Chapter 35
Pantora - Harshplains
The alpha predator of the Harshplains was the Paanrakk. The ginormous creatures was rarely seen, though no one seemed to understand how it was possible. Scientists had studied the single petrified skull that had fallen into the Pantoran Academy's hands for centuries. They had concluded that the largest of the beasts could be up to three hundred feet from tail to snout. Two large glands flapped out from the sides of it's head, behind the six eyes on either side.
Bultar had read up on the Paanrakk during their travels to the Harshplains. She had never imagined that she would cross paths with one. They had stumbled across the Paanrakk as it was feeding, hunting the smaller Truna that the locals would farm. Six of it's eyes were closed, while the others were focussed on tracking it's prey. The eyes were beneath the jawline, which Bultar originally thought was odd, until the two glands suddenly folded up against the top of the skull. Each pupil moved independently, tracking multiple targets at once. And one had just spotted Bultar's team.
She and Quinlan, as well as the three surviving members of their team; Murray, Ressa and Donovin, had been making their way across the swamplands, down to the shuttle they had left in the cove. With the added complication of Altinrose and Bultar's injuries, they were unable to use the speeders they had taken to the crevice. The uneven terrain and the speed was detrimental to their health.
Instead, they were forced to walk across the wooden paths that had been set up through the swamps. The few locals used these paths to traverse the swamps and hunt for food. Bultar could see how the paths were supposed to be used. They were not built for quick exits from the Harshplains as they were chased by a Paanrakk.
Bultar walked with a limp. When the cybernetic assassin had slammed her into the platform's surface, he had severely bruised her hip. Her hair was cut at a ragged angle and her nose was cracked. Dried blood caked the side of her head where she had cut it during the duel and her surviving hair was matted with the sticky red crust. Her face had a few scrapes too, but overall there was nothing that wouldn't heal with bacta wraps.
Altinrose was strapped down on a makeshift stretcher made from wood and a torn piece of cloth. He had been experimented on by the platform's droids; multiple tissue samples, blood work, and few more vicious procedures that left him weaker than an infant Utai. They were all meant to gather data on the mammoth Kashyyyki local. From what Quinlan said he saw, it seemed they were experimenting with cybernetic implants and biological armour plating. Replacement limbs, organs, even a few bio-organically grown data chips. But that was all just from a cursory glance. The Wookiee was healing slowly, probably wouldn't be ready for active duty for weeks. He was weakened and groggy, letting out tiny growls as he drifted between consciousness.
The convoy had marched doggedly through the marsh, sometimes fully hidden by the tall grass, other times visible all around as they crossed a river or the wetlands. They were still over a hundred clicks from the cove they had landed in when they came across the Paanrakk. They crouched, trying their best to hide from the blue and yellow dappled beast. Murray, one of the young soldiers, readied his blaster, but Quinlan stopped him with a look. Bultar knew why. The creature had spotted her, but wasn't showing aggression yet.
She still had to stay quiet, so she leant over to Ressa, who happened to be next to her. When her mouth was right next to the girl's ear, she hissed out a few words, the volume barely above silence, "We need to stay low. Creep along. Try and make it to that grove up ahead."
The 'grove' was small group of trees on the far side of the swamp, just a clump of greenery in the dull grey of the swamp. Ressa passed the information down the line, and together, the team crept through the high grass, staying low. Step by step brought them closer to the cover. Until Donovin, the great clumsy Oravine, stepped on a dry piece of wood. And a crack resounded around the waterlogged area. And that set the ancient Paanrakk off.
Hullemuse. It was a leaf, grown in the woods of Lumverine. The planet was thickly wooded, with over a thousand different varieties of fauna and flora. But the hullemuse was special. When the plant was fully grown, the locals would pick the leaves and lay it in the sun until it dried out. The leaves would then be crushed into a fine powder, crated up, and shipped away. Those companies lucky enough to grab one of these crates would sell hullemuse as a tea. But in truth, the liquid that came out of the pot contained some of the most natural nutrients in the galaxy. And it was that tea that was being poured out before Fay right now.
Fay sipped the tea. What else was she supposed to do? It was warm, just the right temperature, and as it slid down her throat, she could feel it warming her up from the inside out. She, Nema and Enisence had been debriefed as soon as they had entered camp, and then sent off to 'wash off that deplorable stench', as Mace had so kindly put it.
Now she stared at him from across the table, her eyes almost closed as she embraced the warmth that embraced her insides. He stared back, though he did not lift his own small cup of tea. It remained in front of him, two wisps of steam curling above it. She could see the tension in his dark eyes. Windu was getting overworked. She knew of the almost constant riots happening against their mission, and he was being affected by them.
He started the conversation that was apparently missing from the room. "You mentioned during your debrief that you were attacked by droids down in the sewer, correct?"
"You can't just enjoy a cup of tea with me, Master Windu?", she smirked at him.
"The droids.", he asked with a little more fire in his voice.
"That would be correct.", she replied, "Why?"
"You recall the attack on the distributions centre that Aayla stopped?", Mace continued, "When battle droids appeared to reinforce the enemy?"
Understanding registered. "Battle droids may be the reinforcements of the terrorists. They are cheap and replaceable soldiers."
"And they have been reportedly used by many of the confederacies who are attempting to secede from the Senate."
That was something. Fay considered it for a moment. "Do you believe that one of the corporations might be behind this is some way?"
"Exactly.", Mace nodded, "But we will be needing more proof. By that, I mean that we need to discover where these droids coming from, and from which of these factions."
"I can look into it.", she considered, sipping the tea again to feel that incredible warmth, "Listen, I know that everything here has been hard, Mace. You don't need to shoulder all this responsibility on your own. Kit, Hun'tsmen, even I can help. Let us carry the burden with you."
He was silent for a moment, fingering the datacube gingerly. Finally, he looked up, interlacing his fingers. "I got a call from Chi Cho today."
"What does that dipthong of a diplomat want now?", she scoffed. Fay hated politics. It was the main reason she had not been a part of the delegation committee.
"The Chairman", he emphasised 'Chairman' before he continued, "wants any and all people of interest to be detained at the Black Grate Prison, near Gronas. That includes anyone breaking any of the local laws. Thieves, terrorists, even those who enter Pantoran space without permission from him or the Pantoran government will be imprisoned. He needs our forces to help him do that."
She stared at him, aghast. Militarising an entire city seemed like overkill, even in this situation. And Chi Cho was taking about martial law over the entire planet? It had to be a ploy. Politics and winning back the good will of the people by showing that they were in command. "And will you?"
He looked up, then back down as he gathered his thoughts. He didn't need to speak; she already knew what he was going to say. But he dais the words anyway. "I don't have a choice in the matter, Fay. If it looks like we are purposefully standing against the government, it may cause violent riots, panic, even civil war. Right now, we are dealing with minimal damage riots and a few peaceful protests. Peace is already fragile here."
She gave him a look of disgust. "And I suppose it is our duty as Jedi to keep the damned peace."
As the loud CRACK echoed around the swamp, the huge head of the Paanrakk snapped up, swivelling from side to side as it tried to find the source of the noise. Bultar saw Ressa start reaching for her rifle.
"Nobody move!", she hissed as an order, and everyone froze.
It was highly likely that the creature would not notice them if they didn't make any movements. She reached out with the Force to try and encourage it to turn back to its meal.
You are already hungry, and look at those beast before you. You don't need to eat whatever that small noise was.
But there was a reason these beasts were the alpha predator. They would not be stopped. They would not be pushed around. What the Paanrakk wanted, the Paanrakk took. Its eyes locked on Donovin. The man's face went whiter than his already alabaster skin, and he audibly gulped.
"Get to the trees.", Quinlan yelled.
The soldiers took off, Bultar not far behind. She felt the limp form of BD-9T's husk hitched to her belt, flopping against her leg. She smelt the Paanrakk getting closer, it's awful breath similar to that of a rotting corpse. The trees were still a dozen metres away. Ressa, the lightest and therefore the fastest, had made it, and was hunkering down amongst the thick branches. Murray was not far behind, lugging the massive Wookiee's stretcher between him and Quinlan, who followed. Bultar grabbed Donovin's hand and pulled him along. They were only about four metres from the tree line when a loud crash echoed around the swamp.
They dove into the grove, sliding across the mud until they slammed into a bush. She rolled over to see the massive reptilian beast looming over them, slicing into the wood with its massive claws. They chipped away at the thick bark, and Bultar heard an audible gulp coming from Donovin. She hit him over the head, then turned to Quinlan.
"Let's get out of here before that thing decides to turn this grove into firewood."
"Great idea.", he grimly smiled, "And how do you plan on doing that? You have trapped us here."
She looked around her. It seemed that the grove was flush up against a small cliff, one that they couldn't jump off. It was at least two-hundred feet, and ended in a series of sharp looking rocks. Like Quinlan said, they were trapped. And about to be swallowed up by a Paanrakk.
Time to look back at Pantora and see what's going on.
Whenever I am writing, I like to look back on what Characters we didn't see in the Clone Wars or the movies are up to. I like to adventure into what their past was like. As you can see in this chapter, the two Jedi i want to focus on at the moment are Fay and Bultar.
They have more adventures coming up in the next book too.
Again, all criticism and feedback is welcome.
Have a great day, and may the Force be with you.