Into The Nightmare Lands

[Chance Bonaventure]

The Outer Rim.​

Voss,​

Nightmare Lands.​

​

The planet Voss was a largely unknown planet, settled in the Outer Rim, not far from the territories of the Sith Empire. It was that particular connection that made Sidon’s trip important, as The Bounty Hunter moved slowly through undergrowth and brush. The armored being was tracking a target, a Sith if the information was correct, and the trail had led into a location on the planet known as the Nightmare Lands... which turned out to be a very accurate name for the place. Dead trees, dying grass, a general darkness and shadows everywhere. It was apparently filled with all sorts of twisted creatures. Not a getaway destination by any means, but Sidon was hesitant to believe rumours until he could prove them.

Still, he stayed alert, following the faint trail left by the individual he tracked.

Stepping through a tree line, Sidon crouched low as he peered through his helmet visor. Ahead, barely visible through the heavy shadow and general darkness that flooded the area, was a lone humanoid. The visual enhancements took over casting the environment around the individual into high focus at range - and when the right angle appeared, Sidon was able to capture an image still, which was promptly uploaded to the Guild information network. Within moments, the confirmation came back; the female was a Sith, or at least had ties with the group.

It was a valid contract claim: her name was Aurai Horaen, she was a known Sith collaborator.

Sidon reached over his shoulder, wielding the large disruptor rifle in both hands. He was prepared for dealing with a Forcer, and had brought the appropriate equipment to handle as many situations as possible. But for now, the Bounty Hunter needed to approach and prepare; so with light steps, as light as possible in his combat armor, Sidon began preparing - he wouldn’t have long to react when he announced himself.

"Aurai Horaen, I have a bounty on known Sith collaborators," Sidon said, his helmet filtering his voice and sounding somewhat mechanical. "I’m sorry, but it seems your past has caught up with you..."

The Hunter raised the weapon, ready for a fight...

[member=Jairdain]​

 

[Jairdain]

Her foresight did not always work and in those moments something always seemed to step out of the shadows. Such was the case this day, never mind the fact of her location.

The Nightmare Lands on Voss was not a place she frequented. Generally speaking, only those with great mental fortitude ever came here and returned to tell their tale. She was one that had traversed these paths many times in her time on Voss. Learning of rituals to keep safe, at least mentally, Jairdain followed them each time she came here. Out of respect to the culture of the Voss more than them actually providing her any protection.

Foresight or not, Jairdain sensed she was being watched. The creatures here, corrupted mewvors and voranticus mostly. Any one of them or something new could be causing the sensation. As she approached her destination, a modulated spoke out behind her. Calling her a name she had abandoned almost two years ago, she stopped, turned around and would look in the direction of the voice.

If she had any control of her eyes, they would have rolled as she had the mental thought of, another bounty hunter​.

"My name isn't Aurai Horaen and I've cut ties with the Sith. No longer with them. What do you want?"

T​hankful for a couple of things. First was he hadn't deprived her of the Force which meant in a fight, she would have a chance. Second he hadn't opened fire which indicated there may not be a need to fight. However, she prepared herself for a confrontation.

[member="Sidon Eshe"]

 

[Chance Bonaventure]

Sidon had to admit, he had been prepared.

Prepared for an attack, prepared for a lightsaber, prepared for a concoction of Force powers to start blazing his way... but he hadn't been prepared for a simple conversation prompt, and certainly not for a Sith - or rather, former Sith - that used such evil power but still managed to look like she stepped out of an issue of a beauty magazine. Perhaps it was natural, or perhaps she was using some kind of Force power to hide her true features; in the end, the Bounty Hunter didn't care, beyond acknowledging Aurai's appearance, and had a new situation to deal with.

"So you're not Aurai Horaen?" The armored individual asked, skeptical. If she could see through the visor, his eyebrows were raised. "Pretty sure you are. Facial and biometric scans say you are. So unless you have a clone who's a Sith, you're definitely her... or were?"

Sighing, Sidon paused a moment, thinking quickly about how to approach the situation. Usually the dark Forcers attacked, made it easy, you didn't have to talk and work out details. Still aiming the disruptor rifle, the Hunter inclined his head, his voice low as he narrowed his eyes within the helmet. "I'll be honest here, I have a open bounty for all Sith. The contract calls for a dead Sith, and for their lightsaber to be presented as proof of the job done. I don't usually take these kinds of jobs, but Sith aren't exactly innocent and I can easily convince myself that a dead one saves many other lives."

Motioning with the weapon to Aurai, Sidon had to get some answers, otherwise he ran the risk of making a bad decision - personally, morally and professionally. He wasn't a murderer, and while this acquisition may have been a Sith, which should have been enough cause to take her down, there was still the matter of ironing out details for clarification and contract purposes. Sidon couldn't let greed or lack of thought get in the way of doing a job right. He was better than that.

"So who are you? Now, I mean. And what does that mean, cutting ties with the Sith? Do you still do... Sith... things, or are you a Jedi or something now?" When it came to the Force, and however the hell that all worked with its light side, dark side, middle sides and every other side, Sidon had very little knowledge. From what he knew, Jedi were mostly good, and Sith were mostly bad; and the ones in the middle were judged on their actions. And for the ones who tried to manipulate thoughts, it's why he had his handy little neural band activated in his helmet. "By rights, I could claim the contract valid, because you were a Sith. But I'm not unreasonable, convince me otherwise if you can..."

Sidon tightened his grip on the rifle, casually standing but clearly ready. A distant sensor ping caused the Hunter to check his visual HUD, his helmet offering a complete three-hundred-and-sixty degree view. There wasn't anything visible, but there were certainly indicators of movement and sound from the west, at the edge of the decaying trees. Whatever it was lurking around, Sidon didn't want to be here any longer than he had to...

[member="Jairdain"]​

 

[Jairdain]

Even when she had been sith, Jairdain would not have lashed out at him in anger. At least not right away at the start of a conversation. However, she wasn't fully Jedi either. In walking a fine line between light and dark, there was always the temptation to use more violent methods.

Listening as the man spoke, she knew it wasn't Koda or he would have known the answers to his question. Tone and even inflection in the modulation indicated Jairdain was dealing with somebody new. The feeling she got through the Force from him was different than Koda.

"I said that is not my name. However, I had that name a couple years ago."

Answering his first question, she listened to what else he said. Nodding at the information he provided, everything seemed fair. However, his personal information on her was faulty. Not once had she killed anybody. She sensed he was being honest with her though which inclined her to return the favor.

"For your records to be accurate, I am Jairdain Ismet. When I was with the sith, I had that previous name, but have left that code behind. No long applies to me so I took my original name back. You're not a Force user, all you need to know is I'm not the sith you are looking for."

While there was truth in her words, she still put a little Force behind the last part in the attempt to get him to leave her alone. There was a big reason for this. Jairdain faced the man, but felt the corrupted approach of a voranticus. This close to the hiding spot of a few things that belonged to her, the creatures were very corrupted. Here they grew larger and meaner than in other areas of the Nightmare Lands. Her focus fell away from the hunter for a moment while she locate the beast. It was coming and headed from slightly further in and behind her.

It would be upon them in a minute or less. She had no real concern for her own safety, this hunter though. He didn't know these lands.

[member="Sidon Eshe"]

 

[Chance Bonaventure]

The conversation was beginning to move further and further away from Sidon claiming a bounty today. He thought of the offer, what it could have done to assist future jobs, and he felt a pang of regret. Maybe he should have just opened fire, let the highly powerful shatter gun do its work? The acquisition had been a Sith, and to become one you had to have a certain mindset, to be willing to do inherently evil things, right? Just some of the stories the Bounty Hunter had heard about the Sith, about slaughtering thousands of people to make Force weapons to further slaughter, was just mind boggling. How could anyone have the capacity for such hatred and destruction? And Sidon also had to decide if he was going to believe the word of an ex-Sith - if that were such a thing - or whether she was trying to manipulate him.

Not wanting to murder, not unless he absolutely had to and usually only in self-defense, Sidon listened. Like he said, he could be reasonable. Give a chance. The words Jairdain said were feasible enough, sure, but anyone who was being told their life was forfeit could do the same. Sidon had wiggled his way out of some tricky situations in the past, situations he had no business surviving really, yet here he was.

"Well, Jairdain, there were reports of Sith activity on my network," He muttered, eyes narrowed within the helmet as he thought about her last words, how she had really emphasized them. Such an odd manner, too, insistent almost commanding. Sidon wondered. "And if it wasn't you who damaged some of the local city, then who was it? I don't want to say you're lying, because I think you're telling some truth, but my information is rarely wrong, and it confirmed Sith presence on this planet, specifically Voss-Ka... and after several days of searching, and cross-referencing, you're the only one I found who matches the Sith here."

Clearing his throat, Sidon tightened his grip on the weapon. He was about to say something, but just before words could come out, a hulking, bone-spine covered creature with oversized clawed hands and spotted leathery skin burst out of the treeline behind Jairdain. Blinking, the Bounty Hunter raised his weapon, stepping to one side as he tried to prepare to open fire. His uplinks in the helmet were already capturing footage and searching the holonet for any information. So, as the creature began bounding toward the pair, Sidon growled to himself, knowing his disruptor rifle was only good at short ranges - which meant he would have to wait until this thing, whatever it was, had reached them...

"We've got incoming... I have no idea what it is. Prepare yourself."

[member="Jairdain"]​

 

[Jairdain]

Paying only half attention to the hunter, which was probably a mistake, Jairdain waited as the vorantikus approached. The hunter finally saw it too and hollered out for her to prepare herself. That she had already done, but at his word, she would apparently disappear. On a fully visual spectrum, neither he nor the beast would see her. However, she had a very good idea of what that helmet could do. She did not hide her heat so if that was one of the tools he had, then he could still see her.

Following the direction he went, Jairdain moved out of line of fire of his weapon. However, if he did fire, it was unlikely to do much more than irritate this beast. At least it wasn't cybernetically enhanced, but it was corrupted so less likely to be as affected by his weapons. They would slow it down certainly, but it wouldn't stop until it was dead.

"It is a voranticus. On these lands, they get corrupted and tougher to beat."

If he didn't have thermal sensors, perhaps her speaking would tell him where she stood. Off her belt came a lightsaber, but she would wait to make her move until he fired.

"On your move, hunter. Distract it and I can come in for a kill while its attention is on you."

[member="Sidon Eshe"]

 

[Chance Bonaventure]

Sidon was a little surprised when Jairdain disappeared, fading out of view. He knew the Force could do some interesting things, but allowing someone to go invisible? That wasn't common, was it? Either way, the Bounty Hunter realized he may have to fight an unknown creature alone, which could prove to be an issue. Yet, the sudden voice from nearby indicated that Sidon wasn't alone, and in fact was being the bait so as to let Jairdain gain an advantage over the creature... this also meant she was still around, which meant there may have been some way to track her. Switching between his visual modes, the armored individual found that thermal offered the best view of the Forcer.

Good ability to know about, Sidon thought, raising his weapon and preparing for the fight. Judging from what she's wearing, I'd say a cloaking device isn't the reason... Forcers, eh?

Using his eyes to interact with his helmet HUD, Sidon activated a partial thermal mode; this effectively targeted Jairdain with the visual, lighting her body heat up, while allowing the remaining HUD screens to revert to normal targeting modes. That way, he didn't have to rely on one visual mode against the bounding monster barreling down on them, but could still see the invisible acquisition.

"Cip, give me everything you've got on Voranticus, a Voss species," Sidon said aloud, communicating with his support in his commlink. "Sooner the better."

And then the fight began. The Voranticus launched forward with surprising speed, causing Sidon to leap backwards, utilizing the power of his combat armor to rapidly slide out of harms way - he did not want to be hit by those monstrous claws. Firing as the dust flew around his retreating form, the Bounty Hunter aimed at drawing the creature past Jairdain, to expose it's back and allow some attacks to occur. Hopefully lightsabers did some form of damage, as the disruptor rifle was very powerful and was barely slowing it down...

[member="Jairdain"]​

 

[Jairdain]

There were a few skills and tricks Jairdain knew that she could use to take this beast out. Some were slower, but she needed to act fast in this instance. Observing the fast movement of the voranticus as it closed the gap between it and the hunter, she knew instinctively the hunter was going to move out of the way. As he launched himself out its reach, she sent a Force push focused on knocking it forward onto it's face.

It worked, but not as well as she had hoped. The corruption had given it heightened reflexes and while it was knocked forward, it remained on its feet. It turned around to search for her, but she was still stealth. Taking out her lightsaber, she revealed her location as she ignited it.

The voranticus appeared pleased like it had real intelligence and now focused on the magenta blade she revealed. Turning to try and tackle her, it picked up speed. Jairdain anticipated the attack, but the speed it happened surprised her. Placing a barrier around herself in a heartbeat, that kept its claws from tearing into her, but strength of the beast moved her.

Her saber did little more than to draw attention to her and when they connected, it went flying out of her hand. Luckily it took one of the arms of the voranticus, unfortunately the other remained attached. Thinking quicker than it could react, Jairdain uttered a word and an opening appeared next to her and the beast. They went flying into that gaping hole and it closed up almost as soon as they were through.

On the other side, the hunter wouldn't see, but would likely think the woman was dead. Who could face such a beast and live? But she was smart. In opening that portal, it lead them into a location she was very familiar with. This place wasn't actually corrupted, but it was within the Nightmare Lands. A location of light in the darkness and it confused the voranticus enough that Jairdain was able to retrieve her original lightsaber. Before it recovered from the transportation, it was dead.

[member="Sidon Eshe"]

 

[Chance Bonaventure]

The slicer sent a bundle of information through to Sidon's helmet, and he was just about to prepare to read through the carefully prepared dot points, when the fight kicked up a notch. While the Hunter wasn't Force sensitive, he could easily see Jairdain using it; the way the creature suddenly stumbled, the wave of pressure, the dust and ash that was kicked up into the air. But before Sidon had a chance to move in, the pair were struggling, the mighty claws of the Voranticus held at bay by - seemingly - an invisible shield of some sort. Running forward, Sidon raised the rifle, finger on the trigger, and watched as the dueling enemies fell backward, the lightsaber Jairdain had revealed flailing through the air, taking one of the creature's arms with it...

And just like that, they were gone.

Sidon slowed to a walk, then stood at the spot where the Forcer and the Voranticus had disappeared. There was no trace, just an absence of what should have been. Carefully, the Hunter prodded the area with his boot, rifle aimed down, half expecting an angry beast to lurch out of the dirt to grab for him, but nothing happened. It was solid, decaying ground. With a frown, Sidon walked over to the twitching arm of the creature, seeing the deactivated lightsaber handle beside it.

<"Sidon, are you okay?"> Came a concerned young male's voice over the comm, Cip the slicer. <"Those V-Vor-Voranticus aren't something to m-mess around with.">

"Yeah, I'm good, Cip," Sidon replied, reaching down and grasping the smooth lightsaber in hand. "I... have no idea what just happened, and judging by the situation I'd say our Jed-- Forcer is dead."

Giving it a few more moments, waiting to see if anything actually happened, Sidon eventually called it time. He had what he'd come for, and while the method wasn't ideal or clean, the Hunter was willing to concede that Jairdain had likely perished. After all, unarmed against that creature in some kind of tunnel system underground? No way she'd survive against those teeth and claws, with or without the Force. Another several minutes, and Sidon began walking away from the scene, disappointed that things had turned out how they did, but also thankful he hadn't made the mistake of attacking outright - presuming what Jairdain said was true, of course, and that she wasn't a Sith and had been forced to be one at one point in her life...

Sidon had heard weirder.

"I'm headed back. Got what I came for, and target has to be beast chow by now."

[member="Jairdain"]​