Lady and the Beast

Posted on Fri Jan 4th, 2019 @ 11:57pm by Thane & Amare & G2-O7

2,415 words; about a 12 minute read

Chapter: Chapter V: Unbound
Location: Unknown Sith Lord's hidden meditation chamber, Korriban
Timeline: 0110 Hours (Local Time), Day Two (After "Courage & Chrome")
Tags: terentatek, Capo, archonus, pureblood

OLD:

Now backed up against the stone slab, the two off-worlders were now cut off from the exits by the terentatek. G2 looked towards Coda only to find, to its bewilderment, that the Nautolan was not focused on the threat but had instead knelt down beside the hunk of stone and seemed to be in some sort of meditative state (something which made no sense to the mechanic, particularly in a time like this).

Helpless and now left alone, G2’s motors went into a spasm and it seemed to tremble as the burly beast paced forwards, ready to finally consume its prey and find strength to engulf those who had bested it before.

NEW:

Coda snapped herself back from her trance at the altar as she sensed the deep unbridled craving behind her. Whatever it was, she could sense its desire to feed, one that was becoming all too familiar to her. She was tired of running. She had enough of being the prey. As with Zenibalas, it was time to get a little crazy once again to do battle with the hunter.

She rose to her feet with a stern, confident gait. She whirled around to face the monster and activated her gold saber as she did, pointing it in the wounded terentatek's direction with dauntless fervor written across her sweat-soaked face. Having sensed Thane and Bomoor somewhere nearby, Coda hoped they would come looking for her, but cynically expected no help would be forthcoming if Lorrd was any indication. Jedi...ex-Jedi...Sith...men! she angrily thought, a darker shade of the Force surging into her hands. Always men with their idiotic tests! Abandonment is no test of strength or character. We're stronger together, dammit! One day, Thane, I'll abandon you when you need me the most, and put you to the test!

She threw a Force push right at the teretatek's plated head with her free left hand, but the only effect was a quick blast of air to lash harmlessly across its tough body. Her paltry telekinetic cantrip did not budge the monster an inch. That confident gait she held started to crumble before the might of the abomination that was growing agitated, and was about to make its deadly move.

The monster screamed at its prey, frustrated at failing to catch the woman unaware. However, with each iota of rage grumbling within the young Nautolan, the more the beast seemed to gristle, snapping its bare yellowed incisors with vicious intent. Not daunted but instead spurred by the darkness coursing through Coda, it twisted itself onto all four limbs and began speeding towards her, its great muscles tensed and ready to pounce.

Coda gasped and quickly hopped from the side of the raised meditation dias with a defensive swing that failed to connect, and dove further away from the platform and the terentatek that rattled the floor as it landed hard where she was standing. There was a low, shaky rumbling throughout the room in response to the opening attack. Since the explosion, the entire room seemed to be growing more and more unstable as the minutes ticked by.

Scrambling back up to her feet, she kept her eyes on the twisted spawn of ancient Sith alchemy, and both hands gripped firmly on her lightsaber held defensively in front of her, sidestepping carefully with her feet poised to leap out of danger again if need be. From the corner of her eyes, she saw G2 off to the side nervously observing the duel, and she could also see where she had dropped her shoto when her left arm had been brutally slashed by one of the shyracks. In spite of the hard, crusty Force-induced patch that formed itself over the wound, she still felt deep soreness and throbbing pain. However, like the terentatek, the inner darkness her physical agony inspired only spurred her on further, fueling her desire to kill this thing as quickly as possible so she could get back to the safety of her companions. She just needed to figure out how to circle around and attack it from behind. She wondered how that was even possible. The octagonal room had no cover whatsoever for her to disappear behind, and was well-lit by the blue fire of the braziers surrounding the dais and mounted along the walls.

Despite its previous furore, the beast was not scrambling to immediately make chase. Instead, it remained standing beside one of the braziers near to where the Nautolan had stood previously, now brought up to its full height and its elongated arms stretched out at either side of it, giving Coda her best unadulterated view of the monstrosity in its full and terrible glory.

Ancient scars ran across much of its taut leathery flesh, long-healed but deep and many. The maw of its mouth opened and snapped over and over, sick gristly sounds gurgling from within the creature's warped body. Coda could also see fresh burns, charred and ulcerated blistered flesh curling around one side of its body. Small and hateful eyes, for the first time, inched away from the woman to spy the burning white-blue flames of the brazier next to it. Alarmingly, a flicker of recognition seemed to flash in those glinting animalistic marbles, and it again looked to Coda.

With a roar, it sunk its claws into the base of the flames, dragging up the Sith-formulated chemicals, enhanced though they may have been by the magics of the Force, and flung it up at Coda with a hissing roar of both pain and fury.

She quickly pulled her black cloak up from her side and used it and her arm to shield herself from the charged bits of flaming brimstone. The pebbles bruised Coda's arm, but she wished she opted for the flame retardant treatment when she bought it on Lorrd as it started to catch fire. She felt the hard curved wall make not so gentle contact with her back and she pressed the burning part of her cloak against the stone to smother the flames before it consumed the favorite part of her fairly new outfit.

She continued to point her saber at the terentatek, but it continued to show no fear, fortunately it also didn't seem to be in a rush to kill her outright. It was toying with her, savouring the "scent" of her Force energy.

"Damn you, monster!" Coda screamed out of intense fear and frustration at the apex predator of Force users.

"Save your rage for someone who cares, my apprentice," said a voice that played out like an old memory in her at that instant. Time seemed to slow down as she sensed the words echo through her mind. It wasn't Shadrak this time, however, it was...

"Yes, Lord Archonus," replied a youthful and apologetic female voice. It was the Sith whose memories Coda was forced to experience against her will at the Academy of Aquatic Studies on Lorrd. Darth Archonus was a renegade Sith pureblood warlock that lived several thousands of years ago in the legendary times of the Old Republic. Only this time, he was speaking to someone else. It was like hearing an old audio log from someone's holo-journal. "It was the power...the lightning through my fingers. It felt so good."

"As it should," Archonus remarked with his smooth tenor's voice and crisp Imperial accent. "I know your taste for screaming and cursing at dangerous things helps drive your connection to the dark side, but in truth it only makes the animal think that you are afraid. It will not respect your voice, only your power. Soon, we shall go on a hunt with Sergeant Durrance to track down an escaped terentatek. You will discover your inquisitor's talent with Force lightning will do little more than tickle such a creature, and your lightsaber will glance harmlessly off its natural armour."

"What? But master, how does one destroy it if we cannot use our weapons or power on it?"

"Footwork, my dear Alyndra. Remember what I taught you about the basics of Makashi fencing. Lightning, though quite useful, is an inefficient use of the Force's potential, and relying on a weapon is the way of a soldier like Durrance. You are a woman, and a Sith apprentice, not a brute. You will learn to harness the Force in your feet and evade the terentatek's poisonous claws. If you maintain your celerity and refrain from giving in to your fear, you may live long enough to see the creature dead. If you land the killing blow, I will reward you with a secret of Sith alchemy. If you die, you will be food for the carrion, and I will replace you."

"Poisonous?!" Coda repeated in shock to herself as a stronger tremor of the floor beneath her feet than the one before brought her world back into focus just as the beast began closing the fifteen foot gap between them.

The monster hissed again, frustrated at its failure with the fire, and began surging forward with increasing speed, running one claw along the ancient stone as it moved, a sickeningly loud noise piercing the air alongside its defiant, murderous roars. It now made no effort at any clever ploy, instead reverting back to type, seeking to cleave its victim quickly and mercilessly. Brute force and speed reigned supreme over its previous glimpses of a tactical predatory mind.

"Let's review what you've learned, my apprentice," Archonus resumed in Coda's head, his voice speaking in real-time as the critter launched its assault. Stand tall, spine straight. Do not slacken your posture. Good. One hand behind your back, and ready your lightsaber. Do not bother with the salute; this is an animal, not a man."

Coda wanted to run back the way she came, but instead breathed in hard and found herself easily following the dead Sith Lord's instructions; it was almost like she was there. She thought it was simply her following instructions, but she wasn't aware that the Force was rewarding her faith in it by guiding her movements like a cosmic invisible puppeteer.

"The beast will open with a cross slash. Dodge left!"

The terentatek lunged forward and indeed opened with a heavy wide-angled cross-slash meant for the Nautolan's throat. Coda didn't just simply step left, she felt a push of the Force on her left foot followed by her right causing her to slide smoothly several feet across the floor just barely in time to avoid the killing blow. Her mouth hung agape, struck with surprise by the maneuver she just pulled off for the first time, but then the predator growled its frustration at her, sending a surge of dread through her spine.

What looked like an attack that it normally could handle quite easily given its powerful build and size, it actually seemed to take a lot out of it when it missed. In fact, it looked downright winded as acidic drool leaked from its maw as it grunted and huffed for air. Perhaps Thane and Bomoor had wounded it more than it appeared.

"Do not counter just yet. A terentatek is powerful, but they have a tendency to telegraph their moves. Watch its shoulders. If they are relaxed, expect it to shift weight to its legs for a charge. Block its slash and counter as it passes. Do not lose momentum. Keep moving, let it think it has the advantage, and never take your eyes off your target."

Managing to recoup some of its lost energy, or at least provide a good show of power to its target, the critter hissed deeply, its mouth clicking audibly as more noxious lumps of spittle were flung out of its jaws. Heralding another charge at its prey, as promised, its shoulders loosened and shifted, thick and ancient sinew sliding within its coarse flesh. The sharp talons that erupted from its stocky feet had taken a grip within the stone surface below, permitting the terentatek a firmer standing for its next inevitable move.

Then, without further incident, it sprung forwards, propelling itself with surprising agility towards Coda, chunks of stone being torn up in its wake from the sheer power of its thrust. Within just two seconds it had closed the gap between itself and the Nautolan, even as she shifted to block its attack. Using the back of its claws, it brought both of its arms in front of itself and swung them back upwards, knocking Coda several feet back and winding her as she fell against the hard, cold ground.

Not content to settle for a simple gutting motion from its victim's prone position, the dwarf terentatek used its powerful legs once again, only this time to launch itself up into the air, reaching ten feet up. In that same fluid motion, it brought its arm back, opening some of the burnt flesh on one side of its body through the strain, and its claws splayed, ready to pierce the young Sith woman before it. Screaming in jubilant rage, it fell towards Coda with reckless and violent abandon.

Barely able to roll the majority of her body to the side, Coda wasn't nimble enough to avoid a deep razor sharp slash through one of her head tendrils as the hulking predator made its thunderous impact point-blank next to her, lopping almost one-third of the sensory appendage's length clean off. It was like the slaver's shock whip all over again, only many times worse.

"Aaaaahhh!" she screamed with excruciating pain that was almost mind-numbing to her. There was no amount of adrenaline that could help her ignore losing a sensitive part of herself. Her vision instantly became blurry, distorted, and engulfed in halos of bio-electric light flickering from her optic nerves, and her situation was compounded with the triggering of her post-traumatic stress from the memory of the whip. She was completely at the teretatek's mercy, and she knew she would receive none. As the ground rumbled and cracked beneath them much more violently than it had before, she hoped the next strike from the claws would end her quickly.

Mother...father...Capo...I'm sorry...I couldn't--, was her last thought just as the floor gave out and Korriban's gravity snatched lady and beast alike roughly twenty feet down into the darkness below...

TBC

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