Hoth is Very Cold

[Jaedan Fray]

Unaware of Mordulla's suspicions, Jaedan left the tent for the cold and unforgiving wasteland of Hoth gazing around before Leetan threw them some meat. He wasn't the kind to complain without a good reason and for some reason never cared for such small discomforts. His breath become more regular, his eyes staring into the distance, he made an attempt of sensing through the force, yet much to his dismay, there was nothing to sense for now...

He begun to eat from his share of meat while ready to follow the hunter's lead. Now that he thought more about it, he wasn't sure just how useful he would be during this hunt. He knew how a wampa looked like, but how do they act? It's likely they would attack unwelcome guests which somehow was easier for him than running after the beast.

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]
[member="Leetan Aforni"]

 

[Leetan Aforni]

[member="Jaedan Fray"] [member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

The trail from the previous day was as good as gone, blown away or covered with snow during the night, but Leetan didn't let that stop him. Unslinging his rifle, he began to move stealthily across the landscape. WIth no trail to follow, caution was extremely necessary. Wampas were ambush hunters, using their white coloration to blend in perfectly with the snow. Besides that, Leetan was already at a disadvantage. It was said that wampas could conserve body heat so effectively that lifeform sensors sometimes failed to detect them, so Leetan's ability to see into the infrared would be a shaky asset at best. Worse, the snow meant that it would be difficult for his antennae to pick up the vibrations of the wampa's moving.

As he continued to track along the icy wasteland, Leetan suddenly had an idea.

"Hey, you're a Force-user right?" he said to Jaedan, "Sensing any life around here?"

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

The trio trudged through the knee deep snow as [member="Leetan Aforni"] lead them in pursuit f their game, Lab was not much of a hunter, but had studied many different creatures in the past, and knew the habits of Wampas. Morning and nigh time were their main period of hunting, catching other animals as they wandered around in the early hours away from their heard and at nigh before they went to sleep.

Though not one to shy away from a fight her main field of expertise was still medical practice, so at the least if anyone got hurt they would not die from lack of care. She remember reading up on some things about that in the Empires historical records after the battle of Hoth, how many troopers died from minor injury's due to the cold, hopefully that would not happen. Though with the Sith mention of pirates the threat ever loomed over the group.

At the Rodian words she too pipped up, "Yer my scanner cannot pick up anything, no heat signatures, motion senor and sonar are both coming back negative, I'd rather find your quarry then have them find us". Natural selection at its finest, able t outsmart even the most up to date technology.

[member="Jaedan Fray"]

 

[Jaedan Fray]

Jaedan merely blinked at the man's request, Mordulla didn't seem too surprised at this, it was clear they wither knew from the beginning or figured it out. Either way, they showed no intention of harming him, for now there was little reason to dwell on it. He attempted to find what he was looking for with the force and failed, now the wampas? It might be possible "I can try... It all depends on how far away they are."

The sith took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He lowered his head while concentrating on his ability, he was extremely skeptical since the device did not find anything, he could see Mordulla and Leetan, but not much else... Jaedan remained unmoved and focused trying to go even further, yet it still proved fruitless.

Opening his eyes, the man looked to the two shaking his head "I can't find anything." although that may not be very helpful... "I guess that means they aren't anywhere close to us?"

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"] [member="Leetan Aforni"]

 

[Captain Marek]

[member="Jaedan Fray"] *As those words leave your lips, a small ship hovers around your location and then lands a ways away. A tall figure in Mandalorian armor walks slowly towards you in the blistering snow. He stops about 10 feet away from you and begins to speak in his rough accent, you can tell from his voice he is not a Mandalorian.* "I'm looking for a creature who I believe has come this way..." *He says as he scans the surrounding faces.* "He's a Trandossian, little bit less than 8 feet tall, red skin, and he's missing a couple teeth... thanks to me..." *He says with a slight chuckle at the end. * "Any of yall know this fella?"

 

[Leetan Aforni]

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"] [member="Jaedan Fray"] [member="Captain Marek"]

Great, just great, more company. Leetan frowned as the ship came and landed right in front of them. If there were any wampas around, they were certainly gone now, or at least driven into hiding. That made Leetan mad. First he'd had to deal with a guy walking up to his campsite, now a guy landing a ship in front of him. Leetan sighed and walked to meet the spacer.

"We have not seen anyone of that description," he said, gruffness in his voice, "So if you don't mind, we have wampas to track and your entrance probably alerted every beast within five klicks that we're here."

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Lab frowned as the Sith came back with negatives himself, there was alway some the possibility that the wanpas they were tracking had caught onto the hunters and high tailed it away. Despite being drutish in appearance the creatures were smart, it would not be hard to assume that in the event of being tracked they would put as much distance between the and their predictors as possible. Even more so on a snow ware land were even the slightest wrong move would result in you winding up dead.

Before she could make a statement the loud and distinctive sound of a ship approaching filled the ever vast white planes, kicking up snow as it descended. I think did not take a genuine to know that [member="Leetan Aforni"] was going to be pissed off at this, but what seemed really strange was the supposed bounty hunters way of going about things. Declaring who you were after on such a loud speaker would easily give away their presence to who ever they were following, and in top of that an Trandoshian. "He does realise that Hoth would be the last place a reptilian species would go but then..."

Turning back to the Sith, " Mr [member="Jaedan Fray"], did those pirates you face happen to have a Trandoshian in the mix, that could be where this bounty hunter target may be, and also explain why they would come here, it's always easier to have friends".

[member="Captain Marek"]

 

[Jaedan Fray]

The young man turned to face the ship and eventually the newcomer who was also looking for something, more like... Someone. He stared long at the mercenary, perhaps something piqued his interest or maybe he was studying him the way he would do with everyone else. "Trandoshan..." he said after Mordulla's question. A small frown found it's place on his face, he thought of it deeply but was not entirely sure. "Yes, there was a trandoshan with them I recall... But I am not sure if it is the one you are looking for." If it was, all the better, the pirates would have their own problem while he would be free to explore in peace, it's true though, it would be uncharacteristic for a trandoshan to be here, which might be why that specific one was, he likely hoped people would not look here having that in mind. Now, there were several ways in which this can end badly with them all having to see those pirates... But nobody wanted that so it's likely they will avoid that, right? Well, he hoped so.

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]
[member="Leetan Aforni"]
[member="Captain Marek"]

 

[Captain Marek]

[member="Jaedan Fray"][member="Labkahip Mordulla"][member="Leetan Aforni"]
*The man stays still pondering all that he has heard. He then looks at [member="Leetan Aforni"]* "Wampa hunting you say?" *He says as he crosses his arms* "A very dangerous business... But also very profitable... I saw a pack heading south-west. I would be very interested in joining you all if you would allow me." *The man presses several buttons on his wrist, his ship cloaks and disappears. He then looks back at [member="Jaedan Fray"]* "One more thing, any idea what the pirate captains name was?"

 

[Leetan Aforni]

@Leetan Aforni [member="Jaedan Fray"] [member="Captain Marek"]

Leetan's face remained angered for the duration of his fellow's words to the mercenary, but when he gave valuable information, his face softened slightly.

"I guess it couldn't hurt," he replied, "More people means more pelts means more credits." The force-user Jaedan was correct in assuming Leetan did not wish to engage with pirates. It was a waste of time and ammo better spent hunting wampas.

 

[Captain Marek]

[member="Leetan Aforni"] *The man walks toward you slowly while observing you camp, when he got within a few feet, and looks around. He then presses a button on his wrist, after a couple second two droids fly out of the now invisible ship, the droids appear to come out of nowhere. The droids come next to me before beginning the process of creating a small portable hut.* "If we are going to hunt down the pack I saw, we need to get some rest. I counted at least 20." *As I am talking I get cut off by the sound of loud Wampa roars in the distance. I look towards the sound, then looks back at you.* "Make that 30..." *I say as I walk towards my small hut being built* "The names Marek, I very much look forward to working with you all."

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

The whole trip was getting out of hand, she thought that simply telling the bounty hunter where his quarry may be would get him to leave, but it seemed the supposed mandolorian, judging from his armor was just as intrigued to hunt the wampas, getting a drone out and tracking them. "Mr Marek, though it is appreciated that you would like to help, hunting wampas is not as easy as following them with a drone and flying after them, they are not dumb creatures and as long as that pack knows its being followed will just keep running, the whole idea of this trip was to stay silent and follow them closely".

Lab approached the man in an educated manner, why did bounty hunters always go in head first, or was this man just not the stealthy type. "Now there could be an option to use a ship and heavy fire power but the client that hired me and this hunter would very much like the pelts intact, and not full of blaster holes, so if you are to join us you will need to keep yourself quite as possible, and more then just a cloaking field, Wamaps have a good sense of smell and are expert camouflage hunters, they are not easy to track or hide from". She allowed time for the mando to reply and for the others to introduce themselves.

[member="Captain Marek"] l [member="Leetan Aforni"] l [member="Jaedan Fray"]

 

[Jaedan Fray]

And the band was growing... Of course there was strength in numbers and truth be told that would put anyone at ease, but now there were more people to look at, more variables to consider, more minds and personalities to be aware of, that's always annoying... For those who think like that. "Jaedan Fray." He said in the same tone as always, he wished to stay a mere shadow in the background for now, it was better that way. Now they knew where to go and that there were wampas about, it's time for the hunting part to come in probably, although... Didn't the mercenary say there are 20 or 30 at least? That could be really problematic since they are only 4 and they are supposed to defeat these creatures without making a giant mess. "I feel it would be wise to consider a strategy." he spoke, dying is bad, it is always bad, it's likely the hunter knew what to do though, but voicing it just to be sure wouldn't hurt anyone.

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]
[member="Captain Marek"]
[member="Leetan Aforni"]

 

[Captain Marek]

*The man with his arms still crossed looking at [member="Labkahip Mordulla"], pulls out a hologram projector out of his belt, activates it and hands it to @Labkahip Mordulla. She sees a picture of a room full of animal skins and hides, including Gundarks, rancor teeth, and of course, Wampa heads.* "This ain't my first rodeo. I'm no bounty hunter..." *The man says as he is taking the hologram back.* "I'm an expert... And on the side, i make a ton of money... Whatever title you would give that, just call me Marek." *Marek then hears the words of [member="Jaedan Fray"]*
"Of course, with a pack this size, some may view it as a near impossible mission... I view it as an opportunity... With the right strategy, anything is possible."

 

[Leetan Aforni]

[member="Captain Marek"] [member="Jaedan Fray"] [member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

"Alright!" Leetan said, tired of the argument. He slung his rifle back onto his shoulder and turned to the Mandalorian.

"If you've got a way of tracking these things, then please, do lead the way," he said, "We've wasted enough time already."

 

[Labkahip Mordulla]

Her eyes looked into the hologram produced by the mando, it was clear he was a game hunter and experienced, but she was kind of ticked off by his sudden appearance still bothered her. His attitude was like that of some super expert and better at the rest, just dropping in at the last minute to take the torch from the runner and hoist it over the last 2 meters before the finish line, and get crowed gold medal.

"Fine I agree with [member="Leetan Aforni"], you can come along, as long as I get to do my research, I'll let you guys discuss strategy"

[member="Captain Marek"] l

 

[Jaedan Fray]

Jaedan patiently waited for the things to be sorted, with this occasion, it was confirmed that Mordulla was some sort of scientist, or someone equally knowledgeable at least, collecting information such as this is a useful habit to have he always thought, spacing out was tempting in many cases but would not offer the same kind of results. Looks like everyone was decided to take down the entire herd, that will certainly be no easy thing, but at least one of the present hunters was skilled, it shouldn't go too bad...

Still... Maybe he can plant an idea inside their heads "That ship of yours could be really scary for the wampas..." he said staring at the place where the ship was supposed to be "Maybe it would've made the wampas run away... maybe they'd be afraid of the shape or the sound... Or both... Hm... I wonder if it could cover blaster fire... Animals are so weird."

It might be a good idea, in which case he'd prefer it if he were not the one to have it.

[member="Labkahip Mordulla"]
[member="Leetan Aforni"]
[member="Captain Marek"]

 

[Captain Marek]

*Marek, looking at the three, hearing what they have to say, turns his head towards his invisible ship, then looks back at [member="Jaedan Fray"]* "My ship is a modified infiltrator class fighter, she's got a lot of fight in her, I'd rather not use blaster fire unless absolutely necessary, such techniques could damage the Wampas, and it also would make it far less fun. I say we head to the last spot I saw the Wampas. While my ship does cloak, Wampas still have ears better then most creatures, they'll be able to hear the engines if we get to close, we should take my ship till we get a few miles behind them, then we'll hike it out." *Marek walks towards the campfire and places his hand above the crackling logs to warm himself.* "I assume yall have got the tools needed for a hunt of this caliber? I've got plenty of blades if yall need any, we will need all the help we can get."

[member="Jaedan Fray"][member="Labkahip Mordulla"][member="Leetan Aforni"]

 

[Leetan Aforni]

[member="Captain Marek"] [member="Jaedan Fray"] [member="Labkahip Mordulla"]

Leetan looked at the armored like he was crazy. They had started at dawn, and, having only gone a klick or two from their campsite, had been tracking for a few hours at most. Looking up at the sky, Leetan saw that the sun had just barely reached its zenith. In any case, Leetan was getting quite exasperated by this man. This hunt was Leetan's, not his. The Rodian had offered the man a place in the hunt, not command of it. Not to mention that he was questioning Leetan's skill with a rifle. Leetan had been hunting since his first breath; to a Rodian, the hunt was life, not just a weekend getaway.

"No offense to such a master hunter as yourself," he said, sarcasm evident in his voice, "But I don't stop tracking until I catch my quarry or the sun goes down. So, I'm going to go now. A true hunter doesn't need a fancy ship." Adjusting his rifle, Leetan resumed his hike across the frozen wasteland. If Jaedan or Lab wished to accompany him, he would permit it, welcome it even, but he still had several hours of daylight left and he meant to make use of every second, just as he had been taught. He hiked past Malek's ship, and was cresting a small hill twenty or so meters past when suddenly he got the feeling that something was off. He stopped, antennae tingling. His gut told him something was wrong, but there was nothing around; what had caused him to stop.

The answer was given when the snow on the other side of the hill exploded with a mighty roar. Leetan stumbled back, and was face to face with the lovely sight of a wampa ice monster. The beast roared again and swiped at Leetan with a massive paw. Leetan ducked, losing his balance and falling onto his back.

"Son of a bantha!" he yelled, rolling out of the way of a two-fisted slam. He leaped to his feet, wrenching his pistol from its holster.

"I found one!" he yelled, slightly jokingly. He tried to aim a shot that would not damage the creature's pelt, but the beast was two quick, and Leetan had to dodge another lunge.

"Get its attention!" he yelled, hoping his companions were in a position to help, "The kill is mine!"

 

[Captain Marek]

OOC: Leetan Aforni, See my last edit. (Totally forgot what time it was, lol)