A stroll in the woods

[Trix Bastin]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Trix was clambering up out of the water, plucking glutinous swamp grass from between her fingers, when Voidstalker's presence blossomed into being at the edge of her awareness.

She paused, swamp grass forgotten, then rotated her head to look over her shoulder.

The once dark camp was now lit by a single fluorescent lamp. As Trix watched, several more lamps flickered to life. Against the lit backdrop of the camp it was easy enough to see the shadow of a human form striding casually around the camp.

"Son of a..." The words slid from Trix's throat, tinged with a hint of respect.

He can hide himself in the Force.

Trix dragged the hand through her wet hair as she contemplated the revelation. She'd trusted a gut feeling and hedged her bets on patience and it had paid off.

"Like he wanted it to," she growled aloud, not even certain why she was arguing with herself.

Did it matter that Voidstalker was right?

No.

"Yes," she murmured, automatically countering the stubborn, childish thought as it sounded in her head. "It does."

Trix sighed and slapped down her clothing, sending a stream of brackish water pattering down onto the soil beneath her.

She had stayed on Sullust to learn the ways of the Force only to make it her prerogative to fight tooth and nail every time someone tried to teach her. While it was true that old habits were hard to break, particularly letting go enough to trust that these bizarre Jedi genuinely wanted to help her, there was no real excuse for stubborn resistance just for the sake of it.

Fine Voidstalker. Point taken.

Trix walked over to the tree line and pulled her knapsack free from where she'd concealed it beneath a drooping fern.

She had another night in the forest ahead of her to survive - and one hell of a patient assault to plan.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Trix Bastin"]

It was another night of light sleep for the Jedi Marshall again. He laid down in his comfortable, cool room. The air conditioning took care of the humidity, leaving him to enjoy his rest. It would have been so easy to slip completely under, but Jacen had responsibilities. For her outward demeanour, Trix was still a young Jedi and his charge. Once more he let his mind rest whilst stretching out with his senses. The jungle teemed with life. It was a constant noise that made it difficult to resolve individual life forms through the Force. Finding Trix herself was easy enough, it was separating all the creatures around her in the swamps that was difficult.

Even at this distance he could feel her determination. Well, if proving me wrong is the fuel you need to succeed then so be it, he thought to himself. It didn't entirely come as a surprise. He had, after all, set up this whole routine in a manner which would put him squarely in her sights. Maybe he would need more peace offerings when they were done.

 

[Trix Bastin]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Trix crouched amongst dense underbrush, staring out onto the picturesque scene spread before her.

It was, like all bodies of water on Dagobah, a swamp. But where Dagobah swamps were murky deep pools, interspersed by islands of green moss and dank earth, this particular swamp was more of a shallow lake.

The water was a light green even in the light of the sinking sun on the horizon, the bottom of the depression visible beneath. Perhaps due to its shallowness, and the clear absence of the destructive monsters that lurked in other pools, a series of blooming plants had sprung up around the edge of the lake. These plants stretched questing vines out across the face of the water, each vine bearing masses of thorny exotic flowers.

Insects swarmed around the pollen clumped within these delicate purple and grey petals. With the insects came an array of fish and eels, scales and tails flashing as they writhed on top of the water and snapped at insects that dipped close to the water. And several meters above the fish, gliding gracefully through the air on wide wings, lay the reason Trix had come.

The bogwings were far larger than any she had previously seen. At first Trix had assumed that the creatures feasting on the fish here were a completely different species until she'd stumbled across the smaller variations closer to her makeshift camp. Highly territorial creatures despite their small size, they had chased Trix for almost half an hour through the forest before abandoning their pursuit of justice.

These larger bogwings, easily over three meters from wingtip to wingtip, must have ventured down from the higher canopy - unable to resist the abundance of easy prey on offer. They rested on low branches, applying sharp beaks and clawed fingers to shred flesh and scoop out innards. Others were secreted within the blooms, where they had deftly twisted the vines around to form living protective cocoons.

Trix slowly turned her head to examine the closest of these cocoons.

A bogwing rested in the shadow cast by one, a scaled wing curled protectively over a collection of tiny, blue shelled eggs.

 

[Trix Bastin]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Trix smiled.

She had spent almost the entire day stalking through the forest, burning through the last of her cigarras, as she attempted to come up with a means to nab the transmitter from Voidstalker's camp. An almost impossible objective considering the man's ability to sense her coming from miles away. Her options beyond the straightforward approach were limited. She couldn't lure Voidstalker away through trickery, he was too savvy to be fooled easily, and putting herself in direct danger by challenging a swamp slug to draw him out was hardly the most sustainable strategy.

No, she had to stick with the straightforward tactic, and somehow block his ability to sense her coming.

Trix pulled out her canteen, careful not to announce her presence by knocking the surrounding brush, and drained the last of the lukewarm water inside before snapping it back to her belt.

Then, pulling in a deep breath in anticipation, she launched herself out of the underbrush and charged down to the waters edge.

She roared at the top of her lungs as she sprinted, purposely knocking the tips of the blossoms within her reach. The lake flashed past on her left before Trix crashed back into the dense forest on the other side of the lake.

At her back came the first of the infuriated screams, a guttural croak that rose in pitch until it trailed into ranges beyond human hearing. The sound gathered strength as each and every one of the bogtails took up the cry, followed by a sudden rush of air as the creatures launched themselves skyward in a crazed rage. The thumping of wings was terrible, a steady, vibrating tattoo that grew louder and louder by the second.

Trix spared a single glance over her shoulder, then forced her eyes to snap forward as she saw exactly how effective she had been at stirring the beasts into pursuit.

She angled towards Voidstalker's camp, ducked her head, and ran.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Trix Bastin"]

“What the kark?” Voidstalker whispered to himself. He’d been lazing outside the small freighter, watching the world go by. This time he heard, rather than sensed, the approaching storm. They made an enormous ruckus, flapping and screeching as they went. They left branches shattered and vines torn in their wake. He realised that several of the hatches on the deck of the ship were open. He’d been using them as look out spots to watch for Trix.

Swearing under his breath some more he turned and ran back inside, bounding up the stairs towards the hull. He clambered up one of the shafts and reached up for the handle. Yanking back, he pulled the circular door shut. Jacen didn’t bother to seal it, it was unlikely the bogwings would already try and gain access to the ship. If there was an open door however, they might fly in and cause havoc. Sliding back down onto the corridor he charged ahead towards the next ladder.

 

[Trix Bastin]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Trix burst from the tree line into the open space that formed the perimeter of Voidstalker's camp. The bogwings exploded out directly on her heels, foliage, vines, shrubs torn to pieces in their wake.

She sprinted across the open earth, her feet barely touching the ground. The air around her abruptly filled with hooked beaks as the bogwings caught her in the open space. The beating of their wings was terrible, overridden only by the strength of their shrieking, trumpeting cries.

Trix stumbled and almost fell as one of the bogwings clipped her shoulder. Another tangled its claws into her hair, pointed beak nipping at the back of her head. She let out a roar of pain and jerked suddenly to one side in an attempt to shake the creature free. There was a surprised squawk before the heavy weight fell away.

The shuttle loomed up in front of her as Trix stormed past the outer crates of the camp.

Voidstalker was nowhere in sight.

Trix veered sharply again to leave another bogwing clutching at air. She reached the edge of the shuttle and threw herself up a maintenance ladder fixed near one wing. The bogwings swirled around her in an increasing frenzy, some remaining to hassle at her clothes and hair, but most peeling off to attack the camp itself. They tore at exposed canvas with curved talons, clutched and carried off camping equipment, and battered at the exterior of the shuttle with their bodies.

In retrospect, riling them up was a little too effective.

Trix reached the top of the ladder and found the circular access door unlocked. She let out a cry of relief and yanked it open.

Nab the transmitter Bastin then get out. Smooth and quick.

A four-voiced roar rippled across the camp.

Trix froze where she was crouched on top of the shuttle as the angry screams of the bogwings tapered off, replaced seconds later by panicked squeaking. She rose back to her feet and turned towards the east side of the camp.

A huge, arrow shaped head was emerging from the swamp waters. As Trix watched, the head tipped back to emit another rattling roar, flashing an impressive array of fangs in the process. A slender, muscular neck snapped out a second later and plucked one of the bogwings from the air. There was a loud crunch as bones shattered, followed by an explosion of violet blood.

"It's fine," Trix said to herself through numb lips. "It won't leave the water."

The bogwings that had spread out over the swamp in their mad chase now wheeled about in mid-air, flying back at top speed towards the camp.

"No no no," Trix snarled at them. "The other way you bastards!"

The bogwings came on, collecting their fellows in the camp as they rushed back towards the safety of the forest.

The huge predator snarled its displeasure, more of its immense body coming into view as it slid from the muddied water onto the land in pursuit of its prey. It snapped unsuccessfully at the last of the retreating bogwings, unable to catch the swifter animals in their frenzied retreat.

The creature finally abandoned its efforts, letting loose another roar and turning directly to face the camp. It pulled in several deep breaths, its immense body expanding with the effort, then pointed its bloodied muzzle directly at the top of the shuttle.

Trix opened her mouth and swore.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Trix Bastin"]

Being understandably focused on the dragonsnake she didn't notice Jacen emerge from a hatch behind her. She might very well have made her way to the radio and won the challenge had the creature not joined the fray. Instead she found the transmitter being pressed into her hand.

"Call the freighter then fetch the hunting rifle in the cargo bay," Jacen whispered. No trace of annoyance in his voice. He was calm, collected. Mostly.

"I'll try and draw it away from the ship." Without another word he leapt down from the shuttle and raced for the thickest vines, screaming at the dragonwing as he went. Once he was out of sight of Trix, he permitted a trace of that absolute terror the bring on a surge of adrenaline. If he knew she was going to raise hell to get the radio he might have given it over earlier...

 

[Trix Bastin]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

It took precious minutes to hail the shuttle, several more to retrieve the heavy hunting rifle propped up next to Voidstalker's cot.

Trix slung the rifle over one shoulder by the strap and span to go, only to hesitate as her gaze fell upon a metallic ammo crate wedged against the edge of the open doorway. She dropped to one knee to examine the heavy lock clamped around the latch of the lid.

Could be personal.

Trix paid the thought a half second of deliberation, then promptly burned the lock through with the ruby blade of her lightsaber.

The crate squealed as she tossed the lid back to reveal the interior. Nestled deep within the black velvet interior, burnished silver faces reflecting the overhead lights, were four spanking new C-22 frag grenades.

Trix eyed the contents for a long moment, then felt her lips twist in a wry smile.

"Not a total square Voidstalker."

She clipped each of the grenades to her belt, re-shouldered the rifle, the sprinted back towards the shuttle exit.