Hunting Hunters

[Lina Ovmar]

Corbos
Outer Rim

Parts of the planets surface swirled with great black storm clouds and roiling hurricanes that tore at the surface beneath, Calina leaned forward a little in the chair that had once belonged to her mother, standing on her left [member="The Matador"] stood tall silent and powerful. A hired hand to be the main strength of this hunt. His presence drew somewhat nervous glances from the crew but Calina seemed not to be perturbed by his seemingly powerful stature. The larger the man, the easier he was to understand, manipulate and predict. It was the wiry little bastards that you ought to worry about, their focus was on expanding their minds, not their bodies and they were cunning about it too.

"The Black Rain season is in full swing, Mistress. This will complicate the hunt." A HRD in the form of a Kiffar spoke up on Calina's right, her tone almost bored. Calina wondered silently if it as possible for her to be programmed to mimic emotion, then realised that she probably was and simply did not see the point in it. "Perhaps," she replied rising from the chair and moving a step closer to the view port. The chatter of the crew below her a quiet hum as they moved into orbit and began to scan the planet. "Its also entirely possible that it will have driven the leviathans out from those areas and make it easier to find them."

"Which would put them in higher densities and make the mission all the more dangerous." Parla retorted, her tone unchanging. Calina glanced at her over her shoulder at the Matador a slight smirk on his features, before turning her attention back to the viewport. "Don't be a spoilsport, Parla. Its going to be dangerous no matter what."

The Femme Fatal moved around the planet, scouring the surface for an area clear of storms. Where there were no clouds the planets surface was mottled with grey and orange a seemingly lifeless world, cut through with desserts, plateaus and great mountain ranges bursting with volcanoes. "There." she said, as they found the largest area clear of storms, several thousand clicks across. "Hold here, Parla, track the storms and keep us updated."

She turned ice blue eyes on the Matador and beckoned him to follow her ff the bridge and to the hangar bay.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​It hadn't been long since his arrival on his employers ship before he was standing opposite her, seated comfortably as she commanded the bridge of her ship. He held his helm under his arm, with a thick furred cloak rising over his shoulders, connecting by small magnetic medallions that latched onto the spaces between the ridged shoulders of his armour.

​His eyes examined the structure of the cockpit he stood in, feeling like a glorified guard for the time being. The eyes of the crew danced over the ridged red Beskar that adorned his superior physique. He paid little attention to them however, he grew bored and almost felt out of place. He didn't quite feel so comfortable standing in second to someone, even if they had hired him. He could recall how members of the Tol Varen Militia known as the Spine used to stand opposite elders for hours. They didn't move at all, and stood like watchful protectors. However, that was their purpose. It was the lives and duty that they had been chosen for, he wondered now if perhaps he had been chosen for that life if he would have been able to live beyond that as he did now. The thought made him pitiful of those who were so limited. But he had proven his worth to be more than that, perhaps he needed to prove himself once more here, and everywhere he went.

​On and on again, till the next. It seemed fair, action garnered respect. He was comforted by this thought as his mind refocused on the moment at hand, a small shimmer of a grin appearing on his face as he thought warmly of his position. He felt himself proud to be where he was. The grin disappeared as his employer glanced at him, his muscles losing their tension in his face as she then beckoned him towards the hangar.

​He followed a moment later, his fingers sliding between the slits of his helm, lifting the helm up as he hunched slightly to place the helmet comfortably over his head. His face now masked, comfort joined him once more as his wide strides carried him to the side of his employer rather quickly. [member="Calina Ovmar"] was small and young, yet commander all of this with such divine right. He thought on how many of his brethren trained for years on end for less. The Galaxy was unfair in many ways, but seats of power were temporary. True strength was forever and he had yet to see any of it from her. He knew he was given to assumptions, but tried to avoid them the best he can. Though, the majority of individuals he met in the Galaxy were weak and feeble minded. It was hard not to have considerable bias.

 

[Lina Ovmar]

There was little need for conversation as they crossed the hangar and boarded the transport shuttle, the ramp closing behind them. Within twelve security eyed Calina nervously, she wondered if they knew that there only purpose here today was simply to be more bodies to draw the leviathan out. The kill would be hers and the Matador's, it was likely that none of these men would set foot on this ship again. Did that bother her? She slid into the pilots seat, flicking the controls and bringing the ship to life guiding it out of the Fatal's hangar and guiding it with practised hands toward the planet.

No, it didn't bother her. Their deaths would bring her one step closer to her prize, not wasteful in the slightest as far as she was concerned. Another shadow of a smile crossed her features as they streaked across space, the ship shuddering slightly as the breached the atmosphere, white hot spreading across the hull for a brief moment before she brought them lower, skimming high over the deserts she reached out in the force, searching for her prey looking for the fathomless hunger. For beasts were always hungry. Something stirred beneath the sand, and Calina banked away bringing them into land less than a klick from where she'd felt it, excitement mixing with adrenaline causing her to land a little harder than she planned.

"Move out." she barked, rising smoothly from the chair. Whatever terror might await them out there was nothing in comparison to the terror that awaited them if they disobeyed, so the moved, with speed, down the landing ramp and out into the hot desert, she caught Matador's arm holding him back letting the men get twenty paces ahead before moving. "They will draw him out, we will kill him." she told him quietly. "Leviathan hides are tough, you'll need to strike in the same spot several times before you'll do any damage." She tugged her own lightsaber from her belt. She squinted her eyes as a gust of wind kicked sand up into their faces, then her eyes widened with awe.

A head of them a dune, shifted a great rumbling growl made her chest vibrate as the beast rose above them, opening its mouth to reveal rows of teeth it bellowed, tendrils swinging down to strike two of the men off their feet with sickening cracks. "Oh you beautiful boy." she murmured.

[member="The Matador"]

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​The Matador began to move as the landing gear extended, allowing a thin metal walkway to extend to the ground beneath them. His employer barked commands, and her men moved forward with no visible reluctance into the desert tundra that lay before them. The Matador took a single step forward as he felt small fingers on his arm. He instinctively tensed up, his arm frozen for a moment as he pulled away from her touch.

​In that moment he resented her for touching him, if he had not known her he may have struck his employer. Fortunately he had dealt with employers believing they could approach them however they pleased. It was a form of ownership they believed they were owed due to his monetary compensation. His mind wasn't allowed to linger on the thought as she explained why she had done it, she intended to use her own men as bait. The Matador took a step forward almost without thought, ready to charge off to fight alongside the soldiers. His head swung between his employer and her soldiers, stopping dead just beyond the horizon.

​They both saw it, a mass of immense quantity had rose into the air. It's long tendrils hung from it's long uneven form, it was an unnatural thing, everything about it looked to be an existence of perpetual pain to him. The creature wailed, fire escaping from its mouth as the Matador pressed forward, heading right for the creature. As he ran, he spread out his arms, his saber flying to his left and his fur cloak flung aside by the right.

​However, he was also boasting his size; drawing the attention of the Leviathan to the bigger threat. The Matador ignited his saber as the Leviathan began to charge at him, he could feel it ebbing at the flow of his mind as he pushed forward; but any attempt to derail his focus was met with an adrenaline empowered iron will. The orange blaze escaped from the hilt of his saber, like a demon escaping its entrapment to breath the fresh air once more. The Matador grinded to a halt as he swung his saber with a telekinetic force to strike at the beasts eyes, the blade connected with flesh and eye, damaging one of what looked to be four or six. His assault was abruptly stopped as the Leviathan reeled backward and brought its vicious head down to bear fire, to scorch the ground. The Matador's saber returned to his grasp, his left hand falling behind his torso with the momentum of its return causing his body to twist to the side, allowing his right hand to extend, his palm shooting out as he reflected a small area of the incoming fire.

​Once the barrage had stopped, the creature turned for a moment, snapping soldiers like twigs as it looked on with much surprise to see the Matador still standing. However, the horns of his helm burned a bright yellow, clearly damaged and heated by the creatures attack. The Matador leaped forward, carrying his saber in both hands as his body rose into the air with great kinetic force. He manipulated his kinetic force and downward momentum to carry his blade to the waist of the creature, striking just above its legs joint with enough force to cause it to stagger.

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

 

[Lina Ovmar]

Calina had to admire [member="The Matador"] for his fearlessness. There was no hesitation in him, no battle cry to embolden himself just pure unadulterated power as he surged forward to challenge the leviathan head on. Calina stood back just for a moment to admire the display in front of her before her hands pulled her own saber from her belt and she bounded forward.

Her men were scattered, firing hopelessly from a distance or dead and broken. They'd served their purpose, if they lived, she would reward them. Where the matador tackled the gargantuan beast head on and drew its attention, Calina moved to flank it leaping as the leviathan staggered she landed lightly on the beast back and drove the point of her saber against his skin between the shoulder blades. It took a few seconds before any pain registered in the beast. Its great head twisted round, a tendril seizing her about the waist and throwing her.

She righted herself and slowed her fall, landing sprawled like a cat, she grinned as the leviathan roared, her free hand coming up, force lightening arching from her fingers and dancing across its mouth, giving the matador another chance to strike as it contended with a new force.

 

[Tathra Khaeus]

​The Matador felt a sudden strike against his back as one of the Leviathans tendrils slashed his back and knocked him forward a few feet, the kinetic force likely to have killed a lesser being, he felt his wind leave his chest as the Leviathan thrust its leg into his chest and knocked him to the ground.

The creature was fierce and mighty, growling with some terrible deafening sound as the creature's features were tickled by the fierce lightning escaping from the fingertips of the Knight. The Matador felt his lungs tighten and squirm in a panic as his chest shook in response to the numbing pain. Still, the Matador pushed himself to his feet as another tendril thrust towards him to strike once more. The Matador dashed aside, using the force to enhance his hampered abilities beyond what he could currently achieve. He grunted as he cut through the thick of the tendril, causing it to squirm and retract, pulsing and squirming as it felt its loose limb dangle from its form. The Matador dashed forward, his breath returning to him as he contended with another tendril swinging in his direction, another grabbing hold of his leg. The creature used its massive weight to pull him along the ground.

​The Matador hit the ground hard and felt his limbs pinned under multiple tendrils as the creature thrashed him against the ground, the Matador gritted his feet; slashing with his saber to free his arm as the creature retracted its tendrils and left him spiralling through sand and dirt a few feet away from his employer. The Matador dug his knees into the dirt, pulling himself to a sudden stop, grunting and pushing himself to his feet. He couldn't stop, the Leviathan would not relent either.

[member="Calina Ovmar"]

 

[Lina Ovmar]

The beats bellowed it fury, wounded tentacles withdrawn, the sound made her chest vibrate. Her lightening barrage seemed ineffective, or perhaps less so than the continuous harassment from [member="The Matador"], who was tossed into the sand close by. Calina opened her mouth to say something, before noticing a blue glow at the corner of her eye. She swung her gaze back to the leviathan, blister traps all along its back were aglow, the force reaching for her and the matador and seeking to drain them of their life.

She'd never been drained, never been trained to resist it, but she knew the concept. First things first, feel the hunger and pull back. As the blue tendrils reached her chest she tugged furiously against the beasts might, desperately clinging to her life. Second thing? Hit them really hard round the head. She turned her eyes to the shuttle that had brought them here and extended a hand towards it. She could feel her energy leaving her as her concentration split, but she gritted her teeth and grasped the shuttle in the force.

Size did not matter, it was simply an object. Invisible fingers hauled the ship from the ground and Calina spun, flinging it like a discus through the air, the pilots screams reaching their ears as it passed them and collided with the leviathans head. The teenager dropped to one knee, fingers trembling.