Private Where the Whiskey Drowns

[Wes Perell]

Light burst into the compartment as the ship landed. Wes was blinded by it. It'd been so long since he'd seen anything but darkness. Let alone this much sunlight. He moved his hands to cover his eyes initially, trying to regain his whereabouts after being exposed to this new environment. He heard the man mutter something as he did.

"Who are you?" He asked, "what do you want with me?"

Wes's memory wasn't great after the crazy night he had, he was unsure who had captured him or what they even wanted. But one thing was for certain, he was in a feisty mood and if this man tried to do anything to him without explaining the situation he would likely do his best to fight back. While his right hand and arm shielded his eyes, Wes tried to move his left arm discreetly. He wasn't sure if the man had stripped him of all his weapons, so his left arm roamed down his side towards his boot. He kept and a small knife there and he was hopeful it was still there and he could surprise his captor if the situation resorted to violence. His legs still felt weak from being stuck in such an awkward position for so long, but he would make do of the situation and do his best to fend off his attacker. And if the knife wasn't there, well his fist could pack quite the punch if given an opportunity.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Diocletian leaned in to get a proper look at his captive, this Bounty has been way too easy, he reckoned it would have been more of a challenge. Ah well, can’t be choosy when it comes to Contracts. This one was only given to him once Diocletian swore not to maim the guy once he caught him, a concession he rarely if ever gives to a target while on the job.

Which wasn’t as much fun for him as he enjoys playing with a target before turning them in, but hey, he needed the credits, and so far he has kept his word and will continue to do so until Wes is safely delivered in one piece, albeit a little sore from being in an awkward position for a long period of time. He'll recover from the inevitable pins and needle.

<“I’m your worst nightmare and, I’m going to turn you into the Bounty Office.”> He answers flatly all the while reaching in to grab Wes firmly to properly cuff him without further incident, but knowing the profession something is bound to go a little wrong. But he'll usually rectify it, eventually.

He didn't notice the direction Wes's hand was going either.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes chuckled. "Worst nightmare? I'm not afraid of clowns like you."

The bounty hunter's failure to notice where his hand was gone was a mistake that might have be fatal. Wes had protracted a small knife from the boot on his leg and he lunged at the hunter with it. He aimed for the neck, but it was difficult to tell where or how to hit against a heavily armored target like that. Plus he was still somewhat blinded so it may not have been a lethal strike, but it was still potent.

After Wes lunged at the character, he tried to run. He had no idea where he was running and considering how numb his legs were, he wasn't moving particularly fast. All he could tell is that there was a forest ahead. If he could escape this landing spot, he had plenty of trees and foliage he could hide among. He had no clue what planet they were on or where he'd been taken, but freedom was freedom. He was a resourceful fellow and could find his way among the branches. If only he could get there he thought as he hobbled towards the trees as fast as he could. He felt them calling towards him in a way, their life sucking him in slowly. He was determined not to die today, no matter what this hunter tried to do to him.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

The blade did get him in the upper arm, and it hurt enough for the Ubese to become distracted enough for Wes to disappear into the forest as soon as the initial pain subsided Diocletian was annoyed, yet highly amused in equal measure at Wes's resourcefulness. He had been too distracted to search the Human for weapons, a lesson very much learned.

He had forced the pain of the wound in his shoulder to the back of his mind, it will be dealt with after he caught Wes. It was deep but it hasn't nicked anything vital, good. Regardless of his rather painful error, Wes is going to be recaptured, so he swapped out his handheld blaster for a rifle, which is better suited for long-range hunts. Luckily, it has a stronger stun function. It will knock Wes out for longer this time.

As soon as he made sure The Hornet was secured from theft, Diocletian made his way into the forest, careful not to get his feet tangled in roots or vines and his senses on high alert, he ploughed forward, predatory instinct kicking in, he was looking for recently trampled foliage and footprints.

Of course, it will be trickier once nightfall hits, which means night vision would be needed to find Wes. The night is usually perfect ambush conditions, so that's something to be prepared for.

But for now, it was light enough to track the Human unhindered, well except for increasingly dense areas in which his Vibrosword became rather useful.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes stumbled into the forest. His eyes had started to grow accustomed to the light, so that was a benefit. He was able to make his way through the forest more acutely. His brain ran through the possibilities. This was the sort of situation you dreamed about as a kid, but were rarely prepared for. He was likely being hunted through a jungle he hadn't prepared for. He was rather clueless on how to successfully evade this situation. His gut instincts told him to avoid leaving any traces of his presence, but that was difficult. He was also trying to move quickly. He also still lacked any clue of where he was or what planet he was on, which made it all the harder. It was a difficult situation and truth be told, he felt it was likely the hunter would catch him, but that slim chance that wasn't the case kept him hanging on.

Wes's eyes brightened when he stumbled upon a stream. He saw the tricking water running by from a short distance away and he ran towards in eagerly. He felt dehydrated and instantly took the chance to indulge himself. He cupped the water in his hands and gulped it down quickly. It wasn't the cleanest water ever, but he couldn't complain. Amidst the chaos, he hadn't even realized how thirsty he was. Then after he'd had his fill, he made sure to stomp along the muddy riverbanks. He wanted his captor to know he was here, but without knowing where he had gone. After making an amount of footprints he found satisfactory. He carefully removed his shoes and started to move towards the direction opposite of where he hadn't came from. While he had hardly looked behind him, the fact that his captor wasn't on top of him meant his knife strike was satisfactory. Best case scenario, he was wandering in the forest with only a manufactured worry of being caught; worst case, his captor was on a delayed chase. Either way, surely he had the advantage.

Wes chucked his boots into a nearby bush and kept wandering. While not having proper footwear would slow him down, he thought it was worth the advantage of clouding his tracks. He vehemently continued to roam. With a little luck, his biggest worry wouldn't be the person that had captured him and instead how to get off whatever planet he'd been transported to.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Eventually, he too reached the stream, the jungle looked like it thickened up from this point onwards. Diocletian looked down at the stream bank, there is a garbled mass of footprints, which has completely thrown him. off the trail. Some went left and another set went right. Yet another pair went towards the water.

Clever boy, Diocletian thought amused at the situation. His shoulder started to give him a not so gentle reminder of its presence and now that it has stopped bleeding the humidity has started to make it ache. Again Diocletian ignored it in favour of the task at hand.

This guy is good, the Ubese has completely lost the trail or couldn't determine the direction. So he decided to cross the stream, keeping his rifle and wound out of the water. Once he was on the other side he stalked along the edge, looking for clues to Wes's whereabouts. He had to admit, this is proving to be a lot better than when they were both at Coruscant, it wasn't very challenging then.

Oh, how it has changed since then, so the best bet is to continue, eventually, he is going to relocate Wes's trail, but for now, he's wandering somewhat off course.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes stumbled along the other side of the stream. The dense forestry had made it harder for him to progress. He felt like he had to claw through the jungle every step of the way and that was proving to be quite the challenge, especially since he had no more utensils or weaponry with him. That, combined with the fact that he was tiring made it difficult to continue. He hadn't gotten much rest on the transport ship after all. The tight quarters had made it incredibly difficult for him to sleep or rest. He'd spent most of the journey staring at the metallic walls waiting for it to end.

Wes noticed a tree that had branches hanging somewhat low nearby. That was different from the rest of the forest. Most of the branches were well beyond his reach. He figured this might be a clue to the world he was on, but he lacked the skills to properly determine what that meant. Instead, he saw an opportunity. If he could climb this tree, it'd give him a chance to rest near the top of it and, more importantly, a chance to evade his captor. He grabbed the low hanging branch and quickly propelled himself upwards. Its rough bark stung his feet and hands as he clung to it for dear life, but he didn't care. He was resolute in his pursuit of getting higher. It would offer him the chance to surveil his opponents location at the very least, assuming he was still following him.

Wes continued to climb up the monstrosity until he was a satisfactory level above the ground. Truth be told, he didn't look down much as he climbed. He wasn't afraid of heights, but getting too high would make any man nauseous, right? He just kept climbing until he found a decent spot, one that he felt he could safely rest in without a fear of falling. Then he laid back and let a feeling of relief wash over him. With how high up he was, he'd be a bit difficult to notice and he needed a break. Leaning his back against the ginormous tree, he let his eyes rest for a second. He wasn't going to fall asleep, he was simply trying to rest. Surely his captor wouldn't notice him this far above the ground. It would've taken really good eyesight or some equipment to see him. Well either that, or really good tracking skills. Either way, Wes needed rest and rest he would have.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Diocletian's tracking skills which were usually spot-on are now failing him, he's only a few feet away on the other side of the stream but he couldn't see Wes at all from where he is standing, nor did he see anything when he looked up at the trees, he only saw the native birds screeching away in their nests.

If he was to find Wes, he would need to switch to thermal vision, which would cut down time wastage by quite a margin. He was for the first time very acutely aware of his right-hand side blind spot, sure his helmet's visuals compensate for it pretty well. But still, it didn't count on the Wes related attack on his shoulder.

A low rumble ripped through the jungly calm and the air fell silent as the wildlife froze as if in trepidation. Looks like a storm is brewing from above, another rumble tore at the silence. Sounds like a deluge is approaching the forest, he didn't mind rain personally but it did make tracking down anything a tad more difficult, yet not impossible.

The rumbles are getting closer now and the wind had started to brew which signalled rain is not too far behind.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes heard a rumble ripple through the air and it nearly startled him out of his comfortable perch on the branch. He looked up at the sky, worried. With the tree looming directly over him, it was difficult to see, but he could tell it had darkened. It wasn't ideal. His clothes didn't offer a ton of protection from the rain and he was quite high up at this point, he would be exposed to whatever it brought down on him. He also figured being this high up was far from ideal if the storm brought lightning. These were all concerns, but ones he was willing to ignore. He looked down at the forest floor beneath him and didn't see anyone. Maybe he had shaken his captor.

He had no way of reliably telling time in the tree, but he figured he would wait a little bit longer. Then if nobody came and the storm started to worsen he would look for better shelter. A downpour should be good for him in a way after all. It'd reduce visibility and naturally cover his tracks for him, both positives. Plus maybe the storm would be kind and bypass him. Though he severely doubted that as he heard another rumble, one that sounded much louder and closer.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

The rain began to fall, first as a spit here and there until it began to pour down in sheets obscuring anything further than a few feet in a hazy mist. So there is that. So every instinct is telling Diocletian to seek cover at least until the rain lets up. No one with an ounce of self-perseverance would stay out in a storm like this.

A sudden flash of lightning ripped through the stormy gloom, which was then followed by a rumble. Luckily there is an outcropping of rocks that looked like a cave nearby. Which is perfect for waiting out what looks like a very violent storm so, Diocletian hunkered down in the rocky shelter as a barrage of lightning flashed from above in rapid succession, followed by one singular loud rumble. No such thing as smooth sailing it seems, at least not for today.

Back on UbaIV, there were storms. But those storms were filled with coarse, gritty sand that blew in from the Eastern Wastes. Compared to those, a tropical wet thunderstorm didn't seem too bad in comparison. Diocletian also needed to start planning on his next move in the hunt for Wes because he knew the deluge would have removed any traces of where the Human had gone.

Which will make his job a little harder, which is good as he liked a challenge.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes endured the pouring rain as it came. It was rough, but the leather shredded it fairly easily, even though his hair was soaked at this point. Eventually, he decided he'd waited long enough. The cold and rain was painful to endure, so he figured he should try to relocate somewhere else. If a skilled hunter was after him, he would've found him by now. After all, would anybody really search for him that much? He was a crazy sabacc player, but not much else. He posed no danger to anyone trying to kill him, surely the bounty on him wasn't worth that much. His hunter had likely given up.

With that in mind, Wes started to climb down from the tree. He took it slowly with the branches being so slippery, but his mind felt at peace. He comfortably believed he was safe. It was time to find a decent shelter from the rain and then tomorrow he would escape from this jungle hell. He walked along the forest floor, he was especially careful not to slip on anything or accidentally fall. That would have been disastrous, instead he made sure to only step in spots that were somewhat dry and stable.

In a way, the rain made him feel comfortable. As soon as he'd made a footprint, it was washed away by the heavy downpour. He didn't mind it too much, sure he was certainly uncomfortable, but in a way the rain was enjoyable. It'd been a massive downturn in his life recently and the weather recognizing that was nice, he embraced it. Eventually his trek through the jungle led him to a cave. It was a small outcropping of rocks, but it would do. Wes was exhausted. Anything that gave him comfort from the rain would probably be enough for him to sleep in and regain his energy. He approached it slowly as the rain poured down on him.

When he was alleviated from the downpour by the cave covering his being, he noticed something strange. Diocletian Kahmen’’a was there. It was the very hunter he'd been trying to escape. His gut instinct told him to run, to escape, but a combination of overconfidence in his negotiating abilities and pure exhaustion kept his feet stuck in the mud.

He stared down the hunter and couldn't help but to ask, "Why are you after me? What threat do I fucking pose?"

The man might shoot the defenseless Wes dead, but he couldn't help but inquire. His entire life revolved around good card play and talking. He wasn't a fighter and in this moment he didn't want to run, he wanted rest from this jungle hell. Maybe he could get the man to oblige. If he was going to die, at the very least maybe he could make this horror wait until morning to kill him.

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Diocletian looked up as Wes appeared in the cave entrance. He glared right back at the Human, but some of the potency is lost due to him wearing a helmet. No matter, the situation was perfect, stun Wes and drag him in here to wait out the worsening storm but that'll be far too quick of an end.

So he made no moves to shoot a stunner at Wes, nor did he rushed to grab him either, at least not straight away. It's better to size up a quarry first before moving in for the kill or in this case capture.

It stayed as a rather tense staredown, there were several flashes outside, casting shadows on the walls in jagged shapes. An exceptionally loud rumble made the ground vibrate under them. It was mildly amusing that Wes resembled a drowned Desert Rat.

<"A job is a job, it is nothing personal."> He replies flatly, reaching towards his rifle slowly. Hey, if the opportunity was this open, he would certainly take it. Besides what could Wes do at this point, run? Run into what exactly, a patch of stinging plants, a ravine? That would make the job a smidge bit harder.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes stood facing the hunter. The water dripped off of him as he watched the man, waiting to see what he would do. Eventually, he saw him reach for the rifle.

"You bounty hunters are all the same--disgusting." He muttered.

The reach towards the weapon instantly triggered alarm bells in Wes's head. He had a decent memory of the path that he had taken to get here, so he would run. He'd hoped this situation wouldn't be so miserable, but there was an inner confidence within him that he would survive. It was hard to explain, but he felt like he wouldn't die today. As the hunter moved to draw his weapon, Wes dashed out of the cave entrance. He sprinted across the wet forest floor, flying away as fast as he humanly could. Darkness had begun to settle over the forest so it would give him cover and he would take advantage of that. He made it a few dozen feet before his foot hit a wet patch that hadn't been there before and he fell. For all its downsides, the mud did offer a decently soft landing spot. He glanced behind himself, paranoid that the hunter was following and would be able to close in after he had tripped.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Well, there goes Wes, so all strategy goes out the window at this point, good. Far more interesting, as soon as Wes bolted, Diocletian keeps Wes in his sights throughout the chase. His shoulder started giving him another even more of an angry reminder about it being injured. Again, this was ignored, as it can be dealt with later.

Rain continues to pour, and now that it is getting darker, which necessitates the use of thermal vision. So now he wasn't looking for footprints because the gloom is making that difficult. He slowed to an abrupt halt, there is a signature, but it wasn't Wes's. It was a very large creature, to the left of him. So he carefully stepped around the large furry creature without making a sound because this is an unknown planet the fauna may decide he is on their menu.

Which would be very unfortunate indeed, as soon as he is clear of the large animal, he took off running, dodging patches of brambles, stingers and a large clump of roots. He knew better than to stay under a tree during a storm. He had been told of a story of a Wookiee who got barbequed by a lightning strike while he sheltered under a tree.

He screeched to a halt a few feet from where Wes lay in the mud. The Human is just below his line of sight.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes glanced around, panicked. The darkness obscured his vision significantly. And worse, as he was running he heard some growling. He had no idea what it was, but he was worried there was some animal nearby. He hadn't been quiet, so it had likely picked up on the noise he emitted pretty easily. Nonetheless, he needed to move and quickly. He hurriedly stood up and tried to dust the mud off himself as best he could. He felt like he could remember the tree he was hidden in, so his goal was simple: make it back there and climb as high as he possible could.

Wes was soaked at this point. The rain had been pouring down non-stop for about an hour now and he had hardly had any shelter from it. The one benefit he had is that his clothes were fairly light, so they didn't inhibit him too much and the leather was fairly decent at shedding the rain, although it's effects were limited in the midst of a downpour like this. With nothing to do except run; run from everything: both the beast he'd heard and the man that seemed relentless in his pursuit. Wes took off again, hoping to escape the situation. At this point, he was hoping for a miracle, but maybe the man was slow getting out of the cave or the beast was uninterested in eating humans. Nonetheless, he got up from his spot on the ground and dug deep, forcing himself to keep his legs moving even though they wanted a rest.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Diocletian had also kept his senses about him now that they are not alone anymore. Judging by the distance, the animal is not too close, but neither is it at a comfortable distance away. So the best bet is to head away from it before it sniffs them out, then both of them will be in deep poodoo.

Suddenly out of the foliage, Wes sped by, a tad too fast to reach out to grab. But not too fast to see which direction he was going in, so Diocletian sprinted after him, all the while dodging trees and taking a brief detour so that he won't cross paths with whatever that thing was. For all, he knew it could be the Planet's apex predator that eats Humans and Aliens alike. Diocletian is many things, but stupid isn't one of them. Even he knows something of that size will be very difficult to outrun, let alone fight off if it catches you. Not that he would want to find that out any time soon.

Using his free arm, Diocletian rubbed rain from his helmet's visor as the condensation builds. To add to this, the rain is seeping into his own clothes and will make them heavy with moisture. He had the endurance to keep running. But due to the increasing thickness of the foliage, he had to change direction to avoid getting snagged by brambles.

A few metres more and, he'll be close enough to Wes to grab him.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes looked behind him, he saw the hunter following closely. This was a bad situation, he honestly wished the animal that had growled earlier would attack. It was honestly his only chance at safety, assuming it attacked the right person. As a master of estimating percentages, he knew his survival, unharmed, in this situation was likely about 30%. It wasn't good odds, but he kept running nonetheless.

But then Wes suddenly stopped when he reached the river. It wasn't that deep he could likely cross it unharmed. Without the beast following him and hopefully without the hunter following him. But it was deep enough that he felt like it needed an extraneous effort to cross. It left him open to attack, sure. But he didn't want to end up dead swimming in that stream. He slowly backed up along the coast side, and then prepared to make a significant effort running down the slope to dash across. He had no idea if anyone was close enough to prevent him from leaping across it, all he knew that was jumping across this was imperative to his survival and he would take that leap of faith--if allowed--no matter what. It would cleanse his tracks and leave him free to go wherever he wanted if not caught before, it was a promise from the heavens. One that he was eager to embrace, no matter what.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Endurance is a blessing, he can keep up with the Human well. It would be too easy to sprint forward and bring Wes to the ground, which will ruin the thrill of the chase. Now, only thing separating them is a few metres, this was enough to allow Diocletian to slow down a little and prepare his rifle. The priority now is to stun Wes without further incidents.

Compounding the situation further is another even shriller howl. This means only one thing, there are two of those animals now and even worse, they are heading their way. Just what he needs, another furry thing with rows of teeth. Fingers crossed they haven't picked up his scent.

<“Fetherations.”> He grumbled, setting down and, taking aim at Wes. The idea is to stun the Human and get out of here before anything else happens, the target is moving quickly so he had to pull the trigger before he loses the chance to get Wes with a stun bolt. The nagging pain in his shoulder caused him to release his grip momentarily before he aimed again.

The thunder rumbled overhead and the wind changed, driving the rain towards them on a slant. As soon as Diocletian had Wes in his crosshairs, he pulled the trigger, hoping to stun him for longer this time.

 

[Wes Perell]

Wes ran through the muddy ground, evading the brush as best he could. His only goal was to get as far away from this place as fast as possible and if he could find the tree he had climbed earlier, that would be a nice added bonus. He heard more creatures rumbling nearby, but they hardly bothered him, he was already running away from this area as quickly as he could, more threats wouldn't change his approach.

Wes heard a shot ring out across the forest and almost as soon as he did, he fell to the forest floor. The bolt struck him in the back and at this point Wes felt numb all over. He couldn't move. He was laying in the mud and grass unmoving. He hadn't done anything to protect himself from the fall and as a result his entire body was covered in the mud at this point. He felt this nagging need to just let go, to just pass out and worry about everything in the morning, but simultaneously he tried to fight it, he knew sleep was likely death for him. He was hunted. He was an enemy of the galaxy. Nonetheless, he slowly started to lose consciousness as the effects of the bolt washed over him as he lay in the muddy water he had fallen in. It was peculiarly relieving to just let it all go. To just give in to sleep and not worry about the future. He lay there in a muddy puddle as still as the night that had arrived amidst all the chaos.

Diocletian Kahmen’’a

 

[Diocletian Kahmen’’a]

Well, that was easy, but the stun shot echoed slightly and, that might cause quite the setback if those creatures actually caught onto their scent. Somehow, luck seemed to be turning her nose up at him as there was a sudden cracking of trees. Again, dulling the now angry throbbing pain in his shoulder, he decided to throw Wes over his shoulder and pick his way down the stream bank and away from his current position.

In his single-minded pursuit of Wes, he forgot the basics of hunting, be aware and be prepared for danger. And, those things are definitely dangerous. So he formulated a plan to stay out of the downpour and off any beast's menu. This stun blast should keep Wes out for a few hours at least, enough time to get out of here and to the office.

But, as it was the dead of night and teeming with wildlife, his best bet is to head for shelter and, somewhere he can't be plucked out of to be munched. He looked up at the trees, finding that they could be the perfect escape. So, he found one that was easy to climb, he could clamber up the less simple trees, but as it was nearest to him and, there is a sense of urgency.

He settled for this one. Once he found a sturdy branch, he placed Wes down onto it and took a deserved rest, not quite letting his guard down, to be extra careful he watches Wes like a hawk.

Now he could see to the stab wound good and proper.