Kenari is a fairly obscure planet that few had ever heard of. The planet was long abandoned after being labeled as toxic due to an Imperial Mining Incident, which is why the Covenant was able to remain hidden as long as it has. The Planet's only inhabitants are the native tribes that live simple, nomadic lifestyles compared to the rest of the known galaxy. Kenari is most notably the homeworld of Cassian Andor.

The Covenant remains hidden amongst the planet's abandoned mines, within a canyon that had fortunately kept it from sight from would-be thieves and looters.Tunnels from the nearby mines act as shortcuts to the fallen ship. The upper hull of the Covenant* has been breached, granting easy access for those with the means, or willpower, to do so. Rainfall has dulled and rusted the surface of the ship, making certain walkways flimsy and dangerous to travel.

With few venturing out due to the danger. Members of Clan Plagueis and Clan Taldryan have been tasked with infiltrating the abandoned Venator to retrieve a most vital artefact that was codenamed: The Ark.

However, what stands in the way are members of the opposing Clan. The ship and the area around it have been designated as a free-fire zone by both the Taldryan Supreme Chancellor and Plagueis Dread Lord, with those entering it doing so at their own risk, as a work around to the non-aggression pact signed by both leaders in the Canto Bight Accords. This makes The Covenant a hostile battleground, both inside and out. Although it has certainly seen better days, The Covenant is a true testament to the might of a Republic from over half a century ago.

The floor of the canyon below was like an unhealing scar on the surface of Kenari, not naturally forming but a deep gash left by the decrepit remains of The Covenant as it crashed into the planet's surface long ago. TuQ’uan Varick di Plagia, Quaestor of House Tyranus and Right Hand of Dread stood on the precipice of the cliff with Bril Teg Arga, the newest member of Clan Plagueis and House Ventress. How he got stuck with Nora’s apprentice, he wasn’t sure, but the Dread Lord had given them a task and he wasn’t ready to disappoint Selika. He took a deep breath of the fresh air and looked out at the wreckage down below.

“Peaceful, isn’t it?” he asked Bril, the distant sound of blaster fire rang out from the opposite side of the canyon. “According to the intel we have, we can either play it safe and take the long way down, or we can have some fun and take a leap of faith.”

TuQ turned back to see the Zabrak studying the forest they had come through.

“I think someone’s following us,” Bril spoke so softly TuQ nearly had to strain to hear.

“Fun way it is.” TuQ’uan dropped a duffle bag on the ground and pulled out two large lengths of rope, he and Bril tied one end to themselves and the other to a pair of trees near the edge of the cliff, Bril was a little more thorough that his partner.

Crack, twig snapped just inside the woods. TuQ’s hand dropped to his blaster, ready to draw at a moment's notice and signaled to Bril to keep silent. A group bearing the Taldryan insignia exited the forest not far from them, each group was just as surprised to see the other. Without hesitation, TuQ drew, unleashing a smattering of blaster fire. A split second later bolts flew back and forth across the open space separating the members of the two clans.

Bril edged towards the cliff laying down fire in an attempt to force his targets back into the forest. The Taldryan soldiers took cover behind trees, firing blindly, it worked! A flash of heat brushed past the Zabrak's cheek. Bril spun around, a new group had emerged behind them.

“They’re flanking us,” he shouted. “We have to move!”

“Go!” TuQ cried. Bril nodded and climbed over the edge rappelling down the cliff as quickly as he could. TuQ took aim at the attacking Taldryan forces, determined to buy Bril as much time as possible. Another volley of plasma erupted from his DL-44, tearing through the leaves of the trees. The Kel Dor quickly wrapped the rope around left arm, preparing himself for an epic escape.

Beep. Beep. Beep, beep, beep.

A flash bang grenade rolled to a stop near his feet.

Now or never, TuQ thought as he holstered his blaster and ran for the cliff’s edge. At the last moment he dropped to the ground and slid over the edge and into a freefall. The Kel Dor felt weightless for what felt like entirely too long before the breath rushed out of his lungs in a pained gasp as a sudden snap pulled at his arm and the rope tightened to the point of cutting off circulation.

Bril, safely on The Covenant, drew his blaster and readied to open fire should the Taldryan’s decide to poke their heads out. TuQ’s grunts were the only sound to fill the canyon as he finally gathered his wits and untangled the rope from around his arm. The rope vibrated in the Kel Dor’s hand, short bursts. Bzzz, pause, bzzz. A half dozen times, and once again weightlessness took over. The cliff face whizzed by and, was that the rope falling with him? The final thirty feet down passed in the blink of an eye and with a thud he lay at Bril’s feet.

“What did I say? Fun right?” he wheezed out.

Having only been in the Brotherhood for a short time, Bril was still acclimating to the way the clans interacted with one another; however, through his studies and conversations with other Plagueis members, he'd come to understand that open war between clans was strictly prohibited thanks to an agreement called the Canto Bight Accords. It seemed that for this occasion, though, that the Accords had been placed on a temporary hold, allowing Taldyran and Plagueis members to battle each other with the hopes of claiming the treasures lying within the long-abandoned Venator-class Star Destroyer known as the Covenant. Despite how quickly the duo had been thrown into combat, Bril didn't seem perturbed by it; moreover, he secretly relished the opportunity to test his skills in a battle. The extent of his combat experience consisted of long hunts on Iridonia as a child and a brief stint as a prize fighter in the Belkada fighting ring on Nal Hutta which, while impressive in their own right, were far removed from the challenge he expected they'd face today.

TuQ'uan hit the ground with an audible groan, and it wasn't long until Bril was standing over him with an unimpressed look on his face. "Nice going," he said, leaning down to inspect the Kel'Dor's arm. "How badly does it hurt?" Bril got his answer when he gave TuQ's forearm a squeeze, causing the man to jerk it away while muttering something in a language he couldn't understand.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. See?" said TuQ, who made a show of straightening his arm and rotating his wrist a few times, though noticeably slower than normal. "Barely a flesh wound. At least the hat stayed on." TuQ dusted himself off and readjusted his hat before continuing onward toward the Covenant.

Bril shrugged and followed suit, maintaining his grip on his blaster in case their Talydran adversaries caught up to them.

As time passed, Kenari's heavy precipitation cycle had created a river in the artificial canyon, although it only encompassed a narrow slice of the total area of the massive crevasse created by the Covenant crash. As they walked alongside it, Bril kept his eyes peeled for any movement in their surroundings, but he didn't see anything so far. Nevertheless, he knew it was only a matter of time before they'd find another group of Taldryan members in pursuit of the same goal. They needed to put more distance between them. Although he wasn't the type to shy away from a challenge, he knew that their chances of success would drop as more enemies entered the fray, so he'd rather not fight multiple opponents at once. With a noticeably quickened pace, Bril passed TuQ and gestured for him to follow. "Better keep up, old man. We're burning starlight."

"Old? I'm in my prime, kid! What you're seeing is a finely tuned blastin' machine," TuQ fired back, and quickened his pace to match the younger Zabrak.

Expectedly, Bril's decision to speed up proved to be a prescient one, because it wasn't long until the sound of distant voices caught the attention of both men. They didn't sound close enough for a full-fledged engagement yet, but their approach was enough motivation for TuQ to conceive of a plan. After a few moments, he snapped his fingers, "I've got an idea. Just follow my lead, kid."

If they couldn't avoid another fight, why not do it while they had the element of surprise? Tu'Q noticed a section of the canyon wall to his right that protruded enough to provide him with a vantage point and ample cover from return fire. Although it took him a little longer to climb it than he would have liked, he was glad that it wasn't his shooting arm that was injured. While TuQ ducked behind the rocky wall to conceal himself, Bril surveyed the section of the canyon's walls that they had already passed through, and spotted a collection of rocks twenty-or-so feet up that looked less sturdy than the rock that surrounded them. Perhaps that could work to their advantage? After finishing his investigation of the area, he took cover behind a rounded outcrop behind where TuQ's position. As their enemies approached, both Bril and TuQ exchanged glances, steeling themselves for the coming skirmish. Bril opened his mind to the Force, and it provided him with a general sense of the Talydrans' distance from them. Despite his inability to pinpoint their precise locations, their presence within the ubiquitous energy field was all he needed to accomplish his goal. Once he felt that they were close enough, Bril gave TuQ a thumbs up to let him know that his opportunity had arrived.

What followed left a mystified expression on Bril's face. His superior uttered something between a battle cry and a yodel, leaned out from behind cover just long enough to point his DL-44, and fired. The mercenary's accuracy, which was both impressive and a little frightening, ensured that he didn't need to properly settle into his shot. A brief flash of red was the last thing his target saw before he hit the ground with a muffled thud. And nearly as quickly as the first shot had been fired, several more rang out in rapid succession, and glorious chaos subsumed the once tranquil Kenorian valley.

As the fighting broke out, Bril remembered the rocks he'd spotted earlier. He would have to expose himself to enemy fire but if it paid off, it would likely give them an advantage against their opponents. "Cover me!" he yelled, prompting his fellow Plagueian to lay down heavy suppressing fire from behind the rock wall. Bril pulled his lightsaber from his belt and ignited it, causing it to emit a familiar thrum as its amber blade flared to life. Rolling from behind his cover, Bril assumed a bladed stance with his saber held in his right hand in a hanging guard. After deflecting a blaster bolt, Bril quickly extended a hand toward the aforementioned rocks, reaching out with the Force and yanking his hand back to send the rocks flying toward two Tal soldiers; the first took a rock square in the side of the head, knocking him out cold. The other, though shaken, still had enough of her bearings to fire two shots in retaliation. They found their mark in the center of Bril's chest, and were it not for his personal plasma shield, they would have left him with two likely fatal wounds in his torso. Knowing that his shield wouldn't hold up for too many more of those, Bril reassumed his stance and backed away so he could re-enter cover.

"Having fun yet, kid?!" TuQ shouted, "We're in the thick of it, now!"

"You're the marksman! Maybe I should draw their fire while you pick them off," suggested Bril.

"I don't know. I think we're doing pretty well!"

But how long until their luck took a turn for the worse? They were outnumbered, and he didn't know how long they'd be able to hold their positions when faced with the Taldryans' superior firepower. The two groups exchanged shouts and taunts as they each fought to gain an advantage on one another. The intense firefight felt like it had gone on forever despite in reality consisting of a few short engagements. If only Bril could get close enough to engage them with his saber, then he could really do some damage. With both parties' attention fixed on the current battle, none seemed to notice the sound of distant howls and laughter-like whooping over the sound of their shouting and blaster fire.

As the blaster fire raged on, the sound of howls quickly grew louder and louder sending a shiver down TuQ’s spine. He had heard terrifying things in his life, the screams of tortured victims, the screams of war victims, lots of different screams actually, but nothing chilled his blood quite like the sound coming towards them now. Something was coming and it was hungry for their blood. TuQ’s eyes darted around, surveying the scene. Bril looked nervous, whether he could hear the same sounds or whether he was sensing these creatures through the Force, TuQ didn’t know. He had spent a lot of time around these Force users and still didn’t quite understand how it all worked. Right now though, all he knew was something was coming and they needed to get out of here fast. TuQ continued firing blindly while using his off hand to search his belt for something useful.

Here goes nothing, the mercenary thought to himself and lobbed a sonic grenade out from behind his cover. As the black cylinder arched through the air, TuQ pressed his palms to his ears and cried out. “Bril!”

Bril caught on quickly and followed suit, deactivating his saber and covering his ears. The cylinder completed its flight through the air and landed at the feet of the Taldryan forces with a click, releasing a deafening blast of sound that took the soldiers by surprise. Dazed and disoriented, the sound of blaster fire was replaced by cursing as they struggled to regain their senses. TuQ took this opportunity to signal to Bril that it was time to get moving, and quickly scrambled back down to ground level, wincing a few times through the pain in his left arm. The two Plagueians took off, putting as much distance between their pursuers and themselves.

A single blaster shot echoed down the canyon walls, followed by another and another, the shots began to mix with the horrific sounds of screams. TuQ risked a glance back to see the Taldryan’s fighting for their lives, blaster shots went every which way as a pair of Tuk’ata pounced on them. The di Plagia recognized these terrifying creatures; he had seen Tahiri’s pet Tuk’ata in action enough times to know how dangerous they were when they were on the hunt. TuQ didn’t know how they got to Kenari, and he didn’t really want to find out.

Grabbing Bril by the arm, he dragged the Zabrak up against the side of the Covenant. They didn’t have enough time to search for a proper entrance, they were going to have to make one. He quickly banged his fist on a few spots of the hull before finding one that made a satisfactory hollow thud.

“Here, lightsaber, now!” he ordered the journeyman, panic filling his voice as it filtered through his mask. Quick on the draw, Bril ignited the amber blade and plunged it into the durasteel, dragging it along with all his might. TuQ risked another glance back, the Tuk’ata were feasting on their prey, good…well not good for the Taldryans, but it would buy the Plagueians some time to make their escape at least.

Frak.

One of the creatures lifted its head from its snack and licked its lips as it locked eyes with the Kel Dor.

“Faster, faster, can you go any faster?”

“Do you want to do this,” Bril grunted. A decent sized hole was forming as molten durasteel melted away in the wake of his blade. Time seemed to stretch out as the lightsaber inched closer and closer to completing its circular motion. TuQ danced anxiously in his spot. The first Tuk’ata nudged the second, bringing its attention to the fresh meat trying to escape. A bead of sweat slid down Bril’s temple. So close.

“Come on, come on,” TuQ pleaded.

“Done,” Bril sighed. The massive canine-like creatures began stalking forward, ready to continue hunting.

Bril returned his saber to its place on his belt and took a deep breath. Drawing on the Force, he felt the mystical power wrap itself around him, flow through him, fill him. His muscles tensed, legs flexed and he launched a powerful kick at the freshly cut hull of the ship. The round chunk of durasteel broke loose and shot across the small maintenance shaft on the other side.

“Age before beauty,” Bril quipped.

“Hey, respect your elders,” TuQ shot back, wasting no time climbing through the newly created entry to the Covenant. Just down the shaft, TuQ found a maintenance hatch that would take them out from the cramped space and into the open hallways of the decrepit Venator.

When Bril joined TuQ in the hallway of the ship, the Kel Dor was busy typing away on his datapad.

“Alright, according to the ship's schematics we should be about….here.” He pointed at the screen. “Which means engineering, and the Ark, shouldn’t be too far from us.”

A thud came from the wall they had just climbed through, its metallic ring echoing through the empty hallway. And another, and another. The sound surrounded them.

“We should get moving, now that they’ve got our scent, they won’t give up,” TuQ trailed off.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," Bril concurred, taking one final glance at the maintenance hatch before turning to venture deeper into the Covenant. A palpable sense of urgency hung in the air as the duo marched onward, buttressed by the sound of scratching and banging that echoed throughout the Star Destroyer's empty halls. Neither the seasoned Plagueis mercenary nor his greener counterpart had any intention of inheriting the same grizzly fate that befell the Taldryan troops. And what a brutal end that had been, mauled by those ... things. What Bril wouldn't give to expunge the sound of their screams from his kriffing mind, to be offered respite from the sight of bloody bones and viscera being ripped from their bodies, all which replayed in his mind like a broken holomovie.

"What were those things?" asked Bril, his voice lowered to a near hush.

"Tuk'ata," TuQ'uan offered, who kept a firm grip on his DL-44 while they walked. "Nasty creatures that the Sith are really fond of. Created them too, I think."

Bril nodded and retreated into silence again. It came as no surprise that those creatures were the product of Sith experimentation; even as someone born on Iridonia, a planet known having all kinds of dangerous wildlife, he found it hard to imagine that nature could create something like the Tuk'ata. Most haunting of all was their presence in the Force. It felt wrong. Despite having enough encounters with the Dark Side of the Force to familiar and comfortable with it, the sith hounds exuded an abominable tenor that left the normally resolute young Zabrak with a sarlacc pit in his stomach.

"They shouldn't exist." And no one could dissuade him from that fact.

"What was that?" asked TuQ.

Bril hadn't noticed that TuQ had produced his datapad to work on unlocking the next door they needed to pass through. He didn't answer, and he would have kept walking were it not for his partner cutting him off.

"Hey, snap out of it. Now's not the time to start falling apart, kid." His voice had a certain gravity to them, now. He pointed a slender, clawed finger at Bril's tattoos. "You're a warrior, right? Because if you are, you need to act like one. I read your file. Tahiri recommended you to the Brotherhood because she knows what you're capable of, so prove her right. Because if you don't, then we're both dead. Get it together."

Bril locked eyes with the shorter man and stood tall, "Solid advice, TuQ. You know, if this Brotherhood thing doesn't pan out, there's a career in motivational speaking waiting for you somewhere, I'm sure."

With his datapad in hand, TuQ led them the rest of the way to their Ark. The hall opened into an enormous ampulla of a chamber which was devoid of notable features save for a metallic sphere fixed between two durasteel pillars. "Jackpot," TuQ announced.

"This is it?" Bril had never set foot on a Star Destroyer, let alone seen the reactor of one. They seemed more akin to ants when standing next to it, which one might expect when considering what it took to power a ship of this size.

"Yep, this is what this has all been about."

He hoped it was worth it. If it wasn't, then someone would have to answer for sending them to toil away on this karking planet.

Another interruption by the Tuk'ata's animalistic whoops and grunts reminded them that they were on the chrono. They sounded closer this time. "It's only a matter of time before those things catch up with us," Bril noted, "We should go."

"Agreed. We'll circle back around and hold up somewhere until we can secure exfil. Speaking of which..." TuQ'uan tapped the vermillion comlink in his right ear while they walked. "Dank ferrik, comms are dead. Something must be interfering with the signal."

"Is there a way we can boost the signal?" suggested Bril, who kept his eyes on the entrance that they had just come through.

TuQ pondered his response for a moment. That was it! "The door controls still work. The ship may still have enough juice from the last time the reactor was used for us to use it to boost the signal. If we can get to the communications bay, then I may be able to slice into the comm relay long enough to send a distress signal to our boys above."

That was all Bril needed to hear. They traveled until they were nearly back where they started, but both men stopped in their tracks right after rounding the next corner. Standing there with its bloodshot eyes trained on them both was a Tuk'ata, stalking forward with its jagged fangs on full display. He ignited his lightsaber and just in time, too, because it lunged and took a swipe at him with its claws. Avoiding being disemboweled was easy enough but he hadn't accounted for the tail, which hit him like a bantha whip and threw him into the wall.

TuQ was quick to action, moving forward while peppering the beast with shots from his DL-44. Kriffing thing was tougher than he expected, but a well-placed shot between the ribs forced it back.

As his partner squared off with the sith hound, Bril pushed himself off the ground and picked up his now disengaged lightsaber, ignoring the dull pain radiating from where his back hit the side of the ship's interior. Waiting until there was a break in his partner's blaster fire, he sprinted forward and, just as the it turned to face them, threw a Force-amplified punch that sent the Tuk'ata careening into service panel on the far wall. Bril took a deep breath to offer himself a sense of calm alongside the rush of energy he felt after tapping into the Living Force. With the monstrosity down, the Zabrak wasted no time in re-igniting his lightsaber and descending upon it to deliver the final blow. One vertical cut from his saber severed its head and left an orange-hot glow on the floor beneath it. "May the ancestors find this kill agreeable," he muttered to himself while deactivating his lightsaber and tucking it into his belt.

"Let's keep moving, we're not that far from the communications bay," TuQ explained, taking the lead once again.

A few more turns followed before they arrived at their destination: a circular room filled with rows of old computers and other gadgets Bril didn't recognize. When he noticed TuQ quickly moving toward a large platform covered in electronics, though, he figured the di Plagia had located what he needed.

"Alright, now I'm going to need a minute, so cross your fingers that we don't have any more company," quipped TuQ, who had put his blaster away and inserted a computer spike into an access port he found on the mainframe. He had developed an impressive set of skills with computer networks, and he had to pull out all his tricks to slice into such an old system, but he'd get the job done; he had no other choice. To Bril, it looked like he was just tapping away on his datapad. Slicing wasn't his cup of tea, but he could appreciate the fact that it required a certain level of ingenuity and intellect to do effectively.

While he worked, Bril reached out with the Force again to survey as many of the Covenant's winding halls as his abilities would allow, searching for the same unsettling presence that he'd felt earlier. Nothing yet. That was good. "I don't want to add more pressure to an already tense situation, but try to hurry it up, will you?" That comment didn't elicit a response this time; TuQ was too focused on his current task.

Then, all of a sudden, two signatures appeared in Bril's awareness. A feeling of dread crept into his mind and removed all doubt that these were anything other than the same vile creations they'd encountered twice now. Taking a deep breath, he accepted the feeling for what it was and allowed it to pass on its own. Then, he gave TuQ'uan a long look while he worked. Although he'd initially had his doubts about working with the mercenary when he got his orders earlier that day, Bril had come to respect him for the skills he brought to the table. Bantering with him hadn't been so bad, either. Maybe he'd be able to consider him a friend one day. "Two more are coming,' he noted, "I'm going to buy you some time. Don't. stop. working."

Bril didn't give the Kel Dor time to get a word in edgewise. He had already turned the corner by the time TuQ registered what he'd said.

As he walked, he began to speak aloud in a flat tone, "Glory to the ancestors. May the Force guide my hand. Let whatever will be so, be so."

And there they were, standing across from him and bearing their fangs. He ignited his saber again and assumed a bladed stance with his left side forward. Holding his saber in a hanging guard allowed him to hear its steady hum clearly, which helped steel him for the impending battle. No, it wasn't a battle, but a hunt. And they were his prey. "Come on then, you karking bastards," he growled, seizing his growing defiant anger and using it to fuel him. The Zabrak felt his muscles flex in response to the Force's touch, priming him to strike. The first Tuk'ata lunged forward and struck with its claws, but Bril avoided it and landed a glancing blow across the leathery skin of its arm. Unlike before, his partial surrender to the Force to guide his actions had made his movements more instinctual in nature, and this showed as he battled the sith hounds. Ravenous hunger and the lingering rage created from their tortuous creation fueled him, and so it fueled him in kind because he'd established a tenuous connection between them; he couldn't use Vaapad to his full effect without doing so.

The three of them were locked in a dance of death, each fighting to lead the other into making a mistake that would spell the end of their encounter. It wasn't until both Tuk'ata coordinated their attacks that they landed a clean blow against him. One went low while the other went high, tearing into his left leg with its claws before the other pounced on him. Bril offered his arm, because he'd rather have it sink its fangs into that than his throat. Both attacks sent enough pain ripping through him to send most people into shock, but Bril gritted his teeth and kept at it. The crunch of bones in his arm didn't sound good, either. Luckily, he only needed one of them. Little did the damned beast know, it had sealed its fate by locking its jaw around his arm. Before it could release and regroup with its kin, Bril had already brought his other arm up beneath the one in its mouth, holding his saber's hilt so the emitter pointed toward its head. One click of the switch was all it took to burn a new hole between its eyes. Bril felt the hound's body go limp and its jaw relax, freeing his mangled arm. No matter. The hunt hadn't ended yet.

Taking in as much oxygen as he could with ragged breaths, he rose to his feet and lifted his lightsaber between himself and the final Tuk'ata. Puddles of blood were beginning to form at his feet, and his body felt heavy. He knew he needed to finish this quickly. Calling upon the Force again, he forced himself forward with preternatural speed, offering no attention to the searing pain in his leg and arm. Pain exploded from his abdomen when the Tuk'ata landed another blow, but that didn't stop him. The anger that had been building over the course of their battle reached a crescendo as Bril unleashed a flurry of swings that came from odd angles; there was no better example of controlled chaos, and it was what one him the day. He hadn't realized that the final slash ended with Bril roaring at his prey until he felt his breath catch. He disengaged his saber just before it slipped from his fingers and clattered against the ship's metal floor. The final sith hound lay before him in pieces, and only when it dawned on him that he'd won did Bril's body fail him. He hit the ground hard.

His one good hand found its place on his abdomen and felt the steady flow of warm blood coming from the wound. His last use of the Force began the process of slowing his pulse, his breathing, and metabolism significantly. As blackness crept into the corners of his vision, he repeated a phrase in Zabraki: "It is done ... It is done ... It is done ..."

Then, the darkness took him.

Elsewhere

TuQ'uan stood with his arms crossed next to Bril's bed, gazing down at him. "How long is he going to be like that?" he inquired, looking at the Plagueian medic assigned to his room.

"We've done all we can for him, so he'll make a full recovery. But I can't tell you when he'll wake up. When he's ready, I suppose."

TuQ cracked a grin and placed a hand on Bril's shoulder, "You did good, kid."