Burk'yc Kurs: Dangerous Forests

[Taran Ge'Mav]

Dxun | Jungle Floor​

In ages gone this place had been both staging point and proving ground for the Mando'ade. Verda had left it's shore and fell upon Onderon in an iron rain, before plunging the Galaxy itself into war. Such storied history, such legend and awe. Yet none of it Taran could feel. The humid air rose in mist around him as tired eyes cast themselves upon the scenery. A haggard sigh falling from his lips accompanied by the shaking of his head. Just another jungle world, just another job.

"C'mon c'mon, ain't got all day now. Right!?" Pollusk, short and fat. Pitiful excuse for a man. He waddled away from the shuttle with a small case in one hand and hold-out blaster in the other. A man perfectly content with profiting from the work of others. "Taran ya lump! That means you too!" Bad luck that he happened to be Taran's employer.

Taran sighed again, his eyes rolling inside his helmet. Throwing down a piece of reed he had been rolling between his fingers before standing. Jobs like these were a dime a dozen. Sound easy, pay well, guaranteed first dibs on future contracts. Then you meet the people your working with. Slinging his rifle over his shoulder Taran trekked on behind the others hired for this post.

Including him, there were four. All supposedly good at their trade and all vouched for. Taran though had decided to reserve judgment on their skill until he saw it with his own eyes. They, like him, had been hired to act as trackers and guards for this little venture. A group of wealthy fools with enough credits to burn began fancying themselves as sportsman at some point, and were here to hunt dangerous game. Taran figured after the first of the real nasties showed itself that line of thinking would change fairly quick. He only had to keep them alive through it.

"Shereshoy." A mutter of irony fell from Taran's lips, as he plodded on behind the contingent before him.

---

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

The last time Keira had dealt with trespassers she had still been the Warmarshal of the Crusaders, and the so-called trespassers had both been attempting to steal beskar from Echoy'la, the capital of what had once been a bustling nation. Both had failed, their efforts halted by a small contingent of the Mandalorians that had once called the planet home. This time, however, things were different. She was no longer able to claim any title of importance among the vode, but she still held it in part as her responsibility to deal with situations like these, if just because of past experience. And so when it came about that there were those on the jungle world who didn't belong, it was she who had answered the call and departed from the outpost shortly thereafter.

Presently the only known coordinates were where the ship carrying the offenders had landed, and it was there she was headed, fully armored and armed for mobility, her tomahawk, pistol and EE-3 the only immediately visible weaponry on her person. Thus far it had been a fairly uneventful trip through the jungle, but she had learned long ago that any sort of quiet meant very little in the grand scheme of things. And it was something her AI was more than happy to remind her of, "Is it just a habit of your people to never learn from the past?"
Stifling a sigh, her back teeth clicked in order to mute the annunciator of her helmet and keep this conversation silent to outsiders, "I don't know, Thalia, I'd say it's going pretty well so far. Why don't you just keep an eye out like you're supposed to do?"
"That's what I've been doing. Besides, isn't this a job for someone like the Mand'alor?"
"Theoretically. But it's a bit late for that now."
"It always is."

At the end of it all she could only crack a smile, shaking her head. Thalia did more than enough worrying for the both of them, more than comfortable with pointing out the flaws in any plan and offering her own colorful commentary along the way. Sometimes it was nice to have the extra companionship, but other times she questioned the sanity of Patricia's decision. If she needed someone to consistently provide her own special brand of critique and encouragement, she would just call up the woman herself. There was no need for a technologically sophisticated substitute.

"Scanners are picking up lifeforms up ahead."
"Do you have a number?"
"Four, it looks like."
Well, she had certainly faced worse odds. "Armament?"
"Unknown. But only an idiot would come to a planet like this ill-prepared."
"That's exactly what I'm banking on. Let me know if anything changes."
"As always."

Still she pressed on through the trees.

[member="Taran Ge'Mav"]

 

[Taran Ge'Mav]

The bark of a slugthrower rang free across the jungle floor. A shot gone wide, cutting through foliage and burying itself into a large tree. Seeing this Pollusk let loose a sinister smirk before smacking the man whom missed on the back. "Don't you worry now my boy! We'll have it's head before the day's out!" Head now cocked towards the others he let loose a nasty chortle. "Taran! I want that one. Lead me to it!" Waving his blaster in a goading motion whilst he spoke.

"Rarely do Boma so easily flee." Taran's voice poured through his helmet's speaker. "Be glad he was a small one, or the or'dinii might have lost his life." Their eyes turned towards Taran and nodded in agreement to his words. A master hunter he may not have been, but the aruetiise were not so foolish to claim they knew better. All except for Pollusk that is who simply scoffed and motioned for everyone to follow him. As the others grouped up, Taran knelt near where the creature had been standing. Faint blood splatter. "Not a miss, a graze." A trail to follow, but harbinger of danger as well. There were far worse things than Boma in these woods.

After a moment Taran rose only to be met with the ever abrasive Pollusk's complaining. "C'mon now! How long do you intend to stare at the ground eh? Some guide you are. I figure I can find my own way there just as easily." The chubby man then smiled a crooked smile to his cohorts and tromped forward towards the underbrush.

"If that's you will so be it." Taran called out, approaching the other men. "But I warn you, rarely do Boma travel alone as well." Pollusk froze, face turning red and vein bulging on his forehead.

A stamp of his foot and mumbled insults paved the way for the man's return to the group. Bluster was fine and well for most things, yet not here. If Pollusk left the group he would die, and he knew it. "Well lead on then!" Venom rode on his voice. "Is that not what we're paying you for!?"

"Jate koor." Taran agreed with a nod, before trekking off in the direction of the wounded Boma with his wards in tow.

---

[member="Keira Ticon"]

 

[Keira Priest]

That single crack of a gunshot told Keira all she needed to know about those she was pursuing. Rarely did the vode travel this far into the wilds, and even if they had they were smart enough to notify others at the outpost beforehand in order to avoid situations precisely like these. That meant the outsiders were close, and gave her a clue as to what weaponry they carried. Slugthrowers meant her lightsabers would be useless, but thankfully she rarely carried them on her person, if ever. "Thalia, do what you can to triangulate on the coordinates of that gunshot. I presume we'll have company soon." The resolution, she knew, wouldn't be so quick to transpire. Long ago she had learned not to expect much from most people, and this went doubly for offenders such as those she was tracking.

"I have a rough estimate of their location, but they're bound to have moved on by now."
"I can find them easily enough. Your help is appreciated."
"That's a first."

Soon enough a splash of color marking the rough location of where the slugthrower was fired appeared on the map in the upper corner of her HUD, some distance away from the original coordinates of the ship. It was no surprise that they were on the move, and they appeared to be moving at a fairly reasonable pace. At least one of them was an experienced hunter, and the single shot led her to believe that the mark had either been hit, or the shot had gone wide. Whichever it may have been, that was only one of the four she had to contend with. But she was Corellian just as much as Mandalorian, and the odds weren't something she concerned herself with.

After some time walking eventually she was close enough to catch fragments of conversation, and that prompted her to slow her pace and quiet her footsteps as she transitioned into something more akin to the soldier she always was at heart. Reaching up she pulled her EE-3 - Delilah - from her back, concealing herself among the trees and undergrowth and shouldering the weapon, peering through the scope to obtain a better view of those she hunted. Immediately she picked out the most experienced of the group from nothing more than the T-visor helmet he wore, which gave her pause. She had never seen his beskar'gam before, but he wore it with a natural ease that spoke of a natural comfort beneath its plating. The man that followed after him was obviously an employer of sorts, his ambling and somewhat clumsy gait more than telling. The rest of them followed that same pattern, which meant there was only one true threat among their number - a potential Mandalorian.

By all Nine Hells, what are the odds. A sigh hissed from between her teeth before they clicked together once, activating the annunciator of her helmet once more and allowing her to speak while being heard. Stepping out from her hiding place near the party, she leveled her rifle towards the group, not picking out one of them as an individual target just yet. "This planet belongs to what remains of the Mandalorian people and is under the jurisdiction of the standing Mand'alor. I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

[member="Taran Ge'Mav"]