Faction Her Great White Hunt (Open to DWC Mandos)

[Milla Kryst]

Spoiler: Please Read

This thread is part of Milla's Character Arc, it is her Great Hunt to prove herself to Death Watch Crusade. Any Mandalorian that wears the DWC badge may enter this thread, but I am requesting others do not join. Anyone who joins is merely a witness to Milla taking her prize. No one is allowed to support her, so grab your popcorn. I'm going to be rolling dice for the final fight just so I don't feel like I easily took the win. Your 'in' is that Milla announced she was going on a great hunt, and to meet her on Dagobah. NPC's will be part of the action, but there shouldn't be any NPC/Player deaths. Just, feel free to be yourself. Also, I might post out of order, meaning I might skip you. I appreciate anyone being part of this journey.

Location: Dagobah

​

This was a long time coming for Milla, literally. Spending almost two-hundred years as a slave, to killing her master. On the run from slavers and criminals alike, only to be caught in the fists of justice called Mandalorians. She only wanted a new life, one to live out her days, on her terms. But she had made herself an enemy of Mandalorians by not only masquerading as a dar'manda, but wearing said dar'mandas armor. It was more or less a sin amongst Mandalorians, to wear armor not of your own. It only served her right that the first encounter with Mandalorians was the most deadly. But, a miracle happened. A Rally Master of the name Rynn granted her a one-time offer, to become a Mandalorian, and leave her slave days behind. An extended hand, that was already brutal, and would never be gentle. But an extended one, nonetheless. Her only requirement was to remove the very armor that protected her for just the moment, and train like every other Mandalorian. Her old master was a Mandalorian, being a dar'manda. He spoke of tales of great wars, honor and triumph. Along with struggle, redemption, and heartache. Mandalorians were part of a brotherhood, a creed. As to why he dishonored his own people, she will never know, all she can assume was greed got to him. But this opportunity meant more than just redemption and triumph to Milla, it was literally a new beginning, to wipe the slate clean. Rynn saved a life that day, and it only cost Milla her right eye. She never hated him for that, no, in fact, she loved him for it. A worthy punishment for daring to claim something not her own. Then a hand to offer her something she could possess. From that day forward, she vowed to never let anything stand in the way of her future, and now, she had the independence to take her own path.

Milla just made it through a great racing tournament across the galaxy, which in the end, taught her how to actually pilot a spaceship. She was no longer a new kid in the seat of a manual, burning out the clutch. Gone were the days of nearly crashing, just because she was trying to land in a designated zone. She didn't walk away the winner, but she walked away with confidence. And second place came with some juicy rewards. Then it was straight into a conflict with the ones who proclaimed themselves as the rightful Mandalorians. A true clash of brotherhood. Though there didn't seem to be any bloodshed before Milla did what she needed and got out, it was definitely something important to Death Watch Crusade. The very idea of the outcast group daring to challenge those they rebelled against. It came with a sense of symbolism, pride even. Milla saw it important enough just to be there, aside from her own objectives. She didn't feel she would have even earned the right to call herself a Mandalorian if she didn't show up to this battle. She was all about earning her place, she wanted to prove herself capable.

Landing on the planet in a suitable place with her newly fixed up Ba'jur, thanks to The Interstellar Merchant-Captain's Guild Services for fixing it up after the race which left it nearly totaled, she was here on Dagobah to find her prize. She had been doing extensive research in her down time, searching for the right beasty, the right prize to call her own. Thanks to Tarre Priest, she knew how to hunt, and not become the hunted. That isn't to disqualify being a Mandalorian means to be the hunter and the hunted, but sit meant she understood how to be the hunter correctly. Passing the Verd Goten provided by Tarre meant everything to her, she thought she was capable enough to take on game by herself. While many might think she was idiotic or insane to take on a great beast by herself, many others understood that she saw it as a right of passage. In some ways, she didn't even consider herself a worthy Mandalorian. She had no family, no name.... this was how she was going to get it. She only hoped Rynn saw it as worthy. The man who gave her this opportunity seemed to weigh heavily on her, his respect is something she yearned for. He gave her the opportunity and to her, it felt like only he could truly grant her a proper title.... even more.... a proper name. She had gained so much confidence during these trials, but she still didn't have the confidence to say she claimed redemption. She needed someone else to tell her she earned it, first.

She walked along the swampy forest ground, towards the coordinates she gave to other Mandalorians, should they deem it worthy to witness Milla proving herself. They didn't even know the creature she had chosen. She could have chosen a womp rat for all they knew. But the creatures name didn't matter to her, its strength did. She hadn't planned to fight any juveniles. She wanted to claim one at its peak maturity. However, that would be hard, because their peak maturity meant they evolved into something different. Nothing exciting or difficult, just.... not something to really fight anymore. As she reached the coordinates, she tugged off a large backpack she had. This time, she didn't have the jetpack given to her by DWC. She didn't even have her full armor. She had the torso piece, vambraces, and thigh guards, but nothing more. This was her way of feeling like she was transitioning, from slave to Mandalorian. Part slave, part Mandalorian, one with no armor, and one with some. She didn't even have her helmet. She wanted the fellow Mandalorians to know it was her who took the prize. As she pulled off the backpack and sat it on the ground, she started pulling out supplies. She only had a primitive axe, a shovel, and a wooden hammer. For the next few hours, she would be working on a vheh'yaim, a place for her to sleep, before the next day.... wen the journey began. This would be the location the other Mandalorians would meet up, and she wanted something.... at least a bit accomodating. Next awas a fire, and a roasted Jubba bird and some cooked eggs. She was still a horrible cook, but she managed...

​

​

 

[Milla Kryst]

Location: Dagobah

She sat there, idly as she chewed on the roasted Jubba bird she had just finished preparing minutes ago, staring into the forest. A little fog here, some swampy ground there, perhaps not the most pleasant of places but Milla didn't care. This was where her future was, and she was going to grab it by the balls if she had to. She finished up, eating every part of her kill as she knew she would need the energy tomorrow. Getting late, it was time to head in. The others wouldn't be here until tomorrow, she hoped she would see some familiar faces. She stood up and brushed herself off, stirring and putting the fire out. The sun was just barely setting, but she wanted to have a full nights rest.... something she hadn't really gotten ever since she took down that dar'manda who she once called 'master'. Tch. What a time to be alive. What miracles laid out to those for the taking. And to think, some just don't reach for them. The first step is to reach your hand first, not even the galaxy's grasp could reach out to save you if you didn't grab it first. She walked over to her little vheh'yaim and took the steps down into it. She had nestled next to a tree, hoping any larger creatures would prefer avoiding it since it would be natural for them to move around a tree. Pulling her wrist up, she accessed the datapad and activated a small light. She didn't pack any bedroom furniture, or a high-tech comms relay. Just a bedroll on the freshly covered swampy ground. She covered it with top soil that was dry for hours as she continued to build, after first digging it out. She hoped it would stay dry, at least until morning. She kneeled down and cozied up on her hard bedroll, ready to sleep in the rough. On the old GX-1, she did have a 'bed', though she felt much more safe and comfortable this way. At least here, she had nothing to distract her, and the only thing she worried about in the morning was if a creature wandered in and tried to nibble on her leg. This was better, compared to the other worries she had as a slave. It was entirely more simple.

She took a breath as she pulled the bedroll cloth up over her shoulders, ensuring she wouldn't be cold throughout the night, as she rolled over and closed her eyes, turning off the light. As she drifted off, her dreams quickly made themselves apparent as they disturbed her slumber every now and then. Dreaming of her potential, her future, her past, being offered a new life. It was a rush of emotions, which all lead up to this. Milla was obviously afraid. Afraid of failure, as was something so natural to her. But she fought to prove otherwise, which was why she was so restless. However, thankfully she had a good rest, as the sun started to rise. Even though she tossed and she turned, she was still asleep. It just made her a bit sweaty as the stress seemed to keep her a little extra warm, especially with all the movement. Waking up to the light wasn't hard at all. The sun shined through the leaves, and little holes she missed, especially the 'front door' - which there was no door. She turned her head, fully of messy hair, eyes squinted at the large amount of light shining through. Taking a breath and throwing her head back, she slowly breathed out for a moment before standing up. It was very early, and while some Mandalorians didn't care about timing, some felt it was very important or orderly to arrive properly early. So she set out, gathering fresh pieces of wood to start a new fire. This fire would serve as the kitchen for the next meal - breakfast - not just for her, but other Mandalorians who would be interested in a meal before the hunt. This time, the game was just.... a little bit bigger. It had to be, bare minimum. A large Posenaur would serve the meal for Mandalorians today, and of course, she packed a couple brews; a little bit of Mandalorian Wine, and some Cassius tea. After cooking up the reptile, it seemed it was just in time. Briijank, the leader of the infiltration team Milla was part of during the offensive on the old Shipyard had come, with one of the engineers and a fellow squadmate. She was happy they could arrive, though was afraid Vendriik and Rynn would be too busy to attend. She held out hope they would show up, though, perhaps sooner or later. She mingled for some time, along with a few other Mandalorian Crusaders joining the fun. In an hour, Milla would set out. And the others? Would watch her... succeed, or fail.
​

 

[Milla Kryst]

Location: Dagobah

The time had finally come, it was mid-day and Milla spoke up to those who came, letting them know her great hunt was upon her, and she wanted to head out before it became too dark. Her target wasn't the most active in broad daylight, but as Dagobah's sun started to crest, the shadows gave it more reason to move about. Even still, it might be rare to find it, they were dormant for most of their life. Still, it was time, and not much to ponder over. She had to stay in the moment, her target wasn't the only creature here, as Dagobah was actually flush with many different life. Not many showed up, but that was understandable. Before, and even after joining Death Watch, she was still a nobody, but she didn't let that get her down. Almost a squads-worth showed up, and they packed up along with her, but as they followed, they gave her ample distance. Not knowing what she was going after meant they didn't know if they should be close or far, if she needed to be stealthy. But she noted she would tell them if they needed to back off, she didn't think it was going to be a sneak attack maneuver with her encounter.

They ended up traveling for hours from the little hut Milla made, some of them started to wonder if she actually knew where it was. "Hey, Milla," one chirped up as they slugged their weapon over their shoulder, "do you know where you're going, or.... where this thing you're hunting actually is?" Milla grinned, if only he knew.... Milla's eyes danced around the forest as she tried to keep focus, but still listened to the question, however her answer was less than inspiring, "of course. they are all around us." A couple of the Mandalorians were a little confused, looking around as they scanned the area. Milla wasn't some field expert, or an animal professional. How could she know where the enemy was? She didn't even have a tracker or vision aid.... could she not be human, perhaps? Maybe she could sense them? Just before one of the Mandalorians spoke up once more, a few lesser Bogwings flew overhead, and the chirps of more bogwings were made apparent. Was she heading toward a bogwing nest? "Don't tell me that's what you're fi-" he was cut off, as a larger bogwing flew by, grabbing at the one who spoke, before Briijank aimed up and shot at it, "it's best not to attract attention, vod. You're lucky that wasn't a bigger one." The Mandalorian who was suddenly attacked brushed off his helmet, before trying to whisper from his helmet, though it was still enhanced through the comms "fine then, what is it?"
​

 

[Milla Kryst]

Location: Dagobah

That last question the Mandalorian asked was actually quite powerful. And, it mattered depending on the moment. The creature wasn't just a creature. It was part of Dagobah, and the only way to actually find one that may or may not be active would probably be near a nest. Milla honestly didn't think it would be the specific creature to be the hard part, but actually its nest would be the difficult part. It wasn't like it laid a couple eggs.... She didn't want to freak out the squad, but there really wouldn't be any other way. She just had to tell them they were completely surrounded by it. "The trees," she said quietly, obviously showing she was getting quieter. They were coming across a much more largely swampy area, the place she wanted to be, where the best shot would be to find one active enough.... and large enough. "Kurshi?!" the same Mandalorian spoke up, abruptly being loud by accident, before hushing down as even Milla hushed him, "We're in a kurs! How many are there??" Milla did her best to stay out of the swamp, but she became distracted by what she came upon next. "Every..... gnarltree." She stopped talking, as she knew she was in a nest. At their feet were white bulbous shapes spread about in the swamp. Briijank now knew exactly what she was looking for, but the others not really knowing Dagobah didn't quite grasp it. The mandalorian wanted to speak up, but Briijank grabbed him by the shoulder and hushed him. Briijank also stopped advancing, which signaled to the others to stop. At any moment, a gnarltree could wake up, and they wouldn't know when, or which, would.

Milla was merely being quiet because she didn't want to deal with the eggs, if they hatched it would make the situation far more dire. She understood the small ones were typically just as fast as the large one, if not faster. Even still, they could go more places than a large one, and swarm her. Eventually, the nest would more than likely prematurely awaken, but she at least wanted to know where the target was before engaging in a sudden surprise round. The other mandalorians stayed back, watching Milla as she slowly advanced forward, watching her steps and keeping her footing from falling into the swamp. She was staring at just..... trees. Looking at every single one. Waiting for it to move. A young tree could move about whenever it felt like it, but you could potentially expect when an elder gnarltree detached itself, so they had some expected cycle to them. Unfortunately, Milla didn't see a young one as a potential enough enemy. So she had to scan for a large one. Now, a large one she did find, but she didn't know if it was ready. She slowly approached it, holding her weapon to her side. She looked back over to the group, staring at them as there was a very short, yet eerie silence. She gave a salute, then turned back to her prey. With the nest behind her, there wasn't much she could do, as the nest was surrounding this tree. And she had no idea if the other trees would decide to disembark from their gnarly entrenchment. She just had to focus on the here and now, as she aimed her rifle, and shot at its leg.
​

 

[Milla Kryst]

Location: Dagobah

The tree shook as suddenly one of its 'roots' thrusted out of the ground, detaching from the bark. Well, it was an active one, for sure. But.... it was an elder. And that was bad for Milla. She was not expert fighter, and she was no professional hunter. It was like never handling a weapon, but picking up a pistol and fighting a twenty year veteran. No.... it was worse. The bark from the gnarltree snapped off like it was being broken and thrown, as suddenly a gargantuan knobby white spider emerged from it. It was almost five times her height, and she was in far too much shock to react. In laymans terms, saying she feth'd up was an understatement. In her mind, she just dug her grave, and the knobby white spider was going to lower the coffin into it. She was so much in shock, she wasn't capable of defending herself. The knobby white spider shot a leg out after it detached from the gnarltree, smashing Milla across the face. Thankfully the knobby white spider wasn't fully out of the tree as it tried to look for its attacker, so it wasn't a deadly blow. It was close, though. Any stronger and Milla would have lost her skull, like her body being a golf tee and the knobby white spider being a golf club. She was thrown to the side, and just then one of the Mandalorians who fought beside her on the MandalMotors Shipyard wanted to dart in to help her. It was the Mandalorian way.... but Briijank stopped him. Milla specifically asked them not to interfere, even if she was going to die. She would rather die with honor, than live with disgrace.

She twitched a couple times, seemingly passed out, but that was just the perspective of the group of Mandalorians that followed her. She was stunned, and her spine was in terrible pain. The knobby white spider screeched as it tried to pull out the leg that Milla shot, but it was wounded. This gave her enough time to lean up. She tried to aim her rifle and fire, but unbeknownst to her, many of the eggs had hatched, and swarmed her. Her weapons fire missed as she, herself, shrieked and tried to roll out of the way. To her, it felt like her brain was lagging behind, the state of shock she was coming over felt like it slowed down her processing ability, as her brain took information slower than it should. She removed a hand from her rifle and bashed her own skull a couple times with the palm of her hand, trying to get back into tip-top shape. Another distraction. The knobby white spider had gotten itself out now, and struck at her again. Milla realized it, but only just barely. This forced her to, unfortunately, dodge into the swarm. She yelled as a few bit her, rolling on top of them and running through them. More and more started to hatch, being at about knee height, this is exactly what she didn't want to happen. She ran towards a tree to take cover, firing off more rounds of her weapon at the knobby white spider, hoping to get a glancing blow. Every shot missed, but it gave her a chance to get behind a tree for cover and rethink her strategy. This is where.... it gets bad.

The tree didn't help her in any way, shape or form. The knobby white spider didn't care about the obstacle between them, and ran up to it. It wrapped its legs around the tree, stabbing Milla. One stabbed her arm, completely breaking it where her elbow used to be. Another leg stabbed into her abdomen. After that, it released her to move again, but she was screaming in agony, before gritting her teeth and yelling into said teeth. She jumped away from the tree, trying to get to another position, giving her space between the knobby white spider and herself. Milla had a massive pain threshold, but even this was.... painful. But she refused, she refused to be disabled so early into the battle. She had struggled for a hundred years, with mental anguish and physical mistreatment, a broken arm would not stop her. Just to forget the pain.... Were it so easy.

She turned around, holding the rifle up to her shoulder, firmly, aiming a shot. Her left arm flailed and continued to twist and flail as she ran, causing increasingly more pain and blood loss. She fired off two shots, right at the spot where the legs protruded out. She got hits, good hits, injuring the knobby white spider before it could charge her, but she tripped backwards on a small root, falling to the ground and actually landing on her broken arm. Immediately, her body winced in severe pain, causing her to arch her back with wide eyes and gritted teeth, yelling. But there was no time to deal with the pain. Even though the knobby white spider was injured, it was still good to fight. In ran over to her and tried to stab her again with its legs. Milla managed to dodge out of the way, rolling side to side before throwing herself forward and rolling under the knobby white spider to the other side and landing in a crouched position, standing up. She turned to attack again, but she just wasn't focused enough, and at point blank range, she missed. It didn't help to have the smaller knobby white spiders surrounding her and threatening to climb on her or bite her at any moment.

Once more, the knobby white spider wacked her aside the face, but this wasn't its only attack. After she was stunned for a second, it twisted its body around and opened what she could only think of as its mouth, bearing down on her. As she held her rifle once more, she tried to fire but it was knocked from her hand as the knobby white spiders mouth enclosed around her. She panicked, flashes of her life passed before her eyes, except there was no happiness. As the darkness literally consumed her, all she could see was pain and suffering, abuse and mistreatment, being passed around as a stress relief mechanism, yet absorbing said stress from others. She barely had a name, let alone any semblance of a life. She screamed, but no one heard her. Even the Mandalorians were suddenly concerned if this was it, if it was over.

Another scream..... just like before. A long, arduous scream as one hand tried to resist the mouth from pushing down around her as her other hand flailed. She was panicking, heart racing, fearing that this was it. It's over. To fight so long, so hard, and through everything, only for her true idiocy to kill her. But now, she was filled with a new power.... another rage. She grabbed her knife with her broken arm, and with what seemed like inhuman strength, she struck the inside of the knobby white spiders mouth. Cutting through bark or wood, her knife cut deep, and her gripping fist thrusted abnormally into the wooden flesh of the knobby white spider. She carved from above her head, down to the bottom, but her knife went more than just deep, it was deep inside the knobby white spiders body. Milla had forced her hand inside of the creature, beyond the point she was cutting it. It lurched and sputtered, twitching as it jumped away from Milla.

Milla dropped the the ground on her knees as she screamed. The knife dropped from her hand as she was covered in small knobby white spiders. She was in so much pain, but she just took it. She took it all, as she continued to scream. Her free hand grabbed her holstered pistol and started shooting some small ones off, brushing others away. She did this as she stood in place, more and more came, trying to smother her or cover her in some liquid web. But she didn't stop, she kept shooting, before standing up, and kicking some small ones out of the way. Again she yelled, walking over to the knobby white spider that was sputtering and twitching. With her somewhat good arm she reached out, firing. Shot, after shot, after shot, after shot, after shot. She continued as the last few small spiders tried attacking her. At this point, the other Mandalorians rushed over, shooting the little ones. They interfered because at this rate, more would just keep hatching and attacking her, and she had accomplished everything she set out to do. Suddenly, Milla stopped firing, but her eyes had rolled back and she collapsed. Briijank was ready to congratulate her, but realized her body movements and grabbed her, "vod, get the first aid pack, hurry!" Briijank took control of the situation, but he didn't know if Milla over exerted herself, passed out from the pain, or if she was being affected by the spiders venom.

Hours went by, after Briijank made the order to make it back to camp. One of the Mandalorians cut off what was 'the head' or mouth and eyes of the knobby white spider for Milla as a trophy, as she had earned it. She was laid to rest in her vheh'yaim as she received treatment from Briijank. It had been about a day before she woke up, and Briijank hadn't left. He believed if they tried to leave for a dedicated medical facility, it would be too long and too far for a place safe enough for the Death Watch Crusade. And if it was really that dire, she'd be dead anyway, maybe even before they got on the transport. But she did wake up, and she was told what had happened, as she felt like she blacked out for most of it after the damn thing tried to swallow her. She leaned up, against Briijanks suggestions, and stood up. Her pain threshold was at comfortable levels for her once more, and she could handle it. After she exited her hut, the other soldiers cheered to see her alive. Briijank exited behind her, crossing his arms, but probably also happy about her success. But it wasn't over, even as Milla took a drink, she knew the hardest battle was just around the corner. She had to confront her savior.
​