Log:Jedi Order: Devaron Delights Part I

Jedi Order: Devaron Delights Part I

OOC Date: October 7, 2019
Location: Devaron
Participants: Rey, Zandra naMuriel, Elrych Cometburn, Vhe Tenara, Angouri Dros, Aryn Cole

Its a warm day on Devaron, the sun is slipping into the late afternoon in the sky and the members of the young Jedi Order have gathered here with little explanation given other than a map has lead them here to discover a potentially valuable site.

The members of the Jedi Order have arrived via the use of rented landspeeders and a local guide who was determined to be trustworthy enough to show them to the edge of where they need to go.

Down the Wanderer's Path.

Throughout their journey, the chatty Devaron male was giving the Jedi a guided-tour of sorts, speaking with great pride in his people's home. He raved about the tradition one embarks upon when they go down the Wanderer's Path and warned the Jedi not to venture off of it without taking serious precautions due to the native wildlife.

As they arrive, however, he says he'll stay with the vehicles to keep them safe and can be reached via a given commlink, should they need any... well he says he can't really help them but he could rush back to the city as fast as possible to potentially get help, though that would take hours!

Once they've all arrived, Rey stands amongst her colleagues and sorts her gear out she'd brought with her. "It should just be a small trek, I don't think it'll be too challenging." She tells then motions westward. "We're headed in there, into the thick of the jungle though..."

Its a bit hot, humid, uncomfortable as jungles are want to be and Vhe is wiping at her brow and wishes she had secured her hair more thoroughly than she did. She tugs and sets the mass back, tightening the wrap into place so she can keep the strands from sticking to her face. SHe's forgone the heavier outer wear of the robe and goes sleevless which just allows bugs the better opportunity to feast.

"That sounds...wonderful." Totally wonderful. She glances at the others, the newest to the order offering a quirk of a smile that quickly fades as she eyes the undergrowth but does not hesitate to follow - well maybe just a bit.

"Hey... at least we don't need an Ax or a way to keep it sharp." Elrych comments off-hand. He's of course not overly comfortable in the hot and humid weather but doesn't seem overly bothered by it. Although, his sunglasses keep slipping down his nose which he then has to push back up. The Corellian comes up beside Vhe and pats her shoulder. "Oh... just think of all the cool things we'll find." He chuckles and shakes he head before following along behind Rey.

"Into the jungle," Zan repeats. "I don't know if I've been in a jungle before. It sounds like we definitely need to watch out for wildlife, though I do wonder what keeps wildlife off the path." Swamp Rori might be a bit of preparation for this, at the least. Zan's hair is up in its circle braid as it so often is. She takes a moment, considering, and concentrates for a bit, not quite meditating but very close to, just for a moment. She too has some items with her, a light, some rope and netting being the major bit. "Everyone, keep alert. I'm sure if we stray we will find trouble, but I'm not so sure that staying to the path guarantees we won't."

Rey shows all of her companions on this trek a pensive smile, she knows its not the most ideal of conditions. "At least we have youth on our side?" She quietly says as her hand goes to the strap of the canvas backpack she has slung over o shoulder. "That counts for something, I think..." She doesn't sound sure of it herself as she turns and starts toward the tall grass that the Wanderer's Path has all along it.

To the south the historic path rises up a large incline in the natural earth and disappears in a bending turn to the east where it is lost amongst jungle trees. All around them the sounds of wildlife are thick in the air and an ever present reminder of just how deep inside this natural hub of untamed life they really all are.

Rey proceeds first, into the tree-line to the west. She glances back over her shoulder to make sure the others are keeping up. Hanging from her left hip is a well sharpened machete-like blade that she'd gotten from a store in the city to the north. "Axes need not apply." She quietly quips. "And lightsabers, well... they might attract a little too much attention. Bugs like light, right?" She asks, for no particular reason other than to keep conversation going as they all trudge into flora that is up to their waistlines now!

Rey starts to cut them a path with sharp swipes to take down foliage that would otherwise block their way... "There were no bugs on Jakku, which I suppose is a positive about a world I tend to speak only negatively of."

Swatting at a few of the aforementioned pests, she gives Elrych a look when he pats her shoulders. "If we do not get lost and or eaten by the local wildlife," she chimes in. Streets of cities are her thing not the natural wildlife of worlds untamed. Nope. She swats again, catching some blood sucking creature from taking her life's blood save that it still managed to make her itch.

"IS there such a power as pest repellant somewhere in our repetoire?" A bit of a sarcastic and yet still hopeful lilt of her voice as she watches Rey cut them a path. Her nose wrinkles and she starts to turn to say something to Zan when some winged bug lands in her mouth causing her to sputter and cough.

"The Wanderer's Path. Huh." Angouri scratches at an ear. "I dunno, I like th'sound of that." A sheepish grin slowly breaks across her muzzle as the amaran launches herself free of the rented landspeeder. There's an obvious and aparent effort that has found its way into Angouri's actions and approach to the Jedi way of life since her rescue- thankfully, it's been a positive change for the willful teenager. Scared straight.

Angouri adjusts her small knapsack at her back and lets out a breath. "Let's get to it then, eh?"

It's at Vhe's request for pest reppellant that the amaran's true usefulness becomes unveiled, as she bounces in an attempt to snatch one of those bugs out of the air. She misses horribly, instead biting her own tongue and falling back to rub at her cheek. "What? S'protein."

"It's alright..." Elrych says as he continues along, pushing the branches of vines and trees out of the way that hang loose that Rey manages not to get and are just a little too annoying for the taller Jedi. To Vhe, he glances. "I mean, I suppose you could..." Angouri trying to snatch a bug out of the air with her tongue catches is attention causing him to cut his comment short. "Right..." He clears his throat and continues on.

Zan grins at Elrych and Vhe, shaking her head. "I wish," she replies to the question about insect repellent. "There might be something - we could always experiment with it when we have time." She's cheerful, though her violet hair no doubt attracts bugs who think she's a flower. Since it's braided, at least they don't get stuck in it, mostly just hover about. Except, as everyone is discovering, the bitey ones. "It sounds like a place we should investigate, though whether it is or not, that's another question. She smiles at Angouri, actually taking up the rear guard with a bit of hesitation, but someone has to do it. "No bugs on Jakku is definitely a plus for the place, but from what I know, it needs all the pluses it can get. And I think bugs like light. Maybe? Well, not just bugs. Many things are lured to light, including us." Ango's bug eating attempt gets a blink, and then a shrug. Hey, she hangs out with a Nautolan on the regular, so odd diets don't bother her any more.

Our brave adventurers proceed onward into the deeper and deeper of the jungle. The casual banter is continued, most of the way, while the harsh terrain is navigated to everyone's best ability.

Time does as time do, and a galactic standard hour passes by. Water canteens are passed around, and Rey did offer Vhe a small device that she could wear on her belt that would supposedly keep some of the most irritating of tiny pests away, supposedly having a several meter radius to its effects.

As they progress though, they reach an earthy outcropping that overlooks a stream of water running through the jungle, its not deep though as there are many rocks within it that are causing the water to break around them. Rey lowers the machete to her side and looks down to the running water.

"Its not deep. We can get across it." She glances back to her companions, offers them a light smile and then steps forward and drops off of the three or four foot rocky ledge to land beside the stream. The young Jakkuan starts forward then to the water and begins hopping across rocks, from one to the other, doing her best not to fall itno the water even if its only knee-deep!

Rocks?! Jumping?! Vhe watches Rey and clears her throat, "I thought..this was a more civilized holy order or something now we are hopping rocks!" She slides down, landing upon her feet with a few quick steps to stop her forward movement. Then she is after Rey, the first rock ends in a horrific miss as she ends up in the water and every subsequent attempt to cross falters and sees her slipping intro the water to the point she dips beneath. The leonine hair becoems flattened into a wet mass as she emerges and coughs, spitting out water now instead of bugs - well likely water bugs too for all she knows.

She starts flailing her way to a rock in an effort to drag herself out.

"This'll be no problem." Angouri decides of the rocks, dropping to all fours and giving her tail a little waggle back and forth - aiming... Calculating... The first one? She nails it. Then she's in the water with Vhe. She disappears...

"BALRGHAH!" A vulpine face bursts from the water's surface as Angouri starts to claw her way towards dry land, her fur plastered down.

Elrych attempts his first hop and with the his sunglasses on and his already horrible nearsightedness his depth perception is just not overly great. He plunges into the water, a divit that was deeper than the rest of the stream. Coming up for air, able to stand now, he shakes his head of water, the usually quaffed wavy locks now flat and sticking to his skin. He glances over to Vhe and sees that he is not the only one. This makes him a little bit happier, but not much more. He trudges through the water towards the last rock and hops up onto that, cloths soaked. He takes off his outer cload to wring it of water.

Rey says, "This'll be no problem." Angouri decides of the rocks, dropping to all fours and giving her tail a little waggle back and forth - aiming... Calculating... The first one? She nails it. Then she's in the water with Vhe. She disappears... "BALRGHAH!" A vulpine face bursts from the water's surface as Angouri starts to claw her way towards dry land, her fur plastered down."

Zan is slow to follow, being as she's bringing up the rear. She jumps down successfully, and then she manages to get the first jump, wobbling a bit. She pauses there, looking consternated at the others in the water. She jumps to the second, which is now a bit wet, and one foot slides into the water, causing a wobblewobble from the nonfeline jedi wannabe. A breath, concentration, and then Zan makes the next couple of jumps safely to the land, turning to offer a hand to anyone still in the river who might need a hand out. Not untouched, no, but not too badly off, Zan says, "I'm now kind of glad it's warm here. Cause if it were cold, we'd have more problems."

Rey makes it to the other side of the river with only one small slippery rock nearly making her lose her balance. But she maintains and ends up on the other shore, turning around to watch the others. She has a look of... discomfort for those who end up in the water? She knows the stream's current isn't strong enough to take them away, of course, but just seeing them splash down into the clear cold water is enough to make her wince.

When Zandra joins her, she'll move to mirror her to help others up and out of the cold stream when they make it to the shore. "The rocks were more slippery than I anticipated. I should've gone first and warned you all of it, instead of all of us at the same time... my apologies." She gives a slight grin toward Zandra. "Yes, its... relief from the heat?" Her dark brows rise up in questioning of her own statement there.

From the north, above a small 6-foot rocky waterslide/fall, the trees burst with activity as a flock of Gacklebats soar out of their sleeping spots and start to fly down over everyone's heads.

This grabs Rey's attention as she looks up and watches the bats flying by many meters above.

"Guess we spoked them?" She asks. "Do you guys wish to rest and dry up a bit or keep on going?" She then asks, looking back to her friends.

Climbing out of the water with the help of the other two, Vhe is wringing out her hair out as she leans to the side a bit. Her attention shifts to the others and those moments they take to regroup and perhaps pour water out of boots - which Vhe does with a slight clipped shriek when some sort of slimey thin eel/worm like creature starts flopping on the ground next to her emerges. There is a look of disgust and she quickly pulls her boot back on with a SQUELCH!

"I think walking will help us dry out faster..." she carefully tries to toe the flopping thing back towards the stream.

Ango does, with some help, haul herself out of the water. There is an undignified cough before the amaran gives a mighty shake, nose to tail, sending water in every direction. Those few dry Jedi among them? They might be a little less so now. "I'm good t'keep on haulin'." The amaran decides, wringing out her tail as she does so, eyes following the eel that comes spilling out of Vhe's boot. "I like yer hair like that, Mr. Elrych." There's a big thumbs up flashed his way, with way too much enthusiasm to be genuine. But she tried.

"I agree, walking would probably be a quicker way to dry us off. Especially if we get into a clearing with some sun." Elrych says in agreement with Vhe. He is busy attempting to get the water off the lenses of his glasses as Angouri gives her compliments to his new look. There is a grimace that forms on his face. "Thanks..." It was sincere, totally. He does his best to wring out his cloths. It wasn't so bad now but it's start getting itchy after a while. He did not look forward to the chafing. He looks off to where the birds are startled and fly up though doesn't pay it any mind. "Ready to go." He takes out a comb from his belt and starts to comb his hair back into some sort of reasonable fashion.

Zan nods her head, willing to go along with whatever the sopping wet folks want to try. She laughs though as Ango shakes off water every which way, a mild, "Hey," followed by laughter. "Actually, that is refreshing," she comments, glancing over to Rey. "If you all want to keep going, I'm good with that," she adds, just to make sure it's clear. "Besides," Swat! "If we stay still, the bugs will find us, and I think they're getting bigger."

Aryn is the last to cross the stream, or at least among the last to. Her foot slips at the first landing, dipping her boot into the water. Her subsequent jumps are more founded though, and soon she's at the other side. Aryn turns to look back, then down to rake her hands down her pants. "All good here!"

The Gacklebats proceed on southward and vanish above and amongst the jungle trees, still quietly able to be heard making their audible screeches and hooting noises though!

Rey winces again when she sees Vhe pull that worm-thing from her hair. "Thats not good." She says to that sight, watching as its tossed back to the water though. Her gaze goes to Aryn then as she makes it across the stream last, and she offers the Doctor a small smile. "At least you're here to keep us from being too damaged by all of this terrain."

When everyone indicates they're ready and able to move on, Rey just dips her pointed chin in a little nod. "Okay." And with that she sorts her gear out a bit upon her person and turns to proceed on down the stream's shoreline some to the south before she spots a natural slope in the land that will lead them up into the jungle again.

"Its not quite as thickly dense up here." Rey announces back to the others, hoping to bolster spirits a bit after the stream incident. She raises her bladed weapon though to start to cut a few vines and branches out of her way, and subsequently out of everyone else's way.

The group sets off further into the jungle now, heading westward. Eventually, they reach a small break in the tree-line, and there before them is the stonework of an old road that waves between the trees. Its overgrown with grass, vines and all manner of muck and dirt however, as though the planet itself is trying to pull the road underground and hide it forever from view.

Rey steps out onto one of the stones, and looks one way, then the other. "This is going the way we need to go..." She says then, glancing back to the others. "It must be connected to where we're headed."

Wrinkling her nose at the water as her boots squelch with each step,. Vhe says, "Small blessings." This in regards to Rey's observation of their being less plant life ahead. But she's not the one cutting through it with abandon like their fearless leader is. She follows though, each wet squealing footstep at a time. Chafing /is/ going to be a problem.

"It seems like this has not seen any intelligent life in some time. Considering that the road is nearly gone," she points out at the way the plantlife has overgrown the way they have chosen.

Ears pricked forward, Angouri watches the gacklebats egress into the figurative sunset, nose twitching after them. She's sure that's not an omen of any sort, she's not one to believe in those! What's foreshadowing, anyway? The amaran gives a cheery shrug, adjusting her sopping back against her back. "Always loved th'places what nature took back." Angouri comments from Vhe's elbow. "It's pretty, but it's sad." There's a shrug. "Think the sad just makes it all th'more pretty - but that's just me." She continues to wring water from her tail. We can't all be as graceful as Rey and Aryn over there! "But, uh, if you get anymore'a them eels in yer shoes, toss 'em my way next time, eh?" She winks. It's disconcerting. She's awful.

"Noone has probably been out here in over a century or more... Maybe longer I bet." Elrych comments as he observes the road they've come across. Hand go to his hips as he glances around the rest of the area, not seeing overly far because of all the dense jungle. He glances to Angouri and blinks, "I'll... keep that in mind." He gives her a thumbs up this time. The Corellian then holds out a hand towards the path, "After you." He says to Rey.

Rey is not the only one cutting through some of the vines and foliage. Before following after the others, Aryn brushes back her cape and takes hold of her ornate sword pommel, drawing the weapon in a single practiced motion to brandish the dangerously sharp crystal blade. Deliberate WHACKS split the vines in half with single strokes, opening the way ahead. When they pause for a moment to take direction from Rey, Aryn uses her offhand to disconnect her datapad to see if there's a map feed yet. She spares only a few moments before following after the others quietly; her weapon is kept low and away from anyone; it's not Aryn's intent to harm anyone but the plants, but she'd been wrong before...

Zan listens to the conversation, making sure to look behind them every so often. They're leaving a trail wide enough for a train to come through, after all, and even she can figure that much out. She looks to Angouri and smiles. A pause and then, she swats at another bug. It's a fairly big one, but she tosses it off the path with a grimace. "Seems like that's a good thing - but more sun may not be so good for us all." Sunburn, anyone? That might get painful. "Still, it looks really interesting. If we're heading to some sort of site, it makes sense there used to be a way there."

Rey proceeds down the center of the road that the jungle is attempting to further claim. She listens to the others beside and behind her, and glances back to them as well here and there while they progress onward, westward.

They make their way through and around a set of tall stone pillars that intersected the road, once forming an archway but now have mostly crumbled and now simply form a travel obstacle that they have to weave their way through and around to get to the other side of the road to keep going.

"I think the architecture is as old as you say." Rey says to Elrych, but then raises her hand up and motions into the trees on the right hand side of the road. "But look." She indicates a series of old vehicles, war machines. "I recognize that design in my research of the Jedi Order just before it fell. Those are Clone Wars era Trade Federation tanks." She says of the once might vehicles with long cannons pointed off of their forward facing armored hulls. They're clearly scorched and blasted, indicating a battle took place here once long ago.

"And there." Rey motions again further up ahead. "A Republic Walker." She states, and sure enough its there between the trees, almost completely covered over by foliage like it was wearing natural camouflage. Its front legs are severed and its tipped forward, nose down into the jungle ground.

"A battle was fought here." She states of the obvious before glancing back at her comrades. "Chewie and I flew over this area on our way in. We asked the Devaroian Spaceport if we could land out here, but they didn't want any starships near the Wanderer's Path."

"OH, uhhhhh," Vhe is taken aback at Angour's request for slippery meals if they should find their way into Vhe's possesion again. "Of course. I mean I would be a pour fellow student if I did not, right?" She offers a smile but her stomach flips a bit at the thought. She gives Angouri a promising pat on the arm before she glances up and at the items that are pointed out. She arches a brow, tilting her head, "But they allow us here on foot? Why would they not allow ships overhead?" She asks, suddenly giving the place a long study as if the older era war machines might spring to life and start exchanging fire again.

"Thanks fer lookin' out." Angouri grins, flicking her tail behind her as they continue their trek. She is entranced by the war machines, however, and dutifully begin to make a bee-line for one of the tanks. There could still be good tech in there! But something flutters at her conscieness, and she pauses in her tracks, her ears pricked full forward. They swivel in response to some sound, and the amaran follows that sound, trotting quietly in the direction of... Foot falls? She rounds the tank, but sees nothing. "Huh."

"Okay, so three Quarters of a century... though." Elrych starts to wander towards the Republic Tanker, clearly a bit more of a pep in his step with the new discoveries. "This is pretty cool. I wush we could take this stuff back to Beacon Outpost and try to fix it up. We'll have to look up old battle debreifs from back in the day too." Though he pauses as the hair on the back of his neck stands up. There's a crack, a snap of a branch that he hears. He turns and looks towards the tree line but fails to see anything. "Anyone else hear that?" He asks, not yet reaching for his lightsaber but... "Something out there it's... giving me a bad feeling." He glances towards Angouri who may have heard it too. Reguardless, he lets a loud whistle ring out and waits. If it was a beast, perhaps the noise would scare it away. Or make things worse...

As they stop to look at some of the old war relics, Aryn has a feeling wash over her that makes the hair on the back of her neck feel as if it stands. Aryn, being someone who is not particularly good at hiding her expression, shows discomfort and stop walking to look around them. A steady, uneasy breath, and Aryn comes out with it. "We're being watched. All around us..I can /feel/ it.." Her offhand comes up to curl her hair back before casting her cape over her shoulder, freeing her sword-wielding hand.

"We know you're there!" She calls out, annoyed.

Zan's gaze goes from place to place, and to the war machines with widening eyes. She takes a breath, imagining what it all must have looked like, both before the battle, and during. "Kriff, those are incredibly big." she says. She's oblivious to anyone watching or listening or anything. Aryn's words do have her stop, a hand moving to her waist where she has both a blaster and a lightsaber. "Oh, here we go," she mumbles, basing her comment purely on her team-mates' reactions. "Not that I am doubting you, but I'm not - sensing anything?" she asks, just to make sure.

Rey glances over to Vhe as she asks those questions and she shows a soft smile at her. "I asked Chewie the same thing. He said that they don't want people shipping in supplies with their freighters, building bases out without proper authorization. I guess its happened in the past before and parts of the Path ended up destroyed or damaged because of it."

Rey's eyes avert from Vhe over to Angouri when she sees the other rush toward one of the Trade Federation tanks. "Be careful." Rey calls out to her. "We need to stay together so none of us get lost."

About a second after Elrych speaks of it, Rey's eyes rise up. She can hear Aryn speaking out to the potential threat around them and Rey points upward, just a second too late.

On the tank that Elrych and Angouri are beside, a giant four-legged Quarra appears. Its muscled body lands ontop of the tank with a predatory precision. Its horned face looks down and between Angouri and Elrych. Its lips snarl and drool rolls out from between its teeth.

Suddenly the Quarra ROARS at them, and from the jungles, more of the Quarra-beasts emerge, stepping out from beneath the Republic Walker up to the northwest, and a few more from behind them where they'd come through the fallen stone gateway...

"Blast." Rey says. She forrows her dark brow and quickly looks to everyone else. "Elrych, throw that one and everyone else? Run!" Rey will turn to the direction of the jungle-covered road and try to make a break down it, up ahead on it is a bridge that is equally covered in vines and jungle flora.

Nope. Vhe senses nothing and its just another portion of their already long and taxing trip. She's chafing, her feet are starting to feel pruned inside the heat of her boots. She glances at the others though and when they all start to call out or whistle ...she slows.

Slowing is not on the list of things to apparently be doing! When the roar hits her from the side she feels her whole body seize up with a rush of adrenaline. A breath is caught and she feels the instinct to run even before she's told to Vhe glances back at El, brows furrowing as she sweeps quickly past Angouri who gets a look as well, the Ysanna not sure exactly what to do but at least they are all moving right?

"...Toldja I heard summit." Angouri swallows, looking up at the massive quarra that's slammed onto the tank. Instinct raises the fur along her nape, urges bared teeth and a mad dash away - but she is not a creature of instinct. She cannot be - Angouri is a Jedi! Or... She's trying to be. "May the Force be with you." She gulps, giving a polite nod to the creature before turning tail and charging after the others.

She loses her footing almost immediately, still slick with river water and heavy with fear. Her chin cracks against the ground as she falls; the air is driven from her, and she rolls over with wide, panicked eyes to look up at the attacking beast.

Elrych is startled as the Quarra Beast crawls up the tank and roars at him. "Well EXCUUUUSE me. Someone is cranky." He turns his head to Rey as she dishes out orders. Noding quickly he turns his attention back to the beast and lets a force blast torrent push the beast far off the tank and into the tree line. Poor thing. A he turns though, he notices Angouri fall to the ground. A look up to Vhe as she hesitates and he waves her off. "Gooo! Go!" Aryn has stuck behind too. He waits to make sure the Doctor can grab their Amaran friend before he takes off like a bat out of hell. Running through the dense jungle like it ant no thang. While he does this he reaches for the Lightsaber on his utility belt, taking it into his right hand but not turning it on yet.

The moment the Quarra landed nearby, Aryn sneered. She /knew/ when she was being hunted. Rey's orders were to run, but Aryn stayed long enough to ensure everyone was underway, and it's because of this that she saw Angouri go down. Taking a deep breath, the young noble stepped into Angouri's line of sight, casting her shadow over her while trying to ward the beasts away with two practiced swings of her weapon. "On your feet, lovely." Thank goodness for Elrych's well timed attack. It surprised a laugh from her.

Turning back to Angouri, she slid her sword home in a smooth practiced display then offered a gloved hand to help her up. "Time for running. Don't look back!" Aryn brings up the rear, following her own advice while drawing her S5 blaster pistol from the drop-leg holster strapped around her right thigh. It's held at a high ready, the muzzle trained skyward as she runs.

Zan is still wide eyed, looking at the tanks, the walker debris, the - Roaring Quarra? "Cranky isn't the least of it," she murmurs, though the fact that the others knew there was something/someone around does help. she's not quite so startled as she might otherwise be. As Rey gives those instructions, she gulps, and starts moving along the path, pausing when Angouri falls, but as Aryn is there, and Elrych, she keeps going, keeping an eye on Vhe this time. Not that Vhe needs her help, but Zan didn't know that at the time. "Run, right! Let's go!"

As it so happens this battle that took place in the Clone Wars days was, as many battles in history are, over control of a bridge. That bridge, is where the Jedi are running now. Its old suspension is covered in vines, leaves, a fallen jungle tree even that caused the support beams on the bridge to bend in gnarled ways that make the thing look all the more precarious....

Whats worse, once the Jedi get close enough to the bridge they'll see that the platforms that made up its road-cover have started to fall away, leaving massive gaps in the bridge itself. Skeletal framework remains, which appear to be large enough for a person to use as a walkway (or a runway in this case?) to the remaining platforms that still make up SOME semblance of a bridge.

The Quarra? They're running after the Jedi. The Alpha of the pack was TK'd to the Outer Rim by Elrych though, its body had been flung over the Separatist tanks, leaving just the other members of the pack to pursue the Jedi now, onto the bridge!

Rey pauses at the mouth of the bridge, her eyes quickly look it over before she turns and looks back to her companions. "Come on, come on!" She motions, rolling one of her hands in a waving motion. "Down the center, there!" Its a wide enough pylon / pathway that people should be able to work down the middle of it, but by the cente rof the bridge it becomes a circle, offering two paths to choose to around, with a massive hole in between it. there's only two platforms left on the bridge, one at the middle right and one at the very end, the rest are bent or leaned over down into the jungle chasm below... or just gone entirely.

Slowing as Rey does, Vhe glances back to note they still have tagalongs and her heart suddenly rises into her throat. The Ysanna is thankful for the water now having slicked her wild hair down which makes it easier to see. Slowly she moves forward as beckoned, testing her slick boots on the surface before she begins taking the route pointed out by Rey. Luckily she seems to be handling the passage well but no where to go but forward and really can't turn back.

Even after El TK-blasts the quarra three weeks into the past, Angouri is confronted with the very real understanding that she is not going to get away from this thing - but like an angel with a pHD, Aryn descends. "Remind me t'let summin else be th'damsel in distress next time." The amaran pants, hauled along in the more capable Jedi's wake. "Nice... Sword!" Pant, pant, pant, pant.

"This bridge looks questionable!" Angouri calls out, uselessly. She doesn't slow her progress for the rickety thing - if anyone is going to be okay on this thing, it's going to be the one of them that weighs less than a hundred pounds soaking wet... And Angouri is only mildly damp, by this point! It'll be fine, this is fine - it's either the bridge of death or the jaws of death, at this point, and she likes the idea of the bridge just a little bit more.

"Oh man, I'm going to need a WHOLE TON of chaffing powder when we get back to the ship!" Elrych informs EVERYONE in speaking radius from him. He doesn't take too much time to stop and admire the wreckage that is the choke point bridge that two armies fought over almost 75 years ago. He'd like to, but the Quarra back hot on their tails with wishes to make them their afternoon meal was getting in the way of that. He makes his way up and onto the bridge as fast as he can, taking a path away from the spots that the Force is warning him not to go. "No kidding!" In responce to Angouri. Dont... look.... down. He looks down.

"Thanks!" Aryn replies, laughing. They eventually make it to the bridge and Aryn doesn't wait to cross. It's now or death, so she takes hold of what leverage she can with her free hand and starts across. Careful foot placement and awareness is needed here, but the urge to look back is strooooong. Aryn takes a moment to glance at her weapon and flips the switch from fire to cable mode. A high-pitched whine sounds from the charge compartment of her weapon, and the spool tightens, locking the grappling hook in place to fire at a second's notice. "..just in case.." she tells herself.

Zan just keeps going, doggedly running. It might be a tad difficult and certainly she's not sensing anything dangerous. Except the stupid bugs! SWAT! Ow. She does catch a glimpse of something out of the corner of her eye, which has her duck, sidestep and then redouble her speed, barely managing to avoid an incoming poucing Quarra. "Kriff, they're everywhere!" she calls out. "If they're not on the bridge, it's already a better place to be." Rickety or not! She heads that way too, along with the others. Hopefully she can follow someone else's footsteps because she apparently cannot sense danger unless it's biting her.

The bridge IS a better place to be, because as the Jedi make their way out onto it, what they'll come to notice is that the Quarra beasts aren't following them. Be it fear of the dangerous peril that comes with such a rickety construction to the very old infrastructure here in the jungle... or...

As the Jedi make their way out onto the metal pathway that is about as wide as a pair of people laying down side by side... they'll come to notice that there's a very odd color that is very prominent beneath the bridge in the shadowy crevice that the bridge spans over top of.

Crimson. Bright, bloody, Crimson.

Only its not blood, its... plant life? Some kind of gummy-substance? As the Jedi make their way toward the center 'circle' that is left for them to choose which direction they'll go around, the red crimson river of goo below them will start to move...

From between its red tendrils, black shadows start to pop up out of it. From the black shadows, long spindly legs sprout outward and start to wiggle, wobble and skitter rapidly! Giant, crimson fur-covered spiders! The size of the Quarra dogs, or larger!

Rey, out upon the bridge's scafolding, can see all of this developing beneath them. "Don't look down!" She encourages her comrades in this jungle adventure. "Just keep going forward! The hounds aren't following us any longer!" Thats a bit of positivity, right?

Nevermind that the Crimson Fur-spiders are moving up out of their nest of red webs and working their way up the side sof the chasm toward the bridge's metalwork remains, on their way up to 'greet' the Jedi crossing over their home.

Vhe looks down.

Don't ever look down when told not to. Her footing gets wonky as she is leading the party and the world suddenly rears up in the form of the scaffolding as one leg dangles off the side from the fact she missed her step. There is an audible OOF as she hits and the wind is unceremoniously knocked free of her lungs. She lays there a moment, dazed as she finally is able to achingly feel her lungs. Slowly she gets her hand beneath her and begins to pull her other leg up and beneath her to try get to her feet - but help would be nice.

This gives her an unfiltered view of what is coming for them. "What the..." Adrenaline was alreayd rushing..now its forcing its way through her system as a visible shudder runs through her.

Don't look down? Angouri Dros immediately looks down, and stares with a blank, emotionless, glassy gaze into the mass of spiders making their way up towards them. "I see." The amaran breathes, the picture of Jedi calmness. That calmness pervades, and with the dexterity to be expected from one that looks the way Ango does, she continues to make her way across the bridge, one paw hovering at her stunsaber. Behind her, there is the 'thump' of Vhe falling, and for a brief, horrifying moment, Angouri thinks she's tumbled over the edge - but she's still there. A sigh of relief, and she keeps picking her way forward. This is fine. This is really fine.

Elrych looks down, or had looked down to notice the fur-spiders ascenting from their nest in the deep ravine. Momentarily his eys go wide, but he had been training for a while now. Instead, he calls upon the force to flow through him, eyes closing and calmness washing through him as his connection to the mysterious sub-current of the galaxy washes over him. He turns as Vhe falls, making his way back to her, about to hold out his hand but Zandra is there. So he turns back and makes his way across the beam.

Aryn is relieved to see that there is some truth to the dogs leaving them be. The next directive was to not look down, so Aryn did not look down. She does come to a screeching halt and peers around to see what the hold up was. "We all good up there?" She asks, before look behind them for a second. Her hand regrips the pistol grip making her protective gloves tick with friction.

Zan is making her way across the bridge, keeping pace with Vhe. So when the newest of the Jedi falls, Zan is there to help her up. She accidentally looks down, and does pale a bit, but it's as she's helping the other, so it takes a moment or two to sink in. "Right, c'mon, Vhe! We got to keep going," she says, urgency in her voice, but she's not panicking. At least not yet.

The Quarra hounds pace at the mouth of the bridge and watch the Jedi make their way out toward its center. But something stops them, be it the terrible condition of the bridge... or whats coming up from beneath it.

As the Jedi make their way to the center of the broken down skeletal remains of what was likely a very nice bridge a hundred years ago... the spiders are coming ever closer to the under-makings of it. Crawling with creepy fast legs that curl up around support beams and hoist their red fur-covered bodies up onto the bridge.

Rey, at the back of the pack of hurrying Jedi, looks up in time to see their people spreading out around that central ring of scaffolding. As it becomes her turn to choose which direction she stops. She looks down, and turns around slowly back the way they'd come.

Behind her, on the scaffolding she'd just been on (that they all had just been on) stands one of the big hairy spiders. Staring right at her, and she staring right back at it. The jungle winds blow gently across the bridge and sweep small strands of her losoe brown hair acros sher forehead.

"Lightsabers!" Rey calls out to her companions. They weren't going to make it across the bridge. There wasn't enough time. They had to fight, on it, on the scaffolding.

A bright blue beam of light extends from Rey's right hand as she activates the reforged Skywalker blade. She draws it up just as the spider leaps at her!

Meanwhile, all around the other Jedi on that center ring, more spideders crawl up to face them, to block them in! Everyone is now being stared at, salivated at by the hungry mouths of the very strange and deadly arachnid creatures!

As Zan sticks with her, Vhe nods and is getting around the right on the right side when they are finding there is little place to go and lots of hungry furry spiders instead. The others have sabers, and Vhe? Vhe has a stick and well - the Force. Much like she did with the droids she reaches out, a grunt sounding out as she extends her hand, fingers spread and she pulls, tries to 'grip' the spider and then shove it back, throwing it far and wide as she can to try to cripple it on its sudden fall.

There's a reason that Angouri doesn't have a lightsaber - she's not /fighty/. She's brainy (allegedly), and it's with clumsy and frantic swipes that she blindly swings at the critters that come crawling onto the bridge with them. She keeps moving left, almost losing her balance, but staying on those feet somehow. "STOP-" Swing "TRYING TO-" Swing "EAT US!" Swing! There are no heroics from Angouri, merely the dull light of a stunsaber biting at empty air, illuminating the vulpine teen's horrified expression.

Seeing Vhe and Zandra off to the Right with Angouri moving to the left, elrych has to make the choice of weight being a priority on this rickety old ruin of a bridge. It might collapse or tip over sending them falling if he doesn't maintain a balance. Perhaps, a metaphor or abstraction to this mission all together. He was no structural engineer though. He stops as he notices there isn't enough time before the spiders are in a position to attack. His face sets into seriousness and his Lightsaber comes to life, humming dangerously. The neon blue reflects in his dark shades. VWOOM, SHKRRRRTCH, VWAAAMP, VVWOOOM. Three rapid slices: up, down, then across, bifurcate a spider that jumps at him, sending the scattered body parts back down from whence they came. "Good Job Angouri... Stay focused!"

All hell breaks loose, and Aryn learns just what they weren't supposed to look down at. Rey calls for lightsabers, and Aryn has to lower her pistol after switching it to her offhand, then uses her right to unclip her lightsaber. That was as far as she got though, because her legs were swept right out from under her.

Aryn lands exhaling a loud OOMPH, and instinctively wraps one arm around the lashing for leverage. A spider climbs over the top of her, but she activates her Jedi weapon. Swing one and two have it mesmerized and avoiding her, but the third takes several legs and she kicks the damned thing in the face. "I bloody hate spiders!" Declares the young Noble, scrambling to her feet now and squaring off with her injured foe.

Zan has a lightsaber, and she's been getting slowly more comfortable with using it. She pulls her out as they continue moving, extending the blade as she dances across the bridge. She's keeping an eye on Vhe, who seems to be doing okay. The spiders get a gulp, and then Zan moves in, facing off against one with a "Hey, ugly!" not that it can hear the insult, but maybe? Her lightsaber work is not at all showy, but it's solid and precise, following the forms they've been taught. Okay, including some of what Yuun's been teaching as well. It's a torn apart spider, hopefully bait for its buddies, as Zan's expression goes set. Life or death, and in that case, it's them, not us. "This planet hates us," she mutters softly.

Mere milliseconds after shouting out that single word to the others, did the Spider facing down Rey leap at her. As it did, she swung her saber up with a hungry growl from the pale blue energy blade. The spider had no idea what was coming for it, it lunges at her witht he intent to knock her down, but all that happens is it collides with the blade as she swipes it forward and cuts the beast into two halves. One half of the arachnid goes to the left where it lands on one of the few remaining platforms on the bridge, with a wet squish while it twirls around to a stop, the other falls back into the red abyss below.

Rey spins around then to look at her friends, watching them contend with the creatures coming for them. As some spiders are cut down, valiantly, no less, more arise to replace them, the entire bridge is becoming encased in red fur.... flowing up from below.

When their bretheren are cut down, more arrive, and these have the time to strike out and attack the Jedi!

Rey bee-line for the platform on the side of the center ring that the spider-half had landed on, there-in she spins around with her lightsaber given a flourish at her side. "Come this way, we'll fight them off here, back to back!" She shouts to the others, and more Fur-spiders descend to the platform to try to attack the young Jedi Paragon.

Suddenly there is a heavy painful feeling as she turns, her eyes going wide as a long limb from a spider is piercing her stomach. The sharp talon like end retracts, leaving red spillingt free of the wound that she places a hand over. She takes a step and in frustration and pain draws upon the force. Her hand curls out and grips at her attacker and just as she feels a faint impression of succues her boot hits a patch of her own blood and she slips, slamming hard into her shoulder as she lands on the circle. She hiccups a bit and tastes metallic in her mouth, a groan leaving her lips as she tries to push to her feet lest she became a prone snack.

She reaches up, floudering to accept the help Zan offers her to she can get to her feet, one hand still pressed over the wound that continues to bleed.

Angouri bares her teeth at the approaching spiders, clutching her stunsaber with a ham-fisted grip. In response to Elrych: "...What?" Someone said her name! Oh, shirk, stay focused - right. She's /very/ focused on these spiders - just not as focused as she should be. A blinding pain blossoms across her back, sending the young amaran stumbling forward to her knees with a yelp. She juts a hand out, a reactionary gesture as her careful practice and meditation crumble to fear and pain. A section of the cliff wall rumbles free, but fails to smash into any of the spiders, instead clattering uselessly back to the pit - drek. She struggles to find her footing and stumble towards the platform, but it feels as if her back has been shredded, and Angouri only collapses back to the ground again. "Can we /please/ pick summin else t'be th'damsel in distress?" She calls out.

"VHE!" Elrych shouts as he watches her impailed, having turned just in the moment of her getting hit. Almost as if he sensed her pain and shock... then anger. That Anger flows towards him. He's on the other side of the ring and can't do a damn thing about it, which doesn't help his calm at all. Then within a matter of moments Angouri is hit. He moves over with purpose and a bit of panic to Angour and grabs her by the robes, picking her up and hafting her fireman style over his shoulder. "Zandra, GET VHE... now!" He's turns and makes his way to the blatform. A growl unleashed from him as another spider strikes out at him. His lack of focus causing his slash to miss hitting the fured arachned. Once on the platform, Elrych put the Amaran down and turns to head back towards Vhe and Zandra. Though, he'll stop and take a deep breath before getting back on the saffolding, giving them a chance and himself some time to cool off.

Aryn and the spider that had taken her down moments before, squared off. Aryn shifted, moving to the platform while the spider took an attack of opportunity. It was enough to draw it into the open, and Aryn plunged the sapphire blue blade into its head just as it cut her leg open. She cried out, but did not falter. Her weapon was withdrawn and she retreated, taking a moment to inspect her leg to ensure it was not a serious wound. She eventually got to where Rey wanted them to be, and turned back to hold the line. Her lightsaber was brought upward in a defensive stance and held.

Zan is ready and willing to help those who the spiders find tastier than her. She continues forward, waving her lightsaber menacingly at one spider, which probably isn't too impressed. But Zan manages to get to Vhe, and help her, regardless. She does give a look over at Elrych as he issues worried orders, a frown crossing her face briefly. "C'mon, Vhe, hang in there. We got to get you to where Doc can help you out." Because Zan surely can't. She gets the other picked up somehow, and staggers forward. "Hold on, if you can, cause this is going to be a bit bumpy, I'm afraid."

By no means an easy task, the Jedi make their way to the solitary platform left on the right side of the bridge. There they're able to mass together as good as they can, with having injuries amongst their ranks now.

Rey shifts to the side to let Aryn join her on the platform, while she sweeps her eyes over the others who also join them. Once all the Jedi are on the platform, with saber blades lit and glowing brightly against the shadowy jungle, they all get a collective look at their dire situation.

Crimson fur-spiders closing in from all directions... thousands of eyes on the Jedi food source that has collected upon the 'plate' for them to feast from. Rey's fingers grip the saber hilt between them, tense and flexing her finger muscles as she adjsuts her footing, ready for the spiders to attack.

But just before the spiders can lunge and fall upon the Jedi with overwhelming numbers, blaster fire fills the air. Shot after shot of blasters from the west, repeating rifles that all start to slam into the crimson wave of arachnids swarming the Jedi. None of the shots are AT the Jedi either, they're all directed at the spiders.

The hulking red furred beasts start to fall from the bridge, one after the other shot by the searing power of super heated blaster gases. They begin to fall back into the depths of the chasm below.

From the western mouth of the bridge, a line of people close in, carrying heavy weapons they are unloading their ammunition cartridges at the spiders! Two large men step forward and both begin to unleash spouts of fire from the tips of flame throwers! The flames lance across the edge of the bridge and set fire to the now-fleeing spiders.

--

As it all comes to settle, as the red menaces flee back beneath the bridge. The Jedi are left standing on the bridge alone now, with their blades still illuminated. Rey looks to her friends, and then back to the ones who just saved them...

She calls out. "Who are you?!" She shouts over the distance between them.

The man in the middle steps forward and raises his rifle to set it up and over onto his right shoulder. He raises his helmet up and calls back over to those on the bridge.

"We're the Jedi Order. Who. Are you?!"