Hunter of Ren: The Trap

[Eryn]

She always thought the end would be different.

Most likely floated out an airlock given her usual mode of transportation, but there were other options, too. A stray blaster bolt in a bar fight, gutted in an alley on the rare occasion she wasn't paying attention. Eryn liked to hope she'd go down swingin' and take a few bounty hunters with her, but hell, she had a higher chance of death by rancid food than she did with any of those possibilities with how often she found her meals in the trash. And, of course, the ultimate worst grand finale, a frozen statue hanging on the walls of The Collector's flagship for the rest of time.

But skewered on the end of a kriffin' lightsaber in the thick woods of Myrkr by a determined Force user?...

…she always thought the end would be different.


Eryn's luck had run out, if she'd had any to begin with. (Odds are, probably not.) Last meal was two days ago. She'd caught a nap in her locker on 'The Krystal Kinrath' but that wouldn't last her long trying to traverse the dense vegetation and uneven terrain of the forest, and she'd used the last of her water after the crash. Only thing holding her up anymore was adrenaline and a stubborn refusal to lay down and surrender despite knowing she had no chance of getting herself out of this situation.

He'd appeared a week ago on Nar Shaddaa and Eryn quickly found out he was no ordinary hunter. Her usual tricks didn't work, no roadblock she put in his path stood for long, and the seriousness of her disadvantage grew by the minute. What little knowledge she had of how the Force worked didn't seem to help her at all. The fugitive lost herself in massive crowds, hoping it would hide her long enough to hatch a plan, but it didn't work for long. Only because of her intimate knowledge of the Smuggler's Moon was she able to stay one tiny step ahead, barely. After days of trying to lose him, it was obvious running and hiding wasn't going to work here, so Eryn started considering ways to even the playing field, and there was only one thing she knew of that might, MIGHT help do that. She knew there were some here on Nar Shaddaa, she'd seen the ugly little kriffers on the black market, but this…man and his relentless pursuit never faltered enough to allow her time to work the few contacts she had. So if she couldn't make the 'salami' lizard-thingys come to her, she'd go to them. All of them. She didn't know quite how they worked, but a whole planet full of them had to be better than two or three sickly ones in a cramped cage, right?

And now here she was, lost in the Myrkr jungle, the smoking remains of the crashed 'Krystal Kinrath' and its crew scattered behind her as she ran for the nearest olbio tree. It didn't take long, the planet was covered in them, and where there was a healthy olbio tree, there were… ysalamiri. Ugly critters, everywhere, clinging to the trunk and limbs, hissing at her as she came close. The tree looked ancient, its thick trunk had been split down the middle by something many eons ago, and as a result the winding limbs and branches had parted around and arched over the dead space, creating a sort of empty cage effect. Shaking from too much adrenaline, Eryn squeezed herself between the branches, elbowing one or two of the creatures out of the way much to their chagrin. She crouched in the middle on the bare forest floor, her blaster out, surrounded by a web of tree limbs and furry lizards that she hoped beyond hope were 'on' or 'working' or whatever the hell they did to mess with the Force. And she waited for her end.

She wasn’t there to hide. Hiding was useless now. No, she was there to make her last stand. If this was it, she was gonna make damn sure he had a hard time of it. The rational part of her knew her wild, hasty gamble wouldn't pay off in the slightest. Even without the Force, he still had a lightsaber, and those cut through trees like butter and didn't require any space wizard stuff to use. But she was too wired to dwell on it. Too certain of the outcome to worry about it anymore.

At least it was on her terms now.
...Sort of.

| [member='Kyrel Ren'] |​

 

[Kyrel Ren]

​

The Enforcer... Adorned in his robes and armor to hide his identity he had spent the last three days hunting down Eryn... This girl was far more clever then he had originally thought, and he would make her pay for the inconvenience she had caused him. For three days he chased her down from the Smuggler's Moon all the way to Myrkr. He had lost valuable time and patience in his hunt for the woman and he was not in a very good mood. In fact he was filled with rage, and if she was an ordinary woman he would kill her slowly for the chase she has led him on, but there was something that he had wanted from the woman, and if he wasn't going to get it when he was going to rip it out of her very mind. He was a Jedi... Like all Jedi, Kyrel wished to wipe them from the Galaxy, but this one has targeted Ren, and he had only encountered the Man once, and will not let him fall through his grasp again, that is why he had hunted down this nobody... This nobody was connected with the man and could be used to end his hunt what he would do with her afterwards he would let the Force decide. ​

​

He could sense her fear, the jungles of Myrkr was strong in the dark side indeed and he could sense her, but the clever girl had used the planet's Ysalamiri against him, a smart move for her because he might actually choke the life out of her with the Force, if not worse to her. He walked slowly, his saber, Vader's Bane clutched into his hand, the dark side strong in the saber and in a way answered only to it's Master and corrupt anyone else who would dare wield it. The blade was activated of course, the hum of the blade like sweet music to his ears as he walked slowly cutting through the thick jungle brush with the blade. ​

​

She was close, oh so very close indeed. He could see her in his sights and grinned underneath the mask, finally, the chase was over and now he would take what he wanted. He started walking towards her until he had growls the Vornskrs started to emerge, an entire pack of them of course. He should have known they were hot on his trail, they fed on Force Sensitives no doubt and with the blasted lizards he could not merely crush them with the Force. ​

​

No doubt, they were hungry, saliva dripping, growling and snarling at him, and still, the Master of Ren did not flinch as he raised his blade... Then finally after mere moments, the first of the pack attacked him to which he moved gracefully avoiding at first and in a bout of swordplay cut the animal in two, and with that, the rest decided to overwhelm him in overwhelming strength. At first he was caught by surprise even one landing a claw mark on the side of his mask, until he finally let his anger into his swordplay, showing such brutal savagery as he started to tear the pack to pieces, blood and numerous other pieces all over the jungle floor until Kyrel was the last man standing. ​

​

Of course, he couldn't use the Force, but as he approached the woman he felt a sense of fear that made him excited. He said to her, his Core World Accent hidden behind a garbled and Machine like a tone that oozed intimidation and made him seem more Machine then man. "You have led me on quite a chase Eryn is it.... For three days since finding you on that blasted moon you have been running from me. Now I have you... I will take what I want from you... And then I will break you." He said as he raised his saber at her, almost tempted to run the blade through her but not letting his anger get the best of him, he resisted the temptation. ​

​

[member="Eryn"]​

 

[Eryn]

"Break me?" Eryn snorted, trying to ignore the way the tone of his voice made her stomach twist apprehensively. "Good luck with that, buddy. --That's far enough!" She squeezed off a few carefully aimed blaster bolts at the ground in front of his feet as he neared her ysalamiri encrusted tree-cage. At this range, it would've been cake to aim a little higher and (attempt to) riddle him with holes, but he had that damn lightsaber out and she'd seen how these fanatics could block, even deflect the bolts back into the shooter. Last thing she needed was a smoking hole in her gut, put there by her own weapon.

The fugitive blinked sweat from her eyes as it trailed from her forehead, her heart hammering too hard, and peered carefully at him through the slender gaps between the tree branches. To be honest, she was just as genuinely curious about the man who'd cornered her so easily as she was coldly terrified of what that meant. The bright bloody copper of his saber blade cast his dark robed armor in an eerie light, and the cut of the mask on his face, although not clear from this angle, was chilling.

She swallowed, blaster still trained on his feet, but she put some extra frozen steel in her voice. "Hard to break what isn't brittle. You'd have better luck teaching a Wookie to speak Basic. And since my throat isn't crushed yet, I'm assuming my little friends here," she patted one of the ysalamiri on its furry rear. The creature screeched in annoyance, flailing its fat tail at her like a sword, "are doing their jobs and your spooky magic crap doesn't work right now." Maybe let's not goad the evil space wizard, Eryn? But it was so much fun to poke the reek.

She was probably gonna die anyway, might as well have some fun with it. But now for the question that'd been on her mind for days. She didn't often get to ask the people who hunted her these things, but she had a feeling this one's answer would be a little..different than the usual. "So why don't you tell me what the fethin' hell you want with me so I can tell you you'll never get it?"

| [member="Kyrel Ren"] |​

 

[Kyrel Ren]

​

No matter what the Woman was saying, Kyrel could still sense the fear from her, she had trained a Blaster right at his feet, but that didn't mean anything to the Master of Ren, if she shot him she would be dead, and then Kyrel would have nothing to gain from her. He looked at her, the red orbs of the mask staring into her eyes, drinking in the fear as she tried to keep up the Bravado to which Kyrel was buying none of it. ​

​

He kept the saber pointed at her before deciding it to hit a couple of the Ysalamiri, killing them instantly as he looked to her, letting out a dark laugh that just made a being's skin crawl through the Vocabulater. He then looked to her saying as he deactivated the blade, noticing her sweat. "I am looking for a Jedi... A Jedi who wants Ren.. You know of him and I require to know where he is... You'll tell me where to find him, or I'll rip the information from your head, and drive you mad." ​

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He said as he grabbed her blaster and tossed it aside, before grabbing her, carrying her away from the Ysalamiri heading back to his camp, which wasn't much and only included a tent to which he had brought her in through the thick jungle brush, setting her down inside. Slowly removing his hood and taking off his mask, his tousled hair flowing freely as he looked to her with his dark orbs. "You know I can take whatever I want. I suggest you give it to me now." He said as he set his mask to the side. ​

​

[member="Eryn"]​

 

[Ax'no]

While the urge to read her own future was ever-present in the Caprine Priestess Ax’no, she rarely gave into that temptation. In fact, it was considered a bad omen among her race when the goddess herself turned inward, speculative and earnest for knowledge about her own forthcoming legacy, and the blue-haired, horned Force-user was the embodiment of the deity herself. She never mentioned this to Kyrel, but it was all the more reason to continue to serve by his side as his personal seer. Helping to read his tea leaves made it easier for her to quell the curiosity of her own fate.

However, the Caprine force user had tried, using her precognitive abilities, so find the Jedi that so haunted her companion. But she came up empty each time, and the effort had drained her, which was fine as Kyrel had another route to what he sought.

And like prey he’d stalked her until he got what he wanted.

Ax’no had returned that evening from meditation in an abandoned temple on Myrkr, close to where the camp had been set up. Dressed in her clerical vestments, she approached the tent with caution, not wanting to disturb any interrogation, but she smiled when she heard conversational voices as this meant that the Master of Ren had been successful in finding his target.

Eryn would see a pale hand with black claws pull back the flap of the small habitat, and then the delicate face and dark, curved horns of the Caprine. Ax’no tilted her head to the side a bit surprised at what she saw, expecting a different kind of creature than the woman before them, who was frankly all skin and bones.

A momentary pang of guilt. How they’d feasted earlier on pheasant, maze-stalk fruit and sweet ale, a sumptuous meal, and since the horned Caprine was a vegetarian (her Bovidae-like stomach could not digest animal flesh), there had been a little meat leftover.

“I’m sure she’d rather avoid a painful extraction. Perhaps she would trade information for something as simple as a hot meal? Unless you are looking forward to hurting her, and then by all means, like the pheasant we had earlier... eat your fill."

[member="Kyrel Ren"] [member="Eryn"]

 

[Eryn]

A Jedi… who hunted followers of Ren?

Whatever answer she'd been mentally preparing for (something along the lines of 'your beating heart and your left hand for my evil spells and potions'), that…was definitely not what she'd expected.

Eryn sat where she'd been unceremoniously thrown, Myrkr's earth cool and damp under her palms and against her knees, looking ever the frightened, hopeless, kowtowing captive as he removed his helmet. It was an act, mostly, although the fear born of uncertainty rested coldly in her stomach. Really she was just down there to slyly inspect the tent fabric and the way it was anchored into the ground so she could expound on the escape plans she'd been thinking about since she'd seen the tent. (Because despite earlier feelings, if there was ever anyone who didn't know when to give up, it was Eryn.) Running wasn't even a fully conscious thing anymore. It was habit. Most looked at a door and saw a way in. Eryn saw a way out. Even cornered in an impossible situation, her mind was forever cycling possibilities for situations that might happen. It was hard to thoroughly think it all through when you were scrambling for your life, but she'd managed so far. Of course, she'd never gone up against someone like this guy. His…abilities changed the game significantly, her usual fallback routines coming up short. Even her wilder schemes couldn't cut it when she factored in the Force. Eryn took mental stock of the weapons hidden on her body. She'd have one chance here. One. Element of surprise could buy her a moment or two, maybe long enough to find whatever kind of transportation he'd used to get here? Find more 'salami lizards' and make for the nearest inhabited town? But then what? The same song and dance over again for weeks on end until they arrived back in this situation? No. Being stuck in some unending loop where she was just the kriffin' leverage was not appealing.

One way or another, this would end here.

…besides, the way the tent fabric was pulled, it would take too much time to cut her way out and roll through the hole unencumbered before Broody McHeroHair snapped her neck with his mind.

Speaking of her dark captor… somehow he was no less alarming without his helmet. Her hasty escape plans off the table, Eryn dropped her terrified captive act and rose, back to the tent wall, jaw set, body tensed as she met his gaze squarely. The reckless half of her wanted to get in his face and spit words until he cracked. The other half wanted to get as far away from him as she could. Neither was an option if she wanted to keep breathing, so she settled for standing her ground.

He looked…different than she'd expected. ('Different than she'd expected.' Sensing a running theme here.) Thin face, regal structure, dark hair swept perfectly about his face, not the monstrous backdrop she'd imagined. But there was a cruel set to his mouth and a dark fire burning in his eyes that made the hair on her neck stand on end, and although his voice came strangely gently in tone without his mask, it did nothing to soften his intimidating aura. But he didn't scare her, not really. Made her ridiculously uncomfortable, hell yes.


What scared her was her own helplessness, the possibility of a no-win scenario. Losing to him.

"I am looking for a Jedi... A Jedi who wants Ren.. You know of him and I require to know where he is... You'll tell me where to find him, or I'll rip the information from your head, and drive you mad." ​

​

The words 'Jedi' had barely left his mouth before she knew who he was talking about. Of course. Of-kriffin'-course he wanted fethin' Jerith Bataal, the notorious 'Hunter of Ren', unmatched in saber combat and master of the 'light'. He'd nearly wiped the Ren from the galaxy before he'd disappeared, and all anyone could do was sing his praises. Arrogant, showboating bastard, in her opinion. Used to be different, before his obsession with destroying the Knights of Ren. In fact, he was her closest friend for many years (before he kriffed that up royally by developing feelings), and she'd been the last one to have contact with him before he'd gone missing.

Too bad she hadn't seen or heard from him in eight years.

And therein lay her newest problem.

Slowly removing his hood and taking off his mask, his tousled hair flowing freely as he looked to her with his dark orbs. "You know I can take whatever I want. I suggest you give it to me now." He said as he set his mask to the side. ​

​

"…You're really creepy, y'know." It wasn't untrue, but Eryn needed a minute or two to make her decision, and she might as well fill the stalling silence with her insulting observations. The old Malora 'charm' was a great fallback when you were looking to stall. She swallowed, throat bone dry, pains in her middle, and steadied herself on one of the rods holding the tent up, trying not to show her discomfort. She was long past the point of hunger and the world was just the slightest wobbly. "All this 'I can take whatever I want' and 'ripping' information from my brain. Creepy. How do you get to that kind of headspace, anyway? Were you bullied in school? Poor thing."

She could bluff. Cooperate, tell him everything she knew in exchange for freedom, give him a set of coordinates that lead nowhere and be long gone before he figured it out. Except that only worked with stupid people, and something told her he'd never just let her go after the chase she'd just led him on. That, and Force users could often read minds. She was good at resisting, growing up with people who'd had experience fighting assault of the mind had certainly helped fortify her, but she wasn't that good. He'd lay her plans bare before she could even put them in motion.

"And demanding, too! 'Tell me where to find him, give it to me now,' blah blah blah," she mocked, mimicking his voice. "You don't make many friends, do you?"

She could tell the truth. She didn't have a fethin' clue where Jerith was and had no idea how to get in contact with him. Well--no, that wasn't entirely true, there were a few things she could try. But that automatically rendered her completely useless to him, which probably meant hours of torture and a slow death, based on the looks he'd been giving her. And who was to say he'd even believe her? How could she salvage this? How could she make herself valuable enough to keep alive until she found an opportunity to turn the tables?

…Honestly, though, she was pretty sure whatever she told this man, it wouldn't be enough to save her from his wrath.

There was an almost imperceptible shift in the atmosphere around them, that odd sixth sense at the core of every sentient being stirred, and Eryn made a quick decision. "…Alright. Look, even if I gave you what you wanted, you'd never—"

The tent 'door' parted. Dark claws. Pale flesh. Beautiful face. And…horns.

Well. This just got weirder.

"--…actually get to him without me," she finally finished, tracking the newcomers movements with a vicious interest. Who the kriff was this, now? What was her part in this play? She was obviously familiar with this Ren (or she assumed he was a Ren, since he was looking for Bataal and certainly fit the bill for its followers), and Eryn definitely had no desire to follow that thought any further. If they were friendly in any manner, then this ladyperson was automatically an enemy.

And then she spoke.

Eat your fill?

Oh. Oh okay, great. It was that kind of party.

The woman had a point, though. Avoiding pain would be nice. And hearing the words 'hot meal' said out loud suddenly reminded her depraved body of what it was missing. Unfortunately, the idea that Eryn was a simple gal who, starving or not, would just spill her guts for scraps set her obstinate soul bristling. There was a brief battle inside her between hunger and pride. It was a draw. Eryn continued, her irritation growing in tandem with her sense of vulnerability. "Your information is crap. Whoever told you I know where Jerith Bataal is lied. But I know where he was, and I know how to get in contact with him."

Not exactly the truth, but not exactly a lie, either.

Eryn wanted to flinch under his gaze, but she didn't. It was crucial she didn't, in this moment, show anything other than what she wanted him to see. But she could feel him waiting for her to make a clear mistake. He didn't want her to give up her information. He wanted to rip it from her mind, wanted to take. It was true that he'd eventually need her, Eryn, intact and in person to get at Jerith, but Ren held most of the cards here, and there were options. "I'm guessing he..made it personal? You probably want revenge, so this'll boil down to what you want more right now: screw with me, or screw with Jerith? I've heard your mindrip thing can melt people into vegetables. You root around in my head and I might forget the information you need to find him. Can't have it both ways."

And that was probably a mistake, but Eryn was gambling here, and when you gamble, you go big or you go home.

| [member="Kyrel Ren"] | [member="Ax'no"] |​

 

[Kyrel Ren]

The Master of Ren remained unamused at the woman's attempts to mock him to somehow. It did not work as he only gave her an icy stare. He had gone through too much trouble to be dissuaded by mere insults and to be mocked now by the woman. This Ren Hunter had been a thorn in the side of Sieger Ren for far too long and if he had to drive the woman insane to rip the information he would do so. He found her attempts to even mock him even more so annoying as if she was stalling the inevitable and all the while Kyrel will not give in. He didn't care if he even had to kill her, in fact, he should for the inconvenience she had caused him for the chase that had lasted for three days and to several systems across the Galaxy.

He even remained unaware of his companion entering the tent and did not pay any attention to her as he had kept his focus on the woman. She still attempted to mock him and by this point, he was already unamused. His facial features across his young face now slightly looked as if he had become much older due to his practices with the dark side that made him look as if he was middle-aged, his hard dark orbs set into her eyes as if he was staring into her soul, and if she saw into his, she could perhaps only find nothing more then a dark abyss.

He finally spoke clearly fed up with her. "Enough!! You know I can kill you for the inconvenience you cost me... So if you think that I am going to bow down we shall see... I will explore every part of your mind till you either talk and give me what I want... Or even better you beg for death and I grant that mercy... In fact, I have a better method to start with first." Of course, he knew this wouldn't be easy and Mind Probe might destroy her mind if he pressed too hard, and so he had to think of another method but the best thing to start with and perhaps his newest installment of torture that he had discovered from the Archives of Vader's Castle. Memory Walk a skill used by Ancient Sith of old and very useful as it could not only help with interrogation, but those that were affected by it could help with Intelligence. But Kyrel was more intent on torturing his victim for perhaps days and he even doubted that this was a power she could protect against.

He gazed into her eyes focusing on the dark side alone to gaze into her mind, and slowly show her images as if they were holograms showing right in front of her, painful images of her past, perhaps her worst memories that could not only cause mental pain but physical as well and so Kyrel even extended a hand to increase the process. Relishing every second of his power in the darkness increased with his concentration. And whether the girl died, talked, or went insane made no difference to him.


[member="Eryn"] @Ax'no