Tests of Merit:
Stranded
"You are not getting away from me this time, my pretty, oh no you're not." The Felinoid bounty hunter known by most as NightKlaw thought to himself, as he stalked his prey as silently as the predatory cat that his species looked similar to, his eyes fixated on the thing that would be his prey to the exclusion of almost anything else. "You may have gotten lucky the last couple of times I've spotted you today, but you're mine this time."
It is interesting to note that what the bounty hunter was so intently stalking was not some traitor or a rebel or even a notorious criminal that had a large bounty on his head, but what appeared to be a deer or elk the size of a small hover car was the object of his attention. Right now the animal was more important to the hunter than the person with the largest bounty in the known universe, mainly because he could eat the animal but would probably not be able to get the bounty if he eats the person.
And that was overlooking the obvious fact that he, Jernai Teisfel, and Garik Hazid were currently stranded on some planet with no way off and no way to request help.
They had been sent on a mission to return a wanted criminal to a small planet for trial, when said criminal revealed that his transport was extremely more dangerous than the mission briefing had indicated. Jernai's freighter Hobbes, the only starship they had at their disposal, had been taken out by a barrage of extremely powerful laser and disruptor bolts from a supposedly "unarmed" transport. The three hunters had managed to survive the crash landing, but the ship and most of their food and supplies seemed to be a total loss.
The idea had quickly gone from being trying to build a small ship to escape on to building a communications device capable of sending out a distress call for someone, anyone, to rescue them, and as far as Jernai was telling him when he returned with what little game he could find that it would take a while for him to even scrap a very basic comm. unit together. Since Jernai was so busy scrounging for parts for their only feasible means of being rescued, and Garik was generally guarding his fellow Human with the only energy weapon they had at their disposal, that meant that NightKlaw, and NightKlaw alone, was largely responsible for keeping the three of them fed.
Which was quickly becoming a nearly impossible task for him to accomplish, as most of the wild life of the area realized that the strange two-legged furred creature was a predator that was to be feared above all others. Berries and roots were quickly becoming a staple of their diet, and the more they grew to dislike that the shorter their tempers became. It was his fierce desire that this animal would not only supply them with meat for a while, but that said meat would cause the steadily growing tension between the three to at least return to the levels that they had been before the crash.
When the worst thing they had to deal with was the very basic fact that two members of the team of three were from Thunder Kabal, but NightKlaw was a part of Daichi Kabal, and the Kabal Authority Games were about to start yet again. There was always at least a little tension amongst members of different Kabals, despite the fact that they were part of the same group, and that tension only increased the closer the beginning of a new KAG drew. And, yet, they had chosen to send a team comprised of members of two different Kabals only a few weeks away from the beginning of KAG 13.
NightKlaw shook his thoughts out of the past and back into the present as he reached for the crude knife he'd been hunting with for the week they'd been stranded on this planet, determined to not let such a large source of meat get away from him this time. The weapon was small, almost too small for the hunter to even feel comfortable calling it a dagger, and wasn't nearly as good as the weapon he'd been issued upon graduating from the Academy as a Blade, but Jernai had needed THAT knife for his work and left this one to the hunter to hunt with. Most of what he'd lost had been due to the fact that he had to get too close to wild animals, with their sensitive senses, to be able to kill them with said dagger; they learned of his presence, somehow, before he could even bring the weapon to bear sometimes.
NightKlaw eased himself into a slight crouch; similar to a sprinter's starting pose, as he prepared to rush his would-be meal with all of the speed his feline nature could give him and hope it was enough. The last four times he'd tried to get this beast it had managed to escape, outlasting his endurance once and flat-out beating him in terms of pure speed a second, but he was determined that the fifth attempt would be a successful one. He would not fail again; he would not let it beat him again.
"Tonight we feast on the meat of...whatever the hell you are." NightKlaw thought to himself, unconsciously swallowing the drool that was threatening to overflow out of his mouth at the thought of all of the meat the thing had to have.
He would not get to get a chance to pit his skills against the beast's now, though, as Garik Hazid charged out of the opposite side of the clearing while yelling as loudly as his lungs would allow. The animal took one look at the charging Human and ran away, even as the hidden bounty hunter glared at Garik and promised to give him a slow and painful death the first chance he got once this was all over. As the wild animal ran away though, for reasons that NightKlaw neither understood but wasn't willing to question, the animal turned to run near his hiding place.
"Gotcha." The hungry Felinoid thought in triumph, giving the charging animal a toothy grin that he knew it couldn't see even as he decided that he would only seriously hurt Garik instead of killing him. He had, even if probably unintentionally, helped NightKlaw to have a better chance of killing the animal that would be their next meal.
NightKlaw judged the beast's speed as it ran towards him, trying to get a feel of when he should spring if he wanted to land on the creature's back in the position he wanted: where he could get at the back of the animal's head and back with relative ease. It was the easiest way to stop a running animal, especially with the pitiful weapon that he had at his disposal, even if it wasn't a very easy maneuver to attempt at all. But, still, he had to at least try to bring the beast down someway.
Right as the animal ran past NightKlaw the bounty hunter heaved his body into the air, propelling himself up and onto the back of the charging animal like he'd wanted. He was forced to grab onto the animal's fur almost as soon as he landed, though, as the wild animal immediately started to do everything in its power to get whatever was on its back off of its back. Getting as good a hold as he could with his left hand, and wrapping his legs around the animal's stomach as best he could, he immediately began to thrust his weapon into the animal as rapidly and powerfully as he could.
This violent dance lasted for only a few short moments, but it might as well have been an eternity for the two players locked in this bloody combat. This combat that ended, ironically enough, with the animal escaping by slamming NightKlaw into a tree hard enough to snap the thick structure in half. Needless to say, all the dazed and hurting hunter could do was watch as the animal ran off, blood spilling from the wounds inflicted on its back, probably to die where the one who had inflicted such fatal wounds could not enjoy the spoils of his victory.
"Looks like its berries and roots for us again." Garik commented dryly, as he stepped up to the almost prone form of NightKlaw. "Why couldn't you kill that thing, Klaw? Is one pesky little deer too much for you?"
"I would have had him if you hadn't spooked him, Garik, and don't call me "Klaw." The name is NightKlaw, and I would appreciate if you used it." NightKlaw replied, his voice a low growl, as he levered himself to his feet with the help of what was left of the tree that had lost him his prey.
"Well, there's nothing we can do about it now, so lets head back to camp. It was running in the general direction of the Hobbes; its carcass could be waiting for us." Garik said, almost carelessly, as he started off towards the clearing created when the Hobbes crashed on the planet.
"I doubt it, but it wouldn't hurt to go check up on Jernai. The sooner he gets done, the sooner we get the hell off this place." Was the response, as the tired and irritated hunter followed his Human companion at an almost sullen pace.
"One would think you don't like it here, Klaw. I thought all cats liked forests?"
"These things don't smell right, nothing here smells right, and I don't like it. The only thing I can remember ever smelling like this was the time I snuck into the homes of one of the Lord Governors of Fellinus VII and got chased into one of his artificial forests; everything was artificially created and actually smelled very similar to this place."
"You think this place was created artificially? That's preposterous!"
"Maybe, but that's the only time I can remember seeing that variety of tree smelling the way it does; Neisellem tressilis normally has a hint of a chocolaty smell in addition to the standard smell of a hardwood because its sap is similar to the junk chocolate is made from. This bugger doesn't have that smell, though, and that's the only reason I can think of." NightKlaw said, shrugging, as he pointed out a tree with his knife as they passed it.
"Interesting. I didn't know you knew any botany."
"I don't really know botany, but we learn to rely more on smell than sight to identify things because of our astigmatism. We're taught how a lot of things smell before we're allowed out of the house, and those of us who are a part of the Shadow Clan learned a lot more than most."
"There's that term again. WHAT is the Shadow Clan anyways?"
"Can't tell you, or I'ld have to kill you if I did."
"But we're both hunters."
"Loyalty to the Clan comes before all else; the Commission knows of that fact and are still willing to let me be a hunter."
"Is there any fear of your loyalty to this Shadow Clan interfering with your duties as a member of the BHG?"
"Don't worry about it; the Shadow Clan is mostly focused on Fellinus VI and VII and not on the universe as a whole."
"That's good." Garik said, right as they neared the hunk of junk that had once been a freighter before it crashed into the planet.
"What's good?" Jernai asked, looking up from the remains of a very familiar animal that he'd been preparing.
"Told you the thing would head here." Garik said, to the surprised look on NightKlaw's face. "You should have trusted me."
"You almost let the thing get away, if it hadn't run right towards me. That's almost too convenient, if you ask me, on both accounts."
"What do you mean, NightKlaw?"
"He's just finding all these reasons why this place could be artificial, and not real, Jernai. Starting with the trees not smelling right, and now the animal having not done what he'd expected."
"What's the odds of a wild animal running right into our camp, especially since we wrecked here almost a week ago? Animals, or at least wild animals, would be trying to stay away from places like that; AND the thing ran right at me even though it should have noticed my smell before I got the chance to attack him and run away."
"He's a smart one." Jernai told Garik, a hint of respect in his voice. "It took me a couple of more days before I started noticing the things that weren't right."
"Took me at least a week longer than it took him, but we don't have those hunting instincts he does so I guess we can be forgiven."
"Definitely."
"What the hell are you two talking about? You're making this sound like this was nothing more than a test."
"That's because that's exactly what this is, NightKlaw, a test of your skills." Garik told him, as Jernai pulled out a portable comm. unit from the bag he'd kept by his side since the crash.
"All Trainees are brought on a "mission" similar to this, but not all pass it."
"What would have happened if I didn't pass?"
"Nothing really; the test is really just a test of your observation skills and nothing more. If you had failed, if you hadn't noticed all the reasons that this couldn't have been real, then I would have pulled this thing out in one or two weeks, said I had rigged it myself, and called the transport with you having never learned the truth."
"What do I tell the others, though? If you want this to remain a secret from Trainees, and I assume you do, I shouldn't say this was a test; I can't say we caught him, though, and the bounty was alive only."
"I said he got away after shooting us down."
"I said we shot each other down, but he didn't walk away from it and I couldn't retrieve the body."
"Then I'll say we assume we shot each other down, but we couldn't find evidence of him or his ship having crashed on this planet."
"Sounds good to me; this planet's got enough water for it to be believable that his ship could have landed in the middle of one of the larger bodies of water." Garik told him, approvingly, as the transport Jernai had radioed with the comma unit started to land a few feet near them. "Oh, and your hunch was right, most of the stuff growing on this planet was created artificially."
"I still say it smells funny." NightKlaw grumbled, as the trio headed toward the transport waiting to take them off of the planet.
"And your room doesn't?" Garik asked, causing Jernai to chuckle softly.
"How would you know, Thunder Boy, and it doesn't smell bad to someone with a nose as sensitive as mine. And just laugh it up, Jernai, you'll get yours when Daichi beats you in the KAG's."
"We'll see, Klaw, we'll see." Was all Jernai said, as the rear hatch of the transport swung closed behind them, the transport already starting to take off.


NightKlaw (Aranlassar)
Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars; I wish I did but I don't. I don't own the Bounty Hunters Guild, I'm just a member, and while I'm not sure who owns it exactly it is run by the Dark Prince Trench who deserves much honor and praise...if only for the fact he'ld probably shoot us if we didn't respect and praise and serve him. Jernai Teisfe and the Hobbes is the property of whoever Jernai Teisfe is in real life, Garik Hazid is owned by whoever he is in real life, NightKlaw, the War Dancer Clan and the Felinoid race belong to me. Anything else that doesn't belong to me that I forgot to mention belongs to whoever owns it, and if no one claims it then I will.
Notes: During the Thirteenth Kabal Authority Games (KAGs), this was my entry in its Writing Competition. I can't remember the place it earned me, I think it was around 15th or so, but it didn't earn me any of the prized positions, and certainly not THE prized position in the competition, but I'm not complaining. NightKlaw is the ID of my Bounty Hunters Guild (BHG) character; those desiring to join the BHG (www.thebhg.org) be sure to tell them that you was referred by JRNY/NightKlaw/Daichi/BHG -H (P).