Private Mariners and Mercenaries

[Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris]

Location: Trask
Objective: Defeat the mercenary and - kriff, did I lose the padawan?
Tags: Reina Daival

Cori continued to cut blaster fire from the air with her whips, gritting her sharp teeth as she fought for an opportunity to disarm the mercenary. But the man was an eel, each time she struck out at him he evaded the net of her lightwhips and distracted her with shots from his gun. Speaking of distractions, for a moment, Cori swore she could hear Reina's raised voice on the wind, but she was too far, and the gale was howling too loud for the ersansyr to make out any words she might have said.

Her momentary lapse of focus was taken full advantage of by the duros, who sent a round of fire right at her chest. The force and the Jedi's natural instincts kicked in just in time for her to leap back out of the way, but not before one of the bolts burned straight into her abdomen. Letting out an animalistic scream of pain, Cori instinctively sent out a wave of the force which pushed the mercenary off balance.

He had stumbled now, and the ersansyr wasn't about to let him recover. Chanting in her native tongue, Cori's feet rose from the dock, levitating with force power as she summoned the water from the ocean and storm around her, swirling it into a shield of furious blue. It deflected the mercenary's desperate blaster bolts, allowing the Jedi to draw in close before she raised her arms above her head. Her water shield rose with her, but before her opponent could fire, she brought down the entire wave upon his head.

And for a moment, the sound of water crashing against metal drowned out the storm.

The mercenary's gun was wrenched from his hand by the force of the blow, which knocked him up against the wall of the shack. Coughing and spluttering, the duros looked pathetic. Completely and utterly defeated by the ocean itself.

Cori's boots landed back down upon the dock gracefully, though her eyes still held their piercing ferocity. Her hand, however, immediatly moved to clutch her wound, exposing her pain. With her free hand out, she approached the duros as menacingly as she could, while avoiding putting to much weight on the wounded side of her body.

"You will stay here," she commanded him, and the force spoke with her. "You will not leave, you will not pick up a weapon and you will not attempt anything stupid."

She didn't bother sticking around to hear him parrot the words back to her. She had to help Reina. Racing around the structure as fast as she could manage with her current condition, Cori ground to a halt as she found the stretch of dock she'd left her companion on uninhabited. Lightning illuminated her horrified features as she fruitlessly searched for the two assailants she was so sure would be there.

"Reina?!" She screamed, loud and desperate.

No response, and Cori knew her voice was powerful enough to be heard even through the wind. With sickening dread, she looked down upon the raging sea. Had the padawan fallen in? Had she drowned, all because Cori had been careless enough to leave her on her own?

No. Squeezing her eyes tight, the Jedi knight chastised herself. Reina was a strong swimmer, she had said so herself. There was no need to panic. The situation called for a calm mind and hyperventilating was the last thing she needed to be doing right now.

So, Cori took a second to breathe. To trust in the force. Then, she lept into the water, her legs transforming into a magnificent tail of teal, pink, orange and yellow scales as she did.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Trask
Tags: Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor

First things first. Reina used the Force to form a bubble over her head, as a defensive element. That way even if she got hit to the point that she had to gasp for air, she wouldn't have a rush of water flowing into her lungs. This wasn't her first rodeo under water. She was used to diving, to hunting. Heck, even to spear fishing. She kept a grip on the Quarren, even as he tried to shake Reina off, as the redhead experienced several punches to her head, trying to make her release. But this was one of the things Reina was the best at. If she put her mind to something, she wouldn't give up for anything. She was far too stubborn to give up.

There wasn't any way for her to call to Cori for help. Sure, there were bits of metal drifting away from her prosthesis smacking against the shack as they fell, but that would just be carried away with the tide...It was taking everything Reina had to keep a grip on Leister as they swam through the stormy ocean. It was getting darker and darker and getting to the point that Reina couldn't even see the Quarren anymore. She could only feel him as she went to try and start attacking in response by this point. She couldn't use her leg as much as she'd have wanted to. If she could get into the right positioning, Reina might have been able to stab him with her leg, but it was easier said than done when you were being dragged through the ocean by someone who was naturally gifted to be underwater. Leister was biologically built for the ocean, and whilst Reina was comfortable in it, he had a complete advantage over her.

I'm...not...letting...him...go...

Reina gritted her teeth as she felt blow after blow against her head. She was always told she had a thick head. Guess she was proving those people right in this moment. Though in the blink of eye, she felt Leister stop for a moment before he turned around and put his hands out for Reina's throat. It seemed that he had to take matters into his own hands if Reina wasn't going to let go, he was going to make her. Even with the bubble protecting her airways, and the use of Breath Control so that she didn't need to take in more oxygen, it wouldn't be long for the Quarren to be able to make Reina pass out...but he had made the unfortunate mistake of stopping.

This was going to work. Reina had to believe it. It would be how she sent some kind of sign towards Cori. So as Leister continued to try and choke the life out of Reina, she shot her prosthesis forward, impaling the Quarren through his leg as the harpoon-point of the prosthesis dug in and with the added barbs of the harpoon point, Leister would find it near impossible for him to pull the leg out. As streams of blood started to mix into the water and spread out around them, Reina could only hope that Cori would be able to come some kind of whiff of the blood. Could the Knight even sense better underwater? Reina would have to assume as much.

He was at least lucky that Reina wasn't going in to kill him. Otherwise Leister would have been like fried eel. No, instead she had to bring him in alive, as she punched as hard as she could below the waves...which wasn't overly hard at all. Even as her view was starting to get darker and darker, and her body was starting to scream for air, Reina didn't let up her punches for a moment.
​

 

[Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris]

Location: Trask
Objective: Find Reina
Tags: Reina Daival

It was a rare, no - a near impossible moment in which Cori did not enjoy the feeling of being submerged in the water. Her scales and fins, things that usually brought her so much comfort and reminded her of her home, felt heavy with the weight of guilt and failure. The Jedi knight had been placed in charge of this mission, and had been trusted by the council and by Reina's master to bring both the padawan and the mercenary back safely.

But now, as she scanned the storm torn sea waters before her desperately, hope was beginning to slip through her clawed fingers.

Cori had no idea which direction the girl and the criminal had gone. The endless churn of seafoam and raging undertow offered no clarity in the dark depths. All the Jedi could do was beg the force itself to guide her.

Please, she silently prayed, her tail thrashing wildly in the water. Please, let this not be one more tragedy I couldn't prevent. Don't let it be too late for me to save her.

Throughout her life, the ersansyr's faith had been tested again and again, through heartbreak and suffering alike. But today, the force did not fail her.

Or perhaps, it was Reina who did not fail her.

Blood, thick and heavy, entered the water, and though it was further away, Cori could sense it immediately. Taste it, even, as her predatory instincts kicked in and she sped towards the source, her tail propelling her through the rough waves easily. The scent was overwhelming and overpowering, making her pupils almost fully dilate, despite her mental attempts to fight back her siren nature.

That is not a wounded fish. It is most likely Reina. An ally and a friend, Cori repeated to herself over and over as she drew closer to the source of the smell. Remember yourself. You are a Jedi of the New Order-

All of her thoughts disappeared, however, as she finally reached the fight before her. Reina was choking for air underneath the quarren's claws and genuine anger mixed with predatory hunger until the ersansyr reached past her breaking point.

Self control could only get you so far.

Cori lunged, burying her sharp teeth deep into the mercenary's shoulder, causing him to let out a horrified yell of pain, muffled by the water. He turned just in time for Cori to tear a chunk of his flesh out, ripping his tendons apart and leaving him with no choice but to release his grip on Reina entirely, who seemed to finally lose consciousness.

It was the taste of Leister's flesh, foreign and wrong, that brought Cori back to her senses. Spitting it out in disgust, she shook her head to clear it just in time to see the quarren reaching for her throat. She managed to move just in time so that his hands caught her long hair instead, allowing him to tug her back towards him as he moved to punch her.

But he underestimated her.

After all, this was a more even playing field. For they were both born under the waves as creatures of the sea.

Cori caught his punch and twisted his hand back. He tore a chunk of her hair out but as he did, she grabbed his other arm and dug her claws into it. Reina had already stabbed his leg with a harpoon, which was good, because it had slowed his movements - wait, Reina! She was going to drown!

The Jedi knight released the quarren immediately, scanning for Reina. The padawan was drifting slowly downwards, orange hair trailing behind her like a dying flame. Horrified, Cori swam down and scooped her up in her arms, just as Leister barrelled past her to make his escape.

Even with Reina in her arms, Cori couldn't let him do that. Opening her mouth as she swam back up to the surface, she began to sing an enthralling song, the melodie words falling from her lips like a net of silk upon her victim. The mercenary couldn't help but stop still as she continued to sing, the notes flowing from her voice as strong and as captivating as the ocean currents themselves.

It wouldn't hold him long, but hopefully just long enough for Reina to regain consciousness as their heads broke the surface of the water. Cori's voice would tire soon but she kept singing, desperately praying that the padawan would recover quickly.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Trask
Tags: Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor

Reina could feel things getting darker and darker, even as she struggled. Slamming her fists uselessly against the Quarren, until she felt the sudden rush of water by herself, and the last thing Reina managed to see was the terrifying sight of Cori sinking her teeth into the Quarren's shoulder before she finally went limp and fell helplessly at the whims of the current.

Everything had went dark for Reina. She was floating in a Dark Abyss where she couldn't see or feel anything. Was this how it felt to die? Just...nothing but floating? There was a part of her that didn't entirely mind it. It felt...peaceful. Relaxing to an extent. There were plenty of regrets she still had of course, but right now, they didn't feel like they mattered. She was floating. Weightless almost. There was no stress on her shoulders, nothing dragging her down. It was all...so comfortable for her.

Yet as she started to feel like she was falling downwards...It was if something was lifting her up out of the darkness. The dark was slowly starting to gain Light, brightening Reina's surroundings. She still couldn't see anything. Couldn't feel anything. The woman couldn't even hear anything as she was being raised up out of the water, faster and faster before she suddenly broke the water and air slowly but surely started to flow into her lungs, even as Reina coughed and spluttered, spitting out the water that had gotten into her system whilst she had been passed out down there. Her eyes faintly fluttering open as she looked around, looking up towards Cori...and hearing that song as Reina tilted her head.

"...Have...I...died?...Why do I...hear...a...song?

She blinked, trying to wrap her head around what had happened, but her head was throbbing in pain. It was hard for Reina to think clearly as she raised a hand to her head, slowly pushing the hair out of her face to try and focus.

"Where...is Leister?...Do...Do we have him? I'm...sorry."
​

 

[Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris]

Location: Trask
Objective: Survive
Tags: Reina Daival

Relief flooded Cori's entire being as Reina spluttered back to life, coughing the air back into her lungs. The ersansyr wove a thankful prayer to the force into her song, cerulean eyes filled with gratitude as she watched the girl before her begin to breathe again. Cori would never have been able to forgive herself if something had happened to her. A bemused smile quirked at her lips as Reina wondered aloud if she was dead.

Not on my watch.

Her voice was growing strained now, weakened somewhat from underuse, and from the pain of the still aching injury in her abdomen distracting her. Leister was beginning to slowly move again, like a holovideo slowed down to 0.25 speed. As if he was stuck in a vat of molasses, he gradually began to change his course, circling back to the Jedi behind him.

The look in his eyes was sickening, his murderous intent on full display. Clearly he had weighed his options and decided it would be easier to take out his two assailants - one with an injury and one still choking on sea water - than attempt to outrun them.

"Where...is Leister?...Do...Do we have him? I'm...sorry."​

"Not quite," Cori's song finally ended with a series of pained coughs. "He's-"

She didn't get a chance to finish as the quarren barrelled into her, punching his fist deep into her injured side. Letting out a cry of pain, she wrenched his arm away, digging her claws into his flesh with vengeance. Undeterred, he continued to hit her repetitively, fighting to push them down deeper into the waves. In response, Cori fought to keep them closer to the surface, her tail thrashing wildly as she swiped at his already bleeding face.

Their struggle began to cause a dangerous pool of blood to form around them, making the ersansyr's hair stand on end. She had grown up in the water, she knew full well it's dangers. Cori was most certainly not the only predator in these waters that would recognise the smell of blood immediately. She had to remain as close to Reina as she could so she could protect her.

Although at this moment Cori was the one who truly needed protection, as the quarren dug his claws deep into her gills, restricting her air flow and shooting sensations of blinding pain throughout her body. She wasn't going to win this fight on her own, not in this state, as his other hand hit against her injured side again, hard.

Through the pain, the Jedi knight swore she could see dark shadows moving hungrily just out of her peripheral vision. If Reina didn't come to her assistance soon, they were all going to be dead in the water.

 

[Reina Daival]

Location: Trask
Tags: Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris
Lightsaber - Pequod
Leg - Anchor

As Reina watched the fight going on, that voice, that little urge in the back of her mind was telling her to go in for the kill. To take out Leister and save Cori before it was too late. There was already plenty of blood in the water. Reina hadn't been raised beneath the waves, but she had been raised above them. She knew what too much blood could mean. She knew what could be making its way here.

Then just kill them as well. Kill the wildlife. Kill the Quarren. Be the Hero.

No. That wasn't right. Reina didn't want to give into that urge. The aggression she could feel building up inside of her as she clenched her fists. Her lungs were in agony, her eyes stung from the salt of the ocean. She had to figure out an answer and quickly. Time was running out, faster and faster. As if the trickles of sand were running out of the hourglass. How could she help? She couldn't move fast enough to throw any punches underwater that would do any damage. She could rely on the Force...but she was exhausted. There wasn't much she could do if she was dragged underwater...

That's when she could feel them. The shadows under the water. She had to figure out what to do. Kill Him. How was she meant to take him out in a way that wouldn't give into his aggression? Kill Him. There was only one idea that came to Reina's mind as she took Pequod off her hip and ignited the Blade. She was never more happy to have included the mechanics to make sure it would work underwater.

And so Reina used the Force to propel herself in a quick usage of Force Push to propel herself past Cori and the Quarren for a moment, bringing the blade past the pair and across Leister's arms, causing another sudden release of blood into the water...but she felt like it would be better for them to deal with the situation if Leister was unable to struggle against the pair's attempt to capture him...

Now it would just come down to how they were going to actually get out of here with an armless Quarren...Hey. At the very least the attack had came from a lightsaber, so the bleeding would be...somewhat cauterised.
​

 

[Cordelia 'Cori' Eldoris]

Location: Trask
Objective: Survive
Tags: Reina Daival

Cori continued to wildly thrash at the leering quarren on top of her, but the throb of her injury and the biting pain of her gills was beginning to overwhelm her. Then - just as her vision was beginning to blur - she sensed it: a ripple through the water around her as Reina ignited her lightsaber.

The padawan spun into motion, spinning past the two brawling aquatics as easily as if she too had been born beneath the waves. Perhaps she had. Leister's claws, one dug deep into Cori's gills, the other gripping tightly onto her shoulder, suddenly went limp. Shaking out of their grasp, the ersansyr's eyes widened as both hands fell away, severed and useless.

The Jedi knight barely had time to react as the quarren let out a horrified shout, muffled under the water, before propelling past her. He couldn't flee far without his extra appendages though, it barely took three strokes of Cori's tail before she caught him by the ankle and dragged him back to where Reina was treading blood and water.

The wounded mercenary was the least of their problems, though. Something was definitely circling them now, a great beast drawn to the smell of the crimson liquid that swirled around them. Ducking her head back under the water, Cori spied its face - if you could call it a face. Without eyes, the animal's visage was entirely made up of a vast, gaping maw, lined with razor sharp teeth. Hunger radiated off of it in waves, but it did not seem to stem from any real sense of aggression.

They could turn the creature yet, if they combined their strength.

As quickly as she could, Cori activated her lightwhip and wrapped its tendril like blade around Leister's legs - not tight enough to cut through his metal plated boots, but tight enough that the blade would begin to bite at his ankles if he attempted to move. With her free hand, Cori grabbed Reina's, meeting her gaze with determination.

"I do not know if you have ever tamed a beast like the creature circling us before," Cori declared, "But this is a task that can only be done together."

Holding out their conjoined hands, Cori opened her palm, giving Reina a chance to replicate her movements. "As a Jedi knight, I have become adept at getting other humanoids to turn away from actions that would harm me or others. If I cannot accomplish this through my words alone, I use the force. With practice, changing someone else's mind can become as easy as changing the key of a song."

Her eyes narrowed, flicking back to dark shape in the water beneath them. "Of course, animals like this one are different - more primal. Still, I believe that we can dissuade it from its path."

"Close your eyes. Form the idea of what you want in your mind - for an animal, it's more difficult - our idea cannot be too complex. A simple emotion will do," she continued as the maw of the beast drew closer, "Doubtless you are under duress at the moment, as am I. Instead of allowing any negative feelings within us to fester, let's pour them into the mind of this creature. Reach out to it and overwhelm it with raw emotion until it has no choice but to swim away."

"Do not ever mistake repression for strength," the seer finished with a whisper. "Trust me. It will only fuel an uncontrollable fire within you."

With that, she dived back under the waves, holding out her arm the way she had shown the padawan as the creature advanced. Cori knew Reina would join her as she focused all her negative energy towards the creature. It would only be through their combined effort that the animal would turn away from its plan of destruction.