Werda Kurs landing site, five miles from border outpost

As soon as the transport doors slid open, a blast of fetid, humid air washed into the troop bay. The olfactory scanners in Vhetin's helmet picked up the pheromone traces of at least thirty different species of flower, and his audio sensors had to filter through an instant cacophony of animal hoots, insect buzzing, and the distant roar of a waterfall.

Norac Benz slapped his thighs as he stood from his seat, grabbing his trademark battleaxe from the compartment overhead and throwing it over his shoulder. He hooked his arm through the straps of his massive beskar shield, still chewing on his worn twig as he looked back to the others assembled behind him. "Berserkers! Mount up!"

A chorus of throaty roars met his words as his men set to their duties with gusto. Vhetin stood as well and slung his supply pack over his shoulder where his jetpack would usually rest. The pack was loaded with rations, survival gear, and other various resources he would need for a jungle hunt.

As he worked, the shipwide intercom buzzed and Vhonte Tervho's voice said, "We've touched down safely at Outpost Aurek. Offload, arm yourselves, and try not to track mud through the ship. The pilot gets cranky."

He turned to find Jay standing just behind him, clad in her new jungle combat gear. It was a set of light Mandalorian armor that fit snugly over her normal leather jacket, with a single long leather pauldron that stretched out over her right shoulder. The durasteel plates, inlaid with sheets of protective beskar, were painted in dark matte camouflage to help blend with the foliage and reduce glare from the sun. The suit usually came with a helmet but Jay had politely turned it down, claiming the HUD distracted her and she preferred to keep her hair loose.

"Nervous?" he asked her.

She smiled, holstering her trusty pistol on her belt. "I was just about to ask you the same question. I won't lie and say that the stories the Berserkers told about this place were comforting. Did you know there are twenty-six different species of snakes in this jungle that can kill you with a single bite? And don't even get me started on the karking spiders…"

"That's Mandalore for you," Vhetin said. "Home, sweet home."

She shivered. "But I'll do what's necessary, I guess. What about you?"

He grabbed his rifle and tucked it against his shoulder. "I'm just eager to get out there and find Tamai."

"You really think she's alive?"

"Yes," he said, his voice leaving no room for argument. "Tamai is the most resourceful woman I know. If anyone could survive out here, it's her."

"But-"

"We'll find out more once we get out there," he interrupted. If he let himself dwell on all the different ways he could be proved wrong he'd lose his nerve right there. "Just watch your step. From what I've heard, the Rangers are a little… rough."

"Like Janada-on-a-good-day rough or Norac Benz-on-a-bad-day rough?"

"A little harsher than the former, but capable of being every bit the latter. These guys are used to operating on their own with little to no oversight from Keldabe. They may not be all that eager to have Berserkers muscling in on their territory."

The door to the ship's cockpit sheathed open and Tervho emerged just as she was securing her red-black helmet over her head. Vhetin saluted to her as she approached, snapping his fist to his shoulder and bowing his head. "Captain Tervho. Where do you want us when we're ready for deployment?"

"Glad you asked," the woman said, tapping commands into a datapad in her hand. "I've been in contact with the local Ranger-Commander, a Cathar soldier by the name of Che'daje. Apparently their parties searching for the missing men stumbled across a hysterical man in the jungles. He was ranting about one of their patrols and how they were all killed by monsters from the trees."

She lowered her pad and met Vhetin's gaze. "I want you and Norac to interview this man and find out what he knows. If you're half the tracker your sister claims you are, you should be able to get some info from him."

"It'll be done," he said. "But why bring Benz? The last thing we need is him terrorizing the witness."

"Norac isn't as bad as you think, Vhetin. Besides, every good merc needs a bad merc backing him up."

She turned to Jay. "You'll come with me, Moqena. We're going on a tour of the Rangers' facilities and familiarizing ourselves with the layout. We're going to be spending a considerable amount of time with these people, so let's make sure we know our way around."

"Yes, Captain."

She glanced over her shoulder, then lowered her voice. "Off the record, I want the two of you to keep an eye on things. I don't know what these Rangers know, but I'm sure they won't appreciate us stepping on their toes like this. Since you two are one of the few non-Berserker troops on this op, I want you to get on the Rangers' good side. We don't want to alienate these people, or our job will be that much harder. And I doubt Norac and his men are going to be very helpful when it comes to building bridges down here."

She glanced between the two. "I'm counting on your discretion here. Did I choose the right people?"

Vhetin glanced at his partner, then nodded. "Discretion's all part of the job description, Captain."

"Glad to hear it. I knew it was going to be nice having a few beroya'e on this mission. Move out and don't forget to bring your bug spray." Tervho moved toward the exit ramp, disappearing outside with her blue-black cape flowing out behind her.

Vhetin glanced at his partner and shrugged before hefting his MandalMotors rifle into his hands. "I guess we just signed on for inter-team politics as well as search and rescue."

Jay grinned and clapped his shoulder. "Just like old times. Remember Balmorra?"

He grimaced behind his helmet faceplate. "I try not to."

Outpost Aurek was more organized than Jay thought it would be. When she'd first heard of the Rangers and their forces on the edges of wild territory, she had assumed it was a fairly new deployment. She had imagined a shantytown of tents and prefab shelters with ramshackle wooden scout towers and simple defenses. But now that she was here, she found Aurek was a sprawling settlement the size of a small town. She saw speeders and defensive turrets and old reprogramed CIS battle droids, patrolling the edges of the landing pad. Beyond the landing pad were gardens and market stalls and even a local cantina that – to no surprise – seemed to be the most popular part of the outpost.

It was almost a peaceful scene: the sun was shining down overhead, and there was a near-deafening chorus of birdcalls from the thick jungle foliage not far from the edge of the settlement. She could see children running through the streets, shouting and laughing as they pretended to fire imaginary blasters or spar with sticks instead of swords.

Dominating the entire scene was a statue of an ancient Mandalorian with his spear held high. She remembered seeing his type of soldier in old holos during history classes back at the Imperial Academy: this statue was of a Neo-Crusader, the elite shock troops that spearheaded the Mandalorian Wars almost four thousand years ago. There were others like it, too: sculptures and statues and pieces of rubble that looked like old parts of buildings, obviously moved to this location at great expense. They were scattered all around the outpost and were either playgrounds for the children or very clearly marked as off-limits by the blaring lights of holographic barriers reading KEEP OFF.

"What's with all the decorations?" Jay asked. "Even Keldabe isn't decked out this nice."

"Taken a liking to our little equatorial art gallery, eh?"

Jay turned to find a gray-armored Mandalorian at her shoulder. He was wearing a thick poncho around his neck that was tugged lightly by the humid jungle breeze. A shaggy mess of blond hair hung over his face, partially obscuring his friendly grin. He didn't look that much older than her, though the heavy scar over one eye suggested he'd been in the jungle quite some time.

He gestured to the statue of the Mandalorian with the spear and said, "We find stuff like that in the jungle sometimes. Remnants of the Old Mando bases in this area from about five millennia ago. It would be a shame to just leave 'em out there to rot in the jungle, so we bring them back to Aurek so the archaeologists can take a look at them."

"Archaeologists?" she laughed. "I didn't know there was such a thing as a Mandalorian archaeologist."

He responded with a crooked grin. "They're pretty rare, it's true. So we fly some Imperial scientists down here. They're content to sit here and analyze things, provided we play nice with their stormtroopers and don't ask them to go out into the big bad jungle."

"There are stormtroopers?" Jay asked, a note of fear coming into her voice. "Here?"

She felt Vhetin put a comforting hand on her shoulder and forced herself to relax; the Mandos won't let anything happen to her. Not at Imperial hands anyway.

She'd never had a great relationship with stormtroopers. They'd been her guards when she'd been imprisoned for treason on Corulag so long ago. She still felt the phantom sensation of her old bruises and broken bones throb every time she saw polished white armor or those eye-shaped visors.

The gray-armored Mandalorian didn't seem to notice her discomfort, hooking his thumbs into his belt as he joined their procession into the outpost. "They're mostly here to keep watch over home base while the Rangers go out and do the real work. If we leave them alone, they usually leave us alone."

He held out his hand. "Ranger Scout Hyperion Lee, at your service."

"Jaimie Moqena." She shook his hand with a friendly smile. "You can call me Jay."

Lee nodded and reached across her to her partner, who also shook his hand, this time with a traditional arm-to-elbow Mandalorian handshake. He nodded to the Ranger curtly.

"Cin Vhetin. Beroya bal ori'ramikad."

"Olarom, vod." Lee paused. "Vhetin, you said? That name is familiar…"

Vhetin's shoulders slumped a little. "Yeah, I'm the one who botched the Caranthyr counteroffensive six months ago. I've heard all the flak from that I can take about that, thanks."

"No, no. A friend of mine, Tamai, used to talk about you a lot. Spoke very highly of you. You know her?"

Jay could feel Vhetin tense up next to her, his right hand clenching into a tight fist. "You could say that," he murmured.

"Then I assume you know that she's MIA, then. Not much reason for you to be down here otherwise."

"Has there been any word?"

"Hers was the last patrol to go missing. She managed to rattle off some coordinates before she vanished, so we approximated her location and sent some teams to look for her."

"And?"

Lee grimaced looking down at his boots. "We, uh… found blood in the grass and signs of a struggle. Fingernail marks in the bark of the trees, like someone was dragged kicking and screaming up into the canopy. Apart from that, nothing."

Vhetin's body was as stiff as the Neo-Crusader statue now, but Jay knew better than to butt in. Her partner was in analysis mode now, gathering all the information he could to use later in the hunt. This may have been his friend, but Jay knew the only way any of them were going to find Tamai or her missing team was if they treated this like any other bounty hunting mission; Tamai was the target, and Vhetin himself was the client.

"Any suspected attackers? Jungle beasts capable of tearing apart an entire patrol team?"

Lee rubbed at the short stubble that dusted his jaw. "A pair of Jai'galaar hawks, maybe. And there were unconfirmed, crazy reports of a rogue rancor in the area. But an animal attack would leave more traces: corpses, gear, footprints. All we found was blood and the scratch marks on the trees. Whatever attacked them, it was smart enough to take their bodies. And their weapons."

"So we're dealing with something sentient?"

Lee shook his head. "Officially, the position of the Rangers is that the so-called Kar'ta Epar'e don't exist. They're myths told to keep treasure hunters from going off on suicide missions into the jungle."

"And what about unofficially?" Jay asked. "Off the record, from one private contractor to another."

Lee looked uncomfortable. "Unofficially, I think something's going on in that jungle that's scaring the shit out of me. And that in itself is cause for concern."

He looked over their small procession, obviously eager to change the subject. "When I heard te Mand'alor was sending reinforcements, I kind of hoped there'd be more than a single ship of soldiers. Norac Benz and his men are impressive, sure, but…"

"The rest of the Berserker forces got held up in a thunderstorm to the north," Vhetin explained. "They were delayed, but should arrive in an hour or so."

"Too bad they're going to miss all the fun. The first expeditionary party heads into the trees in about two. They won't be offloaded in time to come with us."

"There's an expedition going out already?"

"Waste not," Vhonte Tervho said. She seemed to materialize out of thin air with a silent grace that reminded Jay of Vhetin's own stealth capabilities. "Ranger-Commander Che'daje is eager to find out what's been attacking our men. She's sending out a team as soon as we're settled. Her sister is the best scout they have, so she's leading the team. I'll be providing backup."

"Captain, I'd like to volunteer," Vhetin instantly said. "If there's a team going into the jungle, I won't sit by on my ass and wait for them to find something."

"I had a feeling you'd say that." Tervho nodded, then turned to Jay. "What about you? Are you up for a jungle slog, Miss Moqena?"

"I go where my partner goes," she dutifully replied.

Tervho nodded again, looking impressed. "All right, permission granted. Get your gear situated and get to your assignments. The scout team's briefing starts in an hour, in the arming station. The Ranger-Commander wants a few words with us before we start."

"Right," Jay said. She turned to her partner and said, "Are you sure you and Norac can play nice long enough for me to tour the outpost with Captain Tervho?"

"I'm not the one you should be worrying about," he replied. "I'll find out what miraculous story our survivor can give. If he saw Tamai, he's our best shot at finding her."

"Let me know what you find."

"Ori'lek," he confirmed, turning away. "I'll be in touch."

Primary Tactical Operations Hub, Outpost Aurek

Jay had never seen a Cathar before. She'd heard of them of course, but somehow the concept of a completely feline humanoid had always been beyond the reach of her imagination. So it was quite the experience when Captain Tervho introduced her to Akh'shi Che'daje, Ranger-Commander of the local garrison. She was a little lost – not to mention intimidated.

Ranger-Commander Che'daje was of medium height and about the same build as the average Mandalorian woman. But unlike the Mando women Jay had seen around the post, the Ranger-Commander had light brown fur covering her entire face, with intricate, dark patterns adorning her cheeks and forehead. Large yellow eyes regarded her surroundings cautiously, with a sharp scrutiny that reminded Jay of several kinds of predatory birds. Her hair was dark brown and twisted into tight braids that hung down behind her otherwise short-furred head. Jay wondered how the woman could stand to live in the sweltering heat of the jungle with so much fur, but decided to keep such questions to herself.

Che'daje wasn't dressed like the other Rangers either; instead of traditional Mandalorian beskar'gam, the Ranger-Commander was clad in the distinctive thick armor plating of a Clone Wars-era Republic trooper, though the armor was painted in dark camouflage patterns rather than the traditional and iconic spotless white. She had a similarly-patterned clone trooper helmet tucked under one arm, though the helmet did sport the familiar flag-like rangefinder of a Mandalorian helmet.

Vhonte Tervho, standing slightly ahead of Jay, snapped a fist to her chest and bowed her head in salute; a rare display of respect when directed toward an aruetii. Jay absently wondered just what this Che'daje woman had done to warrant such honor from a veteran like Tervho. But she held her curiosity in check as the redhead in front of her straightened and said, "Captain Che'daje. It's an honor to finally meet you."

Che'daje nodded grimly, her lips pressed into a thin line. When she spoke, her voice carried a heavy accent that Jay couldn't quite place, thick and rolling until it sounded almost like a feline purr. "Likewise, Captain. Though I wish it were for different reason."

"Have there been any updates since my troops set out from Keldabe?"

"No. We've had no luck in reestablishing contact with the lost patrols. And the search teams we sent out are no closer to finding any survivors. However, there have been no further attacks since Ranger Vasser and her team went missing. So that's something to be thankful for."

Tervho nodded, frowning and rubbing her chin. After a moment, she turned and put a hand on Jay's shoulder, nudging her forward. "Allow me to introduce beroya Moqena. She's operating as my aide for the time being."

Ranger-Commander Che'daje nodded and extended a clawed hand to her. Jay shook it, noting the soft feeling of fur under her fingertips.

"It's an honor," the Cathar said. "Though I must admit I am surprised to see another foreigner on this mission."

"My partner was a friend of Ranger Vasser's," Jay explained. "I wasn't going to let him come down here all on his own."

"Your dedication is commendable. I'll be glad to have you on the team."

Tervho cleared her throat, just loud enough to draw attention back to the matter at hand. "So what exactly is the situation down here? I must admit, my experience in the Werda Kurs is limited."

Che'daje gestured for them to follow her to a holographic readout, which was showing a satellite map of the jungle. The Ranger-Commander typed a few hurried commands into the control console and the hologram flickered and transformed into a detailed topographical map.

"This is Aurek's area of operations within the Werda Kurs," she explained. She gestured to a fifty-mile half-circle into the jungle. At her command, four red dots scattered through the highlighted area began to pulse with light. "Within this area, we have four separate civilian settlements in the trees: fishing villages, hunting camps, and the like."

She highlighted two of them. "These two settlements – the fishing village and the logging site – are the strongholds of two clans of Mandalorians who've lived in the jungle outskirts for the last century. The other two villages are camps of farmers, mostly."

Tervho nodded, taking a step closer. "And the two clans? Which are they?"

"Clans Kelborn and Vasuur. They were among the first to report missing people, around six months ago."

Che'daje rested her hands on her hips. "We didn't take much notice because disappearances are not uncommon within the trees. There are all manner of beasts looking to make a meal out of even the most seasoned Ranger. It was only when our own people started going missing that we realized it was all connected. That was two months ago."

"And since then?"

"We've gotten no closer to finding out what's been attacking our people, but we have narrowed down the most active areas," she gestured again to the map and several areas of the jungle began to glow yellow. There were three areas, each around five to ten miles wide. Jay knew that the chances finding missing people in that large of an area were remote. "Here, here, and here."

"And the latest attack? Ranger Vasser's team?" Tervho stepped forward and rested her palms against the projector, studying the map intently.

"Here," Che'daje pointed out. "About three miles from the river. As you can see, the attacks are getting closer and closer to Aurek's position. Something is expanding its territory, seeking to drive us out."

"And your response?"

"We haven't had one yet, besides warning the locals not to go into the active zones. As long as they stay within Ranger territory, we can guarantee them protection. But once they cross into the active zones, they're on their own."

"Don't you think that's a little harsh?" Jay asked.

"It's a matter of necessity," Che'daje replied. "We don't have the men to spare for endless rescue teams, and almost every time we've sent patrols into the active zones they've gone missing. The locals know we can't protect them in there, so they usually give those areas a wide berth. Normally, we'd ignore the areas entirely, but as I said, the attacks are getting closer to Aurek's position."

She powered down the hologram and gestured for Tervho and Jay to follow. She led the two outside, where they passed by a thick knot of armored Rangers, no doubt gearing up for a patrol. Many of them were wearing thick cloth ponchos or hoods that covered their helmets; Jay had read during the trip that one of the greatest problems with jungle operations was the glare from a Mando's armor. To maintain stealth, many of the Rangers had to cover up their armor so they didn't risk giving their whole position away to some bloodthirsty beast.

"Now that we have support and supplies from Keldabe," Che'daje said as they passed the patrol, "we're organizing an expedition into the active zone to find our missing people. Before we were low on ammunition and rations, so we were restricted in what we could do. But now, with arms and ammo from MandalMotors, we'll have a better chance to survive the jungle and find out just what happened to our patrols."

"We have the support of Norac Benz and his berserkers," Tervho reassured her. "There are no better trackers on the planet."

"I hope you're right," Che'daje said as they passed a bustling warehouse. Jay glanced inside to see technicians hurrying to and fro, creating what looked like rudimentary defenses: welded plate palisades, defensive stakes, and thick, twisted scraps of metal that could easily be used as cover during a fight.

"Looks like you're gearing up for a war," Jay observed as they passed.

"We like to be prepared for anything."

Che'daje was about to say more when a deafening and terrifying roar cut her off. Jay jumped and covered her ears at the primal, animalistic bellow that split the air, echoing across the compound. She heard several people scream and technicians sprinted toward one corner of the warehouse, desperately trying to subdue whatever was causing the ruckus.

Another roar, though there was something different about it this time. It was almost… synthetic. Jay could hear a kind of mechanical warble behind the booming howl, not unlike the synthesized grate of D'harhan's cybernetic voice box.

Che'daje gestured to several technicians hurrying into the warehouse. "Get that place under control! The last thing we need is that thing tearing up the outpost while we're gone!"

"Aye, ma'am!" one of the technicians said. They sprinted into the warehouse just as there was a massive crash and someone went flying across the room, accompanied by another blasting cry. Suddenly, there was a flash of light within the building and everything went instantly silent.

Jay was staring at the open warehouse, still trying to get a look at what had caused all the commotion. "That was… intense."

"Come on," Tervho murmured, taking her arm and leading her away.

"But what was that?"

"It wasn't for your eyes to see," Tervho pressed. "Let it go."

Jay frowned, never happy to have to so casually brush her curiosity aside. But she reluctantly nodded and said, "Fine. I'll drop it. For now."

"Smart girl. We don't want to be stepping on anyone's toes here. This is the Rangers' show. That means we keep our hands in our pockets for as long as we're here. Got it?"

Jay rolled her eyes. "You sound like my mother."

"Do you understand?"

She quickly nodded, knowing when to back down. "Yes, Captain. I understand."

"Good. Now let's go."

Holding Cells

Vhetin sighed, wishing he could rub his pounding temples through the thick metal of his helmet. "Sir, for the last time, you aren't a prisoner."

"Then why the fuck am I locked up in the holding cells? Behind bars?"

"Because," he said patiently, "you were caught sneaking away from the outpost on three separate occasions. Your information is too valuable to lose, even if you do think these Kar'ta Epar'e are going to swoop in and kill us all."

Norac Benz, sprawled on a bench outside the man's holding cell, chuckled as he carved at a dark green fruit with his beskar knife. "Have to give credit where it's due, though; if he managed to sneak out of this place three separate times, he's got a stronger survival instinct than those patrols that got nicked out in the jungle."

"Do you mind?" Vhetin said, his voice tight. "I'm trying to interview this guy."

"Doin' a bang-up job of it too. At this rate we'll have some useful intel out of him by the time haran freezes over."

"I'd let you take over, but I'm pretty sure you'd just beat him to a pulp and call it good."

Benz narrowed his eyes and pointed the blade of his dagger at Vhetin's helmet faceplate. "Criticize me all you want, kid, but don't try to deny that this whole exercise is a waste of time. This guy isn't going to do anything but babble on about the mythical Heart-Eaters and no amount of interviewing is going to change that."

He sniffed and turned back to his fruit. "Besides, I'd only beat the pulp out of him if he was an aruetii. They're squeamish about that sort of thing."

Vhetin rolled his eyes, knowing Benz couldn't see it. "Your compassion simply astounds me."

"Murcyur ner shebs, burc'ya."

He turned back to the man in the holding cell and folded his arms across his chest. "Look, sir, we're in a dangerous position here. We need information on whatever it was that you saw in the jungle. Whatever attacked that Ranger patrol isn't going to stop. Your information can save lives."

"Kriff you and your lives," the man spat. "Let me out of this place, then we can talk."

"You know I can't do that."

"Then I guess we don't have anything more to say."

There was a sharp, metallic scrape as Benz drew his sword from its sheath. He reached over his shoulder and tapped the blade against the bars. The man's gaze instantly snapped to the weapon.

"See this?" Benz said. The man nodded, causing the Berserker to chuckle. "Good. 'Cause you won't here in a minute."

"W-why?"

"Because it'll be buried hilt-deep in your forehead, di'kut."

Benz grunted and rose to his feet, still tapping the blade against the bars. "Nice to see you can understand when you're being threatened."

"Y-you wouldn't. You can't."

"And why is that?"

"T-the Supercommando Codex! Mando's don't kill other Mandos. It's against the law!"

A sneer pulled at Benz's face and he pressed himself up against the bars. "You think me or my men obey your idiot Codex? My people don't follow Shysa's orders or his traditions. We live by our own code."

He raised the blade again. "And that code says we can do whatever we must to do what we're sent in to do. If that means sticking you like a Pora Boar, you can bet that I'll do it without a second thought."

There was a fire burning behind Benz's eyes that Vhetin didn't like. But his scare tactics seemed to be working; the man was glancing between them and wringing his hands. When Benz slid the blade through to the bars once again, the man sighed and threw himself into the cot next to the wall.

"Fine," he sighed. "I'll… I'll tell you what I can."

Benz turned back to Vhetin and sheathed his sword with a haughty grin. "See? Told you I'd get it done."

"Yeah, yeah. Just… be all smug on your own. In the background, preferably."

Benz shook his head with a smile and returned to his seat without another word. Vhetin watched him for a moment, until he was sure the clanmaster wouldn't cause any more trouble. When Benz just shrugged and contented himself by inspecting the dirt under his fingernails, Vhetin turned back to the man in the cell.

"Tell me everything," he said. "Every detail."