Warrior ◊ Star Wars

chapter eight; when rathtars get loose

"Wait, WHAT!" Finn exclaimed as he followed Solo, Mara unpleasantly surprised at what she just heard, or that was one way to put it," Did you just say Rathtars?"

The group had started back towards the entry door of the Falcon, BB-8 rolling beside them. Finn was still pretty flustered, fear worming it's way into his voice," You're not hauling Rathtars on this freighter, are you?"

"No," Mara answered for him, adding a little pitch to her voice for effect," He just said Rathtar because why not. He's really hauling blase tree goats."

He shot a 'not helping' look her way while Mara bitterly smiled back his way. As the exited the ship and onto the larger freighter, Solo checked the panel closest to them, checking the manifest records and cameras,"I'm hauling Rathtars. And by the way, you don't haul tree goats, no good on the market-"

"Whatever, I don't care about goats. What's that ship approaching us?" The blonde pointed to one of the screens that showcased the outside the freighter. She answered her own question once she saw the distinctive slashed markings decorating the outside of the hull. The man grumbled when he too recognized the symbol.

"Oh great, Gauvian Death Gang. Must of tracked us from the Natoon." He quickly left the cameras, striding off with a the questioning two behind him. Mara let her eyes linger on the screen, seeing the ship from multiple angles. Memories danced in her head, reminding her of a time long, long ago.

She knew death gangs held long grudges that could span lifetimes, but she certainly had enough resentment built up against this particular organization to outlast that. The burns from her last encounter with a few of their soldiers had healed, but her pride had never fully recovered in any positive way.

Running to catch up, Mara went deeper into the heart of the ship. Age had not served the craft well. Old, busted pipes leaked murky oil on her head as she caught up with the others. The steel creaked under her and the blonde wondered how such a beat up ship could hold such huge beasts.

"What's a Rathtar?" Rey was right on Solo's heels, curious to whatever Finn was so scared of. The man replied blatantly, but anxiousness made its way into his tone.

"They're big and they're dangerous."

Informative, Mara thought.

Finn turned his head to Rey, "Ever heard of the Trillan massacre?"

"No."

"Good."

Chewbacca roared something, seeming to chip into the conversation. Rey gave him a questioning but bewildered look while Mara kept walking, who was growing particularly annoyed that she couldn't understand a word the wookie was saying. The blonde was also raking her memory for the Gauvian's typical offensive tactics in a situation like this and how their small band could react to it.

Hoping to have her friend inform her a little more about the downright suicidal nature of what they were walking towards, Rey pondered the basic description she'd been given before asking, "Big and dangerous? Have you ever seen one?"

"Luckily, no." She looked ahead towards the young scavenger whose wide-eyed expression had turned to her, "Heard they're supposed to be slimy."

"So they're not like the things that gave you the marks?"

Mara glanced down to the back of her right hand and the white scar tissue that mapped out a bite indentation. Her mouth twisted to a grimace, her eyes briefly flicked to Finn's jacket, but ultimately she shook her head, "No, those things had tusks. What he's got has tentacles."