The Fourteenth Great Jedi War left deep wounds across the surface of Arx. One such victim, unnoticed by the Brotherhood at large, was the Corrino Research Laboratory on the marshy continent of Uskil. The Collective had assaulted the Shadow Academy's Nesolat platform to gain access to the surface of Arx, its strategic importance dwarfing its role as an isolated research facility. When the battle moved to the planet's surface, the Nesolat was discarded like so much chaff, and debris from the disintegrating station was scattered across the planet.

Some of that debris struck the specimen habitat, damaging them enough for the specimens contained within to escape into Uskil’s swampy wilderness. In the aftermath of the invasion, playing animal control was a low priority for the Iron Throne, but the beasts became more of a nuisance—and even a danger—as time went on. Their exposure to the maelstrom of Force energies around Uskil, stirred up by the Grand Master’s ritual during the invasion, has made the creatures aggressive and unpredictable.

Rather than wandering Uskil’s swampy, storm-soaked wildlands, many of the escaped beasts have since returned to their ruined habitats, finding the climate more to their liking; it was designed for them, after all. They’ve since become extremely territorial, attacking any Shadow Academy staff who try to remove them so the habitats can be rebuilt. Rather than continue to delay the Academy’s research and sacrifice hapless construction workers and lab technicians, the Headmistress has put out a call to any members of the Brotherhood who are willing to help with the problem.

Your goal in this scenario is to subdue and capture the hostile creature so that it can be transported to a different facility for further testing. As the creature has been modified by the Academy’s scientists, the Headmistress would strongly prefer that you capture it alive, rather than killing it and forcing the researchers to make do with data from a dead specimen.

Earlier in the day, Tahiri was able to get a quick one on one talk with the Headmistress of the Shadow Academy, Ciara. The Battlelord had gotten what parts of the story she was able to, though not much, and the details were still a bit vague. However, that was why she was here, more specifically to help Ciara, secondly to hunt and capture the rogue creatures. The Headmistress warned her not to get cocky or underestimate the creatures on Uskil. Tahiri had told her not to worry and reminded Ciara that she had her own creature companions, so she would be fine.

Tahiri consulted her datapad once again as the ship that had dropped off her and her companion Vornskr, Hadzuska, took to the sky again from the southeastern coast of Uskil. The crew seemed fairly scared of even coming around this place, giving Tahiri and Hadzuska barely enough time to jump onto the platform before the ship was already taking off. The musky air was damp from the recent rain storm that had just passed over, and it looked like another was coming up fast.

I’m still annoyed with Ciara insisting on a partner for this mission, but I guess that it **IS* a good idea to have someone other than Zuska to watch my back. Now, I’m supposed to meet my partner, Freylia Shanfe, to capture the creatures we come across. Though she doesn’t seem to be here ye...”*

Tahiri’s thoughts were interrupted by a small explosion close by, just down one of the winding paths in amongst the ruins of the Corrino Research Laboratory facility. The short, slick fur on Hadzuskas’ hackles raised slightly, and he let out a soft growl. Slowly positioning himself just a bit in front of Tahiri, he awaited for the command to move forward.

Tahiri slipped her datapad back into its respective pocket, calling her Rune lightsaber to her right hand, but didn’t ignite the blade just yet. While her left hand slipped a throwing knife from its hidden sheath on her person, she concentrated for just a moment on Zuska’s mind. Both of the trained hunter’s eyes scanned their surroundings in opposite directions of each other, that way neither were caught unaware. Tahiri sent Zuska a silent command to move forward, however no striking until they knew who did it, or what was going on. Almost in sync with each other, the pair moved forwards to where the explosion came from.

Zuska sniffed his surroundings, licking the air, tasting the scents of any creature, beside his beta. He would protect her at all costs. Tahiri could sense these primal thoughts and feelings from her Vornskr companion.

Together they rounded a corner and as Zuska prepared for a fight, Tahiri instead stopped in her tracks as she took in the scene that was just a little further down the smooth path. A huge piece of a wall from a labratory building a little above had fully blocked the path, and there in the middle of an impressive hole was a young woman admiring her handy work. And she was…

Is she talking to herself?

“Most impressive, and I only used only two of my pyro charges. Hey BRUC3, what do you think?” the woman asked the small BD-unit droid at her feet. The droid looked between her and hole, then made a rapid series of beeps, chirps, and clicks.

“What do you mean by, MEH?” she asked, sounding hurt by what the little droid had said. “This was precision work! If I didn’t place those two charges in just the right places, we would still have a ton of rubble in front of us!” Throwing her hands up as the little droid just looked forward and did what looked like a little shake. Folding her arms, the woman huffed and stuck out her tongue at the droid, which in turn sent the little guy into a tiny fit of high beeps and chirps.

Meanwhile Tahiri had replaced her throwing dagger, keeping her Rune hilt in her hand till she knew for certain this was her partner. Although she had a feeling this black haired woman was. The Togruta put her left hand on Zuska’s back, sending him calming thoughts. Letting him know that she would go ahead and for him to follow close behind. Tahiri moved cautiously and confidently forward.

“Greetings, you must be Freylia Shanfe?” Tahiri asked aloud as she stopped about 5 meters away.

The woman spun around suddenly, her purple eyes shone bright against her olive skin. A wide bright smile broke across her face as she tilted her head, assessing the Sith in front of her.

“Aye, and you must be Red, my partner in this hunt?”

“Yes I am. You can call me Tahiri though,” the Battlelord responded with a chuckle. She heard in Freylia’s tone that she was joking with the nickname Red.

*Finally someone with a sense of humor.” Tahiri’s own sharp smile showed itself as she hooked her saber back onto her belt and mentally called Zuska to her side.

“Whoa, you already caught a creature?” the mercenary stared at Zuska in astonishment.

“No this my Vornskr pet, Hadzuska. Zuska for short. You may pet him if you like?” Tahiri offered so as to establish a bit of trust and to show that she wasn’t a threat to Freylia.

“Really! Wow, I haven’t ever pet a Vornskr before.”

Tahiri mentally told Zuska to be nice and that she was a friend. He looked up at her and then slowly padded over Freylia, sniffing her outstreched hand, and then letting her pet his head. After a few moments though he shook himself and walked back over to Tahiri's side.

“Well, now that we’ve introduced each other, let's get this show on th…” the Mirialan was interrupted by the chips and whirls of her droid. “Oh silly me, I forgot. Tahiri, this is BRUC3. I guess you could say he’s kind of my pet.”

Being called a pet really sent the little droid into a tantrum, though it was cut short by the howls that came from all around them. Zuska instantly went back on the defensive, stepping just ahead of Tahiri but turning slightly. While the droid shook and hid behind Freylia’s leg, beeping as it did so.

“What do you mean there are a dozen Vornskr surrounding us?”

“It means, we don’t have to go looking for our quarry,” Tahiri interjected. “Our quarry has found us.” Unclasping her cloak, and letting it drift to the ground. Tahiri called her saber to her hand once again, igniting its hot plasma crimson blade, while also reaching across with her left hand and unclipped her electro-whip. As the whip uncoiled, its crackling energy could be loudly heard over the hum of her lightsaber, the Togruta asked with a smile, “Ready to have a little bit of fun? Just remember we need to take some alive.”

Freylia responded with a toothy grin, pulling out a Purge Electrohammer, and asked, “Well, what are we waiting for then?”

Freylia caressed the hammer in her grasp. She loved her Boom-Stick, and it loved her too. Looking around, she couldn't see the hiding Vornskr, but she knew they were there. BRUC3's sensors were rarely off. She studied the Togruta who had been paired with her. The red-skinned female looked strong, and Freulia liked strong. Combined with that whip...yeah, she liked this one a lot.

The howling of the approaching Vornskr grew louder. BRUC3 hopped up onto her back and snuggled in next to her denton pack. The two females waited in anticipation for something to happen. The beast would be the ones to strike first, and they needed to be ready.

Two of the pack struck first, attacking from each side. As the creatures approached at top speed, Tahiri pulled her left hand back before snapping her whip at one of the Vornskr. The tip impacted the animal's side, stinging it and causing it to turn and run. Without missing a beat, Hadzuska tackled the creature to the ground. Tahiri approached the animal and touched its squirming body. As she concentrated, the Vornskr stilled. The Force calmed it into submission before it just lay where it was, unmoving.

The second Vornskr made a beeline towards Freylia, but the Mirialan smashed her hammer into the ground as it closed in on her. As the hammer hit the soil, a shockwave spread from the point colliding with the Vornskr, causing it to trip over its feet. She followed up by swinging the hammer around her and careening it into the beast's side. Wit a loud yelp, the Vornskr was sent rolling across the ground before it lay still on the ground, knocked out and incapacitated.

Freylia skipped over to the Togruta with a large grin on her face.

"Well, that was easy. I don't see what the big deal is."

Tahiri studied the two downed Vornskr with a grim look on her face. She made a realization about precisely what kind of mutation these creatures had been through.

"These were juveniles."

"Juveniles? But they're about the same size as your buddy right there," Freylia started pointing to Zuska.

"And that means the adults are quite a bit larger. And probably more deadly," Tahiri responded, a hint of fear in her voice as a howl rang out.

About twenty yards away, looking over the two women, stood the rest of the pack. Ten Vornskr, larger than the typical specimen and with longer, sharper claws, stood poised to strike and kill. Tahiri and Freylia looked on up at the creatures that were prepared to assault them. Freylia shook her head and dropped her hammer to the ground.

"Frak this. Ciara can deal with fried Vornies." The Mirialan took out her grenade launcher and aimed at the imminent threat before firing her projectile at them. The resulting explosion shook the ground and caused a large cloud of dust. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. Freylia turned to Tahiri and grinned widely.

"And that's how we deal with that," Freylia said before a Vornskr leaped from the dust cloud and pounced on her back, biting into her right shoulder.

Tahiri swiftly moved to her left, with a precise twist and thrust of her lightsaber, stabbed through its left eye. Her blade met little resistance as it entered the brain of the beast. The Vornskr let go of Freylia just enough to let out yelp before it slumped onto its side. Freylia, wounded, was caught in the grasp of the great beast's fore paws.

The Battlelord didn’t have time to help the Mirilian up, as two more of the huge adult Vornskr leapt out of the cloud of dust. One landed on the path, very near the Togruta and twisted, striking quickly, not with it’s claws or teeth, but with the large stinger on it’s tail. Having mere seconds to react, Tahiri’s instints took over and she performed a twisted acrobaticle dance away from the beast. Her lightsaber spun with her, creating a dazzling spinning arc of crimson light around her, mixing in with the blue crackling energy of the Electro-whip. In quick succession, the venomous stinger tail was thrusted at her three times, the Vornskr changing its stance each time, coming closer to her.

The first two times, she dodged out of the way, giving ground to the beast. On the third strike, Tahiri brought her whirling blade around and sliced through the tail right above the venom stinger. Hissing, the Vornskr jumped back, a wounded look in it’s eyes. Tahiri pressed her attack, bringing the whip up and around her head, cracking it above her in the air. The flash of lightning lit up everything, while the tremendous thunder added to the crackling electricity of the whip as the Togruta stood her ground against the wounded animal.

The second beast, which had landed on the other side of the dead Vornskr, watched for it’s chance to take down this new rival. Hadzuska watched from his position near the column, where he still stood over the juvenile, but the bigger Vornskr paid him no attention, instead heading towards the Force-sensitive being that killed a member of the pack. However, Zuska was not going to give the beast any chance to strike his beta. Without a sound, the sleak Vornskr slipped closer and struck first. HIs tail whipped and thrust forward, his stinger peircing deep into the lower hind leg of the bigger Vonrskr. Yelping, the bigger beast’s focus was interrupted by the sudden pain. Zuska wasted no time in lunging for the throat of the larger beast as it turned towards him.

Tahiri heard the yelp, but kept her focus on the wounded Vornskr in front of her. I can’t let it get near Freylia, but I also can’t let it escape. A wounded Vornskr is not easy to deal with. Her mind raced for a quick way to end this one so as to help Freylia up.

Tahiri’s grip tightened just a bit, before she spun her lightsaber in a figure-eight motion twice. Taking a step forward on the second motion, she flicked her left wrist in an underhanded motion, making the end of the whip wrap around the upper leg of the wounded beast. She intended to electrfy the beast, but it swiftly pulled away from her. While almost yanking the whip from her left hand, her thumb releasing the activator for the electricity, the Vornskr completely pulled Tahiri off her feet. Causing her to crash hard into the ground, and drop her lightsaber, which skittered a few meters away to her right.

The Battlelord didn’t want to be dragged across the ground too far, rolling quickly forward onto her left knee, and getting a bit of slack in the whip, she called upon the Force. Her right hand crackled with extra energy. Thrusting it forward, the Togruta sent a stream of lightning smack dab into the ribcage, while also finding and activating the electo-whip’s own electicity. The beast howled as it felt pain, and then fell over. The smell of burnt meat mixed with the refreshing rain.

“Look out!” Freylia cried.

A tingle came from her left, as Tahiri twisted around just in time to see another Vornskr jump at her, using a column as a launching pad to get behind her. Knowing the whip was of no use, still wrapped around the leg of the other beast, she dropped the handle and dove to her right. The jaws missed her shoulder by centimeters, but it’s claws raked across her abdomen and right side.

Freylia gritted her teeth as she watched her new red buddy get clawed. She turned to the dead Vornskr, whose body held her tightly and grabbed hold of its paws. She was lucky that the Vornskr had bitten down on her right shoulder where her cybernetic arm was attached. The pain was still present, but there was far less blood than there would have been otherwise. Using all her strength, she pulled the paws away from her body and slid herself from beneath the beast.

Now freed, the Mirialan pulled out her disruptor pistol. There was no more time for simple games. These beasties had pissed her off, and now they needed to die. As she made her way towards Tahiri, another Vornskr ran towards her, its jaws foaming and snapping in her direction.

“Sorry, poochie!” Freylia aimed her blaster and fired. The ionized blast caught it between the eyes, vaporizing the creature in an instant. The olive-skinned mechanic kissed her blaster. “That’s my puddin!”

Turning towards Tahiri, Freylia saw the Vornskr that had clawed the Togruta preparing a second attack, and she fired at that beast as well. Just as the other before, this Vornskr burst as it was hit by the ionic charge. Tahiri stood back up, clutching her new wounds.

“You all good to go, girlie?” the Mirialan asked her partner.

“There should only be a few left. Even with these wounds, I’ll live.” Tahiri whistled, and Zuska rushed to her side, snarling in the direction of the remaining creatures.

“How many do you think are left?”

“Judging by how many we’ve killed and the two juveniles?” Tahiri closed her eyes and concentrated. She could barely make out the feeling of three more Vornskr hiding in the distance. They were clumped together and seemed to be waiting for an opening. “I can feel three more out there. Your grenade launcher must’ve done some real damage.” Tahiri said as she pointed in the direction, she could feel the beasts.

“Yeah, that’d be my sugar daddy!” Freylia responded, her pride showing through. “Why don’t you sit back and heal up them wounds like you Force users do. I’ll handle these three.” The Mirialan pulled out a round grenade of some kind. After putting away her disruptor pistol, she also pulled out a small detonator. “A little bit of tinkering here,” she started syncing the grenade to the detonator and adjusting it to not explode on impact., “and that should do it!”

Tahiri just watched the too-happy Arconan as she started walking in the direction of the Vornskr she sensed. Sitting back down, she began to concentrate on her injuries. She felt a familiar warmth growing across the claw marks on her abdomen and side. Slowly the wounds started to close.

Freylia skipped her way towards the Vornskr and called out for them.

“Come here, Vornies. I’ve got a present for you.”

The Vornskr looked straight past the approaching armed woman to the Togruta, healing herself. Between the two, the easiest target was clear. With a howling growl, the three remaining beasts charged around Freylia and made their way to Tahiri. Freylia simply smiled and turned quickly, throwing the stun grenade with all her strength. The device flew past the Vornskr, landing near the healing Togruta.

“What the—”

Before Tahiri could finish her sentence or the Vornskr could stop their charge, the Mirialan pressed the red button on her detonator. The grenade burst with a blue ring of charged electro-particles. As Tahiri, Zuska, and the Vornskr were hit by the entrenching ring, their nervous systems went haywire, knocking the five of them out.

Freylia looked at her handiwork and giggled happily. She ran over to the downed Togruta and shook her to try and wake her up.

“Well, those things are stronger than I thought. Oopsie.” The Mirialan activated her wrist-link computer and opened up a communications channel with the personnel who assigned her the mission. “Mission complete! This is Freylia and Tahiri sounding off!”