Zoo Keepers

[Arador Drakar]

Arador looked to Tynian when the jedi told him to take care of the Nexu. He knew what it meant as he nodded and walked around to the front of the creature. Changing the bolt from stun to the other Arador aimed at the beasts head.

Taking a deep breath he fired a single shot into it's head. He didn't like to kill. But if it was left unconscious it would have either come after the three jedi or the woman taking shelter in the shuttle.

 

[Kane]

Kane saw the wisdom in Tynians thought, the stun bolts were good for disabling the creatures they encountered but would not prevent them from being tailed. Not when a Nexu is involved at least.

The old Crusader reached toward the remaining Nexu with the force and gripped its head before snapping its neck.

"An unfortunate necessity, good thinking my son."

Then noting Arador's expression at havijg to kill the beast Kane walked over and gave the boy a reassuring squeeze on the shoulder.

"It is not our fault that they must now die, nor is it the beasts. Their deaths lie completely in the hands of the rich fools who created this nightmare. With any luck they will pay for their foolishness."

Then, thinking of the fact that some of them had likely been killed by the creatures that had escaped.

"I would wager that some of them already have."

 

[Tynian]

As they left the dead Nexu, they continued down the corridor. This was no ordinary hallway though... the walls were lined with advertisements of what the visitors would see in the zoo itself and at the far end was an area that had several metal gates. Those were used for the visitors to hand their tickets in and finally enter the zoo.

At the gates, there were a few dead bodies, as well as the remains of a middle aged man with claw marks all over his back and torso.
Tynian quickly looked away. “That must be the husband. The blood is fresh around him.” To confirm his theory they found the bloodied tracks of the three Nexu that now lay dead behind them.

Looking past the bodies, several of the gates had been torn off their hinges and tossed aside like they were made of paper.
Tynian didn’t like this at all...”So our main focal point would be the control center to see if we can’t lock this place down again... Arador, where on the map would that be and how far away?”

 

[Arador Drakar]

Arador honestly hates the thought of having to kill the Nexu. It was just doing what it was meant to do as a predator. The boy was honestly hoping that the people who owned this zoo got their reward. Not just for poorly designing the place that ended up failing somehow and getting people killed as a result. But also resulting in the jedi having to kill creatures just as innocent as the people no longer living. Perhaps it was a bit of a dark thought but Arador hated it when defenseless people and animals suffer. He has always been that way since he was a small child.

He looked up to Kane as the man placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Listening to him the boy nodded, "There is a chance that they have got what they deserved." He said quietly then followed the two of them into the corridor. The boy looked down to what remained of the woman's husband, there are a few other bodies a bit further up ahead of the man in the same state.

Arador noticed the torn gates and thought that he should take a look at the map he found a bit ago. Slinging his rifle, the boy unfolded the map looking it over, "That is going to be a bit of a problem. The control center is on the map.. But.." He pointed to it on the parchment, "It is all the way over there.. And we are here." He said pointing to where they are on the map.

 

[Tynian]

The map revealed that the security control office was high above the zoo itself. It was designed to act like a central lookout so the “controllers” could see everything... not only electronically, but also with the naked eye.
The thought would be that it was easy to get to... but nothing was further from the truth. The entrance to the turbo lift was on the other side of the zoo. Completely opposite from where the three Jedi now stood.

The zoo itself was huge... About the size of four trackball fields. With a series of paths going from, through and around various cages of all shapes and sizes. It was a complete labyrinth designed to keep the visitor’s attention and senses solely on the animals supposedly housed within the cages.

A long series of hover-steps cascaded down from the hangar floor to the zoo’s main floor.
Oddly the stairs were still working... but even more oddly were the bodies that laid on the stairs as they ascended and descended.

Below the three Jedi came the sounds of all the animals and creatures roaming around either looking for food or for a way out.
In the midst of the noise, there was a faint cry for help coming up from their right where some smaller cages stood.

The cages were positioned next to the refreshment stands and the facilities. Again, bodies seemed to be everywhere... it was an immense and grotesque sight all at once.

Tynian went to one knee just to compose himself. “How could someone even think this was a good idea.”
When he heard the cry for help, he stood. “I think that’s our first stop.”

 

[Kane]

Kane looked around the zoo, seeing all that carnage nearly turned his stomach. He had seen some things during his time on the front lines, some stuff too. And he wouldn't reccomend it. But this, this was a level of animalistic brutality that even the Exiles couldn't have managed.

He saw where the control room was, and the turbolift. Then he cursed the designers of this death station under his breath just before they heard the cries for help, evidently the woman hiding out in Tynian and Arador's shuttle was not the sole survivor. That gave Kane a bit of hope.

He kept his rifle on stun -so as to save the lethal rounds for something big- and made a quick dash to the cages, dropping low behind a half wall to stay out of sight while he waited for his comrades to get into position. He did however peek over the wall into the cage to see what was in there.

Three Wampas have a man and a woman cornered in there.

He projected telepathically to his allies, sending what he saw along with the message. The vision would not obstruct what Tynian and Arador could see themselves, merely give them an idea of the layout of the enclosure.

There were large rocks everywhere, possibly synthetic. And a cave at the back. The Wampas had the couple up against one of the rocks, with one on either side of them and the biggest one in between the entrance and the couple with it's back to the entrance. Their white fur was stained with lots of blood, and Kane was pretty sure he saw the body of someone who looked like an executive amongst the corpses.

 

[Arador Drakar]

As Tynian and Kane looked at the map while he pointed out where they currently are along with where the control center is. The teenager looked at all the exhibits and enclosures they will have to go.through or around in order to get there. It appeared that the owners and people who designed the zoo thought more about entertainment than safety. Then wondered what other corners were cut in order to get the zoo up and running as quickly as possible.

It was impossible to avoid looking at all the carnage. Bodies appeared to be in every direction, including some pinned to walls. Others are not even identifiable at all. The boy has never seen such a thing until now, yes he knew there is a possibility of seeing such things. But not on this level. It almost made his stomach turn in on itself, but somehow the boy managed to keep himself together. Hearing all the animals that were heard roaming around, the sounds echoing off the walls, Arador closed his eyes for a moment when a set of three sounded far closer than the others. A desprite scream from help caused his eyes to snap open.

"Perhaps we should make some sort of noise to distract them from the man and woman? I don't think stunning them will work. And attacking them may cause them to attack the couple instead of us." Arador said after Kane telepathically showed him and Tynian what he is seeing. The boy started looking around to see if he can find anything that can make a loud enough noise in case the other two jedi agreed.

 

[Tynian]

Tynian looked at Kane. “So not to sound rude, but just how good are you with that rifle?” He looked back down at the floor beneath them. “Good enough to keep a Wampa off of your son’s tail?”

And with that Tynian leapt over the rail and used the force to land safely on the floor under them. As he landed he went toward the cage and snuck up behind the huge white creatures. As he neared them, he took his own rifle and fired at the first wampa hitting it in the back of its head dropping it to the ground. The other two turned and both gave out loud growls and cries of rage and hatred at the new invader.

The two remaining Wampas started after Tynian who was now running toward the hover-stairs... and out of the cage... and into the open.

 

[Kane]

"I hate it when he does that."

Kabe muttered under his breath as Tynian sailed by and got the attention of the Wampas, killing one on his way in.

The old Crusader rolled onto his belly and lined up his shot, switching to lethal as he did so he fired two shots -one Into each knee of one of the Wampas- causing the beast to fall flat on it's face.

The second wampa got the strongest force blast Kane could muster without using up too much stamina, sending it stumbling backwards and giving Tynian time to make his getaway with Kane on his heels.

"ARADOR, GET THE CIVILIANS OUT NOW!"

He bellowed as they reached the hoverstairs. He turned at the bottom of them and fired a shot into the eye of the Wampa he had crippled and kept his carbine trained on the third wampa as it struggled to recover from the force blast.

 

[Arador Drakar]

Arador watched as Tynian took a leap of faith as he got the two Wampas attention after killing one, trusting that his master will have his back. He was sure that once he mastered the force sight that he will be the same way. Boy will that be a headache for Alek.

Arador ran into the enclosure as Kane yelled for him to get the civilians out of there. He was able to locate the two civilians through combining his force sight and hearing ability. Finding them hiding in the cave, "Hey! It is all clear now. Come on let's go." He told them helping the woman out followed by the man who was injured. Opening a small pouch on his belt the teenager got out a small piece of fabric gauze and bandaged the man's arm, "Got one who is injured!" He yelled to the two other jedi.

The two civilians told them that they are a newly married couple who came here as part of their honeymoon. The woman was a bit frantic while the man was fairly calm now that the wampas were taken care of. Once he had the man's arm bandaged up and in a makeshift sling he guided the couple out of the enclosure.

 

[Tynian]

As Tynian reached the hover-stairs, he turned to face the last Wampa. It had Ben tumbling head over heels from the push Kane gave it, but once it stopped, the beast got to its feet and laid its eyes on Arador and the fleeing couple.
Tynian couldn’t let the beast get to them, so he ran back between the creature and it’s prey, pulled his lightsaber and activated both blades.
The Wampa paused briefly at this new threat, but since it didn’t understand what it was facing... it charged anyway, sealing its fate.
Tynian didn’t give it a chance to get bear the fleeing couple or even retreat, as the Jedi was on him quicker than expected. Using the force, he quickly and literally cut the huge beast down in a flurry of lightsaber strokes.

When he was done, he turned to tell Arador to get the couple up the stairs and to safety... as he did, a new threat came around the corner from further inside the zoo.
Five crystal wolves entered the area sniffing the ground and scouting the scene. The smell of fresh blood from the Wampas had attracted them and in turn they came looking for a free meal.

Upon seeing Tynian the wolves howled and began fanning out...
The Jedi planted his feet and raised his lightsaber... getting ready for what was coming.

 

[Kane]

"There are two ships in the docking bay, board either and stay quiet. The way out from here is clear."

Kane patted the woman lightly on the shoulder as he spoke to her, nodding at Arador to acknowledge a job well done -though he was unaware if the blind Jedi could perceive such a subtle motion-.

Then came the crystal wolves howling and fanning out to half-surround Tynian, Kane dropped his carbine and launched himself to his son's side and activating his lightsaber as he flew through the air. The timing of his jump worked out with the attack of one of the outermost wolves, and he kicked the beast squarely in it's head as their paths intersected which caused it to fall on its side and block half of the wolves for a moment.

As the old Crusader landed he rolled forwards, twirling his saber in front of him as he rose to keep the beasts at bay as he gained his feet and took up position to Tynian's left.

He said nothing however, he and Tynian had reached the level of not really needing to communicate long ago. Before the young man had become a Knight even. Kane was sure of his son and knew that when they fought together -be it against gunmen, Sith or even beasts- the duo were a perfectly timed fighting machine. It may have been a touch cocky but he thought for a moment that Arador was in for quite the show.

 

[Arador Drakar]

Arador looked to Kane as the Jedi approached. He was not able to perceive the man nodding. But he was able to feel the subtle motion well enough as well as feel the master's approval.

Hearing howls the teenager looked around to see Crystal Wolves fanning out. The boy was quick to put himself between the wolves and the fleeing couple. The vibostaff in his hands turned on and ready. But it seemed that for this round he will be more so in the sidelines as the wolves were more focused on the father and son pair. Minus one.thst came for Arador, barking and growling as it charged. Slamming the staff into the crystal wolf, the creature whimpered but tried again. This time the teenager hit it on the head so hard it dropped to the floor dead. The teenager looked down at the stunning creature then over to the other two jedi as the remaining pack members seemed to be getting ready.

 

[Tynian]

Tynian didn’t have to look to know where Kane was. They had fought together countless times before and this was no different.
Stepping forward, the double white blades whirled over his head and cane crashing down upon the nearest wolf... splitting its head into two.

As Arador faced his own wolf, another one came snapping at Tynian...
It came at him trying to get at his ankles as well as behind the Jedi, but Tynian was faster. He lifted up his heel and used the force to switch places with Kane who would surprise and attack the creature.

The two left over watched the fight... the one Kane had landed on, stood up and decided to run away, but the other one was the Alpha... and he wasn’t going anywhere.

It stared the Jedi down, snarling and growling...

 

[Kane]

Kane roared at the wolves as he and Tynian executed the switch, bringing his blade up and into the gut of the wolf before throwing its corpse back away from the pair of Jedi.

The one that ran away was unsurprising, as was the fact that the Alpha stayed and was posturing aggressively. The Old crusader reached out with the force and locked it in place before throwing it high in the air with incredible force so that it smashed into the ceiling and it's back snapped. It landed with a sickening thud and a crack, it's front end still squirming as it fought to try and snap at them.

He walked over to the beast, careful not to be caught by it's snapping jaws, and quickly ended it's misery by putting the tip of his blade deep into it's brain.

"Such a waste."

He muttered sadly as the light left the beautiful creatures eyes.

 

[Arador Drakar]

Arador watched the two Jedi confront the lone alpha as the other ran off in fear. The teenager cringed a little as Kane locked it in place then threw it up to the ceiling. Just to drop with a just as sickening crack. The boy wondered if it was the wolf's string will to live that it was still alive. But the light from the creature was extinguished as Kane put it out of it's misery. The boy then wondered where the other one ran off to, worrying that it may attack them.

Turning his vibostaff off and fold up with a press of the button on the handle. Arador perked as he heard the remaining crystal wolf whining like it was hurt. Like something attacked it. But as he walked a bit further into the corridor the Crystal Wolf ran he noticed that it was actually due to it running into a torn door and injuring it's front legs.

The wolf noticed Arador though and looked back at him fearfully whimpering. The teenager slowly approached it, carefully kneeling down. The creature acted fearful as the boy touched it then appeared to relax. That was when Arador aimed his rifle at it's head and pulled the trigger, "I'm sorry." He muttered quietly as he slinged the rifle on his shoulder. Straightening himself the teenager sighed softly as he calmed himself.

 

[Tynian]

Tynian looked around. There was blood everywhere, as well as bodies and now the bodies of the wolves and Wampas that had attacked them.

He glanced over at Kane. “This all just makes no sense to me. On Ossus, animals were treated with respect. But not here.”

He then looked high above at the control center and then to the far wall. It would take them a good hour to walk straight there, but that wouldn’t be the case now. He realized they were going to have to fight their way through every animal in there just to get to the turbolift.
He took a deep breath and then as Arador arrived, they began their trek.

As they passed a “snack bar”, Tynian helped himself to something called a lemonade. It was a cool drink made
With lemons, sugar and water. It was dispensed from a machine into a cup. He grinned at Kane as he drank it. “Not bad at all. Want some?”
He also grabbed a bag of some stuff called popcorn. It was pretty good too... So he munched and drank the lemonade as they walked.
“This wouldn’t have been a bad day after all if it wasn’t for all the creatures out there and the dead people. Which I hope we find more of them that are alive.”

 

[Kane]

Kane looked to Arador sadly, the poor kid was having a hard time with the having to kill innocent animals thing. The old Crusader understood his pain.

As they walked Tynian found his snacks, Kane quickly drained his own cup of lemonade, finding it far more sour than he would have liked. He decided to pass on the popcorn.

"There aren't many places like Ossus in the galaxy, especially not with respect like your people have for nature. And when the rich see a way to spend exorbitant amounts of credits to make even more they do not care about the morality of their actions."

They walked in silence for a while. Well...relative silence. Tynian was snacking as they went.

Eventually they reached the enclosure that must have housed the crystal wolves, it had a den for them and a few rocks and bushes. Like Kane guessed with most of the enclosures they wouls pass it was much smaller than it should have been, especially for a pack that size.

Then Kane held up his hand for them to stop, snatching a piece of popcorn from Tynains hand to stop him from making a sound with it.

Something in there is whimpering, Arador, go check it out. Tynian and I will cover you.

He projected telepathically to his allies so as not to alert whatever was in the enclosure, just in case it was a trap.

 

[Arador Drakar]

Arador approached the two jedi as Tynian helped himself to a snack and drink. The teenager helped himself to a small cup of lemonade. The boy was a bit thirsty but he isn't hungry he guessed is due to what they are dealing with here. Well more so due to the range of emotions going through his head that the boy was trying to push away.

As the three walked along, Arador did playfully take a few pieces of popcorn from Tynian's bag. Munching on the few pieces he took, the teenager froze for a moment when he heard something from the enclosure ahead of them. What it was he didn't know, all he knew is that whatever it is was scared and whining. Looking to Kane as he told the teenager to go take a look. Of course he got the short straw but then he is the only one small enough to squeeze himself into the den.

Tossing the cup in his hand into a bin, using the force to set it in quietly. The boy walked over to the small den. Arador quietly got onto his hands and knees looking in to see a... Pup curled up against the furthest wall in the den? The boy carefully crawled into the den, "Awww she's so cute!" The boy half squealed as the crystal wolf pup looked at him with her blue eyes and her coat sparkling in the little light in the den. He managed to coax it to come to him. Carefully scooping it into his arms the boy wiggled his way out, "It's a pup." He told Kane and Tynian as he stood up holding the small critter in his arms. He looked to the two jedi, "Can I keep it?" It was a playful question but one that he already has an answer to. He will rescue this pup since she has done nothing to deserve her life ending. The teenager wanted to save at least one innocent creature. And it seemed that the pup is already attached to the boy because she licked his chin then crawled under his tunic to hide.

 

[Tynian]

Tynian watched as Arador pulled a little pup out of the man-made cave. He had to admit that it was cute... and probably hungry. He walked over to Arador and offered the popcorn. "I don't know if this stuff is good for her, but she can have it if you want."
After the question of keeping it came up, Tynian shrugged. "I don't see a problem with it. But you'll have to protect her as we move forward."