Team 4: Andrelious,Nath, Kordath - Homecoming Run-On

Andrelious stood in front of Sanguinis and Cethgus, the three of them having been talking in their office for a while now about what was going on and the missions that had been given out before the subject had come up that was currently under discussion.

“You want me to take them both, to go into the camp sites and find out where the people went?” The Clan Rollmaster seemed less impressed by this than the other two of them anticipated.

“I don’t think Sanguinus stuttered, did he?” Cethgus spat venom from his tongue as he addressed Andrelious.

“Was I talking to you, Zabrak?” The tone of the conversation was doing little but flaring the aggravation of the Quaestor.

A hand came out, grabbing hold of the Rollmaster’s collar and pulling him towards the Aedile’s body. “Call me Zabrak again, and I swear I will put your face so far through that door you will need more than plasma cutters to get you out.”

“Gentlemen, please.” Sanguinius chimed in, being the voice of reason between the two men. Andrelious slapped Cethgus’s hand from him and sorted his robes out.

“Fine, we will go, and we will look.” Finishing his conversation, the Clan Rollmaster walked out of the office and into the corridor, finding the two members that would be accompanying him waiting for him.

“Have you got your equipment ready?” He asked, his voice stern as he spoke.

Both of the other two only replied with a nod, deciding that would be the most appropriate way to answer him. Beckoning them to follow him, the group started to walk down the corridor towards the hangar bay as the Clan Rollmaster read over the datapad and the mission requirements that were set to him.

As the group got there, they saw one of the shuttles leaving towards its destination. Without wondering or pausing to think about it, they headed to the last shuttle that was fully ready for mission status. Being quick and swift as always, Andrelious marched through and climbed aboard the shuttle, waiting for the other two to catch up with him. Once they were onboard the shuttle instantly departed for open ground not too far away from the camp sites.

“Our mission is simple: we are to do an assessment of what has happened to the camps. I have no idea what to expect, but we will deal with it when it comes. We should be getting dropped off a few clicks from the first camp and will progress at a steady rate towards our goal.” He stated flatly, putting the datapad away once he summed their mission up.

…...............................................

Andrelious, Nath, Kordath

Your mission is to do a full assessment on the camp sites. Be warned though that the bodies of the dead litter some of them, and even this still attracts the attention of the Death Walkers. Engaging them in numbers will inevitably take place; but pickup might not reach you in time. Use your heads, keep calm, and remember to stick together. Find out what happened to the civilian campers.

Have fun

Cethgus Tiberius Entar Arconae
Aedile of House Galeres

Once the team were on board the shuttle, Andrelious immediately made his way to the cockpit, formally dismissing the Force blind pilot who hurried past the other two members of the team. Nath did not turn to look as the man left, instead choosing to look at the other member of the team. She as yet had not formally introduced herself. She noted how the male Ryn’s eye watched the passing pilot, the human did not greet them as he exited the shuttle.

Nath immediately strode into the cockpit and took a seat she didn’t even at look at the Sith sitting across from her when she greeted him.

“Andrelious.” Her voice had not changed, it still sounded like she was foreign and slightly more masculine. The Rollmaster didn’t pay much heed to her, concentrating instead on safely piloting the ship until he was at a safe enough altitude to turn on the autopilot.

When he was satisfied he turned his attention to the two junior Krath, his brown eyes giving each a long glance as he inspected them. He wore exactly the same thing since Nath had last seen him; his TIE flightsuit was immaculate as usual.

Although he did not seem imposing Nath knew better than to go with appearances, what Andrelious lacked physically he made up for with his aptitude in the Force. She hadn’t been paying proper attention to him as he ran through what he knew but she snapped herself back in time to note the important details.

“...No matter what, we stick together, no sense in losing a team member out there.” He concluded concisely. Nath nodded slightly to let him know she was listening, Kordath did the same.

The small beep from the console informed everyone that they had almost reached their destination. Andrelious turned his attention back to piloting the shuttle, taking it off autopilot and manually landing the craft not far from the encampment.

After disembarking it was a short walk to their destination, however they smelt it before they saw it. Nath was the first to speak.

“Smells like Naar Shaddaa.” She commented drily as the waft of old refuse and the beginnings of decomposing bodies met them. It was a potent mix that even Nath recalled from her days scrabbling for employment.

Andrelious had not seen much of Nath Voth since the last mission in which they had been teamed. That mission had taken place back when the Battlelord was still Commander of Void, and when the young Iridonian was a fairly low-ranking member.


Things had changed. Since then the female had been Knighted and Andrelious was now an important member of the Clan Summit. Battles had taken place on worlds that were valuable to Darth Ashen and the Dark Council. Inahj would have preferred a direct assault on the Galactic Alliance, sure that the combined might of the Dark Council, along with the many Houses and Clans, would be enough to severely re-draw the political map. But it was not to be - Ashen simply wanted to re-take the old Sith Empire. For now, Andrelious was simply the direction of Wuntila, who in turn acted on instruction from the Council. One day, though, the Arcona Rollmaster would be the one making the decisions.


“It may smell like Nar Shadda, Knight Voth, but you can be assured there are none of those slimey Hutts here. Hutts like opportunity. This place is..pitiful.” Inahj stated, regarding the Iridonian, before turning to Kordath.


Nath had not met Kordath before, but Andrelious had helped introduce the Ryn to the ways of Clan Arcona. As usual he had quickly faded into the background once the young Galerean’s superiors had arrived; Inahj was still highly wary of new arrivals after the Horizons plague had struck. This general feeling of nervousness was nowhere near limited to the Rollmaster; the concern levels that the plague was still lurking had resulted in every new arrival to the Dajorra system being screened by Troutrooper, Arcona’s resident Dark Jedi Master.

“Acolyte. You’re here to learn. Don’t touch anything without being told to. Understand?” Inahj hissed at the furry humanoid.

Kordath was not enjoying himself. The flight in, while short, had been unnerving to the Ryn, used to stowing away aboard ships or booking passage as little more then cargo, was oddly unsettled by actually being able to see where the shuttle was going. It didn't allow the Acolyte much in the way of concentration to notice much about his two companions, but he did note the female's lack of interest in small talk rather quickly.

As the group made their way towards the possibly abandoned campsite, he let a low whistle out of his chitinous nose, as the very smells that Nath spoke of reached him. Mentally Kordath agreed, having spent his own fair time in the dregs of Nar Shadda, and even his burgeoning sensitivity of the Force could tell something was...wrong, ahead of them.

The Sith led the way, the camp coming into view was more akin to a ruin then a recreational site. Structures, both primitive tents and more advanced prefab camping facilities, we're wrecked, some smoldering, others looked as if they'd been torn to shreds by wild beasts. Kordath took it all in at once, something he did whenever he'd managed to make it to a new port in his wanderings so as to spot possible figures of authority or anyone who might mark him as easy prey. As the Ryn's vision narrowed down to details he started to feel ill, the bodies strewn about were defiled in ways that made him want to retch.

Kordath blinked as he realized the Sith had spoken to him, “Don't touch anything” had seemed to be the gist of the message.

Andrelious was already examining one of the closest corpses, shifting what little clothing that remained on a dead Bimm about to inspect the wounds. A grim look was on the man's face, and Kordath's feeling of unease grew. The Krath wasn't sure why he'd been selected for this mission, he'd not even truly been in the Clan for a month yet. Kordath's studies had all been oriented towards learning about the place he was in, combat training was meant to be later, yet now in the field with nothing but a pair of knives in his belt, the Krath felt incredibly exposed.

Glancing at the more experienced Krath and Sith that he was with, Kordath couldn't help but feel utterly...inadequate. Whatever else happened today, the Acolyte knew he was going to end up being a burden.

Nath turned to look at Andrelious as he spoke, her face remained blank as she listened to his words. She thought for a moment before speaking again.

"Shit is still shit, no matter what animal it comes from. We do the same as the Hutts: we take opportunities just as much as they do." She sounded slightly amused by her superior’s previous statement, but allowed the conversation to die out as the Sith turned his attention to the other member of their party.

The Iridonian paid very little attention to what Kordath was being told, choosing instead to turn her attention to the encampment and their surroundings, trying to process as much information as she could.

Nath wandered a little further into the camp. She kept the other team members in sight to inspect a rather old body. After a moment, she looked up and spoke.

"Kordath." She beckoned him over to kneel next to her. He complied reluctantly knowing she would most likely show him something gruesome. The Iridonian paused for a moment allowing him time to acclimatise but knew it would probably not do much good.

She pulled the remnants of the human corpse's clothes away, exposing the gaping wounds. The smell hit their noses as she did this, very potent, indicating the corpse had obviously been there awhile. Careful not to touch it, she pointed at the exposed ribs, where the muscle that should have been there was gone.

"See this?" She directed his gaze away from the torn-up organs in the centre of the abdomen, which he seemed to be looking at. She watched as the Ryn dragged his eyes away and to where she was pointing.

He had to look closely to see the indents in the bone. He could see a few cracks in them that were fractures; but when he looked closely he could see shallow indents of varying shapes and sizes.

"What is that?" He asked quietly after a moment. He could see a flicker of an expression on the Iridonian's face but was unable to identify what it meant.

"Those are teeth marks; something gnawed on the bones. I've seen it before, but these are quite small. It wasn't a predator that made these." Nath replied quietly.

She had sensed Andrelious, who had come up behind them, listening passively to their conversation. Her black eyes spared her superior a glance, not turning her full attention to him until she had stood once more. The Knight awaited her superior’s opinion on the situation.

Andrelious had become increasingly troubled as his team had examined the deceased human. He had allowed the pair to study the corpse for a little, hoping that Kordath in particular would develop some skills. But his concerns had got the better of him and he had approached, realising seconds later that his fears were true.


“This is not a local. This man was Arconan,” the Rollmaster stated, pointing at a torn Arconan emblem on the man’s clothing.


“What does that mean?” Nath asked.


“Well, for a start I suspect the locals fled when whatever happened to this man occured. If not before. A lot of the ungifted are terrified, even of our..less able.” Inahj replied, gesturing across to Kordath.


“..and I think we need to be careful. This attack seems familiar. Don’t take your eyes off of Kordath, Knight Voth. And keep an eye out for trouble. I’ll do my best to protect the pair of you but if this is what it looks like, we’re dealing with the worst kind of professionals.”


“Who?” Kordath asked, listening intently to the Rollmaster’s observations.


Inahj nodded at the Acolyte’s question, before continuing. “Look at these flesh wounds. Knight Voth is correct. These weren’t done by any animal. They were done by something with a little more..intelligence. But the shape and angle of the bites makes it clear that whoever did this has unusual teeth. As if they filed them down.”


Kordath and Nath both winced at the thought of doing such a thing.


“We’ll have a final look around the area in case there are more murdered Journeymen..then we’ll get out of here. Sanguinius has already lost at least one Galerean here..I don’t want to gift these people more.” Inahj instructed, his hand moving to his lightsaber.

Things were getting interesting.

The group had begun their investigation by now and unlike the others they were unable to check in with the first team sent out. Cethgus sighed to himself as he pressed the button, hoping that he would hear a reply from this group instead on the matters at hand.

“Andrelious, come in.” The man’s voice was cold as he waited for a reply from the group.

“Checking in on us now?” The Rollmaster replied with an equally cold tone, still miffed by what had happened between both of them before he had left.

“I need a report. We have lost contact with Kalon’s group. What have you found out there?” Although his tone was even as he spoke, there was clearly still a hint of annoyance at the Rollmaster.

“We found bite marks on some corpses and one dead Arconan. Anything you can tell us about the information?” His voice still showed the frustration at their earlier encounter.

“It’s confirmed: it is the Death Walkers. I want you guys back here as soon as possible. I am going out with the Galeres troops to fight, so report to the battlefield.” He ordered calmly and seriously as he spoke to the Rollmaster.

“Understood.” Finishing the conversation, the Clan Rollmaster looked at the other two, knowing that the matter at hand had just become a lot more serious.

The situation around them seemed to get a little bit worse than they had once predicted, knowing full well that they had people coming through the terrain as strange sounds showed signs of a group heading their way. Instantly, the Clan Rollmaster knew that it was his duty to protect those of Journeymen status in any way possible.

Noticing the Galerens before they saw them, the enemy sprinted over the terrain, heading directly for the group. Andrelious reacted quickly, his saber coming to his hand as he cut down the first approaching Death Walker.

As the group advanced the Rollmaster found himself facing twenty of the Death Walkers, his saber swinging freely at them, cutting down many, though one managed to duck under his attack. Pain shot through his left arm as teeth sank into his forearm, feeling blood flow freely from the wound and agony rippling through his system. Hissing, he backed away, severing the last enemy in half as his blood dripped down onto the floor.

Looking at his options, he tried to move his wrist, but he knew that the bite had probably fractured a bone. Hearing screams and howls coming from around them, they knew that the fighting had been heard. They knew then, full well, that more Death Walkers would be heading their way and that they would be unable to hold them all off for very long.

“We need to move swiftly and get away.” The Rollmaster spoke quickly to the group.

Hearing his orders, they moved hurriedly away from the incoming group, knowing that they needed to use their knowledge of the terrain to their advantage and meet up with the others as soon as possible.

As the group headed away, the Death Walkers arrived at the scene of their dead companions, anger coming through them as they witnessed the slaughter that had been brought against them.

“Follow the blood. We will feast well tonight.” The commander of the pack snapped, ordering his men to pursue their fresh prey.

…..................................

Andrelious, Nath, Kordath,

You have engaged the Death Walkers, and have been ordered to meet with the Galeres troops to make your stand on the ground. Your Rollmaster is injured, the bite causing loss of motion in his arm, and the bleeding has left a trail for them to follow. Your group will have to make it to the checkpoint and meet with the Aedile to fight these enemies on open ground. Survive and make it to the checkpoint; those are your orders.

Have Fun,

Cethgus Tiberius Entar Arconae
Aedile of House Galeres

Kordath was panting as he followed the Sith through the trees, used to the occasional sprint, maybe a jog, the Ryn was not a distance runner. The sounds coming from behind him certainly aided in keeping his stride up though, howls for blood and screams of anger as the apparent cannibals came across their slaughtered comrades. Watching Andrelious dispatch them had been...educational, to the Krath, and the speed at which the enemy had moved had also been noteworthy.

The realization that what had killed the people at the campsite had been other sentient beings had nearly forced his breakfast from him. That one being could feed upon another was a given fact of the Galaxy, but such things were normally reserved for beasts, not thinking, speaking creatures. And the look that his Rollmaster had upon his face when he'd seen the teeth marks, not to mention the uniform, chilled the Krath to the core. This wasn't a new enemy, he realized, but his own understanding of recent history within Arcona was so far lacking, something he was determined to rectify when he got back home. If he got back home.

Don't let them get a hold of me, cut them before they can, thought the Acolyte, one hand straying towards a knife hilt. Shaking his head, he pulled the hand away, certain he'd stumble and gut himself, providing quite the appetizer for their pursuers. A crashing sound jolted him out of his reverie for a moment, the Walkers were giving chase. Another, much more worrying thought entered his mind, and this he spoke aloud.

“We do know where we're going, right, umm, sir?”

Nath glanced at him, choosing to answer instead of bothering the Sith as he lead them through the underbrush, “Away from those things isn't enough?”

Shrugging, Kordath determined to save his breath, and just try and keep up. He was here to learn, he'd been told. Well running away from something that would like to eat him, and possibly taunt him before hand, was not the learning experience the Krath had expected. Nor was it one he really wanted, but the Acolyte knew he was stuck in the situation, and going off on his own to get away, something he was much more familiar with, was not truly an option. For one, the numbers chasing them seemed large enough that even if the Ryn found some place to hide, he would be found. And on the other hand, the unerring and relentless chasers did not seem to be following the trail left by the Galerian trio, but headed straight for them, as if they knew where the three of them were.

That was a disturbing thought, and one that Kordath resolved to bring up whenever he felt he could both speak and run again. The crashing was getting louder, and the howls were getting closer.

Nath ran, sprinted through the brush as fast as her long legs would carry her. She didn’t look back at the others, didn’t look back at what was coming for them. Her breath burned in her lungs, each one seemed to add a new flame in her lungs.

...Anaerobic Respiration...

Her brain supplied casually, and couldn’t help but wonder how the others fared. Her brain wandered from that topic to another. She felt the bile rise up from the distant memory, the taste, the smell it filled her senses as if she was reliving it all over again.

I am not her!

The slippery texture as it slid down her throat, the metallic tang in her mouth. The thought made her feel ill, the sensations so intense she didn’t even realise she had broadcast it out to all nearby sending the Death Walker’s into a frenzy of noise. She had to push it down, repress the memory she was almost reexperiencing from the box she had been placed in.

The Iridonian used a tree branch to bring herself to a halt, the sudden jolt brought her back to her senses again. Allowing the memory to fade as she turned drawing the DH-17 pistol, and taking aim. Nath waited for her teammates to clear her firing line, they weren’t far behind them. The smell of rotting flesh, the crazed screams hit her senses at the same time.

Firing the first bolt she missed, the next came in quick succession, more successful than the foremost, hitting one of the crazed husk like beings in the head. She watched as its head exploded and a fine red mist of blood and brain sprayed out. She wasn’t even sure what gender the creatures were, they had become so far removed that it was impossible to distinguish.

Another five bolts were fired, the creatures further back had stopped scenting the viscera from her successful shots but the ones further ahead continued after them. Holstering the weapon she continued to run once more not wanting them to get any closer than they had, obviously only interested in something slightly more alive than the offerings she had made.

She heard Andrelious prompting her to run in her mind before she began, she flicked it away trying to concentrate on following the tracks they had left behind. Using the Force she tried to speed up her pace without losing sight of their tracks.

From behind she heard their savage howls and annoyed screams as they continued the chase. All she could do was concentrate and swear profusely over and over in her head. It took her about ten minutes to catch up with her teammates, though she was a fair few paces behind them now.

“I think I pissed them off!” She shouted in warning for them to pick up their pace. She was surprised it hadn’t taken her longer to find them, she supposed they had slowed as they became more exhausted at the prolonged running.

That bastard Zabrak did this to get rid of me. Typical frakking Obelisk, getting rid of two of his brightest prospects just to get rid of a threat.


Andrelious was convinced that Cethgus, who he had been increasingly butting heads with during summit meetings, had sent him and his team on a virtual suicide mission. The number of Death Walkers seemed immense, even with the large amount of kills that the Battlelord had achieved. They just kept on coming, a large horde still chasing the trio, desperate to feed off of them.


Eventually, Kordath began to flag a little. Inahj detected the Acolyte slowing and was there in seconds, cleaving his crimson-bladed weapon deep into the nearest Death Walkers. Nath, feeling a wave of confidence as she saw her ally appear to defeat their opponents with ease, soon joined in, racking up several kills herself. After a concerted effort from the two saber wielding Arconans, the immediate threat was nullified.


“That’s this group cleared. But there are more, I can sense them.” Andrelious explained, peering down at his still-bleeding arm. The Sith had managed to stem the pain with the Force but had been so concentrated on escape that he had not had time to heal. Now he had that time. Slowly the Force knitted together the fractured bone, and in time the wound began to close completely.


“Kordath’s caught his breath. We can get moving again.” Nath declared, having taken some time out to help the Ryn recover from his enforced sprint. As he was only an Acolyte, he did not possess the abilities to control his breath nor reduce the amounts of lactic acid that his body generate. Andrelious and Nath, both much more experienced with the Force, could continue for longer periods. But even Andrelious, who had callously declared Damon ‘Snabbie’ Tye as a liability during a previous mission, had no desire to abandon the young Krath.


“We’ll get back to HQ. And we will stamp the mission completed sticker on Cethgus’ big ugly head.” Inahj hissed as he de-activated his saber, ready to continue their escape.

Running, Kordath decided, was not going to be something he was going to take great efforts to improve upon in the future. It was tiring, boring, and seemed to mostly involved going in one direction as much as possible. The Krath was certain he was missing some lovely scenery in the Eldar forests, but the pile of Death Walker corpses his companions had left behind made the idea of sight seeing turn his stomach. Instead of getting better at running, the Acolyte resolved that he should learn the ways of more direct combat.

It wasn't that Kordath wasn't capable of fighting, he'd done his share in the past, but his preferred method was to drop out of the shadows, cut whatever major arteries or tendons he could reach quickly and move on to the next shadow. The forest, while abundant, didn't quite offer him these choices, and he winced at the realization that his knives had never even made it out of their sheathes when the Death Walkers had nearly overcome him.

They had to turn around and save me, I am a burden, I knew it, thought the Krath, fighting a wave of depression the same way he fought for breath.

As the trio approached an incline, Kordath noticed the Sith had healed his arm, something the Acolyte found incredibly useful, if a bit mystifying. Applied studies, he filed that ability under, something he'd work on when they got back home, instead of lore and history, actual ability should be learned, he decided. Cresting the hill, the Ryn stopped dead in his tracks, a familiar old feeling taking over his senses.

“Somebody is watching us,” he said quietly, though certain that the break in silence would be heard by the other two.

Andrelious turned and gave him an odd look, “We're almost to the command site...that would be a sentry up ahead. I didn't expect that you'd sense him though from this far away.”

Kordath shrugged, uncomfortable with the more experienced Sith's sudden scrutiny, “I have a very, umm, developed sense of, umm, survival? I don't know what you would call it, sir, I just normally know when someone is eye-balling me.”

The Sith nodded, noting inwardly that such a talent may prove useful, and headed over the top of the hill, before just the hint of a smile mixed with a snarl came upon his face. Across an open, barren field, stood a small prefab structure, antennae and dishes fixed upon the roof. A bunker, thought the Krath, realizing that they'd very nearly made it to their current goal, a thought that made his mouth open in a wide smile as he breathed easier.

“I have an appointment with a Zabrak,” growled the Sith.

Nath couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the Sith, thinking he was being a bit idiotic for holding a grudge for something that petty. Before either of the Krath could begin walking down the incline to the base Galeres had set up, Andrelious stopped them.

“Something isn’t right. It should be busy...” He had some logic in the assessment. Although not heavily staffed, there should have been more activity about the base; instead, the place seemed devoid. Nath and Kordath glanced around but saw nothing.

“Perhaps they fell back to the secondary headquarters...” Nath added after a moment of silence. They knew they couldn’t linger here, as every moment they wasted was another moment the horde of Death Walkers behind them caught up.

“Orders?” Nath asked, verbally nudging the Older Sith. She didn’t like how exposed they were out in the open here.

Andrelious, who had been trying without success to get through on the Commlink, sighed and gave up. His eyes inspected the desolate scene once more before making a decision.

“We fall back. Little point investigating. They have either survived, in which case they will be at our destination, or they have been killed. In any case, no point attracting more of the damned creatures than necessary.” Both Krath nodded their heads in agreement. Though slightly heartless, there was a lot of logic in his assessment. If the missing people were dead, the group would only be courting more danger with no reward.

A feral scream brought the group crashing back to reality. A blur of motion was all Kordath and Andrelious saw as Nath and a Death Walker went tumbling downwards with a loud curse and the waft of rotting flesh. She stopped skidding about half way down but was at the disadvantaged position.

Sharp teeth sunk deeply into her shoulder, the thick material of her black jacket not taking nearly enough of the brunt. She felt it the accupine points touch bone as her hands grabbed its head, allowing the creature to bite as she roughly snapped its neck, wrenching its teeth from her flesh and muscle.

The sound of the bones in its vertebral column breaking was remarkably satisfying to the Iridonian. She didn’t allow the head to go for a moment, inspecting its dead eyes and features carefully until she kicked it off herself.

She healed the wound partially, knitting the blood vessels back together with her Force abilities but leaving the bite open to try and conserve energy. She forced herself upright and made her way back up to the top to assist the other members of her team.

Stomach turning, Kordath watched in shock as Nath snapped her assailant's neck like a twig. The sound reached him all the way at the top of the hill; a very audible cracking noise.

Turning to Andrelious, “Not a sentry then.”

“No, not a sentry,” replied the Sith, grimacing as the Knight came up the hill.

Nath looked around as she came up, the blood already drying on her jacket, and the Ryn could make out what looked like bone through the torn fabric. As she reached the top, Inajh turned away and started walking, skirting the edge of the field, expecting his two subordinates to follow. Glowering at his back, Nath walked after him, her eyes straying towards the bunker that had been their goal. Kordath stood a moment, feeling that strange itch still that said someone was watching him, but as he turned in a full circle he saw nothing, no indication of anyone hiding.

Of course they may just be very good at it..., thought the Acolyte, feeling a shiver despite the temperate climate. Pulling his robes closer, he turned to catch up with his companions.

The Sith lead them maybe two hundred yards down the tree-line that edged the field around the bunker, the line gradually curving north. At a seemingly random point, Inajh plunged back into the wilderness, the other two followed close on his heels. As they moved through the forest, Kordath was growing jittery, his tail twitching as he turned his head constantly, certain something was near that would try and harm them.

Pulling one of his knives from the depths of his robes, Kordath could feel...something, something was coming. So on edge, when the crack of leaves to his right and behind him was heard, the Krath spun with a yell and lashed out with his blade. The man, if one could call such a creature a man, looked almost surprised as the blood poured from his open throat, but not nearly as stunned as the Ryn. Nath and Andrelious turned, weapons at the ready as the body fell, and then the creatures seemed to pour out of the surrounding forest.

“Behind me!” shouted the Sith, stepping towards the nearest group of cannibals. The Knight turned as well, swinging her blade in a wide arc to keep the enemy at bay. Kordath was still in shock, standing with a bloody knife in hand as a pair of death walkers bore down on him.

Nath walked beside the Acolyte, unable to help but notice how twitchy he had become. His tail quivered to and fro with a predictable jittery rhythm, and she had to resist the strong urge to yank on it with frustration. The anxiety was almost palpable as it came off him in waves, his eyes continually scanning their surroundings with a certain familiarity that she saw often in prey animals.

The Iridonian wasn't surprised when her companion lashed out. Her eyes followed the arc of his strike but she was startled when she saw crimson. The Iridonian watched silently as the Death Walker clawed at the still-impaled knife, its bony fingers ripping into the wound further in a futile attempt to stem the flow of arterial blood that violently flowed from its neck. Kordath retracted the blade smoothly, but both were hypnotised by the scene unfurling before their eyes.

They heard the choking sounds as blood began to fill its lungs. Futilely, it struggled to draw breath, slumping against a tree trunk before making a gradual journey to the ground. Its few remaining breaths came in short, gurgling pants as the creature slowly drowned, and with its exhalations, small splatters of crimson began to coat the grass at their feet.

When Andrelious shouted, Nath had to jerk herself back to her senses. Watching had been almost mesmerizing. The Knight did not move when called, waiting for Kordath to move first. When he stood rooted to the spot, she yanked him by the shoulder and struck him across one of his cheeks. The blow was hard and swift, leaving a red welt across the side of his face along with the metalic taste of his own blood in his mouth.

Before the other Krath could process what had happened, Nath had gone, moving forward to deal with the immediate threats that lurched forward. Her dagger slashed at the nearest foe’s abdomen. She didn’t have time to watch its demise as the next one lunged forward.

A snap-kick gave her enough distance between them for her to glance a blow. Pressing the advantage, she struck out with her clenched fist at the opponent’s scabbed temple, the pause allowing ample time to plunge her blade into an eye socket. Nath allowed the weight of her enemy’s collapse to free her weapon.

Another pair advanced forward to take their place, and the Iridonian began to step back, closer to her team. She glanced back as her foot came up and over a felled Death Walker, but before she could clear the corpse there was the sting of another bite. Another kick sent the biter sprawling back, taking a chunk of her arm and jacket with it. As she stumbled back she watched as it languidly chewed on the hunk of flesh it had taken from her. A roil of nausea welled up from the pit of her stomach, but she suppressed the bile with a hard swallow.

Nath had finally managed to get behind Andrelious and Kordath, the two both engaged in combat. She hardly noticed the long swipes her Sith leader was making. With blood drawn, she knew their attacks would only worsen. She worked as quickly as she could to staunch the bleeding once more with her Force abilities.

The sudden blossom of pain that spread across his cheek snapped the Ryn back to his senses, Kordath watched as the Knight stepped forward and began what started as an elegant dance of death, and quickly turned into brutality. When Nath let out a short cry of anger and pain, the Acolyte realized that this fight was not going to be the quick affair that they'd been dealing with thus far. Blade in hand he tried to summon the anger and courage to charge into the thick of the battle, and learned that fear worked well enough to fuel his fighting spirit as the walkers closed on him.

Nath stumbled past, favoring one of her arms as it bled, getting behind the Sith and Kordath. One of the beastly creatures tried pursuing, mouth full still and a look of ecstasy on it's face. Kordath yelled out as another came at him, ducking down before driving his blade up and into the creature's midsection, twisting the blade to pull it out before suction stole it from his grasp. Jumping up and kicking his assailant back as it bled out, his tail shot out sideways and up, cracking like a whip against the side of the death walker chasing the Knight.

Stunned, the death walker lost it's recently gained meal, and yelled out as an angry Nath brought her dagger down hard into the base of the creature's skull. Blood soaked the ground around the trio of Arconans, and the smell of cauterized flesh filled the Ryn's nostrils as Inajh's saber neatly cut another enemy in twain. Kordath learned rather quickly that a slap across the face from his fellow Krath was preferable to the death walker sinking his sharpened teeth into his left calf.

Lashing out with his knife, the Ryn scored a long slash across the man's back, and pulled his leg away, crying out in pain as his flesh was torn from him. As the bleeding cannibal raised himself up, Kordath snarled and stabbed him in the back, pulling the blade back and stabbing again, and again, over and over again as anger finally overtook fear. Face covered in blood, mouth set in a teeth baring snarl, the Ryn blinked as his arm was grasped from behind.

Quickly turning towards this new threat, bringing his off hand up to strike at the source, he was stopped short by the determined face of the Sith, 'It's dead, see to your wounds so we can move on, be quick about it.”

Kordath nodded mechanically, collapsing to the ground and tearing at his robes to provide himself with bandages. As he twisted the dirty cloth around his bleeding leg, the Ryn noticed something far more worrying then the limp he'd be dealing with from here on out.

The sun was going down.

Nath watched as the junior Krath began tearing off strips of his robe to create bandages. Her brow furrowed slightly as she sat next to him, crossing her legs neatly beneath her to get more comfortable on the hard packed soil.

“May as well rub their blood in your wounds for all the good that will do you.” She gestured to the soiled strips of material in her companion’s hand. Nath watched as Kordath shrugged slightly, his eyes moved into a downcast position, she could sense his unfamiliarity to this situation as well as his uncertainty.

“You have a better suggestion?” There was a long pause before he muttered. “I don’t see a medpack anywhere.” Nath’s black eyes inspected him for a moment, her thoughts had run away with her but she brought herself back to the present conversation.

“If you have no supplies cleaning it with water that is not soiled will work, and leaving the wound free to the air, if it is not bleeding, until you can find adequate supplies. However..” Kordath watched as her hand went to her outer thigh, he could see a small leather pouch had been clipped to the straps that held her dagger sheath in place and to most likely to some hidden clips on the underside of her wide belt.

The Iridonian produced a small bottle, when Kordath looked closer he could see it was medical grade disinfectant. She uncapped the lid and poured a small quantity into her palm before offering him the bottle to hold.

Once it was under his nose he could smell the potent substance, he watched as Nath rubbed it into her most recent wound; if the process was uncomfortable she did not show it. After a moment Nath then ripped off the rest of her ripped jacket sleeve, which seemed to be much cleaner than the rags the Ryn was about to use. Kordath ripped an end off the sleeve to use as a rag, poured a small helping of the disinfectant onto it but before he could treat the wound Nath spoke again.

“You do realise that you can stop the bleeding don’t you?” He gave her a nonplussed look before the Iridonian lept into a lengthy explanation. She gave him simple instructions, which he followed with success.

The female Krath watched as he smiled shyly at her before placing the soaked rag over the still openwound. The reaction was amusing to the Iridonian, the Ryn yelped in pain but before his hand could pull the rag away she pressed her pale hand against his to stop him.

“It bu~rns! Let go!” Kordath half whined, half screeched. Nath chuckled before loosening her grip enough for his hand to be removed. She took over cleaning the bite, methodically rubbing the material into the crevices of the injury to ensure it was completely cleaned.

When it was cleaned to her satisfaction she tore it in half, discarding the bit she had used on Kordath and began to clean the fresh bite on her forearm. Her attention was completely on the task she did not notice her companion shift his weight before speaking.

“...Thank you...” Nath heard him clearly but did not reply until she was contented with the condition of her own bite.

“Don’t thank me yet, we may die still. Do you mind?” She gestured to her injured shoulder by rolling it stiffly whilst drenching the last section of that rag to clean the final bite. Kordath obliged silently, he chose not to respond to her last comment.

Nath remained still whilst he worked, she watched him from the corner of her eye mutely as he carefully tried to clean the damaged tissue without hurting her. She did not move or give any sign she was in pain, as time passed he became more confident and pressed against her flesh harder to make sure the deeper areas of the wound were also done.

The group was currently stopped and making sure their wounds were clean, and was easily spotted by the search team sent to look for them. The rescue-team moved swiftly through the terrain, their blasters raised and poised, ready to fire at the first sign of trouble. The commander of the squad signaled for a silent approach. Their footsteps gently touched the earth as they advanced, quickly closing the gap between the two parties but keeping out of saber range.

“Identify yourselves. Now.” Rhe commander’s voice was calm, his gun still raised, ready to attack.

“I am Nath Voth. We were sent out here on the Aedile’s orders.” The Iridonian replied, her voice was steady and flat as she responded to the man’s demand.

Nodding, the leader detached his helmet, removing it, his eyes glancing at the three of them as he pondered for a few moments. He walked forward and checked them over. Seeing the state they were in, he judged the situation grim at best, but decided to follow orders anyway.

“You are required on the battlefield. We are here to see you get there safely and without any more...interruptions.” He stated mechanically, gesturing for them to move. The bedraggled Force-users got to their feet, and the captain lead the group out.

They were ushered on hurriedly, a sense of urgency about the group. As they continued to move through the terrain, it became clear from their rushed pace that something was happening. Even though what the group would be walking into was still unsure by any means, they still had to try and follow the trail; or they would be caught in the midst of their enemies, and that was something that they just couldn't afford.

“A battle has already started. All Galeres ground forces were supposed to have made it to the battlefield by now.” The commander explained bluntly, being short with the group as he continued to scan his surroundings, looking for any sign of trouble.

It was clear that the team had been sent to collect them for this mission, but the group was heading straight into the thick of things by the sound of it. The commander was leading them to a direct conflict, one that they were required to get involved in.

“Just be prepared for what you are going to be walking into. We will have to join the fray quickly and I doubt they are not taking a single loss right now.” The man was walking them into the heavy depth of a conflict, they would have to be on their guard to survive.


…............................

Andrelious, Nath, Kordath

You are now going onto the battlefield and into the thick of the fight. Tt will be your job to not only fight as a team, but survive against the never ending supply of Death Walkers. Can you last? Will you die on the battlefield in an attempt to protect the house? You are called upon to serve Galeres in this final conflict.

Have Fun

Cethgus Tiberius Entar Arconae
Aedile of House Galeres

[Double Post]

The forest was quiet save for the heavy footsteps of the soldiers escorting them, Kordath was uneasy despite the additional troopers. Death Walkers had appeared out of nowhere on multiple occasions already, and the Ryn was not sure how they kept finding them. They had killed numerous cannibals, but the constant fights we're having an effect, wearing the three Force users down even as they made their way to the apparent main battle. There would be no respite, no time to recover before they entered into a massive battle with the death walkers main bulk.

Kordath could hear the battle before he saw it, and smelled it shortly before, the burnt smell of ozone and spilled blood. The blast of artillery and blaster fire could be heard floating through the trees, a smokey haze drifted through the upper trees and the cries of the wounded could be heard now. The Commander, whom the Ryn couldn't recall the name of, held up a hand in a closed fist, his squad stopped and crouched in the underbrush, sweeping the area with blasters held crooked to shoulders.

Inajh glared at them for a moment before stepping around the Commander, who looked surprised for a moment before a grimness settled on his features. The Sith lead the two Krath through the final barrier of wilderness to a sudden open area, blasted and burned, soldiers to the left of them, cannibals to the right, and a trench stuck in the middle of it all. Galeres troops were attempting to keep the trench, soldiers with rifles and force pikes tried to keep the wave of flesh eaters, crazed by the smell of blood, from overwhelming them.

Another boom from further to the left revealed the location of the artillery, massive blasts of laser fire and exploding shells slamming down now far to the right of the trench, tossing bodies into the air. A fine pink mist spread up and out from some locations, the charred smell of burnt bodies reached the Ryn's twitching nose. Inajh lit his saber, a determined look on his face as he watched the anchor of the flank, not twenty feet in front them, began to get swarmed by death walkers.

Kordath and Nath both grimly drew knives, watching the Sith for instruction on their next move.

The battlefield stretched out in front of the three Dark Jedi. Many Galereans had already fallen, but the Death Walkers had taken a huge amount of losses. Inahj was not sure of the exact nature or the strength of the Death Walker group, but he was sure that the sheer number of deaths here would have at least some effect on their future operations. Savage and aggressive though they were, numbers seemed to be what they were relying on here.


“You two. Cut the conversation. You’re getting awfully close for Dark Jedi. If I see anything resembling what I deem to be an inappopriate relationship forming, I will have you both removed from service. Am I clear?” the Rollmaster spat.


Nath glared angrily at the Rollmaster. Kordath nodded, momentarily cowed by the Battlelord’s sudden show of emotion.


Before either could respond verbally, Andrelious beckoned them forwards. Nath readied her daggers and followed the Sith closely, whilst Kordath stayed back. The Ryn was still only learning the ways of the Force; the close combat that most of his housemates, and now Inahj were adopting was dangerous. Instead, the young Protector watched as Inahj got into the thick of the battle, saving a young female human from certain death. The young girl, a Private in the Arconan Army, turned to thank her saviour, but he was gone, repeating the deed for a Rodian Sniper who had been closed down. The ex-Imperial seemed to fight with sheer passion, driving his smaller than average frame onwards in an endless pursuit of obtaining kills.


Nath too was getting deeply involved with the battle, her confidence in her own abilities much higher than it had been the previous time that the Iridonian had fought alongside Andrelious. She too racked up a fair amount of kills, though her own progress was thwarted by constant looks in the direction of Kordath, who was doing his best to conceal himself.


Andrelious’ voice began to echo inside the female’s head. Knight Voth. Leave him be. These bastards are too busy with us to focus on such a pathetic scrap of a meal.


The Knight glared in Inahj’s direction, but the Battlelord was far too busy robbing a pair of Death Walkers of their heads.

Nath sensed the battle long before she saw or heard it; a cacophany of emotion spread through her mind. She couldn't help but lick her lips in anticipation, excitement brewed beneath the surface though she showed almost no outward sign of it.
?
Before she knew it they were there, Kordath's uncertainty felt as though it was being swept away under a tidal wave of anger, anticipation and passion. It almost felt like a physical gelatinous wall the trio had walked into.
?
"Stay close."Nath muttered to her junior team mate. Kordath nodded mutely as Andrelious turned to berate them both, the Ryn was cowed but she was not, glaring openly at the Role Master that stood before them. The Iridonian was openly ignored, and that suited her just fine, feeding the building anger back into herself to gear up for what was to come.
?
?
Inahj beckoned them to follow as they made their way swiftly towards the battle, the two Krath remaining firmly behind the Sith for the duration of the short dash until they melded into the fighting.
?
Nath's pace slowed she watched for a moment as she took in the scene up close. The potent smell of blood, entrails and ozone only seemed to entice her further into the fighting. The grip on the hilts of her daggers tightened, a grin spread on her features for a moment before vanishing as the metallic smell became so strong she could almost taste it. Her boots squelched on the drowned almost scarlet ground.
?
?
The female Krath couldn't remember how many she had killed as time went along, a slit throat, another stabbed in the stomach; the list was rapidly growing and there was little point recalling them, needing her attention fully on the here and now.
?
Her obsidian eyes scanned to her left, ensuring Kordath was still close and alive; she refused to take full responsibility for the Ryn but couldn't help but check on him. Andrelious' voice echoed into her mind telling her to stop. It only distracted her further, her non-verbal reply was spat back though it was uninteligible; only her irritation was felt.
?
Before the Iridonian knew it she was flat on her back by a solid punch to her abdomen, warm hands clasped around her slender neck and began to choke her. She looked into the pale blue eyes of the human that sat on her chest, leaning down slightly to inspect his catch.
?
The human couldn't have been with the cult long, though it was beginning to take a tole on his body. Blood shot eyes, lanky muscle where once it would have been far more solid under his tanned skin covered by ragged clothing that was reduced to tatters.
??
Nath's airway slowly occluded as cold blood began to seep into the thick material of her clothing. Blindly her hand groaped for the dagger that had slipped from her grip as she fell; the usual panic that should have insued did not. That in itself was a disturbing thought, after what felt like minutes her fingertips brushed against the now cool metal of her weapon.
?
With difficulty the Krath leaned her weight over, over extending her assailant and sent him tumbling to the right. Nath rolled to the left grabbing one of her weapons as she went.
?
By the time she was at her feet, the human lunged. Nath side stepped, her dagger plunged in between a set of ribs as he almost ran past her. The surrounding noise was so loud the Iridonian couldn't hear the human'human's cry of pain as he stumbled and fell to the ground.
?
With a deep breath she retrieved her other dagger which had been trampled into the ground; it was not long before she was engaged in combat again.
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Thrust, slash, dodge, thrust, slash, dodge, thrust, slash, dodge. Kordath could feel the burning in his arms already, the battle was already taking it's toll on him. Dodging and cutting, conscious of how much of a liability his tail was to his well being and trying to keep it tucked up near his legs, the Ryn was not happy with his situation. Outright fighting was not his way, he'd been in his share of bar fights and back alley scrapes while in his travels and particularly on Nar Shaddaa, but those were never more then a dozen or so people fighting. This battle was raging somewhere over a thousand still, he thought idly as his knife slid into another body, a gout of dark blood spitting out from the wound.

The Acolyte wasn't certain what some of the people he killed were, he'd seen Humans and Bimms, Zabraks and at least one Gamorrean, though he'd avoided it rather swiftly. A rather frightening sound was coming from further back in the walker's line, and he wasn't looking forward to whatever it was coming for them all, some sort of animal like roar. He felt the vague sensation of someone checking on his well being, and assumed in some part of his brain that was viewing all of this death and carnage with some detachment, that it was Nath making sure he was still alive. The feeling was rather suddenly cut off, making him whip his head around to locate his fellow Krath, spotting her just in time to see her force her assailant off and summarily stab him to death.

Somewhere nearby he still heard the buzz of a lightsaber and the sizzle of it cutting through flesh and bone, a comforting noise that meant the Sith was still alive as well. His own nimbleness and nervousness had kept Kordath from most serious harm, a few scratches from the more clawed variety of enemy had tried to get a firm grip but he'd thus far kept away from most of them. Shoving his knife quickly into a Human's midsection, just under his ribs puncturing the diaphragm and hearing the cannibal begin to gasp for air, he felt a nearly overwhelming wave of terror wash over him. The soldiers nearby felt it to, at least one or two falling to the ground whimpering.

The fighting before them parted, though Kordath felt no usage of the Force in the sudden clearing's appearance, he felt something more primal, the sense that all beings have that getting out of the way would be conducive to longer life. And then they heard the roar again.

Not five feet in front of the tired, surprisingly angry and afraid Ryn, stood the first Wookie he'd ever seen that could be thought of as truly mangy. Well over seven feet tall, patches of fur missing from his body and a wild look in his eyes, the beast bared it's sharpened teeth, and charged.

Andrelious was now several yards away from Kordath, but he could see the approaching
Wookiee clearly. It rushed in with incredible speed at the Ryn, engaging its claws. As it reached
the young Acolyte, the Wookiee reached out with its right arm, the claws cutting deep into
Kordath’s flesh.


The Krath yelled out in pain, but managed to drive his knife into his enemy’s arm. The Wookiee
too roared as the weapon embedded itself deep into the animal’s hide, but it did not stop its
attack.

Inahj had never seen a Wookiee use its claws in such a way before. The culture on Kashyyyk
had long banned it to the point that not even the most heinous of Wookiee criminals would dare
bare their claws as a weapon; ‘Madclaws’ were reviled more than any other on the Wookiee
homeworld. The Battlelord did not have time for such things, however. Even as little as he
cared about ‘inferior’ alien cultures, one of his charges was in deep trouble. He started to
sprint towards the almost insane Wookiee as it swung its right arm, still with the knife deeply
embedded within.

“You picked wrong, carpet.” Andrelious hissed, leaping high into the air. As he arced past
the Wookiee, he cleaved its head off, mere moments before it could deal a likely fatal blow to
Kordath. As the unkempt alien fell, more Death Walkers began to attack. Inahj noticed that
he was being avoided; other targets were being selected instead. The Force blind units were
beginning to be slaughtered, whilst the numbers of Journeymen, particularly lower ranks, were
being whittled down rapidly too.

I won’t have any work left if this keeps up. We’re losing too many Journeymen! Andrelious
thought, hoping that soon more Galerean Equites would arrive.

Nath only caught a glimpse of the Wookie as it charged, she sensed the Acolyte’s pain as the Wookie’s claws sheared through skin and flesh. It distracted her momentarily allowing her current enemy to close what little distance was between them, cursing loudly she sheathed her daggers and punched the the Iridonian Death Walker in the gut. The distraction was enough for the Krath to unclip her lightsaber and slash at the other female’s black skinned throat. Nath didn’t watch her enemy as she fell instead Nath fought her way to Kordath.

It took her longer to get to the injured Ryn than she would have liked, having to run through more than one opponent with her weapon to reach him. As she arrived the Iridonian saw the Death Walker Wookie’s body collapse as Inahj sliced easily through its neck. The furry head rolled to her feet, blood and entrails had matted into its fur over time but Nath didn’t inspect it too closely, instead she kicked it away and cleared the remaining space between them.

Another Death Walker had happened upon the Acolyte’s prone body, the human enemy didn’t get the chance to touch him, Inahj ran her through with his lightsaber as she stood over him, and then pulled the Falleen back and allowed them to fall to the ground. Nath came to a halt beside Kordath and Andrelious, her lightsaber felled yet another enemy that had noticed the same opportunity.

“We need to move him to the trench.” Nath spoke as loud as she could without shouting; running another attacker through as she did so. The Roll Master nodded his head mutely, the Iridonian took this as the signal to pick the Acolyte up like a sack, slinging him over her shoulder with little difficulty.

Andrelious lead the way, Nath followed as the SIth created a bloody path for her to follow. It took a long time to get through the battle, on more than one occasion the Iridonian had to kick a Death Walker away from them, oftentimes they would end up sprawling into other fighters, but she did not look back, she could not look back otherwise she would lose sight of her teammate.

With a groan Kordath began to regain consciousness, Nath’s boney shoulder dug sharply into his sternum as the Iridonian picked up the pace to keep up, sending the Ryn jerking, his head dangled down the back of her shoulder. He could sense Nath very close, and a wave of gratefulness passed through his mind before he passed out once again.

Kordath was not happy. This was happening far too often as of late; bleeding and screaming and running away from things. And he wasn't even doing the running this time, he thought, or tried to think, as he was carried from the site of his near demise. Blackness quickly overtook his vision again, and his mind plunged back into unconsciousness.

Nath Voth laid her charge down near the rear lines, the trenches were now behind them and no threats appeared to be nearby. Spotting a passing medic, she shouted and grabbed the woman's sleeve and directed her to the Ryn bleeding on the dirt, making it clear that his fate and her own were now tied. The medic nodded in understanding, used to such proclamations for the Dark Jedi that worked with the military. The Krath watched with an odd sort of detachment as the medic worked.

Meanwhile Andrelious was surveying the battle with a severe level of grimness, the fight was not going well for the Galeres forces. Looking around he spotted a group of soldiers, at least one wearing a backpack that suggested a high powered portable communications unit, something to reach out into the ether of space. A quick conversation, one sided and very curt on the Sith's part, lead to much head nodding and the man in charge of the unit started giving orders as Andrelious moved further towards the trenches to keep an eye on the situation.

Screams and smoke greeted the Ryn as he clawed his way back to the waking world, uncertain of how long he'd been out, and surprised he was still alive. The Acolyte's unrefined senses could pick out his teammates not far off, and a seething field of hunger and rage not much further off. Others were nearby as well, soldiers he thought, his mind still trying to catch up with the idea of being cognitive. A man wearing the stripes of a Sergeant was screaming into a comlink, a datapad with a map sitting in front of him, rattling off numbers to someone on the other end.

Kordath looked down as he felt a new source of pain, a pinprick compared to what he was feeling, and then a general feeling of contentment. The medic had come upon him while he was still regaining consciousness, he realized happily, the pain killers flooding into his system as the medic attempted to undo what the raging Wookie had managed. A new noise replaced the general sound of mayhem as the battle raged, over the screams of the dying and the fighting, came a roaring sound from the sky, accompanied by scattered cheers from those on the rear lines.

The Acolyte rolled his head as much as he could, most of his body parts weren't responding to his brain anymore it seemed, something that made him giggle a bit, and tried to see the sky above. Silver points in the distance grew quickly larger, as the Dark Sight squadron came roaring towards the battlefield. Screaming over the general melee of the trenches and the horde of death walkers still trying to push through their own front lines, the squadron split into two flights, one to the left, one to the right, looping back towards the battlefield.

Blaster fire erupted from the K-Wings, and the mass of cannibal troops exploded in charred parts and mists of various hues. Another pass further back from the trenches annihilated large swathes of death walkers, and the screams were no longer those of hungry beasts, but those that had seen their own doom and knew they could not outrun it any longer. With the press on the trenches letting up, the troops of Galeres surged forward, shooting and stabbing their way up and out of the trenches and methodically clearing the field of anything that was still moving.

“Heard they got the 'Walkers hound,” said the Medic conversationally as she applied a bandage to his torn open side. Kordath looked at her quizzically, wondering what she meant, “some Force senstive they captured and had up on that ship of theirs, you knew about the ship right?”

It struck the Ryn that the Medic was just talking so as to focus, and didn't even bother trying to reply, “Apparently it was able to tell them where other Jedi were running around on world, heard they came after your group, at least you guys made it here, couple of others weren't so lucky.” Kordath groaned internally, realizing he'd never tried to figure out how the Death Walkers had tracked them so easily in the forests of Eldar.

The medic chatted away as she sewed up his side, and the Krath knew he would have some interesting scars after this, but wasn't about to stop her, still feeling a haze of happiness from the meds.

As the smoke cleared and the bodies cooled, the death counts were being tallied, and two Krath and a Sith watched from the edge of the field as they awaited a shuttle that would take them home.