The Shiny Ones are the Most Dangerous

[Audren Sykes]

Rumors could be powerful. Maybe that was obvious to some, less so to others, but they could very literally start a war. Audren hadn't been present for it, but he'd heard firsthand reports how the rumor of the Galactic Alliance finding and restoring the World Razer to galactic power had allied nearby worlds into a rebellion. Actual violence, lives lost because of nothing more than unsubstantiated rumor.

This rumor wasn't quite so malicious. This one was based on Seltos, one of the few worlds in the galaxy that produced the Phrik ore. It was one of the few producers of the ore that wasn't controlled by a major player in the galactic struggle either, which made it closely watched and highly protected. The ore was valued for its resistance to energy weapons, lightsabers included. The rumor? Something had come from a new vein, something that rampaged and killed anyone nearby without taking a scratch. It was no surprise to anyone that mercenaries flocked to the planet when the call went out for added escorts, with promises of prompt payment in credits or phrik itself.

Then the call came again.

The repetition caught Audren's curiosity. He was not a mercenary, far from it, but if the first batch hadn't been able to contain whatever the root cause of this rumor was, maybe there was something else to it. More than greedy miners or creative pirates. Yet he held off, other mercenaries were already on their way to answer the call. Known names in the business, not the inexpensive thugs one could get from any bar on Nar Shadaa. Drawn by the intrigue as well as the increased payout. Few returned, those that did spoke only of a metallic beast that shrugged off their blaster bolts with ease and killed anyone who came near.

There was no mention of Sith. Not a hint of a Force user, glimmer of a lightsaber. And yet he was even more interested than before. The 'beast' could well be a droid, though such a droid would be incredibly dangerous. With a shell of phrik, a droid backed by competent programming and hardware would be incredibly dangerous. Something to stop now, before whoever was running it decided the testing phase was over. And if it wasn't a droid, then he wanted to know all the more what was going on.

That was why he found himself diverting from his planned hyperspace journey of Sullust to Voss in order to stop at Seltos. His own ship - unmarked, resilient, and extensively armed though it was - would not have been his first choice. He would have preferred to have something that could carry more than the heavy fighter; he'd have to hold any phrik he was rewarded in trust or have it shipped, both of which could swiftly eat into the reward garnered.

[member="Kelon Amadis"]

 

[Kelon Amadis]

Dressed as mercs, laying in the phrik mine with one hell of a headache, Kelon groaned and got up. Scattered about him were the bodies of those that had come with him, mostly trandoshans, a couple of noghri’s and a myke. The dark-eyed, equally darked haired female myke was alive, the rest were less fortunate. All looked to be wearing expensive top of the line gear from FFE, a specialist weapons producer that had growing movement on the galactic stage as of late.

As Kelon rolled over, you could see he was in oversized black armor, heavy fitting his bulk. Mine dust covering the front of it, not that he got his hands dirty when an underling could be getting shot in his place, boulder running Phrik beasts were a new twist to frell up his day. Clicking his teeth together, metal glove flexed along his right hand, an over-sized fist of metal which punched the ground and raised him up. Kelon’s left hand was covered in rings and gems, as was his belt and elements of the black armor he wore. Conquests, looting, taken from those who couldn’t, or couldn’t after he’d finished, fight back.

“ALRIGHT. WHOSE PLAN WAS THAT.” Well everyone was dead anyway, so he didn’t have anyone left to blame, except the myke and she was [member="Goros the Hutt"]'s property, he wasn’t paying for her not coming back. Oh and nature girl [member="Natalya Selanne"], her ugly looking half insect behind was still breathing, shame.

Not many Sith lined their pockets as a motivating factor, a few, and the Sith Pirate getting his bearings again was one of them. Today wasn’t his most lucrative day ever! Better go untie the mining staff and get some answers, the old fashioned way, boot to faces! Little did he know that our runaway juggernaut covered in Phirk shell wasn’t the only trouble unearthing this vein would cause him.

[member="Audren Sykes"]​

 

[Audren Sykes]

((Redacted))

 

[Kylraya]

Natalya awoke, low to her ground, pressing palms atop the dusty mine, an offense against the natural world. She decided those who had perished had deserved their fate, or so the insect-like armor which was around her shins, arms and hips now insisted she believe. The rest of her body in a simple black and grey hooded robe, braided hair as usual.

Little of Natalya was left from her days walking the fields of the Levantine sanctum, save those strong eyes and bearing, confidence and optimism she carried. As always she had her connection to her living pack whom had mercifully scattered from this madness, so far she could no longer hear them. Connecting with the burrowing creatures instead, insects, the parasites around her body, she reached out with her force senses to track movement.

Not saying a word, the acolyte leaped upwards using the force, and her Master’s teachings of it, often taught via the parasites on her body. With a steady landing, she hit the top of the mine, coming down on all fours. As Kelon slowly trudged his heavy metal form up the long winding steps out of the previously deserted mine, she moved like a creature, sometimes using all four limbs. Reaching the first of the restrained miners, Kelon spoke plenty for the surviving trio, because Natalya rarely had words to offer. The large acolyte with her pulling the first supposed miner up by the scruff of his neck, “this is why the mines were abandoned huh, nice of you to tell us.”

Natalya stood there reaching out with her senses, looking for signs, feeling the wilds, their call. Her eyes opened, speaking with deep voice, broken basic language. "These... buildings, its hunting.... ground." Everything around here belonged to the creature as far as it was concerned, the settlement, its people. Because how do you stop a menace covered in phrik? You didn't, at least nobody here had successfully, even the hutt mercenaries they'd encouraged to steal from the mine had now failed miserably, at last resort they'd reached out to Jedi or anyone else now too! [member="Audren Sykes"]

 

[Audren Sykes]

Planetfall wasn't anything out of the ordinary. Permission to land was granted, a sum of credits was paid for the renting of the area and refueling. He spoke with representatives of the leadership to try and get more information. After all, the leadership itself was too busy to deal with yet another person come to take care of their problem. Not much information was had, just the general location. That was when an oddity appeared.

The locals wouldn't let him rent a speeder.

As it turned out, they had been having trouble recouping the losses they sustained from the previous groups. First the companies had to pay recovery teams to go out there, then most of the vehicles were wrecked, then insurance wouldn't pay because of 'extenuating circumstances' and 'coverage disputes'. They were uncompromising, but they did offer him the comm frequency of a local cab company, which met him at his ship's berth. Needless to say, the drive out to the general area was a quiet one. The driver simply didn't want to talk to the armed and armored passenger. Part of it was nervousness, part disinterest. Audren didn't mind.

This wasn't a full-on battle, but he was expecting a fight. Hence the choice of armor and the weapons. He had his lightsaber of course, though if the thing was phrik-plated that wouldn't do much good. A pistol with an ion-based alternate firing mode, in case it was a droid. A collapsible baton, because it came in useful every now and again, and a vibroblade just in case. In fact, the standard tech might succeed where the lightsaber failed when it came to phrik.

As soon as he stepped from the taxi, the rot of death assaulted his senses. Not the physical ones, there weren't any bodies around for that. Through the Force though, he could sense that there had been deaths fairly close by, and recently. Violent ones. There was a tinge of primal anger present too, the same sort of thing he'd felt on Felucia when a creature had its territory invaded. He just couldn't tell if it was from the invader or from the thing being invaded. He would need to head into the mine itself to try and piece together what was happening here. He was a Jedi after all, he couldn't just charge in with gun blazing.

[member="Kelon Amadis"] | [member="Natalya Selanne"]

 

[Kelon Amadis]

Dropping the miner so he could answer to the floor, Kelon pulled the nearest small bag of loot over his shoulder, credit chits, expensive tech equipment, a valuable weapon or two, and any personal effects worth anything. “Talk.” He gave the restrained man a non too subtle giant boot to the side. Kelon wasn’t complicated in the slightest, could say no Amadis was, Kelon being the bluntest instrument of all. Those kicks a hammer bow if ever there was one, from the lumbering acolyte.

“We just… just thought you could take it.” The Miner answered, Kelon felt like giving him another kick but stopped at his side, he had a more important question first. “What’s it worth if I do?” Hand on his own chin, the man below was coughing, nursing the likely bruised or broken rib.

“100,000?” A voice asked.

Kelon this time stepped to give him another kick, not as hard, he’d become more valuable in credits alive.

“200,000?” The voice continued.

“A Million.” Kelon said in no uncertain terms, yanking the miner to his feet and placing him standing, money and the phrik, day was getting better.

“The mine, its barely worth a million, were not operating and….”

“Mining Phrik, it's worth a million.” Kelon’s voice deadpan, giving usual click of his teeth, looking down at him as he towered above the injured miner.

And so with grudging acceptance of unreasonable terms they began the hunt! Natalya truth be known had already wandered off, drawn to seek out this new predator by instinct, keeping to bush and foliage! Leaving Kelon and their myke companion running to catch up. Neither had the strength of force ability to sense the arrival of the Jedi Knight, though Natalya would read the animals around her soon enough if Audren disturbed them, he may even sense that.... or hints of that primal anger building, hunting, and growing in ability with every passing day. Dangers to come.

[member="Audren Sykes"]​

OOC:

Spoiler

I'll alternate between them, great post and start!

 

[Audren Sykes]

Fortunately or unfortunately for Audren, the mine started some ways away from the actual hole in the ground. Buildings dotted the lands all around it, some nothing more than ramshackle sheds, others effectively secure lockboxes. The more secure places would no doubt hold more valuable tools, maybe even explosives, while the other places would hold more common tools. Or they were refreshers, because even people working a mine needed some basic necessities met. It was unlikely that any phrik, even raw ore, would be kept in these buildings. For one, they were too small to hold much, and unless there were some heavy-duty locks inside the more secure buildings.

There was too much for the Sephi to dig through before the sun went down. His lightsaber could open doors but that would be temporarily permanent; not the best way to get on good terms with the owners if the place was still active. It would also severely limit his choices if whatever the thing was decided to come back. So he did the 'cliched Jedi' thing: he stretched out with the Force. As he meandered around the various buildings, he swept them with his metaphysical senses. No living beings present in them. A few were very emotionally charged, carrying remnants of the emotions felt by those within. The term jumbled mess was the best description for those; the emotions were tangled knots that he couldn't begin to sort through. Two had cables of Force power connecting them to something, but that something faded off into time rather than space. They didn't affect the present.

To the Knight's way of thinking, that left two options. The first was that whatever the threat was had retreated to the mine tunnels themselves. The second was that the threat had gone away from the tunnels for a time, and who knew if it would return. A few of the bodies here on the outside appeared to have been running away when they were taken down, which indicated the latter to be more likely. However, he couldn't exactly go wandering around the area hoping against luck to find the target. Every fact he had pointed at the mine, so even if it wasn't there now it likely would be back. Not expecting to find anything living inside, he headed towards the hole in the ground with Force senses extended.

[member="Kelon Amadis"] | [member="Natalya Selanne"]

 

[Kylraya]

SMASH.... crash, scattering of birds....

Kelon was route one following smashed trees or ripped up stone, now the latest noise. Natalya was with him but everywhere, birds, insects, trees she began reaching out. Feeling animals around her, befriending small bird-like creatures, three of them which fluttered about, and one great predator swooping in behind them. Stabilizing herself within her new pack, she found some purchase for her wayward force sense, which otherwise might see her fall unconscious again, or worse. Huntress drawing that force sense into narrower focus from above, her birds took flight to scouring their landscape.

Winding her hands like talons, as she took on mannerism of her dominant new sister bird, showing lighter qualities of prey which scattered before in how she moved. Dancing forward with agile grace as her birds would, soaring to stop as her predator might. One flapped its way past [member="Audren Sykes"] general direction, doing circles above to seek out location of their behemoth.

Behemoth which had taken chance for a nap, snoring loudly by a stream. It's latest lunch that of a large herbivore, in its wake it had gone right through the side of a building... one or two mining staff no longer standing in its wake.

Running, sprinting, to glide like her birds through branch and tree, her small flock, four moving to circling high around our huntresses prey… All signs to those looking with sharp eyes or careful sense! [member="Audren Sykes"]. While Kelon and his female company were left in the dust behind her, not realising which way she’d gone!

[member="Audren Sykes"]​

 

[Audren Sykes]

He supposed there had to be more than one entrance or exit to the mine. If there wasn't, workers' rights groups would have a field day; even when they weren't allowed on a planet, they could find ways to make pains of themselves for a company. While it would have made things easier if there had been just the one, he personally only needed a single one to get in. It just meant he might need to chase the thing out another.

The Sephi liked to think he wasn't a fool, however. Rather than charge right into the looming maw of the mine, he stopped short from his measured approach and once again used the Force. Cables of Force energy swept through the dimly-lit tunnels. It would have helped greatly to know what he was looking for, but in the meantime he simply looked for life and got a general idea of the mine's shape. It went in and down - shockingly - which was about all that he could determine before his senses reached their limit.

The sense of violence the place carried, not to mention the fact that it was underground made him take one last look around the outside before going in. And that one last look around had him pausing before actually continuing. He'd dismissed the bird that had passed him earlier, as nature had a way of adapting to even these desolate conditions. What hadn't been there before, however, were the birds circling a particular area. Everyone knew that meant a meal, scavengers gliding around and either scoping the meal out or waiting for it to die. Given that he hadn't heard anything from that direction, hadn't sensed anything in that direction, he doubted it was anything new or important. But it felt off, and it gave him an excuse to not go inside the mine just yet. So he started off at an easy trot that he could manage all day but that still had him moving fairly silently. He knew that he didn't know what this thing was; on the off chance it was a living animal, he'd shift direction to ensure he was coming from upwind. Smell and sound wouldn't give him away.

[member="Kelon Amadis"] | [member=Kylraya]

 

[Kylraya]

While Kelon was off being his less than subtle self, actually headed in the wrong direction! Lumbering in heavy armor, and becoming increasingly frustrated, Audren might even here the argument the female myke and he were having as they trampled around on off to the side. Nobody had caught sense of the careful and rather cunning Jedi!

Natalya, whom the galaxy will now know as Kylraya, given her unfortunate fate and choices to surrender to her animalistic intents utterly, began to approach the behemoth, sensing it through the bushes. Making contact with this new beasts was much like any beast for her, natural but fraught with its own perils. Its nature affected her as much as she might effect it. There was no ordering animals around for her at first, you asked, and they told you what they thought. Developing bonds with them, usually over time, wrestling for control given her now sith training to do so.

In the case of her smaller birds, she’d sent direction of insect life to have, which they were now dive bombing near Audren, to claim those crawling species for lunch. In the case of her predatory bird a small scurrying creature gripped in its talons, one of the rare few to be here. Exchange for their sight above. Because Audren was right, there was not a lot of natural food here to be had, as they wandered this close to the mine.

GROWLING

Beast ahead of her awoke. Predator looking at predator, she dropped to all fours, hands and legs stalking it. Aggressively her prey growled at her, she took on its mannerisms growling right back. The behemoth raised up and looked like it might butt very metal heads with the huntress, a standoff as they manoeuvred around each other. One [member="Audren Sykes"] might witness, he might even hear the parasites on her arms give their own opinion through the force, all acting in harmony with the birds now back above the scene.

[member="Audren Sykes"]​

 

[Audren Sykes]

In this place, unfamiliar to him, he wasn't quite as good as he would have liked. The gravity was different here, the terrain was different. His guess on the distance was off, so it ended up taking him longer to get to the location than he'd thought, let alone slipping around to an upwind position. And while his footsteps didn't make a sound, they had an odd resonance through the ground. Something paying attention would have literally felt his footsteps approaching. He was aware of the hunting birds, but discounted them as irrelevant. In his efforts to stay quiet and avoid notice, he completely missed any significance of the birds that had been circling above - the very thing that had drawn him - now grabbing the small rodents.

The beast had caught his attention. And beast it was, he could feel the thing through the Force from here. Its fur was shiny however, unlike any he'd ever seen before. It actually glinted in the sunlight while still ruffling with the breeze...other than the more solid plates. He could only see an angled portion of one side, but it looked like the top of the skull and major bones might have actual deposits of metal. Perhaps the teeth too. It even looked like the thing had snorted powdered metal, the residue reminded him of sloppy drug addicts.

Even more odd than the creature itself was the woman facing it down. Her hair appeared to be in dreadlocks, and she was on all fours in an imitation of the beast. Plus she was Forceful. But her presence was Dark, she was not a friend. Kark, she was Forceful. Abruptly, he came to his senses and attempted to suppress his own presence. It was hasty, and would likely draw attention to the abrupt shift. That was if he was successful, he'd never received formal training or even feedback on his methodology. Nor could he tell how powerful she was, that was likewise not something he'd learned. Quietly, the Jedi crouched and pulled the sidearm from its holster. He didn't know what the girl was doing, but if the beast attacked it would be his opening. If it didn't, then something more was going on. Something he needed to know.

[member="Kelon Amadis"] | [member=Kylraya]

 

[Kylraya]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deDUfvT-nzM
Echoes of the future, that he might yet stop.​

Kylraya was powerful and not, utterly at the mercy of their wilds, and now unfortunately for her, the swarm's developing hive mind, she lived and breathed as the wilderness which contained its own voice for those with ear to hear it, echoed across the force in waves of its wind.

This particular battle of wills was one of dominance, and as she took step back naturally, still on all fours, she was losing it. The beast took step forward, circling with her. She went lower to the ground rising up, teeth clenched from the creature ahead of her, its snarling spittle hitting the ground.

Physically knocking her, lightly, which gave her a good bruiser to her cheek. Test. Why did it resist more, because as Audren may or may not know, another being was here too, inadvertently its influence across her arms, and in her mind, reaching for the beasts! A hive mind of sorts, still in its earliest stages, Kylraya one of its first victims. [member="The Hive Mind"], perhaps it spoke to Audren, subtly, that faint whisper was how it always started.

Galaxy hope its reach didn’t expand!

This time the beast seemingly won out from the clawing control going for its mind, and knocked her flying back, tramping toward her body! Now was [member="Audren Sykes"] chance if there ever was one, as Kylraya lay dazed and about to be stampeded! If he had a plan that is, but whispering instinct may tell him, she, or the swarm was not done yet! Her eyes taking on bestial tint, and her parasites growing slightly across her arms further exerting more control.

[member="Audren Sykes"]​

 

[Audren Sykes]

The show seemed purely instinctive, no indication of conscious thought present at all. The woman backed up a step, and the beast moved forward. It was a contest to be sure, one that animals tended to make of wills and natural weapons rather than anatomical comparisons. The first hit went to the beast, what appeared to be a light tap from it that would no doubt be felt more strongly by the woman.

Something...else seemed to take effect. For Audren, it was a sort of buzzing, one that he couldn't tell if it came from the Force or his ears. The Sephi simply shook his head to refocus past the buzz, the idea of a Force-based area-wide attack not even crossing his thoughts; he didn't even start to defend against such a thing. Whatever caused it, it affected the beast to a much greater level, but it too was able to shake off the snare. Yet it retaliated, knocking the woman back and moving to trample her.

Odd or not, he couldn't simply stand around to watch her die. The creature had killed a fair amount already, would likely kill more. The Jedi stepped forward, a single step, and started shooting. He was far from a marksman, so even with the relatively close proximity and size of the target some of the bolts sizzled past the creature's paws and became a danger to the woman unintentionally. And where as a focused attack might have done some actual harm, instead they were spread out. Char marks appeared wherever the bolts hit, but it seemed the glimmering fur was largely unaffected by the pistol's discharges. It took a bolt smacking into the snout to actually catch its attention, then two more smacking into its shoulder to convince it.

With a smooth motion, the creature whirled and sprung at the Sephi. He in turn dove to the side to evade. Dirt and leaves were liberally spread about his being as he twisted once he hit the ground, blaster raised to down the attacking beast. Yet it wasn't attacking him any longer, it had shifted direction: his sense of the Force had it heading back towards the mine somewhat. Back to more familiar territory. Maybe it was smarter as well as impervious...wouldn't that just be dandy.

He'd intervened so she wouldn't die, but outside of that Audren owed the woman nothing. It had been her own posturing that earned her lumps. She wasn't so badly injured as to die, not from a simple hit or two like that. So he scrambled to his feet and moved to follow the creature.

[member="Kelon Amadis"] | [member=Kylraya]