Mother Nature

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Dxun. A hotbed of disease. A vault for the galaxy's dangerous force sensitive fauna. It was too valuable of a word for Sylvanan to ignore.

The Conflagration, an Espada class stealth ship of the late Confederacy, zipped silently over the afternoon sky. It was nothing more than a ripple of light in the sky with its stealth systems engaged. One would only hear the thrum of the engines as it passed overhead, a specter that might not have ever been there.

The Arkanian's crew, four security droids and a number of surveyor drones, readied the mobile base camp within the cargo bay. Sylvanan alone piloted the large cruiser from the cockpit, with the assistance of the ship's dumb AI.

"What's this?" He whispered. Something was causing quite the racket on his external sensors. He leaned forward, his eerie, luminescent blue eyes narrowing as he gazed at the console. Somewhere deep within that mass of jungle was a ship.

The Arkanian knit his brow, and ran a gloved hand over his pale cheek. The ship banked right toward a nearby clearing at the center of the forest. With a bit of groaning strain, the vessel lowered into the middle of the grassy opening, its stealth systems toggling off as soon as it touched down. The large cruiser was a stark obsidian shade, the color of the darkest night sky. Its external defense cannons came online and swept the area.

Sylvanan slipped on his helmet, sealed it, and slipped his DC-17 into its coat holster. The ship's loading ramp hissed open. The droids began to unload a makeshift camp to the ground below: a tent, an outdoor lab, and a number of perimeter markers. Their master followed soon after, a tablet in his hands as he strode down to sink an inch into the muddy ground.

"E-4, when we finish here, shift to tactical programming. I want to explore." He ordered. The combat droid lifted its head up, and nodded.

Sylvanan's gaze fell toward the trees, to the forest within, to what he thought was a ship in the distance. This trip would prove fruitful for his research. He could feel it in his bones.



@O'Nikka Abba

 

[Onikka Abba]

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

In her jaw dangled a lifeless Maalrass. The creature was isolated by it's lonesome. Perhaps it had been cut off from it's pack or had simply ran off on it's own. Either way that was not the best choice, ending with their life. O'Nikka's paws quickly latched onto the the tree that held her ship. Her head hung heavily to the side as she scaled upwards. The crimson blood trickled down the sides of her lips. With a heave she drug the creature into her humble abode. Giving the ship a good shake, leaving it swaying. It was a miracle that the shelter had not come crashing down already. Shifting back into her humanoid form O'Nikka began to bard the ship up. In the day time she left it open but at night it was sealed. There was no telling what could snatch her whilst she slept.

No one was safe. Shifting back once more she flopped down on the ship, causing it to rock one last time. Without hesitation she began to devour the creature as though it was nothing. Her claws and teeth were like a couple, working together to fill her stomach. While one held the body down the large incisors tore effortlessly through the red thick skin. Savagely and slowly she worked her way down to the bones. Before she knew it, the muscles, fat and whatever fleshy substance was in the creature filled her warm belly. The bloody mess emptied out onto her disheveled carpet which was constantly changing colors with whatever she brought it.

Trophies hung on her crumbled walls. Thick bones of different creatures dangled high and low. Anyone would have thought at first that she was simply a wise non-sentient creature but there was definitely organization in there. Two massive Zakkeg skulls perched on what seemed to be like makeshift shelves. on the shelves were several jars containing herbs, medicines, and even little parts she could find from the Mandalorian Wars remains. Thick leaves were knitted together as though to create a platform, large enough to fit O'Nikka in, covered in black and golden fur clumps. It was not the most comfortable bed ever but she made due. If there was one downside it would have to be the windows.

Even though the predators on this planet were to large to fit through the windows a smaller creature could. She did not need much light because of her powerful night vision. Sounds of bone crackling echoed with the area of her shelter, before long the Maalrass was nothing but a few bones. While O'Nikka was feasting on her dinner she got the feeling she was being watched, you always, this was different. It was not a feeling to be frightened because of the eyes on her but to simply be careful. Though many times she had been proven wrong of the gut feelings.

She shifted back into her humanoid form. The darkness surrounded her but the glowing of her feline eyes glistened through the night. Her tail gently tapped around behind her and swayed back and forth as she looked out of one of her broken windows. ​Searching for whom or whatever was watching her.

 

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There was a time when Sylvanan was not a simple businessman. In his earlier days, he had fought deep in the jungles of Felucia in service of the Republic. There he faced countless trials, and found himself in tune with nature, despite his unnatural birth. There was something about the wilderness that spoke to his soul, and he let that calling take him as he strode into the treeline. His combat droid kept him silent company, its rifle whirring the way and that as it scanned the trees.

Sylvanan flicked his night vision on with a flick of the tongue as the sun dipped below the horizon. The sounds of the forest bespoke of massive beasts on the prowl, they would inevitably smell him sooner or later. That was entirely fine - the Arkanian knew how to defend himself. A Verpine Revolver slipped from its holster on his boot with a single motion. The high powered, utterly silent handgun had few rivals in stopping power. It could pierce beskar like a rock through paper.

"If anything closes within twenty meters, inform me." He ordered the droid. His guardian beeped its reply.

Up ahead, he could make out the ship's shape. An irregularity within the canopy. A giant slab of steel in what would otherwise be greenery. It drew him in like a beacon. His coat swayed at his feet as he strode purposefully toward the ship, moving with such a speed that he arrived within its vicinity in a matter of minutes.

A quick adjustment to his external speaker would allow anything in the vicinity to hear.

"Any occupants?"



@O'Nikka Abba

 

[Onikka Abba]

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

A figure, none that she had seen in quite some time began to move from within the shadows. She was not going to wait around to see whom it was. Sometimes it wasn't the beasts of Duxn that she looked out for but the sentient beings that loved to stop by and hunt whatever they wished. Then a voice followed, asking if there was anyone in the ship. She did not answer. Quickly she turned around, her black hair flying off her shoulders. Most of her body had been covered in a thick dried blood. Not hers of course, what was left of the carcass remains on her floor. Normally she would have had herself cleaned by now but since she was in her human form it will take much longer.

Bringing her wrist up to her face she gently tried to wipe the fresh blood from her lips but only smeared it. She had not seen what was outside of her ship, only heard faint foot steps. On a full stomach she would not be such a predator, she moved rather slowly. It was definitely no usual predator, if it was a sentient then it was in her best interest to hide and watch from a distance. Slowly she began to sneak out of the side of the ship that required her to suck in her stomach and squeeze in between the thick bark and metal. Her padded bare feet gripped the tree, since she was a young cub O'Nikka has climbed to great heights.

Without hesitation she began to move upwards. This wasn't the first time a sentient had gotten onto her ship, looking for something to take worth value. If there was something to take it would be the several vials medicine. The footsteps grew even louder and louder. By then she had already gotten higher into the canopy. Of course she couldn't be to safe because of the beasts that lurked in the high trees. The leaves shivered a little when she positioned herself to watch from above. Nobody came to the Demon Moon without a good weapon, more then a few had the ability to put down a massive, horned, feline.

She would rather be safe then sorry. For now she would watch from above unless they interacted with her through violence. O'Nikka's long tail dangled below her, casually twitching, keeping her balance.

 

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The sudden movement on his tracker made the Arkanian freeze. He cast his gaze all around, and bit back a curse. Nothing. Something was within the ship, but what it was, he had no idea.

"Wait here." He ordered the droid. His guardian stood up straight, and began to pace around the area below the ship on an endless patrol.

The ship hung a bit high up. Drawing in a sharp breath, Sylvanan holstered his sidearm, and gripped a loose vine on the closest tree. He was no jungle cat, but he could traverse an obstacle or two. His muscles burned as soon as he rose up from the ground, and he gave them no mind. Ever so slowly, the figure in obsidian scooted up to the edge of the ship. He reached out with a gloved hand, grabbing desperately at a pointed edge with deft fingers.

"Almost..." His fingers found purchase. "Got it!" For a moment, he dangled there. A quick look below remedied that. The Arkanian forced himself upward, and rolled onto the deck of the ship, limbs splayed out in momentary exhaustion.

That was when he looked around.

"...You're a messy one."



@O'Nikka Abba

 

[Onikka Abba]

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

O'Nikka took in a deep breath as she assessed the new comer. Now that he was inside of her ship, her space, it changed the playing field. Maybe she could get a little closer to watch his every move, make sure he didn't take anything and if he did she would not think twice about charging in. There was an object on the forest floor that went in an endless route below her. She had never seen a beast such as this one and it generally would have sparked an interest in her but now was not the time to be that curious.

Slowly she began to lower herself onto the ship. Her fluid movements kept her quite. Pointing her toes she safly got onto the roof of the ship. O'Nikka's feet would make gentle pitter-patter noises at the most. Luckily she had the darkness on her side, for now. It was hard to get a feel of who she was dealing with, all she knew is that he was not going to be an easy fight, if it was brought to that. O'Nikka's mind was battling whether to be curious or smart. Maybe it was something in her dinner's meat but normally she would never have gotten this close to a sentient without attacking or fleeing.

On the tips of her toes she began to walk along the roof. Listening to his words and gather what little information she had on him. Every moment would count. It was way to dangerous for her to be out and about at night so there was no way she could simply leave the area as much as she wanted to. Maybe she could wait him out and nothing bad would come of it. Though the situation seems to be very unpredictable.

 

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Blood. He smelled the distinct coppery scent as it wafted through his filters. That and sickly sweet scent of gore. Something had been killed here very recently. He shouldered his Deece, and flicked the safety. The high powered rifle whirred as its power cell came to life. A quick flick on his helmet ignited his head lamp, casting a beam of pale luminescent light across the room. Along the walls he could make out bones, some bloodied, others pristine.

Trophies.

A shiver ran up Sylvanan's spine, but he stood his ground. He was a hunter. He alone shaped the galaxy the way he saw fit - and no one was ever the wiser. No wild beast would end him. Not now. Not here.

"Anything down there?" He asked of the droid. His response was static. Frustrated, the Arkanian accessed the droid's breast plate camera. All he saw were two massive claws pawing at the droid's severed leg before it trotted off.

This frightened the Arkanian.

He froze up, and flicked off his light. Night vision would do. Slowly, he edged over to the side of the ship, and gazed down. There, a beast as large as a swoop rumbled through the forest, its armor plates his gleaming in the streaks of moonlight that broke through the canopy.

Zak-...What was it called?

Sylvanan grimaced, and fell back into the ship. There would be no walking back now. He leveled his rifle upward, and marched off toward the heart of the ship.

"Bridge can't be far. I just have to find the auxiliary power and lock down the doors. I have a generator. It'll be fine. Calm. Calm." He advised himself as he turned his back toward the outside.





@O'Nikka Abba

 

[Onikka Abba]

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

The fresh stench of a Zakkeg filled her nostrils. How had she not known that it was there? It was obvious that her curiousness was clouding her judgement. Shaking her head O'Nikka tried to focus. Maybe if she could grab the sentient and toss him down the creature would be satisfied with her offer and leave. Taking in a deep breath she slowly moved to the entrance of her ship, he was no longer near her. She definitely knew the ship's layout more then he did. Maybe if she snuck up behind him then all it would take would be a swipe to wipe him out.

O'Nikka gently lowered herself from the top and then swung into the ship, every little movement shifted it a little as it usually would. Shifting into her massive counterpart was not very smart as of now. He could be tense and shoot at anything if they possessed such a weapon. Her humanoid form was definitely less likely to be hit. As soon as she got close enough to him she would shift and go in for the kill. He was causing enough racket to draw a Zakkeg to her home, they usually just pass by without thinking twice, their mental capacities can only handle so much at one time.

Once on the ship she still proceeded with much caution. Her breath was very controlled as she moved though out the ship. Within a matter of seconds the sound of thunder and lightening sounded in the distance. An approaching rain was the norm on the Moon. If it was up to her it would only rain every month. Of course that would not be good for the vegetation and her for that matter. It was just disorientation. The flashes of bright lights frightened her.

O'Nikka's tail lightly drug behind her, she could hear the man speaking to himself. Something about a generator, whatever that was. Now the rain had gathered around them. It's hard showering drowned out of her footsteps but luckily for her with her heightened senses made it easy for her to navigate in the shadowy tin can. All this movement had made the jungle vines that suspended them loose. Gently pressing her hand against the metal she could practically feel the plant's energy through it. Taking in a deep breath she used the force to strengthen the plant's grip. Plant Surge definitely came in hand when she needed it.

If this shelter came crashing down that would be the end of her.

 

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There was something here with him. The sensors did not pick it up, nor did any sound reach him. It was that prickling sensation at the base of his neck, that primal fight or flight reaction that told him a predator was stalking him. It wanted a response. He had none to give.

Rather, Sylvanan booked it toward what he thought was the cockpit. Where he ended up was a dead end, and the sudden shift of the ship made his stomach drop. Perhaps the vines that held it in place were not as secure as he had thought. Then there was that great beast stalking the land below. Could he slay that on his own?

He swallowed heavily, and leveled his rifle on the darkness. Whatever stalked him would meet the end of his fun barrel.

"If you're a refugee, identify yourself. I'll disarm." He snapped, his voice calm and orderly. A voice that had spent years in charge in situations such as this.

He took a single step into the darkness. It was likely a hungry predator. If that were the case, it would have a tough time getting through his suit, and his rifle would deal with it accordingly.

That was the thought anyway.

 

[Onikka Abba]

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

She had to think about her decision for a moment. Either apply a force cloak and take him out or give the man a chance. So far he hadn't taken any of her ideas yet and hadn't showed any sign of wanting to harm her other then being threatened. Her mind was so jumbled, attack or not attack? O'Nikka had already ate her dinner for tonight and from what she saw he was going to put of a hell of a fight before she got her paws on her. Applying a force cloak for a minute she peeked out of a sharp turn, finally getting to see what was invading her space. He was rather tall, they could have been the same height give or take a few inches.

He was dressed in dark thick hides or clothing, he possessed many items she had never seen before. He held a weapon, she wasn't very sure of what it did but she wasn't going to find out. Although O'Nikka felt threatened she would give this man a chance. That was a major leap for the feline. Usually she was the one who hunted the foreign sentient but now the tables had turned. Releasing herself of the shield masking her appearance she remained hidden from his weapon's line of fire.

He offered to lower his weapon, not to mention him speaking in such a loud voice could have been a reason for the beast below them lurking. O'Nikka tried to speak up the best Basic tongue she could. When taking in a deep breath she whispered to him from behind a wall. "Why you here? There is nothing here for you to take." It was clear that she did not speak much at all. Her language was broken and O'Nikka's accent was thick and littered with mispronunciations of what could be simple words.

 

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Human, but not entirely streamlined. Sylvann was having some unexpected difficulties determining what species this woman was, but he surmised that issue would become irrelevant in the coming minutes. She was an attractive creature, one that would thrive on one of the more civilized worlds, though external beauty was of little value for the Arkanian. He valued ability, not cosmetics.

"To study the local fauna." He explained, lowering his rifle as promised. "I was a bit perplexed to see a lone ship tied up in the tree line. I take it this is your home." He continued, lightly wrapping his knuckles on the closest bulkhead. "And that creature below does not belong to you."

His arms fell down to his sides. The Deece slid habitually into its holster, though Sylvanan's gloved hands remained close to the grip of his revolver. He took a single, cautionary step forward, and observed the stranger. What was she, and why was she alone?

I"Are you a native?"


@O'Nikka Abba

 

[Onikka Abba]

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

Her left brow arched as he explained his reason for being on the Moon. While he did place down his weapon her bones remained tense. Ready to answer the call of action at any given moment. O'Nikka's tail came down and rested on the cold metal they stood on. The tip of it lightly twitching back in forth. This wasn't the first time she had actually spoken to a sentient after her previous caretaker had fallen. If that was the case she would not be using any Basic language, at all.

When he mentioned the beast lurking beneath her was not hers, her tail flicked upwards and was off the ground, showing there was a possibility of hostility towards the conversation. Naturally she was territorial and very defensive. "It does not belong to either of us," Her hands were always very animated, pointing to herself then below her. O'Nikka paused, opened her mouth to speak once more but hesitated. "But you would be um.." her eyes wandered off to the side as her mind could no longer think of words to describe how she felt.

Once a word came to her, her eyes darted back onto the black mask that held the man's face. "Depriving me of a meal, which is something... I don't get much of." Automatically upon an extra step closer to her, O'Nikka backed up a little. She wasn't backing completely away because she would not want a stranger to think she was afraid of him but she was feeling threatened. She simply answered, "I have lived here my life. Never once have I left."

 

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Savage was not a kind word. It was the first to pop into the Arkanian's mind, but he would not dare to voice it. All creatures deserved to live how they chose, and he would not condemn the woman, if that even applied to what she was, for how she chose to survive. It was the tail that threw him off. He knew of a few species that sported such features, but for the life of him he could not name them.

"Food then." He mumbled, setting a hand on a nearby bulkhead. "So this ship is yours. Is the NavComp still working?" He asked gently. It was only then that he realized this creature likely had no idea what a NavComp was.

"Flashing lights at the front of the ship." He explained, motioning back toward what he assumed was the bridge.

A deep rumble. Sylvanan felt it in his very bones. He had never seen one of those great beasts that prowled Dxun's forests, but he was positive he could make out where it was. Somewhere not too far below them.

"You want help hunting it?"




@O'Nikka Abba

 

[Onikka Abba]

[member="Sylvanan Tal'verda"]

O'Nikka was not very sure of why this man was dressed so heavily and covered his face. Perhaps he was disfigured and did it for appearance reasons, nothing much came to her mind. She assumed that technology was a vast concept and only a few knew about it. How could one person have so much of it? Her brows creased slowly when he began to talk of this NavComp. A new word to add to her vocabulary even if she had no idea what it was. Her head slightly tilted as he mentioned something of flashing lights. She was no teetering on the border of placing this man as a threat or allowing her curiosity to take over.

The curios side of her was dominating. O'Nikka gently moved forward, her bare feet were balancing on the balls of her feet. The cold surface barely made a sound upon her moving. Leaves and overgrown vegetation began to take over a large board. A faint glowing light blinked off and on. O'Nikka's eyes widened as she had never even noticed the balls of color. With a gently and slow swipe of her hand the weeds uncovered something she had never seen in her life. Her tail puffed slightly and wafted upwards, showing a keen interest. "I'm not sure what it is, what could you possibly want from it?"

O'Nikka opened her mouth to speak again but the rumbling was all it took for her to stop speaking. If it was up to her she would have crawled out of the ship and went into hiding high above the ground. Though the longest she's had to wait out such a predator would be a few nights. She practically starved herself to death. Placing her hand over the faint light and then took it off. A little concerned of what it might do she backed up a little. Taking in a deep breath she stopped backing away. "I'm not sure exactly who claim to be or what you can do. Let's just hope we can take this one down and get out alive."

Turning her back she walked away from him a little, a dirty and cracked window revealed what was surrounding them. "Zakkeg, very rare. I've only killed two in my life time." There was no way she could have seen the creature that darted from below the ship and paced around the tree line had it not been for her extremely heightened senses. "Very big with thick skin." Turning around she faced the man, Gently she placed a finger below her chest and stopped at her stomach. "You have to strike where the skin is thin and soft."