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SL-0182
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Attire //:
//: Brosi //:
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OBJ II - MORE FORE THE GRILL //:
SL-0182’s response about close-quarters combat never had a chance to finish as the
Terentasuar charged at the two with frightening speed. Every heavy stride sent a tremor through the ground, flattening the grass beneath its weight. The Slatessai reacted first as she threw herself laterally into the air with remarkable control. She cartwheeled over the grass in a smooth rotation, clearing the beast’s charge and its jagged spines protruding from its armored hide.
CT-312 reacted almost simultaneously. The repulsor pack ignited with a sudden burst, throwing the Scout sideways as the Trentasaur thundered past. She tucked one shoulder and rolled once through the landing. When her boots found the ground again, CT-312’s armored frame settled into a low kneel. The
Nightspore rifle was brought upright. Braced against her shoulder as she fired before the spiked creature had fully cleared them.
BANG. BANG. BANG. A burst of plasma bolts struck across the Terentasaur’s broad flank in rapid succession. The Scout watched the impacts strike across the scales. One bolt ricocheted while the other two left scorched marks across the creature’s natural armored scales. The Terentasuar barely seemed to register the attack beyond an irritated twitch of its spikes.
This brought back an unpleasant familiar memory of Woostri. The light-infused stone constructs CT-312 and the other Troopers had encountered there had been much the same. Firing across the hardened body had accomplished almost nothing. Concentrated fire, however, had eventually worn through even the hardest material. With enough aggravating amount of persistence would begin to fracture what initially appeared impenetrable.
The enormous spiked creature turned its head from side to side. Its attention moved first toward SL-0182 and then back toward CT-312. Trying to decide which of the smaller hunters warranted its aggression first. BARCA used the moment to scan the creature more thoroughly. A wireframe silhouette appeared across the HUD, highlighting areas where the distribution of scales and protruding spines were thinner.
Ping. Markers settled over the legs and arms—
the joint.
CT-312 saw SL-0182 beginning to line up a shot. The Scout immediately tightened her aim, holding down the trigger.
BANG—BANG—BANG—BANG—
Successive plasma bolts hammered itself into the rear right leg of the Terentasaur. The first impacts blackened the overlapping scales. The next shots struck the same marks again, repeatedly.
Muscles tensed beneath the creature’s armored hide, initially bracing itself against the assault… But after several shots later it seemed to realize the rifle fire was incapable of immediately penetrating its defenses. Its posture loosened as a breath blew from its nostrils. The repeated impacts continued against one side of its body like an incessant tapping. Annoying rather than dangerous. Its enormous tail rose behind it. The spined length curled upward before beginning to arc toward CT-312’s side—
CRACK. SL-1082 fired. The plasma bolt struck the Terentasuar directly in the left eye. A violent howl tore from its jaws as its head jerked backward, stopping the beast in the middle of its tail swipe. One of its forelimbs scraped frantically across its face. Clawed digits gently brushing against the now ruined eye as blood began running between the surrounding scales.
Its massive spiked tail changed direction, sweeping across the clearing in a powerful horizontal arc toward the Slatessai. The roaring beast reacted blindly toward the source of its pain. Loose spines rattled violently along its scales before several dislodged free, sailing through the air toward SL-1082 like oversized projectiles.
CT-312 reloaded and continued firing at the same spot. The repeated plasma bolts impacts finally began producing something more substantial than scorch marks. Hairline cracks spread through several of the scales protecting the rear leg. Each bolt that struck close to the last, its heat and energy continued to weaken the same small area. The Terentasuar shook its head violently. Blood sprayed from the ruined eye while its remaining vision struggled to track both attackers. Its body rose onto its hind legs, before both forelimbs came crashing down.
The ground nearby trembled. Several weakened scales and smaller spines finally gave way under the combination of repeated blaster fire and the force of the stomping. Fractured pieces broke free and dropped into the grass. CT-312 adjusted her sights.
BANG-BANG-BANG. The next plasma bolts no longer struck the armored scales. They buried themselves into exposed tissues around the rear knee. The Terentasuar immediately noticed the difference. It recoiled and a low snarl rolled deep from within its throat. Pain finally replaced irritation.
Its tail swept back in the opposite direction, sending another scatter of loosened spines this time at CT-312’s direction. BARCA filed the HUD with incoming trajectory markers. The repulsor pack ignited again. Launching herself sideways as the first spine punched into the ground where she had been kneeling. The camouflaged pattern on her Halcyon armor immediately blended into the uneven surroundings of browns and greens as her body dropped into the grass.
Another roar was let out, the Terentasuar altered its stance. Its massive body turned enough to hide the wounded rear leg from CT-312, while it angled its head that its remaining eye moved between the two huntresses. It took one step before stopping, something resembling hesitation in the creature’s movements. It realized the two small figures around it had divided its attention and attacked whichever side it left vulnerable. Individually, neither had posed much threat… but together, they had hurt it.
The spines covering the creature’s body began rising. They spread outward along its back, neck, and tail until the Terentasaur appeared even larger than before. Puffing itself out, doubling its size.
“I believe you’re right about close quarters.” Its entire body began trembling. BARCA filled the Scout’s HUD with warnings. CT-312’s eyes slightly widen in realization behind the visor.
“INCOMING.” The Terentasur thrashed its body from side to side. Spines tore loose from across its body in every direction.
CT-312 rolled through the grass as one buried itself into the ground where her torso had been. Another passed close enough to just scrape across the outer edge of the pauldron as she drove one hand into the ground and pushed herself forward. CT-312 dove back down before a third projectile sailed through the space above her helmet. She turned her helmet toward the Terentasaur, expecting another charge. Instead the predator bolted toward the wounded Uller it had attacked earlier.
Unfortunately the animal had made little progress toward the jungle. It seemed to be frozen in place as it stood unnaturally rigid in the grass. The Terentasuar reached it within seconds, jaws closed around the helpless animal. With the Uller hanging from its maw, the predator turned toward the jungle and retreated. Its damaged rear leg gave it a noticeable limp and the blood continued running from both injuries. The clearing gradually fell quiet again.
CT-312 pushed herself upright, brushing loose grass and soil from the front of her armor before surveying the debris scattered throughout the field.
“SL-0182, status?” Her visor found the Slatessai while BARCA began examining the embedded spines. Several were coated with a translucent fluid. CT-312 crouched beside one, BARCA magnified the substance and began running it through the biological information available from the Terentasaur’s entry.
[ POSSIBLE PARALYTIC COMPOUND DETECTED ]
“Paralytic venom.” That would explain the injured Uller that was standing awkwardly in place.
“Useful.” CT-312 murmured. As she rose, something reflected sunlight farther through the grass. Approaching cautiously the Scout noticed it was some of the scales that had broken from the Trenetasaur’s damaged leg. CT-312 turned it between her gloved fingers , allowing the sunlight to catch across its surface. She slipped one of the scales into a larger utility pouches attached to her armor. Her visor moved toward the smaller scattered spines. CT-312 took a moment, before deciding to carefully collect several venom coated tips before securing them separately.
As CT-312 regrouped with SL-0182, she tossed one of the reflective armored scales she found toward the Slatessai’s.
“Good shot on its eye. Ready to track down the—” BARCA
trilled privately through her helmet. CT-312 went quiet for a half a second before repeating it out loud, finishing her asked question to SL-0182
“—oversized pincushion?” Her visor looked back towards the immense forest and the faint trail the wounded Terentasuar paved.
