The Obelisk thought back the message again. *I could be the next Black Guard.* He smiled to himself.

He had spent a lot of time hunting through endless records of planetary surveys, wildlife documentation and science logs. It was a task he had taken to with great fervor. The idea of making Blackguard brought a glowing smile to his face and a joy to the task of gathering his research materials. Well, he had to look up the word "arthropod" but once he knew what he was looking for he hit the books hard.

One planet in particular had drawn his attention in his research. There was a humid little planet in the Jaga's Cluster that seemed the most likely candidate from the nature of its wildlife. There were no inhabitants to speak of, so the Flesh-garbler was likely to have lived undisturbed by the march of progress.

That was what had brought him to the planet of Jagomir. He had spent the last few days among the remnants of an abandoned base, and spent many hours crouching on top of a scouting platform. The spot allowed him to watch the wildlife without disturbing it. This base had once been a fallback point for the wretched Rebels, but over time nature began to reclaim its rightful claim.

That particular night Staohes had been scanning the tree line and sipping from his thermos of stimcaf.The usual rodents had been scurrying about here and there. It was getting pretty late, and the Jedi Hunter was seriously thinking about just turning in for the night and renewing his observations in the morning. He’d done a lot of hiking around for the last few days, but found nothing that fit the description given of the Flesh-Garbler.

*Did I choose the wrong planet?* He let out a rush of breath from his nose. *After all that work, I fail at my chance to become a Blackguard. What a disappoint I must be to my master.* The Obelisk stopped as a mammal came into view, but then moved on after watching for a few minutes. *All this time wasted on research. Kark.*

Suddenly, the intense rustling of some trees caught his eye. Picking up his macrobinoculars, Bentre zoomed in toward the tree. There was a quick movement, and a rodent nearby disappeared into the ground.

“What in the world?” the Corellian muttered to himself. “That is not like anything I have seen the last few days.” After looking hard at the spot for a few moments, the Jedi Hunter turned himself around, and began to lower himself down by the makeshift ladder.

About three quarters of the way down, the old tower gave a shudder. “No, please no.” Bentre looked down, and saw the ground begin to sway beneath him. He grasped the rungs for a moment, waiting for the movement to stabilize. As the tower creaked and moaned in protest, he realized there were few choices. *If this thing falls on top of me, I could be trapped for quite a while. Kark kark kark.* With a sigh, the Assassin threw himself from the tower.

He hit the ground hard, and the tower toppled back into the base with a loud crash. As soon as he was able, Bentre rolled to his stomach, and tentatively lifted himself to his hands and knees. He rubbed his side, realizing that it was sore to the touch. *Well damn.* It looked like he had landed on his blaster when he landed.

Taking it from its holster, he checked over the blaster carefully, and then took a peek at the power cell. By all appearances, it was functional. *Oh well, on to that spot in the trees.*

The wildlife had disappeared when the large crash occurred. It took Stahoes a moment to find the spot where the rodent had suddenly disappeared. Flashing his glowlamp to the ground, he saw a large pile of lumber gathered around the bottom of the tree. How long it had been there, he had no idea.

*It does seem a little odd that it’s gathered all here.* The Corellian reached out to lift one of the fallen branches. As he was lifting it, a furry appendage came from the ground, and struck out at his left arm. Pain immediately arched through his limb, and the Assassin drew back sharply.

“What the hell?” he massaged his arm where the pain had originated. Turning his glowlamp on himself, he saw a puncture wound. The sting was already beginning to swell, and was surprisingly painful to the touch. “That was odd.”

Looking around, Bentre tried to find a longer stick. He needed to lure out whatever that was, but he didn’t want to get stung again. *This one is already painful enough.*

After finding a sizable branch, the Obelisk used his right arm to push upon the pile of sticks and branches. Immediately, a large red appendage struck out again. This time, though, he saw the gleam of eyes. The creature did not seem very pleased, attacking the stick savagely.

“No you don’t.” Stahoes growled, pulling his blaster out and firing several times. The creature let out a shriek, and then fell limp. It was poking out of a hole in the ground, which Bentre had failed to spot the first time. The creature’s lair was hidden by a trapdoor of sorts, which looked mostly like the ground around it.

*No wonder I hadn’t seen it.* The thing was dead now, though. The Assassin let out a sigh. He let out a sigh, and reached for his comm.

“This is Bentre Stahoes. I believe I have found the target.” The beeping of an astromech droid met this news. “Yes, I am glad we found it too, bud. Well, go ahead and transmit a message to Shar Dakhan.” He looked at the arthropod on the ground, which lay dead. It looked akin to a common spider, but it had two sets of fangs and its legs and body were protected by a plated exoskeleton similar to a crab. It was fascinating, but unfortunately dead. *Hopefully it isn’t the only one.

“Tell the clan that we have found the Flesh-Gargler. Tell them to rendezvous at our current location to gather the rest of the colony.” The droid gave an affirmative beep, and Bentre put away his comm.

*Hopefully, there are more. Otherwise I will have some egg on my face.*

With a chuckle, Stahoes used the stick to force up the trapdoor. As he flashed his glowlamp into the hole, he could not see much beyond the passageway. There did not seem to be any other choice. Taking a breath, he dropped himself down the passageway.

He slid for a few moments, and the Assassin was not unsure that he had made a huge mistake. Then, the passage opened up, and he found himself falling into a soft bed of something. It was actually quite comfortable. It was quite warm. It was also moving.

The sound of a low hiss of some sort rose up around Bentre. As he struggled to find his glowlamp, he felt more movement around him. When he brought the light up to illuminate the chamber, he was met by a horrifying sight. One of those **things** was looking him right in the eye. Its sectioned eyes were focused on him, and it clicked one set of fangs together before it jumped him.

The beast reached out and pricked him with one of its leg stingers into the Jedi Hunter’s shoulder. It was extremely painful, and caused the muscles to contract. Then, he found he couldn’t move the limb. As moments passed by, Bentre realized he was having even more trouble moving. The creature struck him again, injecting more poison into his system. Stahoes found he was paralyzed.

The Flesh-garbler clicked its two sets of fangs together. It was joined by many more clicks. Then it finally struck the Obelisk what a horrid mistake he had made. Yes, he had located the Flesh-Garbler. He had even found a colony that was alive and thriving.

He supposed he should be proud though. Perhaps this would mean that he would at least go down in history as the discoverer of this creature’s natural habitat. He still had to wonder though, *What is with the second set of fangs?*

As though to answer the question, the Garbler struck out with its fangs. With the first bite, a burning sensation began to ripple through his body. He felt as though every nerve on his body was on fire. The pain was so immense, and soon that was all that Bentre could feel.

The horror was not over, however. The creature reared back for a moment, and then stuck its second set of fangs into its previously made wound. It only took the Assassin a moment to realize what was going on. He felt the creature sucking on the muscle and tissue below his skin. The burning sensation spread further, and Bentre could feel liquified tissue being pulled from his body.

*It liquefies your flesh and drinks you like soup.* Bentre’s eyes grew wide when he realized what was going on. He was not going to live through this. Here he was: *Bentre the great discoverer and greater victim of the feared Flesh-Gargler.*

But at least he found the damn thing.