Tamai sensed something was wrong as soon as the birds stopped calling. The jungle had gone entirely silent around her, save for the voices of the Mandalorians along the path they'd made. The Post Lizard slurped at its eye once more, but apart from that there were none of the normal sounds of a healthy jungle: no birds, no beasts, not even the whistling of the wind. Only dead silence.
Her hand reached down to grasp the hilt of her beskad, eyes narrowed as she watched the Post Lizard thrash its tail and stubbornly refuse to move.
Vhonte Tervho glanced over at her, noticing the motion. She cocked her helmeted head and murmured, "You feel it too?"
Tamai nodded, looking up at the trees surrounding them. She wished she could say that it felt like just before the previous attack, but that would be a lie; the last attack had been so fast, she hadn't had time to react before half her team was dead. She wouldn't be caught so unprepared a second time.
Damn it, she thought. Lee and Cin should have been back by now.
"You think our mysterious Heart-Eaters are out there?"
Tervho nodded slowly. "I'd be surprised if they weren't."
"And your plan?"
Tervho's gaze didn't move from watching the front of the group. "Keep your hand on that sword. I think you'll need—"
She was interrupted when Norac Benz shoved past her shoulder, striding to the front of the group. He was scowling as he drew his beskad from its sheath. "Enough of this nonsense."
Hish'ka saw his approach and held out her hand. "Wait! We have this under control!"
Benz ignored her. He walked up to the post lizard and pulled his sword from its sling over his shoulder. With a roar, he stabbed forward. His blade pierced deep into the lizard's forehead, a fountain of blood instantly spraying out from the wound. The lizard immediately went stiff. Its eyes widened, then rolled back in its head and it fell to the jungle floor with a crash that shook leaves from the trees above.
Benz looked down on the lizard's corpse with a sneer, nudging it with the tip of one armored boot. He wiped his bloodstained blade on his pant leg before sheathing it once more, then turned to the Cathar sisters with his cold blue eyes narrowed.
"There. Now you can walk over the bloody thing. Now let's get this walking bullseye on the move again."
Ranger-Commander Akh'shi shoved his shoulder. "What the hell do you think you're doing?! We had it under control!"
Benz raised an eyebrow. "Didn't look like it from where I was standing, fur-face. But the problem's solved now. So let's move before someone decides to –"
A spear whistled out of the trees and hit him in the chest, knocking him off his feet. He grunted in surprise and crashed into the dirt, unmoving.
As one, his Berserkers drew their weapons, already prepared for a fight. Before anyone could move, another spear raced through the trees and felled a Ranger near the edge of the group. At that moment, Lee burst through the treeline, Jay close in tow. Vhetin sprinted after him a few seconds later, his saber pike lit in his hand.
"Ambush!"
His words seemed to snap the group out of its reverie and the soldiers all scattered to the nearest cover.
Tamai was already in motion, throwing herself behind a rocky outcropping just as a thick-shafted spear embedded itself in the mud at her feet. She hear a massive, furious roar from the trees, quickly drowned out by the thunderous beat of wardrums. She drew her saber and hefted it in a firm two-handed grip.
The Ranger-Commander shouted for her people to scatter. She hopped out of the way as a spear as tall as she was flew straight for her. It missed by centimeters, sinking into the soft dirt just behind her. She yanked the weapon from the ground and hurled it back in the direction it came before backpedaling and seeking shelter behind the trunk of a large tree.
Just like last time, Tamai thought, heart pounding. She clutched her sword close to her chest. It's happening all over again.
The Rangers began returning fire, using spears or bows to send projectiles racing back into the trees. One Ranger stepped out from cover to gain a better position, but didn't make it far; a huge grey-skinned figure with long dreadlocks leaped from the canopy and tackled him around the waist. With a roar, the creature ripped the man's helmet loose and punched him hard in the face. It grabbed him by the throat and hauled him into the air, shouting at him in a harsh, guttural language Tamai couldn't quite make out.
Another Ranger came to his brother's aid, slashing his saber across the Heart-Eater's back. The creature shouted and tossed the helpless Ranger aside. It swiveled on its attacker and batted away another attack. It roared again, loud enough to make Tamai want to cover her ears, then planted its taloned foot against the man's chest and sent him sprawling.
Vhetin sprinted forward to the fallen man's aid, thrusting his saber forward and piercing the creature's chest. The Heart-Eater doubled over as the glowing lightsaber blade stabbed deep into its body. It didn't even slow down, though. It grabbed Vhetin's arm and ripped the blade free, shoving Vhetin away with a roar.
Vhetin covered his head as an arrow whistled by him, far too close for comfort. The Heart-Eater took advantage of his distraction to leap back into the trees and out of sight. In seconds, it was as if he was never there.
Tamai ducked down behind her rock as an arrow hissed over her. Before she could move position, Norac Benz staggered into cover with her, a hand held to his bleeding chest. Tamai glanced at him with wide eyes.
"I thought you were dead."
"So did I." He grimaced, looking down at the blood that soaked his hands. "Thankfully, I'm not so easy to kill."
He grabbed a fallen spear from the ground next to him and hurled it into the trees. There was no accompanying shout of fear, no falling body from the canopy. Seconds later, another spear came slashing through the air at him. Benz ducked down out of the way and punched the stone next to his head.
"How can I fight an enemy that doesn't show himself?"
The Ranger-Commander staggered further away into the trees, retreating under a hail of arrows. Her sister covered her with quick, precise shots from her pistol. Tamai got the feeling she had been saving her ammunition for an occurrence just like this.
"Retreat!" Akh'shi called. A Berserker standing at her shoulder crumpled to the ground with two arrows embedded deep in his throat. She cursed and grabbed him under the shoulders, pulling him into the safety of the treeline. "Fall back into the jungle!"
An unearthly roar met her words, echoing through the trees. Tamai covered her head as another arrow ricocheted off the stone nearby. She shoved Norac Benz' shoulder. "Go! Head for the trees!"
He growled and sprinted in the direction of the other Rangers, shouting for his men to fall back. Jay barreled across the path, hot on the clanmaster's tail. Tamai was about to follow them when there was a massive thud from above her. She spun and leveled her sword, scrambling away from cover.
A tall, lanky creature unfolded itself from a predatory crouch, regarding her with blazing yellow eyes. It cocked its head at her, dreadlocks streaming out around its head, and hefted a long and angular spear in its hands. Tamai stumbled in her retreat, tumbling to the dirt as the creature advanced on her and roared at her again.
"Jii ash'amur, aruetii!"
Tamai's eyes stretched wide, her mouth dropping open. Mando'a, even spoken in such a harsh and guttural tongue, was unmistakable. The Heart-Eater leaped down from the stone and stepped toward her, towering high above her as it raised its spear in preparation for a killing blow.
The sharp report of a blaster shot cut through the din of battle and a bright red bolt of plasma screamed through the air, hitting the Heart-Eater in the chest. The creature doubled over and pressed a hand to its wound, letting out a surprised gurgle.
A hand roughly grabbed Tamai's arm and hauled her to her feet. She was roughly pushed behind the protective barrier of Vhonte Tervho's blood-red armor while the bounty huntress advanced, her heavy combat pistol raised. Tervho fired twice more, hitting the Heart-Eater in the stomach and shoulder respectively. Her pistol clicked empty and she threw it aside into the dirt and grabbed the sword from Tamai's grasp.
"Stay behind me," Tervho snapped. "Get to the trees while you can."
"Are you crazy? That thing will kill you!"
As if to reinforce her words, the Kar'ta-Epar stood to its full height again and roared, loud enough to overload the audio receptors in Tamai's helmet. She covered her ears and flinched away, but Tervho stood steadfast.
"Come on then, demagolka," she hissed. "I haven't got all day."
The Heart-Eater reared up to strike. Before the blow could land, however, another lanky figure plummeted from the tree-tops to land between them. Unlike the other, this Heart-Eater was wearing makeshift armor crafted from leather and carved wood. A disturbingly familiar battle mask with a T-shaped visor covered its face, with twin eye insignias painted across the forehead.
It held out a hand to Tervho and in a garbled, twisted voice it cried, "Peese! Peece!"
Tervho hesitated, her sword hand faltering. Tamai took advantage of the lull to grab Tervho's arm and pull her back toward the trees. The captain resisted, but Tamai shouted, "Come on! We have to go!"
"Where?"
"Anywhere!"
Behind her, the wounded Heart-Eater roared and surged forward to headbutt its ally out of the way. The masked creature stumbled and fell to the ground. The first roared out another challenge of, "Akaanir, hutuun'e!"
It didn't make it far before its fallen ally scrambled back to its feet and tackled it around the waist, driving both to the ground. The ensuing scuffle gave Tamai enough time to yank the captain into the treeline, to safety.
Vhetin sprinted through the trees, using his lightsaber to carve away any tree branches or shrubs that stood in his way. He could hear heavy footsteps behind him, could see shadowy figures darting through the trees all around.
He threw himself around the bend of a thick tree, slashing horizontally and forcing his glowing saber through the trunk. He dragged the blade sideways, until he heard the telltale crack of splintering wood. He heard his pursuers shout to each other and saw them leaping away lest they be crushed beneath the falling tree. He used the distraction to sprint deeper into the jungle.
He didn't know where the rest of the group was. He didn't know where Jay had sought refuge, or if Tamai had made it to safety. As soon as he had reached the trees and prepared to counterattack, three figures had slipped down from the canopy in pursuit. He hadn't stopped running since.
He vaulted over a tangle of gnarled roots, trying to remember the Handmaiden's freerunning training. It was difficult to move as she had instructed, especially in his heavy battle plate. But as long as he stayed a step ahead of the Heart-Eaters on his tail, he should be fine.
His motion tracker showed five contacts in pursuit now, moving almost as fast as he was. He glanced over his shoulder and saw nothing but dark jungle.
"Shab!" he shouted. The river they had forded earlier in the afternoon couldn't be far from his position. Maybe if he made it to the water, the threat of an Echo Snake attack would ward off the Kar'ta Epar'e. It was a terrible plan, but the only one he had.
One of the contacts suddenly jumped to the front of his motion tracker, and a lanky grey-skinned creature dropped from the trees above him with sword held high. Vhetin pivoted and brought his lightsaber up to attack. There was a shower of sparks and a crackle of energy from his saber and he found his blow deflected by the Heart-Eater's blade. He stumbled, momentarily losing his footing as the creature landed on all fours just behind him, also driven off balance by the ricochet. Then he turned and sprinted faster than before.
So now they're using beskar weaponry, he thought. Just lovely.
He could hear them shouting and hooting all around him, the leaves of the treetops rustling overhead. Two more contacts joined the five already pursuing him, then three more.
To the river, he kept thinking. Just have to get to the river.
He didn't make it. An arrow whistled through the trees and hit him just above the hip, sliding along his stomach plate and embedding itself in his side. He shouted in pain and stumbled, but kept running. Another arrow hit him in the back of the calf, where no armor protected him. He ignored the jarring pain and forced himself to keep running.
But he couldn't stop himself from slowing under his wounds. His arms and legs were growing stiff and unresponsive, his head suddenly very heavy.
Toxin! the analytical side of his brain shouted. A tranquilizer. They want you alive.
He wouldn't give them the satisfaction. He pivoted, skidding to a halt and sending fallen leaves flying as he hefted his pike in both hands. He saw three of the grey-skinned aliens skid to a halt, spears or swords held up in challenge. They roared and screeched at him. Their yellow eyes blazed in the shadow of the jungle floor.
"Come on!" he shouted, brandishing his weapon at them. They wisely stayed beyond reach.
He stepped forward to attack but his HUD blared a new contact warning. He spun to cover his six a moment too late. Something heavy hit him in the back of the neck, driving him forward onto his hands and knees. The three Heart-Eaters in front of him surged forward now. Their hooting and shouting overloaded all other sounds filtering through his audio receptors.
The first kicked him hard in the faceplate, knocking him over onto his back. The motion snapped the arrow lodged in his leg and he shouted at the fresh surge of pain. Before he could move to defend himself, another ripped his helmet away and punched him hard in the face. He felt blood pouring from his nose and tried to push himself back, away from the creatures that swarmed him. But the hard heel of an alien foot caught him in the forehead, knocking him back against the ground and sending his head spinning.
For a few moments, all he could hear was their shouting. Then, through hazy vision he saw a new figure fall from the treetops. Unlike the others, this one had its long dreadlocks pulled back in a tight braid, and its face was covered by a roughly-pounded beskar battle mask with an all-too-familiar T-shaped visor. A tattered red cape fell from its shoulders; the remnants of a Ranger flag. It hefted a long, dual-sided spear in one hand and its body was covered by rough metal armor, coarse and shabby like its mask.
The other Kar'ta Epar'e shrank away at the sight of this newcomer. The caped creature strode up to Vhetin, lying panting and limp on the ground. It watched him with a cocked head, then sniffed and muttered, "Laandur. Ni'duraa."
It turned to the others and barked, "Mircir te osi'yaim. Jii'iviin'yc!"
The others bowed their heads in acknowledgement, then rushed forward to grab Vhetin. As they drew close, he finally caught a good look at them, in the light and out of the trees. His heart almost stopped in his chest.
He recognized their faces. Their high, angular cheekbones. Their angry, downturned mouths. Their thin chins swooping down to end in a sharp point…
"You…" he sputtered as they hauled him to his feet. "That's impossible! You're Taung!"
The leader's head snapped up at the word, and it turned back to him with a low growl in the back of its throat. It slowly reached down and scooped up his fallen lightsaber staff from the forest floor. It inspected the hilt of the staff, then grabbed it in both hands and whipped the pike across Vhetin's face.
There was a flash of light, then nothing.
Jay didn't know how long she ran with the others. The entire jungle seemed to be erupting with action all around her; branches waving, men shouting, birds flying chaotically overhead as they fled the commotion. Her brain could barely keep up.
The group was in shambles. Half their number were either dead or missing from the ambush. She didn't even know who had made it, as the Ranger-Commander had demanded they keep running as far and as fast as their legs could carry them.
She sprinted around a tree and stumbled as her foot caught on an upturned root. She sprawled into the dust with a cry, scrambling to get back to her feet again. A pair of rough hands grabbed her arms and hauled her back to her feet.
"Try to stay upright, aruetii," Norac Benz's rough voice growled just behind her. "You're no good to us dead."
She took off again, struggling to spot the remaining Rangers and Berserkers through the trees.
"What happened back there?" she shouted, grimacing as a branch whipped across her face.
Norac Benz sprinted alongside her, seemingly unbothered by the heavy weight of the beskar shield strapped across his back. "Ambush. Those kriffing beasts shoved that lizard in our way to distract us. Must've known the Ranger-Commander would try to move it instead of just killing it outright. The whole thing was a trap."
"Have you seen Vhetin? Or Tamai? Any of the others?"
"Lee got himself dragged off into the trees," Benz hissed, leaping over a boulder half his size. "Tamai took off into the jungle with Vhonte. As for your black-painted boyfriend, I have no idea. If he's lucky, they killed him quick."
She cursed and willed her legs to carry her faster. She could still hear the wardrums pounding in the distance, barely overpowering the ravenous cries of the Heart-Eaters still in the clearing they had left. It was a victory cry; they had successfully chased away the intruders to their territory.
Jay cursed as she pushed a low-hanging branch from her eyes and continued running. How could they have blundered into such an obvious trap? They all should have known better than to stay in the open for so long.
In retrospect, she now realized how lucky she was to have been wandering off with Lee and Vhetin when the attack it; it had probably saved her life. If she had been stuck with the others, she could have easily been the one with a spear embedded in her chest.
The Ranger-Commander brought the group to a halt after twenty minutes of flat-out sprinting. Almost everyone present was doubled over and gasping for breath, some holding stitches in their sides while others clutched at their wounds. Akh'shi rested her hands on her knee plates and managed to gasp, "Head count!"
Norac Benz was already walking among his men, taking stock of the survivors. "I counted five dead in the ambush, with another four dragged off by those beasts. We lost Vhetin, Vasser, and Tervho in the scuffle, and Pedrass fell behind during the run."
"That leaves what?" Che'daje asked. "Ten of us left?"
"Eight."
The Cathar warrior shouted a curse and punched her armored fist into a nearby tree trunk, hard enough to carve a chunk from the hard wood. She looked back to what remained of the group, blue eyes raking over the assembled Rangers and Berserkers.
"Hish'ka?" she called. "Hish'ka, where are you?"
"Gone," Benz said, his voice hard and unsympathetic. "Your sister got dragged off with the others."
Che'daje's eyes widened in shock, but she said nothing. She turned away and took a few moments to catch her breath, then said, "All right. Get your wits about you and prepare to move. We continue the march in five minutes."
"Are you crazy?" one of the Berserkers said. She glanced at Benz, then shook her head incredulously. "After an ambush like that, we're still moving forward?"
"We have a job to do," the Ranger-Commander said. "It's more important than ever to establish contact with the Kar'ta Epar'e. If we can broker peace, we may be able to get our missing men back."
"I don't know what battle you just slogged through," Benz hissed, "but those things didn't seem all that interested in peace."
"We have our orders—"
"Kriff our orders!" Benz shouted. He advanced on Che'daje with clenched fists. "Those things slaughtered our team and spirited the rest off to Force-knows-where. You think they're setting our boys up for a nice tea party? You think they're going to be treated to wine and cheese and fluffy pillows?"
His ice-blue eyes narrowed. "These things want to exterminate us, Commander. And they won't stop until we grow a backbone and start killing them back."
Che'daje didn't back down. "We are here to establish diplomatic communication. Not to start a war."
"Look back at that clearing, Cathar," Benz spat. "They already started the war. Now it's up to us to finish it, and failing that, make them regret starting it in the first place."
There was a chorus of hearty agreements from the remaining Berserkers. He gestured to his remaining men; five in all, making up the majority of the group. "My men know jungles like this. We know guerilla warfare. And we can make these bastards fear us the way they should."
"No," Che'daje said. "Stand down, Benz. I won't ask you again."
Jay decided to pitch in. "What we should do is head back to Outpost Aurek. Regardless of what happens next, we're going to need reinforcements. At the very least we should let the Rangers know what's going on."
The Ranger-Commander reluctantly nodded. "That's… not a bad plan. Regroup and resupply."
"And leave our people with the Heart-Eaters?" Benz growled. "They won't last while we sit back and twiddle our thumbs. We need action, not strategy!"
"For any action, we need weapons," Jay pressed. "We need soldiers. If you want to come back and burn this forest to the ground, that's your decision. But you can't do it with only eight men."
Benz narrowed his eyes to slits, his mouth pressed into a thin line. But after what seemed like an eternity, he nodded and said, "You're smarter than you look, Moqena."
"I try to be."
He glanced back at his Berserkers. "What do you think, vode? Should we get the rest of our people?"
The affirmative response was much more reluctant this time. One of the Berserkers – a bearded man with an arrow wound in his shoulder – sniffed and said, "We'd stand a better chance with an army of us, Norac. I say we get all of our vode into this jungle. They can't stand up to the full force of the Mountain Clans."
"Well said." Benz adjusted the shield slung across his back and gestured to the Ranger-Commander. "You win, Che'daje. We'll follow your lead, at least for now."
The Ranger-Commander nodded, but Benz wasn't finished. He stepped toward her and snarled, "But when we get back, me and my boys are going to cut down each and every one of those tree-hopping sons of bitches. Blood demands blood. Even an aruetii like you should understand that."
He gestured for his men to fall out. "You'd be wise to not stand in our way next time."
Jay glanced at the Ranger-Commander, who only responded with an exhausted shrug. With a hesitant peace established, they set off together into the depths of the jungle. Jay took one last glance over her shoulder, at the dark jungle they were leaving behind.
I hope you're still alive, Cin, she thought. If you die on me now, your ass is mine.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay in posting. The return to college life and the start of a new semester was busier than I anticipated. Hopefully I can get back on schedule now that things have started to ease off. Until next time, happy reading!