The Hunter or the Hunted?

[Progflaw99]

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Uncharted Planet || Deep Core || Rainforest/Jungle Biome​

Time of Day: Dawn || Weather: Humid, Sporadic Showers​

Estimated Arrival to Surface: Momentary​

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A thick acrid shroud had kept the surface of the planet hidden, both to sensors and the naked eye. Even so, the occupants of the small shuttlecraft knew it was the right place. It had taken them several days to travel through the coagulated 'guts' of the galaxy, lack of mapped hyperspace routes and constant directional changes had further slowed them down as they navigated carefully around hazards. Finally however, they'd arrived. After confirming the coordinates given to them by Garnik Verita and her new friends, Balthor had brought the vessel into a steep dive. *Let's see how these can hold their stomachs.* thought the man.

It had only taken them a few moments more to break through the thick cloud cover into the open air of the planet below. As they descended closer and closer Balthor noted the environmental sensors were bouncing all over the place. There was something about this place that put a sensation of unease at the back of his mind.

"We have arrived - Where should we set down? I trust you have some sense of where to find this... whatever it is we are looking for?"​

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Balthor wasn't pleased about taking part in what he considered to be wholly a waste of time - but the Priestess had commanded it. And so he went. At a glance, there were a few suitable landing places. One, atop a bluff, the surface of which appeared almost scorched but it was flat and appeared stable. The second a large copse to their left, the trees splitting apart and forming a wide oval in which their vessel would easily fit. And the third, at the base of a mountain nestled in the valley between its twin. The final choice he would leave to the others.

[member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Garnik Verita"] | [member="Arachne"] | @The Bando Gora​

 

[Samka Derith]

To come this far out.

Why?

Because he had demanded it. There was nowhere else suitable for their mission. This world was hostile, uncharted and as such, worthy of their attention. The Dark Side had told her so. It was here that they'd find the most valuable asset for their Supreme Leader. Her and this collection of cultists he had gathered. Samka was still unsure of the Bando Gora. They weren't exactly dignified in her experiences so far. But time would tell of their worth.

The choppy decent of the shuttle caused the Ren girl to clutch tightly to her seat until the turbulence faded. While this planet was rough, the descent had been unnecessarily so. The conclusion she reached was that the pilot was either incompetent or doing it on purpose. Either way a moron.

Her tongue clicked in irritation as the small woman rose to her feet and marched with some determination to the pilot who asked about their landing zone.

"We play it safe," the Ren replied, nodding to the bluff. "A good place to survey the area and we won't lose our craft to the environment." The girl slapped the back of the pilot's chair several times in haste. Every moment the Supreme Leader's form grew weaker.

[member="Balthor"] | [member="Garnik Verita"] | [member="Arachne"]​

 

[Progflaw99]

"The bluff it is." *Your highness.*​

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Their descent completed, Balthor took his time, carefully bringing the vessel in low above the treetops and even with the plane of the bluff. It would leave them exposed but with an unknown surface the girl had made the right choice. It was only a few minutes later the small team found themselves gathered near the cargo bay of the small vessel, storage crates opened as they loaded up for bear - or whatever it was the priestess and the girl though they'd find here. Initial scans, ones that came back any kind of conclusive anyway, suggested a heavy jungle planet. Canopy covered much of the undergrowth in shadow and the sensors couldn't much tell beyond that. Lifesigns were equally useless, the rainforest brimming with activity.

Balthor himself had chosen to travel light, an armored shoulder cowl, slim helmet, and a pair of gauntlets wrapped around his wrists. To date, he'd never grown comfortable beneath a set of heavy armor. Besides, it didn't complement his style. Initiating the ramp control, the man was glad for his choice in attire, or lack thereof. A sweltering heat washed up into the formerly temperature controlled bay, humidity slapping them in the face with the smell of wet earth, rotting plant, and... what he could only assume to be the smell of some jungle creature.

"And where does your magic tell us to go from here?"​

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All around them Balthor could see the tops of the trees, nothing particularly catching his eye aside from the small flurries of bugs floating on the thick air above the jungle canopy. Though he was familiar with the existence of the Force, Balthor didn't trust it - at least not when wielded by those other than the Priestess herself. To what dark powers they ascribed he didn't know but that was not of much import. Once these guests as Garnik had called them, gave them a direction they would be on their way. *How can you seek that which you do not know of, how can they hope to discover something without knowing what it is?*

[member="Samka Derith"] | [member="Garnik Verita"]​

 

[Garnik Verita]

The planet to which they’d traveled had much in common with Dathomir and thankfully would be without all of those pesky witches that constantly pestered Garnik to join this clan or another. Perhaps it was disloyal but the Umbaran Priestess disliked both the Daughters of Allya and the Nightsisters equally. As Sieger could attest to, the exiled witch did not like to take orders nor did she like to share.

It was why she’d built the Bando Gora from her own blood, sweat and ichor.

Her hand, Balthor - whatever he was - had scouted the location ahead of her arrival. She knew he’d taken the young girl, Sieger Ren’s favorite pet, along with him to her own vexation but having traversed a jungle clime she knew the Ren would come in handy. Garnik’s emotions wavered from wondering why she was even indulging her dying husband to pure, unadulterated curiosity on how he might survive, live on and continue their legacy.

And he would whether she wanted him to or not. At least with allies like Samka Derith.

Once she’d landed, the Umbaran Priestess threw out a mundane flare to signal the Bando Gora. While she could have caused her entire area to burst into flames with a sigil or sign, Garnik needed to save her strength for what was to come.

[member="Samka Derith"] [member="Balthor"]​

 

[Samka Derith]

Stepping off the shuttle, the first thing Samka noticed was the humidity. This jungle was far hotter than even their home at the Ren's Bastion. The sound of buzzing insects filled the air accompanied by the occasional call of larger wildlife. Growls, whoops and howling highlighting just how densely packed with animal life the planet was.

The Ren's arms folded behind her back as she stood to survey the environment. The canopy was far too thick to see anything beneath the trees, there was not the faintest sign of civilisation either of living nor dead. Instead she reached out with the Force. The Dark Side had called them here and she would use her ally to their advantage. The Ren's eyes closed in a meditative stance as cold yet invisible fog emitted from her presence, oozing out first across the bluff and then descending to the jungle floor below. It sent quick evaluations of each life form back to the Ren. She felt [member="Balthor"], their pilot as a prime physical specimen and beside him the more powerful witch, [member="Garnik Verita"] but if either of those were suitable vessels for the Supreme Leader, they'd have already been subdued. They were tools on her quest, not the destination themselves. Beyond them, there was little of worth. Creature after creature, nothing but worthless trash. One after the other they came. Too inhuman, too large, too small, too weak - ether physically or mentally unable to survive the rituals. Perhaps... there was something but it was faint, far from their position.

Her eyes snapped open. On her shoulder rested a small droid designed to scan the environment. Wordlessly, Sam pointed in the vague vacinity of the presence she'd felt. The droid's optics whirled and it began to hum as it scanned the area.

"We may have something," Samka turned to her companions of the day. She made sure to make eye contact with Balthor but her main attention was focused on Garnik, the estranged wife of her Supreme Leader. Garnik's mere existence continued to perplex her, nothing before had suggested the Supreme Leader had been married. His life had not been devoted to love or other personal whims but to the continued survival and prosperity of his subjects. Or so she'd thought. To picture Sieger Ren's earlier life somehow disturbed her. But she'd lay those thoughts to rest for the time being.

Sam's head cocked curiously as she watched the flare in the sky. "You have people here already?" She asked Garnik while rolling up the sleeves of her shirt to deal with the heat. She wore only dark green fabrics, the shirt and pants half way between a formal uniform and airy survivalist clothing.