Myrkr

[Durose Roshan]

((OCC: Correction on the distance Ro pulled the "tree house" up. It was like and I don't know what I was thinking... but yeah... it was more like 20 meters up, not 200!))

 

 

 

 

A synthetic sound broke the normal rhythm of the forest ambience as Ro turned to see a transport vessel overhead. He patiently watched the vessels as it flew by and came in for a landing. It wasn't long before disappeared behind the tall trees of the forest. Ro quickly estimated the trajectory and came up with a "gestimate" of where the ship probably set down. He would investigate that later.

 

 

Now satisfied for the time being, Ro lifted the small tree back onto his shoulders and finished dragging it up to his ship. Then digging a hole, he planned the tree in it's new resting place. Taking a chance to catch his breath his leaned against the tree, letting his body slide down the bark until he reached a seated position.

 

 

Durose bobbed his head around to take a look at his hard work. It wasn't a masterpiece, but he had taken advantage of the morning to supplant several small bushes, boulders, trees, and whatever else he could carry to inhabit his landing site. Being his ship was cloaked, he didn't want to take that chance that someone else might see his landing spot and assume it was vacant.

 

 

Ripping open a baguette of field rations, Ro devoured it rapidly. He was hungry and he knew he didn't have all day to sit around and be lazy. He had already lost one day, being that he was unable to find any ysalamiri or vornskrs during his short search last night. Admittedly, he only probably spent a little over a hour searching before retiring to his "tree house." Still, he had hoped to find something. Now with neither and his morning completely gone, he realized he would probably lose another day. He sighed. At least he wasn't in any hurry to go anywhere anytime soon.

 

 

Finally rising to his feet, he returned to his tree house. All his equipment was right were he left it. Hastily he strapped his vibroblade and sheath to his side, loaded his twin blasters, and headed off into the forest. Curiosity had gotten there better of him, and while he knew the old saying goes, "Curiosity killed the kima," he also knew that was what made him far better than your average feline. Confidence but alert, Durose used his earlier estimates and headed in the direction of the stranger's vessel.

[Durose Roshan]

About half an hour into his journey, Ro noticed a slight scent that he hadn't earlier. Pausing, he froze trying to focus himself. It was harder than usual, as he had expect. Ever since the first time he visited this planet, or maybe even before then he realized the force had an affinity for him. However, he didn't have any force sensitivity to help him here. That's where his Echani training came in.

 

 

Durose was patient. He waited quietly as he gradually rose his blade from it's sheath. Just a little more... just a little more... just a little more...

 

 

"SSSwwoooott!" Durose whipped around rapidly slicing the leaping Vornskr in half. Quickly shooting his head from side to side, he sized up the remaining three creatures that had also converged on his location. He carefully watched their stances as they growled, lowering their backs, encircling Ro, ready to pounce. Their movements were erratic, their stances pained, their eyes desperate. Ro backed towards a near-by three to give him some leverage. He felt bad that he had to fight these creatures. He could tell that they were malnourished and irrational. That would explain, too, why these normally nocturnal beings would be so bold as to attack him in plain daylight. He decide he would make this showing a quick one. There was no reason for them to suffer anymore.

 

 

His back was now almost completely "against the wall." More attentive than before, he watched their movements very carefully. Slowly the reached into his shoulder pocket and pulled out his blaster. Sizing them up, he decide that the one to his right would move first. That would only give him a spilt second to make his move once they attacked. He had to move at just the right time....

 

 

"Now!" The Vornskrs charged at him. He quickly fired the blaster at the beast in front of him with his right hand, while meeting charge of the creature to his left with the vibroblade. The vornskr's tale lashed at Ro as he narrowly bent, adjusting his waist just in time as he threw a swipe of his own. The vornskr dodged his strike, but couldn't stop its momentum from taking it straight into the tree... "Thud!" With his back now turned to the last beast behind him, Ro quickly flicked his wrist, flipping the vibroblade around and jabbing it straight up into the rib cage of the vornskr, while diving sideways to avoid the poison of its tale.

 

 

Hitting his side, he quickly used his momentum to bounce up to his feet and attempted to regain his balance. However, the vornskr that he had first shot was already almost on top of him so he was force to dive backwards and fire rapidly. Keeping his composure and firing very precisely, Ro was able to take down the third beast leaving its flailing corpse to collide dead on top of him.

 

 

A little frazzled, Ro hastily shoved the carcass off and crawled backwards, gun pointing forward, to take scope of what now faced him. To his surprise, the third vornskr wasn't clawing him to death right about now. Instead, he realized it was sprawled out against the tree yelping in pain.

 

 

Rising to his feet, Ro dusted his shoulders off as he strutted up to the vornskr. From about 5 meters away, he could already see what the problem was. It seemed this vornskr was far more malnourished than he had first summized. The frail creature had slammed into the tree dislocating or possibly even breaking something around its shoulder. First walking over and pulling his blade out of the other dead vornskr, Ro quickly snipped off the ailing vornskr's tale and closed the wound with a blaster shot. The only problem was that the creature still wouldn't let him get close enough to examine the wound. Sifting through his huge pants side pockets, he looked for something that the vornskr might like. They weren't very roomy, of course, and he had only had enough space to carry a few ration packs, some water, and a some ronto jerky for dessert. He frowned. He really was looking forward to that ronto meat. He shrugged and begrudgingly tossed it to the pitiful critter. It was devoured in mere seconds.

 

 

Ro pause. He sigh. It was against his better judgment to encourage any animal to practice cannibalism. But he was disparate. It was against his better judgment to leave the creature alone as well. But it was either one or the other. After heaping the dead bodies of the vornskrs into a pile, he decided to go searching for some Ysalimari. Walking in the direction of the transport once again, Ro's eyes vigilantly sweep from one tree top to the next hoping to spot any of the reptiles.

 

 

Finally, he spotted some. One would have been just fine, but he didn't mind taking a few more for keeps. Jogging towards their tree, Ro almost didn't catch himself in time. At the last minute, his fine-tuned senses kicked in. He froze. Looking just over the next few bushes, Durose realized there was a large pack of very healthy and well-feed vornskrs sleeping. He could only imagine that they might possibly be the reason why the smaller group that attacked him couldn't get any food. Ro winced and clenched his teeth. There was challenge and then there was insanity. No starving vornskr or ysalimari were worth that kind of risk.

 

 

Instead, Ro "turned tail" and snuck away as quietly as possible to look elsewhere. After another 10 minutes or so, we finally found what he was looking for: One 30 cm long adult ysalimari. Regretfully sentencing it to death, Ro climbed the tree and dislodged it from its resting place. That's when he saw it.

 

 

Looking up from his kill, Ro suddenly realized he was within no more than 50 meters from the transport vessel he had seen earlier. Doing some quick math, Ro figured that that meant their ships were only about 300 to 400 meters apart. His jaw muscles bulged. He didn't like that. That was a little too close for comfort for him, especially for a vessel he didn't recognize. After a few minutes of spying, in hopes of getting a better idea of the ships intentions, Durose decided to get a better view.

 

 

Back on the ground, with ysalimari in head, Ro turned to get a closer look...and that's when he heard a rustle. Ro swung back around, adrenaline rushing through his body like a child with a 100 dollar showing spree in a candy store! He completely forgot about the ship, the ysalimari, everything! It had caught him completely by surprise. He tensely watch the bush. He heart was racing. He was so tense he almost felt like he was going to faint...

 

 

A vornskr exited. Fearing that he had alerted the pack he found earlier, Ro was about to dash at the brute when he realized who it was. To his surprised, the vornskr he had "castrated" earlier had somehow hobbled its way to him on it's three good legs. Stopping about 2 meters in front of Ro, the vornskr whimpered for food.

 

 

Ro took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Now chuckling to himself, he tossed the ysalimari to the vornskr. He watched as the vornskr chewed and gnawed at it. Even though this ysalimari seemed a little tough and chewy, the vornskr quickly snarfed it down. Ro almost thought it would choke on corpse, but it didn't. Ro sighed and shook his head.

 

 

"What am I going to do with you, ya brute? If you keep eating like that I won't have any ysalimari to take back with me. Now will you let me fix that leg already?" Ro smiled, leaned down towards the creature.

 

 

This time he got no resistance, so he moved to the side of the animal. Suddenly he knocked it over, pinning it on the dark brown dirt. The creature was caught by surprise as Ro rapidly popped its shoulder back into place. In defense the vornskr bite at him and clawed, causing Ro to bounce back to his feet and back away, sword drawn. The vornskr on the other hand, immediately rose to its feet and shot away like a dart at full speed.

 

 

Although it did seem like there might have been a little bit of a hobble due to the minor swelling, the brute was obviously able to run and Durose decided that the animal must have only suffered a dislocation. Losing view of the creature as it ran farther into the woods, Ro decided to continue on his original mission and get a closer look at that ship.

 

 

Within a few minutes, Durose sat contently in a tree, no more than 20 meters from the transport vessel. It had taken him a little longer than he would have liked to find it and the day was already well on its way to nightfall. Eating one of his ration packs and taking another sip of his water, Durose decided it was time to retire. He knew it was only a matter of time before the vessel's occupant or occupants would reveal the true purpose of their visit and he would want to be refreshed and alert when that time came.

[Vash Mammon]

Vash brought out a small radar device. It warned him that several vornskyr were near, but not close enough to be a threat. The Shi'ido opened the transport hatch, and allowed his boots to touch the surface of Myrkr. He was bored with waiting for Krishna, and wanted to stretch his legs.

 

Vornksyr are attracted to Force users. I don't know if I qualify, but I hope not.

 

He took out a small morsel of dehydrated food. Shi'ido could eat them in powder form, no need to add water. He got the distinct feeling he was being watched. But the assassin could see no one in the trees. Perhaps it was just a ysalamiri or something. Surely this planet had a number of animal species.

[Krishna]

After a very wayward travel through different systems in attempt to locate the planet, Krishna's shuttle arrived at last and promptly found where his partner in crime had landed as well. There was a distinct feeling as he breached planetary orbit, a strange feeling as if part of his energy had been sapped. Ignoring the feeling for now, he quickly exited the shuttle, exaggerating a very exasperated expression to Vash who seemed to be standing idly.

 

”œWhew, man.. You have no idea what I've just been through. Space slugs, pirates; even some Imps were trailing me the whole way here. Luckily, I was able to blast them all into space dust. Just took me a bit longer then usual, y'know?”

[Durose Roshan]

OCC: FYI... As was mentioned earlier up in the page (another reason this planet is so ominous aside from that fact that the force is nullified...:

((You'll find that alot of scanners etc don't work here because of something in the vegetation. Just to elaborate it and for those that are too lazy to go back in the threads and read... )) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrkr

 

Myrkr is a fictional planet in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

 

It is a largely forested world, home to the ysalamiri, creatures which create bubbles which push back the Force. This ability has evolved to protect them from pack animals called vornskrs, the only known animals that hunt exclusively by sensing the Force.

 

Due to the fact that, because of the ysalamiri, the Force was not present on Myrkr, the Jedi as well as the Sith avoided the planet. The trees of Myrkr's forests also have a high metal content, rendering scanning equipment useless, so the authorities of the Galactic Republic and later the Empire also avoided the planet. Neither Force-users or government enforcment groups could track anyone on the surface, making it a perfect location for smugglers and other criminals, such as Talon Karrde and Mara Jade.

 

For more info on the planet environment see: http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Myrkr))

 

Durose awoke to the roar of engines. Startled, he tried to get his bearings, however, a dense fog that had rolled in overnight making it hard to see more than 5 to 10 meters in front of him. Of course, from his high vantage point he could see above the foggy landscape enough to pick out two large shapes where there used to be one.

 

"The transport has a friend," Ro thought to himself. Slowly descending from the treetop, he arrived safely on the ground. Now was as good a time as any to get an even closer look.

 

As he slowly crept forward, he could hear voices talking. He wasn't satisfied, though. He wanted to know who. Moving in yet closer he took shelter behind the far side of one of the vessels and decided to listen in on their conversation.

[Vash Mammon]

OOC: Thanks for the info.

 

IC: Vash smacked his scanner a few times. The screen had gone fuzzy. The Shi'ido was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable here. How could they find their quarry without being able to scan for it?

 

I hope spice-boy has some ideas.

 

Vash nodded at Krishna's statement,

 

"This planet has no attachment for the Force. Even to those who aren't Force sensitive, it would feel strange. And we're here because Trowa ordered us to come here. He sent me a private comm. The other mission was just busy work, this one is more important."

 

Vash walked to the edge of the clearing. He wasn't the best tracker, but as an assassin he had some experience.

 

"Are you good at hunting? Trowa needs vornskyr and ysalamiri."

[Durose Roshan]

Almost immediately as he positioned himself in his hiding spot, he was greeted by a familiar face. It was the vornskr. He grinned.

 

"I guess you are feeling better little buddy. See, I told you it would be alright. Hmmm... so what should we name..."

 

Ro stopped. Something Vash had said caught his attention.

 

"The Dark Lord?" Durose queried, startling the two already on-edge men.

"Haha... a Sith Lord that sends boys to do his job. Very amusing."

 

Now in plain view, Durose was definitely an intimidating figure standing at a muscular 2.1m (around 6'11, 7 foot). Add to that, his Echani blade and new vornskr "side-kick" and he was at the very least, formidable.

 

Seeing Vash was farther away, Ro eyed Krishna. A smirk came across his face and he shifted his body and weapon to give himself a more defensive stance. Then, without another word he charged.

[Vash Mammon]

Vash spun to face the threat as soon as he heard the man speaking. Shi'ido's were masters of stealth. But in the outdoors, Vash was not in his element. He and Krishna had been completely oblivious to Ro's advances. Vash hated surprises.

 

Ik weet welke niet dit ongeveer allen is. This guy's going down. And his little dog too.

 

Vash said only one word to Krishna as Ro charged.

 

"Down."

 

There were few creatures who could draw a blaster faster than a Shi'ido. On the outside of Ro's clothes, a small red dot was visible on his chest. In the instant it had taken Vash to draw, Ro and his vornskyr had come right on top of Krishna. Vash fired two shots one toward Roe's heart, and the other between the vornskyr's eyes, the red bolts whizzing over Krishna's crouched form.

[Krishna]

As the two were idley chatting about the mission, the rather distant voice of someone else could be heard. Naturally, Krishna became some bit suspicious, only bringing his head back with the twitch of his ear to overhear something more. Regardless, the sound had left, the young man thinking little of it as both muscular arms folded across his stout chest, nodding slowly in agreement.

 

"Alright, alright," Tossing back some of those long strands of black hair from his face, by the time he recollected himself after the brief motion of his hand, Vash looked considerably different. He appeared far more stern and in shock then that normal calm, collective mindset that the Shi'do usually expressed.

 

"What? Do I got something in my teeth?" One finger scratched the surface of his two front teeth within the instant, joking around before the low toned manner in which the man spoke to him flushed the foolsihness from him, left frozen to obey the command as his hands and knees instantly fell to the ground.

 

As he did so, the young man turned to roll back onto his feet, much more dirt on his attire then he would ever desire. He still wasn't quite sure what was going on, only catching a glimpse of the attackers for the time being while all his mental sensors seemed to shut down. Krishna was frozen in place by fear, barely able to fumble for that lightsaber he had and drew it out infront of him by pure reaction, though made no advances...

 

Wha--? What is this? What am I to do?

[Durose Roshan]

Ro grinned smugly. If there was one thing Echani training did do, it was teach a fighter to anticipate their opponents moves well in advance. In fact, some were even skilled enough to anticipate the course of someone's action several minutes in advance. While Ro was far from that good, he did know how to think fast.

 

With his blade already locked near his chest in a defensive position, it was only a matter of a flick of his wrist to cause Vash's shot to hit his blade rather than his body. Of course, it wouldn't have been so easy had Vash's weapon not telegraphed where he was firing. As for his hound, it tried to dodge the blaster, but it connected. Fortunately, Vash had been distracted by Ro's "sidekick" as he had hoped, which give him time to pull his blaster from his shoulder pocket.

 

Regardless, Vash had only aided Ro by having Krishna fall to the ground. He now had traded in all the defensive positioning he might have had for none at all (especially considering that the echani style is based on quick jabs and strikes, such a position at close range is a bad idea.)

 

Durose was now in a position to end Krishna and locked blaster to blaster with Vash...

 

"Enough!" He roared, stopping his blade at Krishna's throat.

 

Ro stared at Vash, " I'm not here to harm you. That was a test. One you two failed miserably...although, I do admit.... Vash, you were quick to act. However, your strategy wasn't the best. It compromised your partner. That is a definite 'no-no.' There are several rules to this forest. First, your weapon... turn off the scope... or whatever that blasted thing is. The creatures around here aren't stupid. They learn quick and even if you do pick off a few of them with that they will figure it out. I'm sure you can aim without it. Second, always be ready to fight within a moments notice. Never let your guard down. This planets is never a safe place, no matter how calm things may seem. Third, stick with me and you'll be alright..."

 

Ro sighed....

 

"Well, you two have much to learn. Take this as your first lesson. You two are lucky. If I had been a pack of vornskrs Krishna would be dead. And considering I saw a pack of at least 6 or more not too far from here, well... it was only fitting I teach it to you two before you have to learn that the hard way."

 

Ro commanded Krishna, "Get up."

 

Then directed his comments towards Vash, "Lower your weapon. You can trust me. Plus if you don't, Krishna dies... and I would go as far as to include you, too. Either way, there is no need for any bloodshed. I have much to teach you two any..."

 

Ro froze and he demeanor suddenly turned very serious, very fast. That smell. It knew it. The noise from the blaster shots must have done it.

 

Talking fast Ro began, "$#^%! Ok. Remember those lessons? Here's test 101. I hope I'm right about there only being six," He finished as he yanked Krishna to his feet in a hurry.

[Vash Mammon]

Vash's face burned red with Ro's accusations. The worst part was the man had a point. Vash was not used to working with a partner. If he had taken the threat Ro posed more seriously, they might have overcome him. But he'd dismissed Krishna, putting him in danger. That was a fool's move. Nevertheless Vash wasn't one to be intimidated.

 

For now, I'll have to deal with it though. I can't risk Krishna's life twice. And he does seem to know a lot about the wilderness out here. Natuurlijk, Ik zou boven mislukking nog zijn hoofd zoals een mellon verkiezen.

 

Vash gave the man a nod of respect, and sheathed his blaster.

 

"You are brave, but wrong to think you had me defeated. A sword to Krishna's throat wouldn't have deterred me if you'd been a threat. Nevertheless, I acknowledge you got the best of us this time . . ."

 

Vash was interrupted by Ro's warning. Vash immediately began to transform. His knees buckled backwards, his spine elongated, his height increased, his face became frog-like, and his fingers turned into impressive and deadly claws. Vash had taken on the form of a Blood Carver in seconds. He was ready to catch some vornskyr. Perhaps now Ro would understand he had an advantage in that skirmish, but not as large a one as he believed.

[Durose Roshan]

Rather than fail you'd let me chop off his head? Interesting...

 

Ro looked on in amusement as Vash transformed.

 

"Woah... I knew the sith were twisted, but that's just ridiculous, " he joked.

 

Shooting a hard glance at Krishna he tossed him a blaster, "Kid. I know you might not be used to firing range weapons, but it's easy. Just point and shoot. Believe me. You aren't at all ready to go toe to toe with one of these things. Basically, one whip from their tail and you're . Oh... and if you want to catch any shoot off their tails... But I imagine Trowa at least told you that much."

 

Ro turned and positioned himself with his blade armed. With grass about half a meter tall it made the predators almost impossible to see.

 

"Keep your eyes peeled...THERE!" Durose roared pointing to a small clearing about 10 meters to the north.

[Krishna]

Taking the blaster in his right hand, stowing away the trophy saber he had been given, the handle curved nicely to his broad hold. Twisting it around in admiration, the young man craned his head to meet that of the stranger who had offered his help, nodding slowly.

 

"You still don't get it, do you? Vash is one of the best assassins in the entire galaxy. I'm only tagging along because I got a deal with our boss to settle straight. But, then again..."

 

The hand that had been admiring the blaster began to condense its fingers around the structure of the weapon, reaching deep inside himself to find that strength that laid dormant. The mysterious seal on his chest, covered by his attire, glowed faintly through the silk threads as the weapon disappeared in the vapors of tabana gass, metal shards falling to the floor.

 

"...I think he's not the only one you've underestimated. Thanks for the offer, but I like to get more 'personal' with these hounds, y'know? Catch ya later!"

 

Slamming his palms against the ground, creating a mild tremor that shook the immediate area around him, Krishna propelled himself an easy ten feet into the air, flipping over until he was straight up into the air, leaping over in the direction of where Ro had pointed out the crazed hound-like creatures.

 

"Yaaaahooo! C'mere, li'l doggies. Come 'n get some!"

 

Landing with the same significant force that he propelled himself airborne with, he came within a meter of where the vornskr lay against the matted brush. The spikes along its tail reared up almost instinctively, getting a firm start at charging him. Grappling the predator with both wide arms, Krishna wrestled it to the ground, squeezing the very life out of with the strength of a God. A significant crack echoed out as he turned his viced grip around suddenly, snapping the neck bone until the body lay ragdoll on the dirt ground.

 

"Haha! This is great!... C'mon, fellas, let's get some of these pups inside."

 

With a very child-like gleem on his face and in his voice, Krishna stepped over the fallen creature and rushed towards where he heard the second, arms spread up wide as he now chased the running vornskr, other then the other way around. It was rather comical to see him run before Krishna pounced him from behind, navigating the tail which held the poisonous barbs away, before pinning him down to the ground with one hand against the neck to subdue it.

Edited June 18, 2006 by Guest

[Vash Mammon]

Vash was impressed. Whatever their previous disagreements over the man's drug use, it was clear Krishna was an experienced fighter. Now if only the man could learn some mature restraint. His voice rang out, high pitched the same as any Blood Carver,

 

"Don't forget Krishna, we need a lot of these animals alive."

 

In the back of his mind, he registered what Ro had said before about the Sith. Vash had nothing to do with the Sith of course, other than being employed by one. He was a Shi'ido, and could shapeshift expertly long before Trowa, or Ro for that matter, had even been born. His powers had little to do with the Force.

 

Ro is good, but he doesn't know as much as he thinks he does about us.

 

Vash pushed the thought out of his mind as a snarling vornskyr leaped for him. His Blood Carver haunches carried him high in the air and away from the animal's jaws. He had nearly cleared the tree-tops with that leap. Vash landed catching his balance awkwardly. It had been too long since he had practiced using the body of a Blood Carver.

 

Should have went with a wookiee or Kamarian form.

 

Too late now. Four of the beasts bounded after him.

 

Shi'ido abilities have little to do with the Force, but sometimes we disguise flaws in our transformation by affecting another person's mind. They can sense I have a very slight connection with the Force and it is enraging them.

 

"Be careful Krishna. The vornskyr are driven wild by Force-users."

 

Of course, the Force would be of no use here, but a vornskyr could still sense it. Vash didn't know for certain if Krishna had command of the Force, but judging by the lightsaber, it was a logical conclusion.

 

He's full of surprises.

 

The animals circled him. Vash clicked his long claws together in anticipation. Out of the corner of his eye he looked to see how Ro was fairing.

[Durose Roshan]

((OCC: very nice posts gentlemen. Krishna... be careful, though... their tails are probably about the equivalent of a scorpions tail in movement and striking ability... just maybe a little bit slower.))

 

Ro had charged in the direction of the clearing. 10 meters... 8 meters... 6 meters...

 

Ro cringed. He could see something gray in the grass next to him. The little beast had been hiding! Two leaped out of the tall grass at Durose. He shifted his body to avoid the first, but the second nailed him, sending him face first into the dirt. The creature tried to puncture his rough beetle "leather" suit and armor mesh underneath, but was unsuccessful. Ro quickly elbowed it off of him.

 

Rolling to his feet, Durose was met by an angry airborne Vornskr. He was quick enough to decapitate its tail, but not to stop it from knocking him on his back. The vornskr bit into his arm, flailing its head wildly. As the pain sank in, Durose roared loudly. Reaching for his other blaster, he decided he didn't want to take a chance that he would cut off his arm using his blade.

 

As Ro whipped his last remaining pistol out of his shoulder pocket, he saw the vornskr he elbowed earlier. It was about to pounce! Trying to protect his unguarded head, Durose fired off the weapon just in time, removing the venomous portion of the vornskr's tail. However, because he had failed to remove the whole tail, its whipping action still unarmed him of his blaster. Durose wasn't playing anymore. As the vornskr moved in for a death blow, Ro quickly reached out and grabbed it by the neck. Rising to his feet, one vornskr in hand and the other still locked tightly on his arm, Ro bellowed loudly. Lifting his vornskr assaulted arm in the air he mashed it and the vornskr down into the turf, sending dust and dirt particles flying!

 

He cringed again. But this time it was from the pain of his bloody and beaten arm. He had successfully incapacitate the vornskr that was treating his arm like a rag-doll, but the damage was done. Wincing in pain, he turned to his other enemy. Even though he had it in a choke hold, the vornskr stared at him defiantly as it tried to wriggle free. Ro clenched harder. He continued to watch was the vornskr's movement became more and more sporadic... until its body finally went limp.

 

Dropping the unconscious creature, he used his good arm to pick back up his Echani blade. Then, he paused. He waited. He waiting. And then he turned, twirling his blade around and slicing an incoming vornskr in half. Now finished with any immediate threats, he sheathed his blade and picked up his blaster pistol before he turning to survey the battlefield.

 

Amused, he watch as Krishna chased a terrified vornskr. He shook his head and smiled. Then he remember his blaster. He frowned. Krishna now owed him a replacement. "Oh well," he shrugged before turning to Vash.

 

They were right about one thing. He had underestimated them, although that just made him more upset that they weren't better prepared for his attack. There was no need to let all that talent go to waste. With the right training they could be completely unstoppable. He was now sure he would make use of them in the future...when the time came...

 

Vash was surround by a small group of vornskrs about 20 meters away from Ro's position. Almost hesitant to move at first, Durose decide to duck his head and bullrush their position. Razing his pistol, he aimed at what looked like the leader and fired. After barely missing the circling animal, his second shot connected with its leg and the third permanently removed its tail.

 

Durose smirked smuggly. He had now gotten there attention, but he didn't know if it would be enough. Hopefully, Vash had something else up his sleeve...

[Krishna]

OOC: It's alright, man. I know full well of the vornskr's capabilities. Just, to loosely quote Dogma, "I'm a freakin' demi-God." Hah, just kidding, but you get the picture... Just very few chances do I get to go berserk like this.

 

IC:

 

Looking over the Vash, the young nodded. For some reason, he had let himself go far more then expected. Those days circling the planet of Yavin IV were the only thing that came close to his exertion of power in such a flagrant and playful manner. Locking two vornskrs in a headlock now, Krishna continued to grapple with the pups, yells and cries made as he relentlessly hounded them right back in the same primitive manner.

 

After finishing up a small fist fight with one that left the last of the pack knocked through mutliple tree trunks upon one punch, Krishna wiped his hands clean off of the dust, blood, and dirt that collected on his palms. Seizing the base of the tail of the recently fallen animal, Krishna swung him around in the air a few times before tossing it onto a pile of four other unconscious vornskyrs, all badly beaten and barely moving.

 

Stepping over to Vash's side, placing both hands on his hips in a very confident manner, he gave him a daring wink and a flex of bicep.

 

"Anything else Mr. Barton wants of us so we can get outta this miserable dump of a planet? This place still gives me the creeps and doesn't have as many trees to swing on like Yavin IV had."

[Durose Roshan]

Durose stopped dead in his tracks.

 

What is this guy? I've never seen anything like him... bar a superpower sith. But I've only seen one that ever came close.

 

Seeing the issue was resolved, Durose grabbed his two unconscious vornskrs and took them over to Krishna's pile. He threw the first one into the lot, but decided to hand on to the one we strangled earlier. He liked its spirit.

 

"Krishna, you are a talented young man. I'm sure I will here more of you in the months and years to come. You too, Vash. We will be in contact," Ro finished tossing a small datapad Krishna's way.

 

"I did some scouting of the area before I found you guys. I've already relayed the information to my ship. You might find it useful. In fact, if you scroll down the page you'll find a location where I found a whole little colony of those ysas. At the time, all these vornskrs were in the way... but now... well... it looks like you might be able to get a two for one today," Ro grinned.

 

"I don't think I've formally introduced myself, I'm known as Durose Roshan. It was nice meeting you both. We will meet again. Until next time, may wisdom and strength guide you in all your pursuits."

 

Ro bowed to the both of them before walking back towards Vash's ship. There he looked for his original vornskr. After several minutes have gave up. He couldn't find it. "Oh well," he figured. He has receive an important message and several lucrative opportunities that he wanted to follow up over the last hour or so.

 

As he and the two hunters went their separate ways, Durose couldn't help but small. There was something about the power and skill of Krishna that excited him. He knew that full developed, Krishna would be great than any Sith Lord he could even dream up. Or at the very least, great than any Sith Lord he currently knew.

 

On his way back to his ship, Ro decided to stop by the area he saw the Ysalamiri and grab himself a pair to take home with in. There were plenty more to go around, but Durose decided to leave some for Krishna and Vash. Durose now had the vornskrs in one arm and his pair of ysalamiri in the other. Durose's arm was still a little sore, but thanks to ability of Cathar to rapidly heal he arm was now feeling good enough for him to carry things around.

 

When Durose finally reached his ship, he carried his prices inside and locked them in separate rooms of the vessel. Rummaging through his storage room, Ro found some food and tossed it in the individual rooms he had put his vornskrs inside. Then he moved to the cockpit.

 

Firing up the engines, The Dice of Hearts exited the atmosphere and left the planet of Myrkr far behind...but not too far not to return when his adventuring was over...

 

[Vash Mammon]

Vash too was shocked by Krishna's power. He had never seen anything like it. The origins of Krishna's strength now were the foremost thought in the Shi'ido's mind. Krishna was an ally, but time's could change. The man's power was very troubling.

 

One thing at a time. Finish the mission.

 

Vash watched Ro leave, a little disappointed. The man had been a little overconfident, but he'd backed it up with excellent skills. He had hoped Ro would consider joining them. He thanked Ro for his aid. Vash spoke to Krishna still in his Blood Carver form.

 

"It's going to be harder without our guide. I will load this creatures onto the transport. You go into the woods and get the ysalamiri. They are in the trees and shouldn't be hard to catch. I hope this will be enough for Trowa."

[Krishna]

After he was done flexing, Krishna was slowly being dropped down from the stimulated state of being that withheld the power in his father's bloodline. This he knew, yet still managed to take the time to catch the holopad that described the details about the next creatures he would need to capture. The muscle bound man returned a large beeming smile to the taller hunter who had helped them out so much, tossing a hand off his forehead in a mock salute.

 

"I'll be sure to hear all about you through the 'net, Durose. Make that a promise, alright?"

 

After he'd wave him off, watching the ship ascend up and out from the planet, his head turned to Vash, showing him the holopad that he had received with the information gathered by the hunter.

 

"Then that'll be a piece of cake”¦ We already know exactly where they are. Leave it to me."

 

Breathing in deeply, he had quickly looked over the specs, heading in the direction told. With a great burst of speed, he closed the length of several meters within seconds, weaving in and out of the tall trees and bounding over low branches very acrobatically. The cooing sound of the native beasts alerted his attention, looking skyward to find a small pack of the ysalamari clinging onto the bark, inching up the slope.

 

"Not so fast, you guys. I'm comin' for ya!"

 

Gripping onto the bark tenaciously, Krishna pulled himself with great strength vertically up the tall stalk, using the branches as leverage as he went. His wide and bulky reach snatched one along the way, holding it underneath his armpit as he continued to search for one more. After obtaining one nearby, Krishna fell from the tree in high fashion, landing on the earth with a loud thud, smiling proud.

 

"Whoo, you don't pick much a fight now, do ya?"

 

Racing back to the site, both creatures slung underneath his arms still very much conscious and much better shape then the vornskrs. Krishna felt an attachment to them, laying the two softly on the ground beneath his feet, stroking their backs as if they were a lap dog.

 

"Hey Vash, can you keep an eye on these two real quick? I'm going to get two more, just so that maybe I can keep one too after this is done. They're just so kool lookin'."

 

In the same similar process, Krishna came back within minutes, holding two ysalamari with slightly larger frames and longer necks underneath each arm. Once more, he laid them down, rubbing off his hands as he immediately began to feel the power that claimed him being its recesses, eyelids becoming heavy as he sighed.

 

"Whelp”¦ That should be all of them. Don't mind if I crash for a bit 'long the way back."

 

Stretching his arms out with a large yawn, the young man brought himself inside through the back hatch, strapped himself to the usual passenger seat, and went out like a light in seconds, snoring rather loudly as his head pressed against the side of the ship.

[Vash Mammon]

Vash let Krishna rest. He secured their cargo, and got into the pilot's seat of his shuttle. Vash was still amazed and slightly concerned at Krishna's display of power. The man was more than he seemed. These thoughts ran through the head of the Shi'ido as he entered hyperspace.

[Bad karma]

A comm comes in for Vash and Krishna

 

"Head to Coruscant. I require both of you here as soon as possible."

 

It cuts out to static..

 

 

((Vash, I know you are in the BS..but I need someone to defend against any boarding parties. That would be you and Krishna. Krishna, after this we will work on that training for you. ))

[Sasori]

As the ship entered the system of Mykyr Nokrt felt something terrible. It was as if his access to life had been taken away. His companion gone, his soul tormented. It was a terrible feeling and it soon became all consuming. At first the Chiss had little idea of the pain he was beginning to endure and with his attempt to reach out in the force he soon realized what had gone wrong. The force had somehow been voided his life essence he had grown to trust, love, and use on a constant basis, had been ripped away from him. And soon Nokrt realized what was happening, the Ysalimari in the system, with their conjoined power, cut the planet itself from the force. This would indeed make Nokrt's search the most difficult of any he had to do so far and so he decided to get started now before he spended a life time searching the planet.

 

Docking the ship in Hyllyard City on the outskirts of the great forest of Mykyr and the looation of the hundreds of thousands of Ysalimari which plagued this planet, and more so, the vornskyrs that paraded that forest feeding on the force-sensitive Ysalimari until bigger prey come along. Yet the Vornskyrs did not know that they were hunting a fellow predator, one who would easily slay them into a bloody mass. Nokrt decided to let his body guide him to the where the next peice of his lightsaber, the power cell, relying on his gut instict that it would be near the Ysalimari he was to harvest while he was on the planet.

 

Nokrt moved into the forest its lush green canopy filtered out almost all light but for a few patches, possibly where smugglers had once landed their ships. Yet the Chiss paid no heed to the holes gaps and otherwise uninteresting aspects of the forest, mainly because the Chiss had to be aware and without the force to guide him, he had to rely on his own senses, his feelings, to detect anything which would approach him. Yet to be fair the Chiss had survived 25 years without the complete guidance of the force so why should now be any different. Yet it was, Nokrt had become so dependent on the force that perhaps to live without it was a good lesson, and good training for the Sith Apprentice should he ever be caught in a situation where the force was void.

 

It wasn't long before Nokrt spotted a group of Ysalimari, sitting up in the trees, their claws deeply entrenched in their branches. Nokrt had his artifical limb for the Ysalimir to embed itself on, the pack alos provided the nutrients necesary for the survival of the peculiar creature. Nokrt began to work, carefully attempting to retrieve his ysalimir.

 

((I am only retrieving one ysalimir, therefore after the one day time for an individual to gather one ysalimir I shall leave the planet.))

 

 

Post - 11:33 PM Alaska Time

_____________________________________________________________________

 

 

After a day in the harsh environment of Mykyr, destroying each Vornskyr which surely attacked him throughout. The creatures were guided to him not attacking the Ysalimir he harvested or the other Ysalimari around him, only Nokrt, as if he were the only thing their personal radar could hope to prey on. Yet Nokrt preyed on them striking them easily with his lightsaber. Each proved to be of little difficulty to kill, which suited Nokrt just fine for he had little time to waste on such trivial things. Nokrt had his Ysalimari on his special pack and had been moving for days now in search of his power cell. It was what drove Nokrt, made him sustain this forcelessnesss environment he was thrust upon.

 

It would take many hours before Nokrt had reached the other end of the forest in front of what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. It was old, dusty, and unused apparently. Nothing filled its space, there was no life in the place and Nokrt decided to investigate the place to find his power cell.

 

When Nokrt entered the structure it was apparent the place had been left, and in a hurry at that, nothing occupied its void, crates of useless items laid everywhere, rope, hydrospanners. Nothing of true value laid within the wastes of the complex and Nokrt decided to look further. In a few moments Nokrt saw that there was more here than just a warehouse, but it was a base for some sort of operation, most likely smugglers. There were many rooms inside the place each with a bed and a few personal storeboxes which Nokrt rummaged thru in his search. It wasn't until he arrived in a room, far more dark, more of what Nokrt loved, the dark side, it looked as if the resident was a former servant to the dark side, and Nokrt hoped he would find his objective here. After a search through the storeboxes Nokrt's hope in this room was in vain. There was nothing. Nokrt began to sulk and look at the floor when he noticed something. A crack in the floor, a trap door. Nokrt opened it up to find a great many items. An Imperial ID with no name on it whatsoever just a code Nokrt could care less for. A Blaster, with a power pack and...

 

Nokrt smiled...he had found his power cell.

 

After about 12 more hours of running Nokrt made it back to Hyllyard and lifted off from the planet. He was in a hurry to get off the planet and thus did not wish to post further details. The ship blared for Nokrt's last objective...Korriban.

[Durose Roshan]

After an extended voyage, the Crazy Mynock broke the silence of nights as it moved in for a landing. Durose helped guide Brina in to the location they would be staying at for the night. It was a little harder getting his bearings at night, but within a few minutes they had set down in the grassy surface below.

 

Suggesting that they wait out the night, Durose slept quitely as he dreamed of past memories and places. He decided they would awake already in the morning and begin setting up camp.

[Brina Thalin]

Brina touched her ship down lightly. To her joy, she had managed to make it through several days cooped up in the same ship as the other and not lose her temper. Of course, she hadn't seen much of him...but whatever worked.

 

She landed the ship in a certain place, getting the feeling he had a spot in mind of where he wanted to go. Finally, he suggested they wait until morning to set up camp, and Brina nodded in agreement. They could start the hunt for the ysalamiri the next day. She claimed her bunk, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

[Durose Roshan]

Durose had spent a lot of time sleeping and reading for most of the trip. Brina and Durose ran into each other a few times and had casual chats that didn't amount to much, but for the most party they did their own thing. It was just as well. Maybe the tension would die down completely and they would be on good terms by the time they got to Myrkr. Maybe not. Either way, at least they didn't end up fighting the whole way there.

 

After spending the first night in the ship, Durose awoke quite early to prepare for the day ahead. By the time Brina had woken up, Durose had breakfast waiting for her outside.

 

He had prepared some of the local delicacies for the two of them to savor. He had roasted a grazer-like animal over an open fire with some favorful seasoning added. Add to that cooked birg eggs and some of the edible nature vegetation, and Durose felt it would be more than enough to tide them both over for a while. Her plate was already made, sitting on top of a plastic mat.

 

Durose smiled as he turned from watching the fire to greet Brina, "How was your rest? I thought you might like some breakfast. Enjoy."

[Mr. Mortati]

A Loronar Strike cruiser dubbed Heroin dropped out of hyperspace over the planet. A solemn figure watched over the bridge, his dull emerald eyes gazing down towards the surface. His head was perfectly smooth and his ears came out to a slight point, with his high cheek bones his skin was pulled quite taught and his eyes appeared to be sunken into his skull. His age appeared beyond his years.

 

He lifted a long arm, bringing his hand around and tapping two of his lengthy digits on his upper lip. He had just recently received the news of his promotion as well as his orders to gather some of the animals that called this place home; they were very valuable to the right people.

 

”œSir, the team just sent us a message. They are in the docking bays and awaiting your permission to deploy.”

[Brina Thalin]

As soon as she left the ship, she smelled breakfast cooking. Durose greeted her, and she smiled. "Thank you. It smells delicious."

 

They ate in relative silence, listening to the sounds of the woods coming alive around them and the popping of the fire. Once they were finished, Brina turned to Durose. "So, what's our plan of action? We need to start harvesting the ysalamiri as soon as possible, since I've heard it can be quite a task. It's apparent you've been to Myrkr before, so I'll leave it to you to decide how we're going to go about this. Let me know what I can do."

[Durose Roshan]

Durose listened to Brina. He grinned. Rising to his feet, he threw a pale of water over the fire. Then, he motioned for Brina to follow him.

 

"I'm glad you asked. Follow me. You're going to like this."

 

They had landed a little further away than Durose had hoped, but it was understandable. They had set down during the middle of the night, afterall. After a small hike that lasted about a kilometer, Durose turned to Brina to make sure she was holding up ok.

 

"We are almost there. Just over this ridge."

 

As they made it up one last hill, Durose parted the bush branches and gave Brina his hand. Pulling her up, what she saw in front of her was an amazing site.

 

High atop the valley below, the two were treated to a breathtaking aerial and panoramic view of this particular Myrkr region. Directly in front of them, an amazing, distant mountain range tickled the sky. A snow white crown decorated the foremost mountain, as it stood formidibly close to the the meek valley. No more than 15 meters to their left, a magnificent display of power was seen as the churning river water collided at the base of an impressive waterfall. And even though the valley was some 40 meters below them, the colorful vista of riverside foliage and massive trees amply completed the awe and visual exuberance of the scene.

 

Durose moved to the end of the cliff as he let Brina take everything in. He recalled when he had first stumbled upon this. It was something he had never forgotten. In fact, it had become a place he enjoyed visiting often, if for nothing else, a breath of fresh air.

 

After watching her initial reaction and giving her ample time to soak up the experience, Durose noted, "Down there is where we will set up camp. It is one of the best locations around. Interestingly, I discovered that vornskyrs are alergic to the lillies growing on the right side of the waterfall. It doesn't give us much protection if we wonder too far from the river, but it works great spot for a base of operations. We just need to head back to the ship and shuttle our stuff over here. Sound good?"

[Brina Thalin]

As Durose lead her to the top of the valley, Brina was prepared to be unimpressed. Jungle was jungle to her, and she didn't really consider it the most beautiful type of landscape.

 

But when the view was revealed, Brina gasped. The mountains seemed so close you could almost touch them, and the waterfall pounded away, sending mist shooting up and around it. She had never seen a waterfall before. They had had them on her home planet, but she had never visited one, and they obviously hadn't had them on Coruscant. She was amazed by the beauty of it all, and for a moment, she couldn't speak.

 

When she found her voice again, she sighed. "Ooh...it's gorgeous!"

[Durose Roshan]

Durose grinned widely as he noted Brina's reaction. It was to be expected that this location was indeed gorgeous. Still, he was pleased. Her response almost reminded him of when he first had stumbled upon this site. It definitely was a sight to be seen.

 

Pointing towards a trail of sorts that had been carved out of the mountain, Durose motioned Brina to follow him. Slowly and carefully the two descended. Reaching the valley floor, Durose pointed towards a patch of grass in between the lillies.

 

"I think we should set up base there."

 

Setting down his backpack and a few of the things he had brought, Durose glanced at Brina.

 

"Let's head back and grab the rest of the stuff. Would you like to lead the way?"

 

Letting Brina decide, they began to head back the way they had came.

 

"So tell me about yourself? You know plenty about me, but I still know nothing about you," Durose finally broke his silence while they were on the way back to the ship. Durose added jokingly, "Other than the fact that you are a Ms. rather than a Mrs."