Running Loose in Paradise

[Travot Ravenna]

Somewhere on Alderaan...

"This used to be to a place of beauty," bemoaned Jors.

"Before the Sith?" guessed Travot.

The old man with a wispy crown of white hair sagely nodded, "Their Vong ruined the world...it is good to see ours fixing it, to show the people that an entire species isn't the pawns of the Sith."

Travot stood on the upturned mound, where some massive vongspawn had once grown until uprooted and destroyed by the Republic. Judging by the size of the ruin around them, Travot could only guess that countless slaves had toiled to serve the beast. Some may have even died. But the ruin of the landscape around them had brought new opportunities. Travot gestured to a small hole near the bottom of the mound.

"And that's where they found it, you say?"

Jors nodded as he handed him a fist-sized chunk of ore, "There may be more like it. Here, take it. But beware, that warren may hold more than just this. The One Sith and the Vong might be gone now...but that doesn't mean that everything they brought has left this world..."

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot slowly nodded, "I'll be careful."

"Don't hesitate to call us on the comlink if you find anything dangerous. I know I may not be very helpful in that case...but the rangers aren't far away if you need them."

"Thank you sir, I will remember that."

Travot peeked his head into the cavern, but he could see nothing but darkness. The man closed his eyes for a second as he cleared his mind of his current thoughts, and concentrated on using the Force to see what his eyes naturally could not. As his eyelids opened up, the large man could now see through his augmented eyes the rough outline of a cave walls, which seemed to his eyes to be bored out of solid rock. He pressed his hands against the ridged surface wall, and ran his hand against the clammy stone. Not mechanical, not by some sort of natural process...maybe bored out by some sort of worm? I've heard tales of the Sith using them in the past to make tunnels...maybe they used on here...Travot closed his eyes once more and reached out through the Force to see if he could feel the presence of anyone or creature present. He could feel the diminishing aura of Jors, and further away, several of the rangers. Yet there is something else nearby...not truly sentient, but alive. His opened his eyes once more to see the darkness.

I'm not that proficient in keeping them both up...but I would rather like to know about what's down here...They say that many vong-shaped creatures can't be sense through the Force...so what is it? He drew his lightsaber and tapped the secondary activation stud. A turquoise beam sprung to life to illuminate the cavern. He briefly saw a flash of bright colors at the far edge of the cavern before it disappeared around the first bend. The jedi blinked. I don't feel danger...but does that mean it isn't a threat, or it isn't a threat yet? He carefully advanced with his saber in a Soresu guard position, but when he rounded the bend, he smiled.

A orokeet turned its head towards him and screeched loudly.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you..."

As if to answer him, a throaty growl emanated from deeper within the cavern. He ruefully eyed the Orokeet. Now look what you've woken up...

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot looked into the eyes of the orokeet, as if to stare into its very soul. It's beak slowly cracked open as Travot glided against the currents of its thoughts with his mind. It abruptly shut its mouth as Travot began to share soothing thoughts of the outside world with the flightless bird. It eyed him curiously, even as the growling reverberated deeper in the chamber. Travot's thoughts briefly flitted to think about what the other animal could be. Almost immediately, he felt the bird tense up, and the man forced himself to focus on the beauty of the outside world. The bird began to waddle towards him. That's it...just keep calm and quiet like me...and you'll be okay.

He turned off his lightsaber, plunging the room back into darkness.

Slowly, the man knelt down besides the large bird and gingerly reached out to pick it up. His hands pushed up against the bird's bright plumage and onto its warm body. He blinked. Greasier than I imagined...It let out a muted squawk as he took it over to the entry hole. He held it over his head, and gently tossed the creature into the outside world. It made a loud cackling sound as its eyes met the sunlight again. Travot turned his attention back towards the cave, but no sooner had he looked away then the orokeet had jumped back into the cavern, and nudged its beak against his trousers. The jedi sighed and picked up the bird once again.

"You don't want to be here," suggested Travot, "enjoy the outside world."

He set the bird outside once more, and once more, it jumped back into the cave. Travot sighed. I have no interest in playing bird babysitter...not when something's deeper in here...

 

[Travot Ravenna]

He eyed the bird through the darkness, and watched as it coddled up its head against his boot. It's like it shares an attachment with me...Travot reached out through the Force to enter the animal's mind. Usually he was absolutely abysmal at any sort of mental aspect when it came to the Force, yet the man was surprised that he could enter the creature's mind unhindered. He quickly realized how simple the creature's mind was, before quickly realizing that the bird was capable of sensing his presence in it. The bird tapped its beak against the man's boot in a manner that would have been painful against his bare skin. The padawan quickly withdrew from the animal's mind. I really hope I didn't somehow imprint it...

"Don't come with me."

The orokeet hesitated as Travot walked away, but almost immediately, Travot could feel its presence staying behind him. At least it's not in front of me...He drew his saber once more and tapped the activation stud, bringing forth the turquoise light to illuminate the cavern's mouth. His green eyes swept across the carved rock, noting its rippled texture and smoothed ridges. He gently placed his hand against one section. Looks like it's almost been sanded...probably worn done by whatever made it...He turned his eyes off of the wall as he rounded a bend, with the bird still waddling behind him. The cave became narrow, and judging by the cone-shaped rocks on the floor, Travot guessed that it had partially caved in not too long ago. Perhaps from when whatever that was growing on top of it died? Yet it seems stable now...He felt a tug against his conscious, warning him that something dangerous was nearby.

The man halted. But the orokeet did not. After waddling in front of the man, it began to squawk. As if to answer the bird, a loud grumbling noise rumbled out from deeper within the cave. As it faded away, Travot thought he could hear footsteps approaching them. Travot quickly moved to quiet the bird through the Force. Don't get us killed, turkey...

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot forced his way into the bird's primitive brain and towards its emotional center. He blinked before closing his eyes again once more to better concentrate. Right here...Travot inserted a suggestion for the bird to walk back towards the entrance. The colorful bird began to stumble through the darkness towards the entrance, with Travot almost haranguing the bird to keep moving. A loud footstep interrupted his concentration, and the man quickly pressed himself against the cavern wall and deactivated his lightsaber, plunging the room into darkness once more. Several meters away from him, the bird squawked in confusion as Travot withdrew his influence over the creature's mind. Not now...

He heard a loud footstep once more, this time much closer to him. He turned his head to face the nearby corner, only faintly lit by the entrance's distant light. A saurian-like head crested by a pair of large horns peeked out to view the cavern. Travot closed his eyes and tried to feel the creature's presence, but he could not, yet he began to the tingle of danger he had felt earlier begin to throb. This thing is trouble...probably some sort of vongspawn left over by the invaders. He eyed its massive tusks that curved back into its skull. That doesn't look easy to cut through, but its not wholly offensive-looking either...maybe I can calm it...The padawan revealed himself to the creature and flicked on his lightsaber's blade to better illuminate himself.

"Hi big fellow, I'm Travot, and I'm not going to harm you..."

 

[Travot Ravenna]

The lizard's head jerked upwards quickly before it angled its snout down to the ground, with its yellow eyes bearing down on him. Traot watched as its mouth briefly opened, letting its tongue flick out as if to taste the cavern's air. The creature abruptly growled and barred its teeth towards him. Travot held up a hand as if to ward the beast off.

"I'm going-"

The orokeet screeched, and the genetically modified lizard surged at him. Instinctively, Travot quickly formed a shimmering barrier in front of him. The beast smashed his head into the Force barrier, shattering it, but becoming dazed in the process. The lizard briefly teetered before collapsing onto the rock floor. The jedi began to backstep towards the cavern's entrance, with his saber still drawn and pointed at the beast. He felt a brief warmth around his feet, glancing down to see the orokeet hop towards the lizard. Travot focused his thoughts and merged his consciousness into the bird's mind.

Come on little guy, let's not push our luck. Come with me. Come to the outside. The flightless bird hopped over to follow him. Travot turned off his saber, grabbed the bird, and tossed it out. Seconds later, he jumped halfway up the exit, and grabbed onto the natural handholds, and pulled himself. The orokeet squawked once more as Jors, flanked on either side by green-suited rangers, approached him.

"You found something," noted the old man, "and not just this bird here..."

 

[Travot Ravenna]

"Some sort of lizard, about three meters long," reported Travot, "it had tusks growing out its head that curled around to go back into its skull. Yellow eyes, I couldn't really get a good look at its skin coloration, but maybe gray-green. I think it may be a bit aggressive."

"It sounded aggressive."

The sandy-haired ranger on the old man's right side cleared his throat, "Do you think it could be the one?"

"More than likely," sighed Jors, turning his gaze briefly from the ranger back to Travot, "How many legs did this lizard have?"

"Well...I don't know...but now that you mention it, the legs did look weird. The four that I saw were really close up to the front of the body, it must drag the back part of its body on the ground."

"Or it has more legs," suggested the elderly man, "perhaps eight or so?"

"Well...that would explain its speed if I could only see the front four..."

"It's got to be the Tutakan," said the ranger, "the cave down there hasn't be looked at past the first chamber. It needs to be destroyed."

Travot frowned, "Tutakan? What's that?"

"A beast of burden of Vong origin," said Jors, "but the one down there is different...perhaps some kind of experiment to make a battle mount. It's far more predatory and vicious than the other ones we know about in the galaxy at large. We've mostly seen its tracks out here, but it has been leaving another one in its wake. Aside from attacking livestock, it attacked and partially ate a student doing a field study on Vong industrial organization and landscaping. We found some of his remains about two hundred meters from here. It's a threat to us, Mister Ravenna. We will be taking care of that now."

"Will you join us?" asked the until now silent ranger.

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot hesitated.

"Mister Ravenna," started Jors, "I know that many of you jedi, especially the younger ones like yourself, are generally against killing. That is well and good when you are dealing with people who can reason, and even rehabilitated. But this creature is not one of those things. It cannot be reasoned with, nor does it have a greater purpose that it can be used to serve the community. It will be put down. If you are not morally comfortable with that task, I will understand. But for the sake of the people who live here, we are morally obligated to dispose of it."

"Help protect us," offered the sandy-haired ranger, "look out for us. We can deal with the other part of this problem."

The jedi's lips pressed together, "I will go with you, but I will not kill it."

"The blood is on our hands, so to speak," said Jors, bending down to pick up the orokee, "but I am thankful for your help in this matter. I will take this hatchling away from here to animal control. Wait for me to return before you all go in."

The first ranger nodded, "We will have to go back to properly arm and armor ourselves. I'd appreciate it if you would watch the entrance to make sure it doesn't leave while we're gone. If it does, call us immediately, and don't put yourself needlessly in harm's way."

Travot solemnly nodded, "I will."

The three other men went their separate ways, with Jors taking the orokeet in a government landspeeder towards the nearby settlement of Locksmore, while the two rangers jumped on their speeder bikes and headed out to the nearest ranger station. Travot turned to gaze into the entrance of the cave.

"Who would make such a thing like you, and just wantonly leave you here by yourself?"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot strolled over to stand above the entrance to the cavern and began to meditate in an attempt to clear his head, but he still felt as if his emotions clouded his thoughts. Even if I don't personally kill the beast, am I not abetting those who killed it? But then again, Jors is probably right. It's too bad they can't simply relocate the creature somewhere else...but then again, that's likely taking the creature away from the only home it's ever knew...He frowned. No good, clear cut answers in the real world...not always at least...He sat down and tried to shake the emotions from his head, but the more he thought about it, the more he could not shake them. The rangers returned on their speeder bikes, but now with flechette launchers slung across their backs and heavy blaster pistols holstered at their sides. Travot rose up and walked towards them.

"Do you feel ready?" asked the first ranger.

Travot hesitated, "I'm not too happy about the idea of killing it, and I know that seems funny, but I'll make sure the two of you make it out alive. To the best of my ability, at least."

The second one nodded, "It can be hard for some people. It took me a couple of times...but the things the Vong have made...they're not natural. they're made and bred solely as tools, and more often than not, the ones the One Sith allied Vong have made have been tools for destruction. You can see it all across the land here. We're disposing of a self-aware weapon, not some innocent creature of the woodlands."

"Let's get it over and done with then," said Travot, drawing his saber's hilt and walking to the edge of the cavern.

Without really thinking, he jumped into the cave and ignited his saber, bathing the first chamber in a soft blue glue. It's gone...at least from this part...He walked forward, half-expecting the mutuated tutakan to rush from the next chamber, but it didn't. He heard a pair of thuds behind them as the rangers entered the cave and readied their weapons. The trio began to gingerly walk through the caverns as the sole path began to lead them in a downward spiral. They occasionally came across the shattered remains of the lizard's prey, including an oddly concentrated area that had clumps of orobird feathers and some twisted metal bars. He winced. That thing may have killed that orokeet's parents...maybe it had collected some of them and was saving them as food? As they rounded a tight curve in the cave, he began to feel a rapidly increasing of apprehension.

 

[Travot Ravenna]

The creature's head surged out at them, but quickly reared back at the brightness of the man's saber. It's gleaming yellow eyes seemed to flash with an oddly intense color. In that moment, the second ranger discharged his weapon over Travot's shoulder. A cloud of metal metals washed over the creature like a tidal wave. Many of them fell off of the creature's skin where it was angled, but many more ripped into the tutakan's skin and plunged into its organs, including both of its eyes. The creature bellowed and staggered back in pain. The first ranger took that moment to fire, unleashing a torrent of flechettes into the lizard's mouth, perforating many of its internal organs from the inside out. Travot felt a twinge of guilt as he watched the beast struggle with what he could only imagine was intense pain. He cringed. I got to do it now...

Travot launched himself forward to land right in front of the creature's mouth, and with a precise Makashi-style lunge, stabbed the creature through the roof of its mouth and into its brain cavity. He flicked the hilt around, ensuring that eradicated as much of that organ as quickly as possible. Just as quickly as he came, he backed away towards the rangers. The creature's head collapsed to the ground and remained motionless. He felt a hand on his back.

"Not the easiest thing to do," said the second ranger, "but the deed is done now..."

The first ranger pointed at an orderly collection of objects behind the beast, "What is that?"

 

[Travot Ravenna]

Travot glanced at it, frowned, and pulled out the chunk of rock that Jors had given him when he first arrived at the site. The two rangers glanced at the ore in his hand, and then at the pile of similarly hued rocks that lay behind the slain beast. He slid it back into his pocket, but a familiar voice called out from behind him.

"I wondered if that was the case," said Jors, hobbling up from behind them, "that rock was found with the remains of the student I was telling you about earlier..."

The quartet began to warily move past the beast to inspect the rocks closer. Travot blinked.

"It was guarding this ore?"

"Makes sense," said the sandy-haired ranger, "think about it. This was probably a mine for the One Sith war effort when they controlled our world. They would mine it, collect it up, and have it guarded. That lizard was probably their security system. But with its owners gone..."

"So the feathers back there...and the bars...cages for its food?"

Jors nodded as he picked up a piece of ore, "That's likely. Though it would seem that one escaped, thanks to you, Mister Ravenna. Though personally, I can't fault the Sith the choice of feed for their pet lizard. Orokeets are annoyingly obnoxious sometimes. Mister Ravenna, you should take some of this with you."

"Rocks?"

"Phrik ore," informed the old man, "useful for making armor and weapons. You can always use an extra edge on the battlefield, or so my father used to say. I've been lucky enough to evade any battles myself, but I do not think that you will be so lucky..."