[Clan Odan-Urr] The Serpent-Beast of Jassat’ar

New Tython
Menat Oombo
Council Chambers

“No offworlder set foot in Jassat’ar for all time,” the tall Harakoan man named Sisa proclaimed as he paced back and forth before the council. “Journey long and dangerous, many beasts unknown to Jedi.” A silence had fallen in the council chambers as the summit members gathered to hear the pleas of Sisa. When he had appeared at the gates of Menat Oombo just a day before, the Harakoan natives had gathered around in awe. None had seen the tribal leader in over 30 years, so his unannounced arrival sent ripples throughout the city. Children gathered around the old crones with renewed interest in the tales of Sisa and his battles in the Eastern Mountains. No one knew why he came, or why he brought with him a caravan of twelve hundred men, women, and children, all from different villages throughout the mountains. None, that is, except the Jedi.

A week earlier, in fact, the council had convened to discuss a surprising discovery. Tremors originating in the Eastern Mountain range could be felt as far west as Arca Praxeum, and had worried one scientist so much as to beg the council to declare a state of emergency. “These tremors should not be taken lightly, for the magnitude to be felt such a great distance away does not bode well for this planet-or it’s inhabitants.” His worried tone told more about the situation than the facts; he feared not for a natural disaster, but an unnatural one. A’lora commissioned a reconasaince drone to gather information, but contact was lost once it approached the 30 kilometer radius of the disturbance. Just as the situation had deemed severe, and the council had decided that a team must be sent to investigate, Sisa’s caravan could be seen coming over the horizon. Now the Jedi had all gathered in the council chambers to hear his requests.

“My people fear for life, fear for great serpent beast within Jassat’ar. Serpent beast angry with offworlders for bring war to Harakoa. He destroy our world out of anger.” Sisa had stopped his pacing and now stood directly in front of A’lora, pointing around the room at all of the Jedi. “He destroy Harakoa because of you!”

“I hear your pleas, Sisa, but we have no reason to believe that some animal is causing this.” A’lora spoke calmly, diffusing the tension in the room with her words. “Our scientists confirm that this seismic activity is indeed coming from the region referred to as Jassat’ar, but could be nothing more than tectonic plate shifting, a common occurrence in planets of this struc-”

“Have you see Jassat’ar, offworlder?” Sisa interrupted, raising his voice above the Consul. His retainers whispered in hushed voices behind him; it was well known among the Harakoans that Sisa did not raise his voice for anyone, but people were to lower theirs to let him be heard. “One thousand leagues of stone faces and fire breath down into heart of Harakoa. No light, no water, no living thing. Just serpent beast. You have not seen no thing like this, believe me.”

V’yr Vorsa, seated to the left of A’lora, leaned in and whispered into her ear. The Consul stood and clasped her hands together.

“The council requests a private audience with Sisa to discuss this in further detail.” Sisa turned to his tribesman and gave them a nod, and his second in command led them from the chambers as the rest of the council stood and led Sisa into a private room.

-----------------—

“After much deliberation, a decision has been made.” A’lora declared as soon as the Jedi had reconvened. She looked at Sisa as she spoke, but all the Jedi knew she also spoke to them. “This is a volatile situation, not only because of the severity of these tremors, but also because we Jedi are often seen as interlopers by your people. Intelligence gathered around your region shows many tribes are in possession of primitive projectile weaponry such as slug throwers. Because of this we cannot launch the full investigation I would like. Instead, I have chosen a team to be dispatched, led by Sisa, to the Eastern Mountain range and into Jassat’ar. I have chosen V’yr to head the team. I will allow him to chose who he believes will work well and allow the task to be completed as quickly and quietly as possible. V’yr, if you would.” A’lora took her seat as V’yr began.

“I have chosen Liam, Sa Ool, Droveth, and Seraphol to accompany me on this journey. Please gather tomorrow in these chambers to discuss the specifics of the expedition.” A low rumble spread throughout the chambers as Jedi and Harakoan alike discussed the events. Slowly they filed out, one by one, until only Sisa and A’lora remained. The tribal leader turned to the Consul.

“I hope this work, Jedi. For your people and mine.”

New Tython
Menat Ombo
Eastern gate

The ancient Jedi observed a group of Sisa’s Harakoans packing supplies on their reptilian mounts, getting ready for a long journey home. The Council decided that most of Sisa’s company would return the same way they arrived, on foot, but because they knew the area around the eastern mountain, Sisa and several of his best trackers would remain behind. The tribal leader was cautious of the Jedi more than Vorsa felt was necessary. Clan Odan-Urr had only the well-being of the Harakoan people in mind, however the scars of Thuron’s repression and genocide had shaken the trust they had developed.

Consul A’lora issued summons to the Melewati of the eastern forests to serve as backup for the ad hoc party. Lara Farstalker, chieftain of the forest clan, and Vorsa’s personal friend, answered the summons by sending a squad of her snipers to meet them at the foot of the mountain. Vorsa knew the value of the Melewati, and she welcomed their aid, but she had doubts about the mission. The quakes seemed strange and out of place. The eastern mountains, as far as she knew, weren’t even close to a seismic fault.

"Master Vorsa?” A male voice snapped her back to the now. Padawan Droveth spoke softly so as not to disturb her. Too late, “we are ready to move out, Master.”

Vorsa turned with a wide smile on her face, concealing her troubled thoughts, “indeed?” She asked delightedly. Focusing her attention on the bald Padawan, she beckoned him to walk with her with a wave of her hand, "you seem nervous, young one.”

“Slightly,” he replied, knowing there was no point in hiding it in front of the Neti. She knew already, but remained polite enough to ask, “I’m troubled by these earthquakes.”

“They are but an unexpected tectonic activity. The planet does as it wills, Padawan, as it has always done. We need but dance to it’s tune,” she gave another piece of her cryptic wisdom.

Droveth nodded and relaxed slightly and gave a slightly-less troubled smile, “as you say, Master.”

“We shall be home soon enough once we confirm it," she reassured him with a pat on the shoulder and an ever present confident smile.

Observing the LAAT transports, and the team of Jedi and Harakoans inside them, awaiting their arrival Droveth made a gesture for Vorsa to proceed first, “we are ready for your command, General,” he used her other honorific this time. The mission had begun.

New Tython
Eastern mountain
Foothills

Heavy rainfall splashed against the pilot’s viewscreen, trails of water dragging to each side of it. The three LAAT’s were having a hard time keeping their course as the storm around them worsened. Lightning struck to their left, causing several of the natives to jump in their seats.

“Ominous,” Sa Ool whispered to Liam, as the Harakoans started praying to whichever gods they believed in. The older man gave him a slightly concerned look, knowing full well that not all natives were accustomed to modern technology. The LAAT might have seemed like something out of tales and legends to them had they not seen them before. As it stood, they were mostly scared of the machines falling from the sky and killing everyone inside.

“One mike,” the pilot’s voice registered over the intercom, indicating their ETA on site.

“This rain won’t help us much, General,” Seraphol spoke up, “we won’t even be able to see the Melewati, let alone find them.”

“We need no eyes to see, my friend,“ the Neti teased the Quaestor with a giggle, “and besides, if Lara’s message is any indication, the Melewati will find us long before we ever notice them.”

“Ten seconds,” another report from the pilot came in garbled as another lightning strike - this one fairly close - wreaked havoc on the electronics. The Neti looked over to see that everyone received it clearly. Thumbs-up’s and nods followed as the ship slowed down to a crawl and landed with a thud. The side-doors swung open revealing the chaos and fury outside. The wind nearly threw them off balance at first and the rain soaked their clothes in mere seconds.

~A beautiful, furious storm,~ Vorsa thought to herself. She welcomed it.

New Tython
Arca Praxeum
Conciliator’s Chamber

Many Jedi had neglected to visit Arca Praxeum since they began to feel the tremors from Jassat’ar. Mar sat silently in his chambers, deep in meditation, and as he reached out to the Force a vision formed in his mind – A tempestuous wind raged along the base of a mountain, accompanied by torrential rain and vorpal daggers of lightning scarred the sky. The trail cut it’s way up the mountain in a seemingly unnatural fashion, piercing deeply into a precipice in the mountainside; A great serpent sat still within it’s nest, a cave protecting the beast from the raging elements. It’s jaw began to open as the skin around it’s face tore and separated, it pushed forwards leaving it’s shedding behind. A quake emanated from elsewhere within the mountain, enough to scare the Serpent into action, Mar’s vision began to falter and become unclear. The beast lost all form and became the silhouette of something evil, a creature of shadow. It darted from the cave and out onto the mountain trail, descending upon a small group - five lightsabers ignited defensively.

Mar awoke from his vision cold-sweat beading on his forehead, An evil stirs within Jessat’ar, he thought and immediately set about organising his travel arrangements – determined to find the Jedi and combat the shadow from his vision.

New Tython
Eastern Mountain
Base

The entire group had to half-shout in order to hear one another over the heavy patter of rain acting in tandem with the whipping wind, snapping along the canopy of the tree line. The group had been waiting for the Bush-fighters for some time and the Harakoans had grown more impatient. Liam attempted to console them with kind words.

“Be calm my friends, patience has it’s own rewards,” he urged, but the Harakoan group appeared to pay the elder Jedi no mind.

Their leader spoke in broken basic, “we have our belongings; We guide you up mountain, but we leave now.”

“You aren’t leaving without us,” Lara Farstalker exclaimed as she and her Bushfighters revealed themselves from the brush, the Zeltron’s soaking wet hair fell flat against her face and yet she managed to crack a smile; presenting herself to Vorsa she saluted “Melewati, at your command Sir.”

“Good of you and your trekkers to show up, Chieftain,” Vorsa spoke through her friendly grin, “I assume you’ve already scouted the area?”

“We have large areas of fallen trees, some appears to be as a result of this storm, others seem to have fallen in a path – What could do something like that?” Lara asked quizzically.

Droveth interjected before the General could answer. “I apologise for the interruption, but I’d very much like to see this ‘path’.”

Vorsa offered an open palm to suggest that the Trekkers led the way to their discovery. Naturally curiosity had swept over the Jedi, who were now keen to follow the Melewati. After a short journey, a path of trees lay uprooted in a line in front of them, as if a Krayt dragon had rampaged through the forest. They shared puzzled looks as Sa Ool and Liam Torun took the lead, stepping over the logs on the ground, “something is wrong,” Liam declared assuredly, “it leads directly into the Mountain Trail.”