One Hard Night

Part 1) As the last members of House Ektrosis gathered at the exterior gate of the compound, Quaestor Chaosrain steps up to his make shift podium to make an announcement. “I have gathered all of you out here this evening to make an announcement, tonight we are having a little ‘game’ of sorts.” The younger members of the house gave their Quaestor a quizzical look, while the older members smirked at what they had already found out by probing the young Quaestor’s mind. “Now the Journeymen, excluding the Knights, of the house need to go back in the compound and await further instruction.” As the ranks grew thin with the departure of the younger Journeymen of the house, the Quaestor smirked a little bit. “For the rest of you, you have 1 hour to get a nights worth of supplies, weapons, and any other things you might need for a hunting party in the jungle. All of you are going in the jungle for night; you are hunting for anything unusual. Be it light saber crystals, ancient artifacts, rare plants or animals, even strange force mutations of living creatures. If you find anything of interest, you will be compensated. Greatly. Be careful though there are many dangers out there. Many man eating creatures, both plant and animal, lurk out there.”

Part 2) As the elder members of Ektrosis left with their supplies for their night in the jungle, Chaosrain stood atop the main staircase in the great hall of the Ektrosis compound. “I have ordered the rest of you here for a little training ‘game’. Tonight I have gathered four Nexu’s in the house; they are under my control as of this moment. I intend to let them loose, for those of you who haven’t figured it out yet. Many of you know that the Nexu’s are indigenous to Turama, especially around here, some of you know it is a ritual for every member to slay a Nexu before he or she can obtain a light saber. Well these are different. After a long time of being near the house these Nexu’s have been mutated and twisted by the Force. They are bigger, faster, stronger, and meaner. Tonight’s objective, survive. I would advise staying close and working together. You have exactly ten minutes to get any armor and weapons you think you will need. Have fun.” And with an evil grin Chaosrain started the timer and left the rest of his members to prepare for a long night.

Rules – No double posting. Remember number of posts isn't always best, quality will count for a lot. Third level crescents will be awarded to the winners of each part.

Baron Zarco spun and headed for his room. The sounds of excitement filled the halls as all readied themselves for what was sure to be a challenging night. Zarco grabbed his tactical vest and donned it. He placed his Sith Sword in its scabbard on his left side. Zarco readied and holstered his ELG-3A blaster on his right side. He placed a B-22 blaster, also readied for immediate use, in an ankle holster beneath his black pants.

Zarco paused in front of a mirror to examine himself. He patted himself to confirm the presence of a fragmentation granade and extra ammunition for his blasters. Other places on his vest held a bottle of water and miscellaneous items, lighting, cord, and so on. Zarco placed a cloak over it all and grabbed the Blastech 500 riot gun from its place beside his bed. He turned out the light and left his room, riot gun at port arms, ready for what the night would bring.

Crix stood next to Chaos as he made the announcment and smiled, thinking about the fun he'd have out in the jungle. When they'd planned out this event it had been decided that Crix would join the rest of the house in the jungle, owing to the fact that he wasn't really needed back at the base.

The meeting broke and Crix ran back to his room. Opening the door he grabbed his large back pack and started grabbing the things that he'd need. He packed a change of clothes, map of the area, a small amount of food, a blanket, things that one usually takes on a short camping trip. He reached for his tent, but decided not to take it this time. Back before he'd taken leadership positions, and again when he'd been away from the Brotherhood for about a year, Crix had enjoyed camping and hiking quite a bit. Sometimes he'd spend a week or more out on his own on various planets in the systems that Taldryan had taken as it's own. However, when he'd taken leadership positions he'd lost the ability to dissapear for days at a time; he had things that needed to be dealt with and rarely was able to just get out and spend some time on his own. This would be a perfect change to catch up on that. Finally, he walked over to his weapons case. In the case there were two previous lightsabers that he'd built, a katana, a few daggers and larger knives, a blaster that he'd used before he earned his saber and a few other odds and ends that he'd used to kill or hurt at some point or another in his life. A little known fact about Crix was that while he had made himself known as one of the best fighter pilots in Taldryan was that he'd actually been a member of the Obelisk order when he'd first joined the Brotherhood and he enjoyed ground combat almost as much as space flight.

Looking over the weapons Crix grabbed an extra power cell for his lightsaber, one of the large knives and a few smaller ones that could be used as throwing knives if need be, and threw them into the pack with the rest of his stuff. Shouldering the bag, he quickly moved out of his room and back to the main gate to wait for the rest of the people to return so they could start this hunt.

The hallways outside of the Journeymen's quarters bustled with activity as they all rushed to prepare for the long night ahead of them. Menace, who had just returned from his promotion ceremony, Calmly walked to his room and retrieved his katana from its rack sitting on a book shelf adjacent to his bed. He tied the scabbard and blade tightly to his waist, so that the sheath fit snuggly against his left hip. Not knowing what to expect, the Hunter also put on a light suit of armor.

Menace adjusted the armor on his body for maximum agility. Once he was satisfied, he unsheathed the katana and watched the light glimmer off of its mirrored finished. The familiar sound of the blade was lost in the confusion outside. He held the blade out in front of himself and stared at the deadly weapon.

"And now, Taishou," he whispered to the sword. "Help me to attain victory against these horrific creatures." With that, the Kel Dor slid the curved blade back into the scabbard and walked toward the Great Hall to wait for the rest of the Journeymen and the release of the beasts that had been twisted by the Dark Side.

As Zarco was making his way down the hall he saw his Tetrach, Jedi Hunter Menace, exit his room and turn to walk the same way as Zarco. Menace was intent on his task and had not taken notice of Zarco. Zarco's fast pace brought him alongside Menace in a handful of steps.

"Menace I would speak to you," Zarco Zarco said softly.

Menace turned his head to listen and kept walking.

"I suggest that our skills compliment one another and that we weather this storm together." Zarco continued, "I know Dark Siders. particular;ly Sith, can be a treacherous lot." Zarco looked at Menace's katana. " A being that carries such a sword, however, surely knows that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. These cats are our enemy...my friend."

Menace nodded to his Tyro; the Kel Dor could see good things in his future. The two Jedi continued to walk toward the great hall, talking about different strategies that they could pursue. In the midst of their talks, the Elders and Equites of Ektrosis passed them by; on their backs were large bags filled with various items that they needed for their own night ahead.

During the two Journeymen's talks of strategy, the topic of the Sith came up. At the same moment, their Aedile walked past them, on his way to the main gate. He looked at the Hunter and Guardian, a scowl placed firmly on his face. He shook his head and continued on his way. As he walked away, he said something under his breath that sounded like, "I'll deal with it later." Neither of the Journeymen could hear the comment clearly, though.

After a few minutes of walking, Zarco and Menace reached the great hall of Ektrosis' compound. They looked to where they entered, waiting for the rest of the Journeymen. Chaos waited patiently behind a podium a few meters away.

Suddenly, in the distance, a horrific scream ripped through the compound, sending shivers down the spines of Menace and Zarco. They looked at each other questioningly, then their eyes went to Chaos, who was smirking behind the podium.

The Obelisk Kel Dor and the Krath Human turned and ran in the direction of the scream. They ran down the main hall and turned right at the passage that accessed what passed for the "sunroom" at this dark facility. Plants, some sentient, used for alchemy experiments and force training, writhed under the massive transparasteel structure appended to the building. The garden was so large that it was easy to forget that one was not outside in the jungle that surrounded the compound.

A chomping sound could be heard in the copious foilage ahead. Zarco took point with his riot gun at the ready. Menace drew his katana in a flourish but without a sound and followed some three meters behind Zarco. Zarco nimbly stepped over and around this limb and that vine, taking care to approach with silence. The Nexu certainly had superior hearing but Zarco hoped that the beasts augmentation and blood lust had dulled their senses somewhat.

Zarco dropped to one knee and raised his hand in a first signalling Menace to stop. Menace likewise crouched at the ready. Zarco peered through the brush at the grisly scene through the large ferns. A lone Nexu stood between three unfortunate Initiates lying in the small clearing, one face down, one face (or what was left it) up, and one being devoured under the Nexu.

Zarco raised the pointer finger on his right hand and twirled his finger in a circle silently requesting Menace to move forward. Menace crept forward and knelt beside Zarco. The two exchanged rudimentary directions telepathically through the force that spanned the short distance between them. Menace crept forward ready for the attack. Zarco went off through the jungle to the right to flank the seemingly unsuspecting beast.

Zarco sent a thought to Menace to signal his readiness. Menace burst through the foilage with sword held on high in a charge at the beast. The Nexu raised his head and roared, his attention focused on the charging Kel Dor. Zarco pushed the barrel of his Blastech 500 riot gun towards the roaring beast some twenty meters away. When Menace was four meters from the beast Zarco began to fire.

"Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!" the riot gun recoiled against Zarco's shoulder. Zarco loved the smell of a freshly fired weapon and revelled in the recoil of his uncivilized tool. The energy of the weapon lashed out against the creature's side and dug into its patterned fur to burn and disrupt the flesh below. The creature howled, this time in its own pain, and turned left ninety degrees towards its attacker in the bush.

Its massive paws shifted to initiate a charge against Zarco. Menace was just arriving at the beast and drove his katana deep into its side. The Kel Dor twisted the sword within the beast to open a wound channel and then withdrew the blade. Blood burst forth from the beast and Menace raised his sword to bring it cleaving down onto the beast's neck. The Nexu's massive neck and vertebrae within resisted the stroke. Undeterred, Menace withdrew the blade to strike again and again.

All the while, Zarco regained control of his bucking weapon and took aim on the beast's left hindquarter so as to obviate the possibility of injuring Menace. "Wham! Wham! Wham!" Three shots into the beast's left hind leg destroyed its mobility. Even as the beast's rear fell Menace was dispatching it from the front.

Zarco stepped forward through the ferns with his smoking weapon held still ready. Menace whipped his blade in a circular motion removing the blood from his blade before resheathing it in an instant. Zarco nodded slightly at the perfect display of chiburi and noto, essential components of Iaijutsu.

A roar came from opposite sides of the clearing. Zarco and Menace crouched back to back. Menace's blade felt the hot, wet night air once more. Zarco let his riot gun hang from his tactical vest, lashed there at his right shoulder, and pulled his grenade from its pouch on that same vest.