The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

Hunt on Kashyyyk: On the Trail

Master Yoda examined the creature's trail from Ironside's shoulder as they walked. It was unlike any tracks he had ever seen. Bay had taken a digital cast so that they could send it off to the Jedi Temple when they returned to Burohanaa Village. Chewbacca and Tarfful had come from Rwookrrorro to investigate. They chose Burohanaa because it was right in the thick of the attacks.

Rworarcc was quiet. His bowcaster was out and primed to fire. Yoda could sense tension from the Wookiee warrior. This creature had him spooked.

"The trail ends here sir." Trooper List said, pointing down towards the dirt. He was right. The creature had dug a hole and burrowed deep underground. The entrance was covered over with dirt, but it was extremely large. Yoda found this piece of information enlightening.

"Know something new, now we do. Underground, it lives. Disturbed by the mudslide, it may have been. Come up from the sinkhole, it likely has." The general explained. Rworarcc looked down at a device.

"It is past mid-day, Master Yoda. We should head back. If you think it is dangerous now, wait until true night falls." he said. Yoda nodded. "Agree with you, I do. Retrieve the others and return to the village, we shall."

---

"See if you can do anything with this, will ya?" Dume said, handing Gungi his comm. He had a few bandages on him, but it wasn't nearly enough for the claw wounds on his back. Even now Caleb could see red starting to leak through. He swallowed.

Caleb was worried about his friend. What if the Katarn had poison? What if he bled out? What if it gets infected? He took a breath. He had to focus on finding Master Yoda and Consult Shan. Then he could worry about those things.

Dume adjusted his saber so that Gungi could see the comm better from the ground. He never was good with tech. He knew the basics, but he was no engineer. Gungi was much more talented than him in that department.

The young Wookiee forced the metal backing off and looked at the colored wires. A few were sliced in half. One of the small circuit boards had a hole in it that seemed to be from a fang. Gungi examine it, a perplexed look on his face, before starting to fiddle with the mechanisms.

Dume didn't like standing still. He was worried that something would pop out at him again. Those monkey things weren't overly vicious unlike the katarn, but they moved in numbers and jumped you all at once. It was a chaos of tiny paws, claws, and tails, ripping at you from all sides, at your face, your clothes, your arms, everything. He did not want to repeat that experience.

Gungi gave a satisfied bark as he put two of the wires together. A small spark erupted before the comm weakly returned to life. He kept pulling them apart and back together. A voice came through on the other end.

"Gung... eb... tha... ok? Wh... ou..." it said. Caleb's heart jumped with hope.

"That sounds like Sahrea! Whatever you're doing, keep it up!" Dume said excitedly, kneeling down at Gungi's side. He dropped a hand on the Wookiee's shoulder. Shan's voice kept cutting in and out before the comm died out completely.

"Well, they know we're alive. We just gotta find them. Come on!" Dume exclaimed, shoving himself to his feet. Gungi shook his head in disagreement.

"If they got my signal, they may have been able to track it and get a relative location. Therefore, we should stay where we are so we don't lose them again." he suggested. Caleb wanted to protest, but he knew Gungi was right. So he sat down in the grass and leaves next to his Wookiee friend.

"How are you feeling?" he asked tentatively. He felt guilty that Gungi had gotten hurt on his watch. He was the padawan. He was the more experienced one. He should have been watching out for him. It was his job to make sure Gungi got through this unharmed and Caleb had failed at that. Even now, he could see his friend attempting to hide the pain. Gungi replied softly after a moment.

"It hurts, but I will be ok. I am starting to get tired though." he admitted. That made Dume uneasy. He hoped that the fatigue was from all the walking and fighting and not that something was wrong.

They sat for long, drawn out minutes in the light of their sabers. Caleb desperately wished that Shan or Yoda would pop out from behind a tree already. They didn't.

The darkness beyond was terrifying. There was their little bubble of light, then a few feet of shadows, then black. The trunks of the trees weren't even visible in that inky soup. That wasn't the bad part though. That belonged to the rustling and footsteps. It was constant. Most of the creatures shied away from their light, but Dume knew there were plenty of fauna out there that were not so cowardly.

"Do not worry." Gungi stated calmly, breaking their silence. Dume crossed his arms.

"I never said I was worried." he replied, defensive.

"I can sense your fear. We will be alright." Dume nodded halfheartedly at him over his shoulder. He dropped his knees to the ground and closed his eyes. He focused and began to meditate, just like Master Yoda did.

He could sense all of the energy shifting throughout the forest, fluctuating this way and that. The darkness that surrounds a creature poised to kill. The light that surrounds a nest of newborns. The rushing of the Jeroahk River far away. He could even sense the small creatures that had burrowed their way deep in the ground below them. It was easy to miss when you weren't paying attention. He stretched his mind out farther. There, far out, he sensed something... familiar. It was familiar and safe. Sahrea Shan.

"I sense her, I sense Shan!" Dume shouted excitedly. "She's not far, come on!" he shoved himself to his feet again. Gungi gave him an alarmed look.

"No, we should stay!" he disagreed, his fear rising. "Trust me Gungi. Please." Dume said, beckoning him to follow with his hand. The Wookiee looked apprehensive, but got to his feet anyway. His bandages were starting to fill up with blood. They needed to find Shan, fast. "This way!" Caleb said. They disappeared into the brush.

------------

"Master Yoda!" Shan said, lowering her silver saber out of attack mode. Yoda gave a laugh through his nose.

"Yes, yes, only me, it is." he replied. "Found Trooper Volt and Ura, have you?" he motioned towards the duo. Volt had picked Nahzalem up and carried her the whole way. She wasn't looking well. The cold was getting to her.

"Yes we have, but we're still looking for Dume and Gungi." the Gray said, worry coloring her voice. Yoda waved his hand dismissively at her as he sat down on a tree root. He placed his cane across his lap.

"No need for that, there is. Find us, will they." Yoda replied simply. Shan gave him a confused look.

"They'll find us?" she asked incredulously. The elderly Jedi nodded his head matter-of-factly. Shan lifted her hands in submission.

"Well ok. You're the grandmaster." she replied, answering her own question based on his smug look. Sahrea looked over to their native companions. They were beginning to get restless, which was probably a bad sign.

"True night is falling quickly. Beasts more dangerous than those we have faced so far will come out to feed. We must move with haste." Rworarcc urged. Yoda still seemed unconcerned. Shan was envious of his unnatural ability to be calm under seemingly any circumstance. Then again, he was almost nine hundred years old. He had to have seen almost everything by now.

"Have no fear, my friend. Find us, the padawans will. Quite soon, in fact." Yoda repeated. "Uhh, how soon is soon sir?" Ironside asked, eyeing the darkness beyond them.

"Consult Shan!" Dume's voice shouted from behind them.

"Apparently very!" Sahrea exclaimed. "Are you two ok?" she asked, rushing to their sides. She dropped to her knees and hugged them both. Dume gave her a guilty face as she pulled away.

"Yes, I am, but we were attacked by a Katarn. We managed to get away, but Gungi got scratched. He's bleeding out, Sahrea." his voice was tight. Shan made a concerned face as she examined the bandages. "We're heading back to the village now anyway. We can treat the wounds when we get there. He'll be fine."