Mission T479 - Blackthorne Beastiary

[Magdalena Lethe]

Halcyon Citadel
Onderon
Early Morning


The terentatek wasn't a creature native to Onderon, at least not originally, but by now enough time had passed that hardly anyone thought about this fact anymore. The wilds of the planet had proven a good home for such a vicious beast, if not a bit lacking on deep-seeded Darkside presences that one found on others such as Dromund Kaas or Myrkr.

But history was a strange thing - and Onderon had plenty of it with the Sith and the Darkside. Enough to feed these monsters and keep them growing, multiplying. Mission briefings before a hunt were usually quick and to the point - but today they awaited the arrival of the client, [member="Siara Vorru"], who had volunteered to join the hunt.

Standing over a holo-display of the nearby mountain range, Volden surveyed their quarry in silence, hands neatly folded at his back.

"The last sighting was recorded here," he indicated with an extended hand to the higher peaks, "a cavern we don't often explore for that very reason. It's been nearly a year, likely the creature is hibernating. Our records show it was a juvenile, so when it wakes, my friends, things are going to get exciting."

 

[Siara Vorru]

Having arrived the night before the hunt was to begin Siara had remained aboard her ship, it wasn't the most comfortable of quarters because her little freighter was designed for function not form comfort but this expedition was going to cost her enough as it was, so much so that she was going to have to draw a loan from her employer. Of course a loan implied that the Sith Sorceress was even aware of the transaction, she had every intention of replacing the credits though.... eventually. Stretching out of her cot the Kiffar mercenary rolled over and planted her feet on the cold deck plates. A shiver ran up the length of her body as the cold shot through her, she shrugged it off quickly as she shuffled to the communal refresher.

For this one she was completely alone she wasn't going to draw Crusaders into this situation, it wasn't appropriate for her to use the soldiers of the pod people for her own purposes and of course some of them still had half a brain left so the risk that one of them would use it to report her misuse. Siara stepped into the refresher and showered off the grim of a few days worth of traveling feeling instantly more awake. She stepped out toweling off as she gathered her gear, she had never hunted something as massive as this Terentatek she was used to hunting much less dangerous prey on the battlefields dictated by her employers in the Crusade. This would certainly be an interesting experience that much she was certain of. Getting dressed in a light armorweave bodysuit followed by average looking street clothing and a leatheris jacket she strapped on her belt and holstered a pair of blaster pistols, she wasn't likely to need them as they wouldn't have anywhere near enough power to punch through the thick hide of the beast she was to hunt today but she wasn't comfortable without them. She checked the pouches for their contents ensuring they were filled with appropriate amounts of additional ammo before picking her rifle up off the weapons rack it was mounted on. The old ARC-9965 blaster rifle had seen a lot of use of late but it still functioned though at some point she was going to have to give it up for something more modern when some more credits cleared anyway.

Strapping her rifle over her shoulder Siara started out of the bunk and out down the loading ramp of her Cyhraeth light freighter, she sealed the ship up taking a cigarette from the chest pocket on her jacket she lit it as she walked casually towards the coordinates she had received in the instructions that had been forwarded to her after signing the contract with Blackthorne. She saw the citadel and knew that the coordinates provided led there, she still had some time before she was to meet with the hunters not that it mattered she was the client and the customer was always right (scoff).

Arriving at the citadel she was led into a briefing room where the hunters she had contracted were already assembled around a holo-display, a man clearly explaining their goals. She was pleased that she had hired such organized hunters but that's what you get when you have the credits to pay for the best. Siara put her cigarette out as she approached the holo display surveying it for herself. Normally she would be seeking command of any given situation but hunting these beasts was not her forte so she would defer to those who did it on a semi regular basis.

"Nearly a year ago? How do you know that it is hibernating and that someone else hasn't brought this one down?" Siara interrupted rudely, she made no effort to demonstrate any sort of apology for her rudeness as she addressed [member="Volden"].

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

Pale eyes examined the woman as she drew towards the front, delight glinting faintly within. Refolding his hands at his back, Volden turned a thin smile upon her, "Because, my dear, She knows."

It was as simple as that.

Volden returned to the projection, "She will lure the creature from its slumber and lair. Revarde's team will be stationed above the cave mouth and will collapse the opening once it has exited. Sander's team, you're flanking the Beastia and will be providing stun canon support. Once it is disoriented, Revarde's team will fire the anchor cables - to subdue it long enough for the clincher, that's you," a motion was made towards [member="Siara Vorru"], "you'll have the honor of the killing blow, something that is normally reserved for the Beastia. Are you prepared for such a task?"

 

[Siara Vorru]

Rolling her eyes slightly the mercenary woman hated it when others used her tricks on her but if they had their own little secrets it didn't matter, as long as they got the job done and their reputation was solid so who was she to judge. She returned her attention to the projection and the briefing, they were certainly organized and if preparation alone guaranteed the success of a mission they would certainly be successful. Siara looked up as attention was directed towards her again, she grinned mostly to herself she did so enjoy being the one with the power to take life from another.

"As long as you give me a soft spot to target I can put the beast down, speaking of which what are the soft spots on such a creature? In my own research I couldn't find any but surely the creature has a weakness somewhere." Siara asked plainly as she slung her rifle off her shoulder holding it out in front of her to be inspected. "And will this rifle have the power to punch through the hide?"

[member="Volden"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

A gentle murmur of chuckles sounded at the presented rifle.

Volden eyed the thing, smirk curling into his expression, "A fine weapon for tickling a terentatek, annoying it, even. Keep it with you, it might prove useful for such a thing - you won't want to go wasting the rounds needed to take it down. Fletcher will provide an appropriate rifle."

Turning back to the projector, he drew up an image of an adult beast that slowly spun in place, "There are only two known kill zones on a terentatek. The first is a gap in the plating on its abdomen, exposed only when the beast is cast to its back. This is extremely difficult to achieve - their physiology places their center of gravity low, making them a nearly impossible to flip. The second zone is their mouth. Typically this is shielded by the plating of their skulls and the angle in which they carry their heads. Get them angry enough, in the right position, and a good long roar will provide you a perfect target."

[member="Siara Vorru"]

 

[Siara Vorru]

Growling at the reaction of the hunters and her host she slung the rifle over her shoulder again. “It may only tickle a terentatek as you put it but let us not forget it can and has put some pretty sizable holes in people who cross me and I am certainly not above proving its value if the lot of you think mocking my question is still funny.”

Looking at the projector she studied the kill zones keeping an eye on the hunters for anyone looking to challenge her threat. The targets were pretty small she would have to be pretty intimate with the beast to get a kill either way, not her preferred style of combat but she would do what was necessary to put the beast down. It was almost as if someone had designed these beasts to be the perfect hunter, for all she knew that is exactly what had happened centuries ago.

“Get the beast into the right position, piss it off and hope it roars long enough to get a shot off all while avoiding its vicious claws and teeth should be a walk in the park.” Siara said sarcastically.

[member="Volden"]

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

"You certainly have the right spirit for the job," Volden replied, smile curling his face.


After the briefing, the pack suited up and gave [member="Siara Vorru"] a half hour in the range to test out the weapon of the hour. This high-calibre rifle was often joked to be used to take down Mandolorians, though ask enough people and one might find out this idea had certainly been put to the test.

"This isn't a weapon you can shoot off your hip," the man told her at the practice range, "the kick back will knock a small rancor off it's feet. We'll stake out a place to set up the stand far enough out that you'll have time to get the beast sighted in, then the rest is up to you."

Next they moved out into the field aboard a sky-faring transport that took them high up into the mountain range where the winds were as wild as the beasts. Breaking over the peaks a flash of orange joined them in the sky to which Volden pointed and spoke to Siara over the gusts blowing through the open transport sides, "That's Beastia Blackthorne, she'll be the one luring the target out of the den. Keep your eye on her, she'll signal you when to move."

 

[Siara Vorru]

Following the briefing Siara followed an escort to the range she wasn’t one to fire off the hip anyway but she certainly wasn’t familiar with slug throwers like this high powered rifle. The kick of the weapon was disorienting at first but the power behind it was exhilarating she wondered what kind of range a weapon like this could achieve at the same time idly wondering how those who waved about glow sticks would deal with a weapon like this. Through the hour of toying with the weapon she managed to get it sighted in properly it wasn’t anything like shooting a blaster rifle, accounting for factors like wind and bullet drop made use of this kind of weapon much more difficult but the experience was invaluable to the mercenary, she considered purchasing the weapon off the hunters so she could take it home and add it to her kit permanently.

Leaving the range the Kiffar mercenary joined the rest of the hunters aboard a transport, she stood rifle strapped over her shoulder where her blaster rifle had once been, now abandoned back at the base it would not be needed for this mission. She hung onto the side of the transport as it carried them into the mountain range. The winds up here were fierce and threatened to blow those unaccustomed to them out of the side of the transport. Siara clung tighter to the rung as [member="Volden"] pointed and spoke to her directing her attention out of the open transport side. She simply nodded as if she understood, she didn’t see what the man was speaking of but assumed it was because his eyes must be keener that her own or that she was just simply focused on the task ahead either way she was ready for whatever this hunt would bring.

 

[Magdalena Lethe]

The shuttle moved to hover within the cover of trees, releasing its occupants before taking back to the skies. The team set off, making their way up along the mountain until they came upon a trail that looked more akin to the wake of a rancor stampede than anything gently worn into over time. The visible destruction had only been wraught recently, judging by the color of the foliage still sprouting on splintered tree trunks and the moistness of the earth revealed by the movement of massive boulders.

"Odd," Volden remarked as he surveyed the lanscape, "Fletcher, Ringbak - scout ahead. I'm going to set up Miss Vorru."

As the team moved out, Volden motioned to [member="Siara Vorru"] to follow, "the cave entrance is just up ahead, we're going to set you up down here so we can get the beast out in the open. I take it you have some experience in stake-outs, you'll want to be somewhere out of sight, but with the longest clear range to the target. Don't put anything at your back - if you have to run, you want to have as many escape routes as possible. As you can see, trees are of little consequence to a teretatek."