Canderous:
"Well, don't you look pleasant?" The dry tone of Rian Vega's voice chafed my ears.
I didn't bother with a reply; I just finished up my work. I sank the vibroblade into the corpse's still cooling flesh. When I was finished with Sherruk he wouldn't be fit for carrion. Cowards! And they dared call themselves Mandalorians?
It didn't matter anymore; they were done, I was done. Sherruk no longer belonged to a clan and his head, along with the others, was left as a grisly reminder on the plains. I wiped the blood from my hands and glanced up at Rian.
Somehow, the dried blood splattered along her cheekbone seemed to suit her. I would keep my suspicions to myself for the moment, but something was odd. While I tracked the remaining raiders, she had seemed hesitant, uncertain, soft. On first glance I would have expected her to be nothing more than a burden, yet when the scent of battle wafted beneath her nose she transformed into a fierce warrior, a deftly executed blade in each hand. It would be an interesting thing to watch develop, to say the least.
The fear of death had been purged from her system and as the adrenaline left her body, Rian had reclaimed her helpless demeanor. She watched me impatiently as I sheathed my vibroblade and picked my repeating blaster up off the ground.
"Are you hurt?" I asked.
Rian shook her head. She seemed honest enough. That was good. It was bad enough that I had had a hole the size of a melon in my abdomen hidden by my armor.
Speaking of which, that wound hurt like hell. I should have given myself an extra half hour to heal up better, but some things are more painful than permacrete blasts.
Rian had occupied herself with trying to repair the T3-M4 unit while I healed. The girl obviously had little idea what she was doing, so when I saw that she was about to shove a stripped wire into the droid's power source, I knew that I needed to get her away from that thing before she electrocuted herself.
Granted, it might have been pretty damn amusing to watch her quake and tremble while all those volts of electricity pounded through her tiny frame, but the smell would have been horrendous. Besides, Rian seemed like the only one in our little group aboard the Ebon Hawk that didn't mind that I had stuck around after Taris. If I really wanted to, I would have had no trouble disposing of her crew and getting the hell off of Dantooine, but then where would I go? What would I do? Perhaps I had become a little too accustomed to a soft lifestyle while working for Davik, but I wasn't ready to let Rian kill herself. Not yet.
I was beginning to regret my earlier decision, however. My muscles ached and the numerous wounds I had collected burned livid. It wouldn't have been a problem if I could have just rested, but I could see a glint of anxiety in Rian's eyes. She wanted to charge into Dantooine's ancient grove and destroy whatever it was that was in there. Admirable, if a bit headstrong.
I bloodied a cigarra as I put it in my mouth. It was Rian's little quest that I was on now, I was only there in case she needed backup. I'd whip out my repeating blaster and give the girl a hand if she was in trouble, but something told me that it wouldn't be necessary. She was on her final test for the Jedi and from what I had previously observed of the Jedi I had already concluded that they were much softer than they pretended to be.
I was reminded of the freshly broken bones in my right foot with every step, but I marched after Rian. The cigarra smoke on my lips tasted sweet and I inhaled deeply as I pressed forward to catch up to the woman.
I think I unnerved her. She kept darting glances at me while we walked. I kept a hard gaze on her until she cleared her throat.
"Well, this afternoon is awfully chipper, wouldn't you say?" Rian said in an overly conversational tone.
"No." I replied. "I wouldn't."
"Oh." She plodded along silently for a brief moment. "Do you have any interesting stories?"
"You want to hear tales of my exploits? Of the wars I've seen and fought, the enemies I've seen die by my hand?" I chuckled. "Or are you just stalling our little trip to the grove?"
"No." Rian swallowed hard. "Never mind, I don't need to hear your stories."
"I enjoy telling them." I said. "But only to those who are interested."
"Let's just get this damn thing over with." she muttered.
"Fair enough."
We continued to walk towards the grove. I would have to get off my foot soon or it would probably balloon to about twice its normal size, but I held my tongue.
As we neared the grove, the entire atmosphere of Dantooine seemed to change. The most noticeable difference was that the kath hound attacks became more frequent. The animals' yips were high-pitched and maddened as they charged; the scent of our blood sent them into a ravenous frenzy.
The grass became brittle and withered. Rich greens were reduced to yellowed browns. It looked as though the very earth was trying to escape the ruined grove.
The grove itself was really something. Enormous white pillars that surrounded the entrance had the appearance of stone, but had a patina as if they were metal. The trees inside were knotted and perverse, their braches jutted through the pillars like claws.
I had to stand back a moment and shake my head. I finished my first cigarra and placed a second in my mouth. Rian seemed to share my sentiments, as she pulled a canteen from her new Jedi robe. She took a deep swig before she tucked it back into the folds of her robe.
"You ready?" I asked.
Rian nodded.
Seated in full lotus position at the entrance way of the grove was a Cathar female. Fierce warriors, my people had seen to the destruction of the Cathar homeworld because they were worthy of battle. I couldn't wait to see the outcome of this encounter.
The pale gold fur on her face was covered with streaks of ocher and her topknot was decorated with ornate beads. But what really caught my attention was the traditional Jedi robe that she wore. This was just getting more and more interesting.
The Cathar's yellow cat eyes opened and she sprang to her feet. Rian fumbled for her weapons while I waited calmly. The Cathar flashed her fangs at us and I was hit with a sickening sensation as she flung out the palm of her hand. It was like I was thrashing my limbs through cold water before my muscles finally constricted, encased in the Force. I was frozen.
"I will be your doom!" the Cathar declared as she raised her lightsaber.
My cigarra had slipped from my lips in the meanwhile. My eyes on the Cathar, I wouldn't have noticed except that flames ignited from the cigarra's cherry greedily devoured the dry grass around my anchored feet.
It would be an honor to die at the Cathar warrior's hands. Rian certainly didn't stand a chance.
