Chapter 10: Hunt

--- --- ---

Last night I was ready to call it a night and get a few hours of sleep. That's when we got the call from Rollo. The Camp was attacked by a mysterious creature. Jax was badly wounded and HotShot was in a critical but perhaps not life threatening condition. There was no sleeping after hearing that.

I gathered some of the team and we talked about what we should do. I was extremely conflicted. As a leader, it wasn't right for me to leave this command post at this time. But as a friend, I wanted to see them for myself. I had absolutely no idea what to do. Stay or go?

Me team talked me into going. I was Jax's mentor and, as Lwyn told me privately, HotShot still had a few feelings for me after all these years. They needed me both as a friend and leader. I had to go. Lwyn and Zade offered to stay behind and take over the base. As much as I hated to, Vayne picked Sanpak and I up in the Axel and flew us back to base. Sanpak was concerned over the safety of the Camp and wanted to lend her hand. Pssh.... some defensive help those turrets turned out to be.

The moment the Axel landed, Vayne pointed the medic tent out to me. I dashed across the camp and into the tent. There a young woman with orange hair and light green robes met with me. She was the doctor for the human colonists and looked after Jax and HotShot. In the back of the tent were three makeshift rooms made from curtain partitions. She pointed to the middle and left rooms. That's where they rested. It was kind of difficult deciding who to visit first. I hoped HotShot wouldn't be offended but I visited Jax first. He was just a kid and I was worried about him. So I entered the middle room.

When I entered I was taken aback by Jax's wound. He was sitting up on the edge of his bed. Slumped over, holding his lightsaber on his lap. He was shirtless but his torso was competently wrapped up in white bandages. They began at his waist and traveled up around his neck and even over his face. The bandages on his face wrapped around most of the left side of his face. Including his eyes and ear. Some were even wrapped completely around his head like on his forehead, nose, and chin. I could see dried blood that had soaked through parts of his bandages on his chest, stomach, and the left side of his face. Some of it was still wet and looked fresh. I put my hands on my hips and stared at him, "You should be laying down. Resting."

He didn't look at me. He just kept his uncovered right eye trained on his lightsaber, "I'm fine."

"Don't play tough."

He grunted back at me, "Hmph."

I walked over to his bed and stood before him, "Does it hurt?"

"No." He quickly answered.

"Be honest." I scolded in a soft tone.

He sighed, "A lot. It hurts a lot."

I nodded, "Vayne told me about the attack. If it's any consolation, I'm proud of you."

He began to protest, "Verru is-"

I quickly pointed at him and corrected him before he could doubt himself, "Alive because of you. And if you hadn't have sensed it, that thing could have killed HotShot and snuck into the camp. Who knows what it could have done then. Our side may, and probably would have suffered unrecoverable losses."

He paused a long second before pounding his lightsaber on his knee, "It was so weird, ya know. I was just talking with Vayne when I got this image in my head. An image of these fangs ripping through flesh. Then the river where HotShot was. It was like instinct."

"A vision. You're a strong minded little dude." I pointed to his wounds, "And apparently a strong bodied one too."

He involuntarily let out a chuckle as he opened his arms and looked down at his chest, "Yeah well... at least I'll have some omega-sweet scars to show off."

I chuckled back, "That's the spirit."

He nodded as he brightened up a bit, "Wounded my body, not my spirit." He then sighed and looked up at me, "But... have you seen Shot?"

I shook my head somberly, "No. Not yet."

"Her legs won't move. The Doctor says she'll probably never walk again. I mean that can't be right. There have got to be cybernetics out there to help her."

I shrugged my shoulders, "I don't know. Issues with the spine are delicate and unpredictable."

"Oh..." He said as he lowered his head, "Well.. go see her already."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm sure I'm in a lot of pain... but yeah. I'm fine." He told me.

I gave him a smile and a nod. He waved me goodbye as I left his room. I then walked over to HotShot's room. With a deep sigh I pulled back the flap and entered her room. When I entered I saw a bed. She was laying on it with an orange blanket covering her up to her shoulders. I slowly walked over to the side of her bed and sat down at a stool. I looked down at her face, she moved her head to look at me and through a pained and strained voice told me, "Damn it. Why did it have to be you?"

I wasn't surprised by her reaction. I let it slide and joked back at her, "You know... if it hurts to speak, I would understand if you just, ya know, stopped talking."

"I bet you'd like that." She strained to say, "Well it ain't going to happen."

"Of course not."

She rolled her eyes and coughed painfully, "...You here to feel sorry for me? Huh?"

I raised a guilty eyebrow, "Yup."

She was silent for a few minuets. I just sat there until she felt ready to talk. If she didn't feel like talking... well I was just there. She eventually turned her head to me, "Did you see Jax yet?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

"Oh. Good." She said softly and looked away from me again, "He's a tough kid."

"Unnaturally so." I agreed. She was silent for another minute before I asked her, "... How much does it hurt, HotShot?"

As sharply as she could manage, she told me off, "Don't call me that! HotShot died last night. Now I'm just a defected body."

I wanted to tell her that was far from the truth but that would just pissed her off more. So I sat back and found myself at a loss for words, "I... I'm glad you're alive. I know it's not what you want to hear right now. But I want you to know that."

She looked away from me and covered her face with her hands. From the corners of her face I saw tears fall from her eyes. No matter how much she tried to hide them, I saw them. The only time I've ever seen her cry before was from laughing too hard. I never saw her so broken down mentally or physically. It was understandable and it broke my heart to see her like this. It made me upset. I figured it was best to leave her alone for now. I told her what I needed to tell her so I got up to leave. But before I left I gave her a promise, "I'll find what did this. And tear it apart."

She forced a laugh through her tears, "Make it suffer."

I clenched my jaw and told her with absolute certainty, "I will..."

---\__V__/---

After my visit in the medical tent, I wasted no time in gathering a tracking party. Vayne, Rollo, and by suggestion of the War Head, a trusted Curakunda hunter with gray fur by the name of Bameth. He was small for a Curakunda. But he was still the largest in the group. Bameth wore hardened leather around his chest and waist. And along with his Sadek staff, he had a cleaver type knife strapped to his back. Normally the cleaver was just used by hunters to cut their meats after the hunt's been killed for easier transportation. But Bameth is the type of warrior that will use whatever weapon he needs to get the job done.

Our first encounter with Bameth wasn't great. He is one of the many Curakudna that still hold a grudge against the Republic and Jedi. He wasn't fond of me, and I wasn't neither Jedi or Republic. When it came to Vayne and Rollo, he was downright cold. Glaring at the two in silence when he first saw them. But he was professional. He may not have liked us but he was going to work with us as if he did. That's all I could ask from him.

Obviously, the first thing we checked out was the scene of the attack. As we walked through the meadow that lead to the river, Vayne described the attack to us, "It was like a giant cat-man. To be honest, I thought it could have been Darth Carnivis because it fit the make. Large, powerful, feline-like, gray fur, and a ruthless predator. But if it was him, I don't think we would have survived."

I nodded, "No offense, but yeah. Carnivis is a ruthless slayer."

"I at least managed to wound the ornery lil' tabby." Vayne said with a proud smile, "With a Force Point and a stab into his hand. Small payback for Shot and Jax. I just wish it could have been it's heart, ya know?"

"Good work with the Force Point." I complimented.

Rollo scoffed and responded to Vayne's comment, "I swear, these Sith have no hearts."

Bameth grunted at Rollo. His voice was constantly hoarse when he spoke, "At least that is one thing we can agree on."

We exited from the meadow and into an open area of tall grass just before the river. I brushed some light green pollen from my armor and robes. I looked up and asked Vayne, "Where did it happen?"

Vayne took a deep breath and pointed out a large boulder to me that was half on land and half in the water, "That's where Shot got... you know. Spine first on the tip."

I grunted and turned my head away from the boulder, "Brutal."

Vayne nodded, "...Yeah..."

Rollo walked over to the boulder and ran his hand over the sharp curve of the boulder, "She's lucky shes alive."

When I turned my head, something caught my eye to my left. Something in a lone patch of long grass about four feet high. I walked over to the grass and ran my finger along a strand of the grass. From the grass, I plucked a tuft of slate-gray fur. The others walked over and Vayne asked me, "What did you find?"

I showed them the fur. Bameth took a few strands of the hair and looked it over, "Definitely not Curakudna hair. It's far too thick. This fur was pretty high on the stalk too. Whatever left this was big. Bigger than any animal around these parts."

I asked Vayne, "Is this the same color hair you saw?"

Vayne shrugged his shoulders, "It was night so... I'm not really sure. But its gray. It would certainly seem like the right color."

Bameth gazed towards a patch of forest off in the west, "If it is wounded it may have gone in there. There is a patch of bushes that grow in the shadows of the trees there. Those bushes produce a medicinal herb."

"I don't think A Sith would bother. If it needs a quick heal it'll just use bacta." I told them. I then turned to Vayne and told him, "I need you to do me a favor."

"Sure." He agreed.

I handed him the rest of the tuft of fur, "Take this back to the Axel. Contact Sbaki on the Zenith Black and send her a scan of the hairs. She can run a diagnostic of them."

Vayne took the hair and tucked it safely into a pocket, "Alright."

"Before you get in contact with her, make sure you fly the Axel far away from the camp. Since the message is going off world, they Sith'll probably be able to detect it."

"Right." Vayne agreed, "And we don't want them tracking it back to the camp's location."

"Exactly." I told him, "And when you hear back from Sbaki, get in contact with me."

"Of course." He smiled and patted me on the shoulder, "Show them we won't let an action like this rest."

"What about us?" Rollo asked.

"Sorry boys, but I'm going it alone from here." I told him.

"You? Alone?" Bameth questioned.

I nodded, "If I know anything... It's hunting Sith."

---\__V__/---

Night was falling once again. The previous night, the feral beast attacked the Curakunda base. Now the sun was nearly down. The sky an orange and ruby color as the sun barley hung in the sky. Now the feral beast stood under the ruby sky on the top of a green hill. Surrounded by forest. Off in the far distance he saw smoke billowing in the sky from a campfire in between a cluster of hills. The Curakunda camp. His target. His prey.

The attacker; a feline-humanoid Togorian with slate-gray fur. A black loincloth and belt with a rarely used lightsaber strapped to the side. A gray rag wrapped around it's injured hand. Its looked up at the sun and curled it's upper lip in anger. It wished only for night to fall so it could continue it's hunt from the previous night. This time it would kill the "green-one" that injured its hand and peel it's skin form it's bones to humiliate the one that humiliated it.

He turned away form the sky when he heard a small chirping alarm from behind him. Behind him on the ground lay a dish-shaped holo-player. It reached down and activated the player causing a life-size holo-image of Darth Carnivis to appear. The beast got down on one knee and bowed before his image. Carnivis looked down at him and asked, "What have you accomplished thus far, Predator?"

The beast only know as 'Predator' raised its head as it answered, "There are indeed Force-users on the planet." He then raised it's wounded hand towards the player, "I found and attacked their home base but shamefully was forced to flee."

Carnivis groaned in frustration but came to a realization, "Even if you failed your job you've at least succeeded in something. I know Ordan is aware there are Force-users on Mautmua but did not report that to me..." Carnivis took a moment to think to himself before asking Predator, "What are your plans on this night?"

Predator snarled and bared his fangs, "I'll finish the job I failed last night."

Carnivis nodded, "Good. Don't let those years of my training go to waste."

"Yes, master."

---\__V__/---

Night fell and the Predator curled it's upper lips into a fang filled smile. It's cat-like eyes glistened in the moonlight as it stood on the hillside. Gazing over the tops of the forest towards the Curakunda Camp. An orange glow of light from the Camp's campfires shined from the surrounding hillside. The Predator's smile widened as it imagined all the destruction it could cause. Sneak into the camp, slaughter the War Head and the "green-one" before setting everything and everyone on fire.

It gripped it's injured hand into a fist. It was painful. But a type of pain the Predator enjoyed. It let out a shrill snarl as it did before every hunt. This signaled to the Predator the hunt had officially begun. The feline bounded down the hillside to enter the forest where it would use the cover of the forest to reach the camp undetected.

The moment it came to the foot of the hill and the mouth of the forest, a blue light flashed and the humming of a lightsaber crackled from inside the forest. The Predator stopped in its tracks as the blue light flew by it's head and stabbed into the earth of the hill behind it. The Predator snapped its head around and looked at the blue light, the blade of a lightsaber. The Preadotr had to twist it's body around and down to the ground to dodge the lightsaber as it was summoned back from the side of the hill and back into the forest.

The Predator quickly scrambled back to it's feat and saw a human man in a black, full body robe with sand colored armor plating. He held the ignited saber in his hand and pointed the tip towards the Predator and glared at it with fury filled eyes.

---\__V__/---

The nocturnal cries of nightly predators sounded throughout the forest. A dark, haunted looking forest. Tall trees with gray trunks with dark green and long ribbon-like leaves. The branches were wide set and let little moon light slip through it's canopy. A dark and disturbing forest. Perfect condition for the nocturnal predators to hunt their unsuspecting prey. A condition that these predators thrive for. So confident at night. Making their kills while their prey can't even see them. Over confident. A nocturnal predator would never enter the darkness and expect to find its prey already there... waiting for it.

This Sith found me waiting for it and nearly felt the blade of my saber pierce it's head. If I really wanted to end it their, I could have. The Sith was so arrogant and so sure it was the predator that it never would have imagined it was my prey. I could have been standing right beside it with a spotlight shining on me and it wouldn't have been able to sense me as a threat. But I did not want to end it that quickly. I promised Verru I would make it suffer. And I planned on doing just that. This cat had no idea what it was doing when it harmed my team. My family.

I arrived here by surprisingly easy circumstances. Earlier in the day Sbaki got back to me that the fur she analyzed was Togorian. The same species as Darth Carnivis. I knew that the one that attacked Jax and HotShot was not Carnivis but it was a coincidence I couldn't ignore. Perhaps Carnivis had himself an apprentice. So I gave Sbaki a simple order to monitor any off plant messages and the first off world message she monitored and tracked came from a hill just outside the Camp. A stupid, technical mistake by the Sith that I took full advantage of. I entered the forest, waiting for it. Knowing and sensing that I would come to me.

The Predator extended it's clawed hands to it's sides and snarled at me. It didn't say anything other than a snarl. I didn't say anything either. There was nothing to say. We both knew what this was about and we both knew that this was going to be violent.

It started quickly. It ran for me with claws and teeth glowing in the moonlight. I twirled my saber around my hand and quickly lunged it towards the panther's chest. Seeming effortlessly, it's body contorted mid-stride around my blade. Avoiding my attack. It didn't even lose a second of speed from it's chase. In a blink of an eye it's arms were in range of me and it took the opportunity to swipe it's claws over my extended arm and lightsaber, straight for my head. I quickly ducked under it's strike and tried counter attacking with a number of quick slashes and strikes. It tried doing the same to me with it's swiping claws. But we were both quick in our dodges and every one of our strikes whiffed through the air. Not one landing it's mark.

One thing was obvious however. It preferred to fight with its claws and not it's lightsaber. This thing was no apprentice of Carnivis. It was more like a beast aimed in one direction and let loose to do whatever it wished. At least it seemed that way judging from it's battle style. Which was fitting. With the images of Jax wrapped in bandages and HotShot nearly motionless in bed still burned in my imagination, I too felt like an aimed beast.

I was sick of this. Each attack it would dodge. With every whiff it only made me more upset. How dare this thing move around like this after crippling HotShot. A deep growl emitted from inside my chest as I instinctively let out a large sweeping strike aimed at it's head which caused it to rear back to avoid decapitation. For once, it was momentary staggered and knocked off balance. That's when I made my move.

In one movement I thrust my saber towards it's chest with one hand. With my free hand I reached down towards my belt. The Predator was quick to realize I had knocked it of balance. It didn't have the footing to dodge this strike so it quickly ignited it's lightsaber and removed it from it's belt in lightning quick speed to block my attack. But I was one step ahead. With my free hand on my belt, I summoned a second lightsaber into my other hand and ignited it. All of this happening in a quick but hectic second.

I had it exactly where I wanted it. With my first saber occupying the attention of his only lightsaber, my second blade was left unblocked. I stabbed the second blade to his right side. I poked the blade under his armpit between his arm and chest and slashed it upwards. The blade sliced clear through his shoulder. He snarled in pain as his right, lightsaber clutching arm fell to the ground with a lifeless thump. It desperately backed away from me and pointed it's hand towards me, the same hand Vayne had injured, and let out a Force Push. I respond with a Force Push of my own that hit and canceled each other out with a loud slam. He took the moment to turn his back to me and try to run up the hill and away from me. What a pathetic, armless coward. As it took it's first steps to flee I switched my second blade off and pointed that hand towards it's feet. I glared at the coward and let out a Force Point to the back of it's right knee. It howled as it's knee crippled under it's weight and he tripped to the ground.

With my hand still pointing to it's body I took striding, meaningful steps closer to it. It tired to hobble up on it's other leg but another Force Point to it's other knee caused it to fall stomach first into the dirt. I stood only a few feet from it as it used it's still able arm to crawl away from me. I growled at the beast as I reached it and thrust my still ignited blade into it's elbow. Stabbing the blade through his arm, into the ground. Pinning it. One arm gone, two knees crippled, and the other arm pinned to the hill. I stood over its helpless body. It let out a pathetic sigh of defeat. Knowing and finally accepting it's loss.

As I stood over it, I pointed my hand over it's spine. I glared harshly as I motioned the fingers of my hand in a choking motion. As if my fingers were wrapping around it's spine. I was breathing extremely heavily as I felt like snapping it's spine with the Force. Imagining the satisfying sound it would make. The suffering it would go through to avenge HotShot and Jax. And I nearly did. But a cooler head prevailed and I lowered my hand to my side. I promised HotShot I'd make it suffer. And I had to an extent. But it was a promise I shouldn't have made. I didn't want to be like that. On Hyarsythe I was like that. I brutally slaughtered a student I nicknamed, "Shirtless". But then I blamed it on Phyress and the Sithrimi. None of those things existed anymore. It was just me and my choice. I had already gone to far with this beast. No more brutality.

I shook my head in disgust with myself and pulled my saber from it's arm. Then with a quick stab to the back of the neck I gave it a quickly and hopefully painless deathblow. I stood there helplessly while I clipped my saber handles to my side. I then put my hands on my hips as I stared down at the slain beast's body. This... was not at all satisfying.