Blood of the innocent

[Sentiri]

There was no hesitation. Neither party had the time or reason to slow their progress. For Sentiri and [member="Hyori Tal"], it was a matter of survival. For the Thakwaash, it was a matter of vengeance.

Since coming to Thakwaa, Sentiri had yet to experience the madness of the species that the First Order was trying to subjugate. In that moment, she found herself face to face with every irrational emotion of which she had been briefed. Anger, fear, aggression; in the span of a second, every feeling crossed the face of the Thakwaash standing them down. The mother of the child that the Chiss had dissected was the only thing standing between the agents and their ship.

There would be no exchange of words. There wasn't time for thought. All that remained was action and reaction. After that, one party would be dead, the other would move on. Combat was that simple. Sentiri didn't blink when she heard the roar of the creature. She wasn't slowed by the passion worn on the countenance of the mother, nor the knowledge that the operative had just carved the Thakwaash's child to pieces.

The Thakwaash charged. The Chiss was the target. The scent of blood on her was surely the strongest.

Sentiri was ready. She had prepared for this inevitability. The lithe woman was no combat expert. But she was savvy. Reaching for her belt, she quickly unclipped a thermal detonator. The detonator had been modified so that when first initialized, the surface would immediately excrete a very firm adhesive. But the Agent had to be swift enough to apply it to the raging Thakwaash. Normally, Sentiri imagined that the beast's movements would be less predictable. But in such an emotional frenzy, the only thing the Thakwaash mother could focus on was ripping the two women asunder. The shortest path between them was the choice, a straight line, a straight predictable line.

Sentiri crouched for better mobility and to make herself a smaller target, then she side-stepped just out of the path of the frenzied Thakwaash. Her movement wasn't refined enough and she tripped, but not before attaching the explosive to the beast. Scrambling up from the also fallen Thakwaash, she put some distance between them. The mother didn't even seem to notice the device on her back. She rose and started charging again.

The mother would never reach her target. The explosion ripped her apart and only her momentum carried any part of her body forward. Sentiri dove into the ground to protect herself. The scent of charred flesh and even more blood flooded her nostrils. It was not an unfamiliar smell, but her heart raced anyway. She shakily stood and looked over at her partner. "Sorry. Probably should have warned you." Teamwork was not a skill Sentiri claimed to have. Another thing I need to improve, the Chiss woman thought to herself as she raggedly ambled toward the ship.

 

[Valae Heavenshield]

The towering beast was upon the two agents, and now they saw the true nature of a grieving mother. But Thakwaash’s sadness had turned to a burning rage; she stood between them and their way out. Hyori could see that the creature’s fur was spotted with red; it was the very same blood that currently stained Sentiri’s clothing. The scent would be easily recognizable and familiar to the mother.

Hyori drew her blaster just as the Thakwaash charged for [member="Sentiri"]. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the Chiss crouching, and then moving out of the path of the enraged Thakwaash. Agent Tal rolled quickly out of the way, recovering quickly and bent on one knee. It seemed that both Sentiri and the mother Thakwaash had displayed far less grace, for both of them had hit the ground. As the Thakwaash got back to its feet, Hyori fired her blaster, hitting the middle of the beast’s hairy back.

Though the blaster was at full power, it seemed to do little against the frenzied maternal strength, but it staggered. Hyori’s sharp eyes had caught sight of the small device affixed to the Thakwaash, it only took a moment for the realization to hit her. She turned to crouch on the ground, her forearm held up to protect her face. The stillness was broken by the blast, the echo lingered in the air for a moment or two. The sudden splatter of blood and entrails instantly confirmed that the Thakwaash had perished.

Hyori lifted her head and looked up to see Sentiri, and the two women stood together. However, where Sentiri was clearly unnerved, Hyori was eerily calm. She could feel a piece of what she imagined was charred flesh hanging over the back of her head, her gloved hand found and disposed of it immediately. Despite being littered with detritus, Hyori stood tall, almost rigidly and her expression was neutral. On the inside she was impressed by Sentiri’s quick thinking, not that she would say anything of the sort aloud.

“A warning was not necessary,” She said evenly, “I was aware.”

Even though they were working as a pair, it was still necessary to look out for yourself first – at least in Hyori’s mind. It was something that she would need to work on. She followed Sentiri towards the Adventure, they would need to get the samples to the forward base, assuming that it had already been completed.