, she would fall calmly to the ground and start walking forward.

When her ally started attacking, she would spring up behind the first mercenary and throw him into his closest partner using the Force, dashing forward. Moving their guns above their heads with her left arm, she delivered a couple of punches before activating her lightsaber and swinging it. Since the blade was usually on stun anyways, it bruised and burnt the poachers chest lightly and caused them to stop moving. A third managed to get free of Syan for a second, but Aliyah shifted her grip and grabbed the wall, kicking off of it and throwing the merc back. "Well. That was actually easier than I thought. Good stuff." She was talking a little early, but she didn't doubt the Knight could take those two down.

@Powerfullhorus