And There Was Another✔️

Chapter 24: Clash

They decided to keep it simple.

Seth, Nova, and Maya were the only ones that were going to ride out, though Seri and Yex would alert the local forces to prepare in case they failed.

"Do you really think we can handle this?" Nova asked.

Seth thought about it. Honestly, he'd been thinking about it the whole way over. They were sitting just inside of the forest Maya said the Mandalorians were gathered in. He was anxious and worried. They were three solid fighters, and Maya was a damned Jedi. And no rookie either. Clearly, she was very powerful in the Force.

Maybe now they were going to find out just how powerful.

But he was worried about Nova, and Maya. What if something happened to them? What if he did something stupid again?

He needed to focus.

He imagined the ball of red energy in his mind. It pulsed and sizzled. He could see it clearly in his mind's eye. It let off a crimson mist and tendrils of it spread out.

"Seth?"

He focused.

"Are you listening?"

He imagined blowing it out.

"Yes," he said, feeling a bit of his tension drain away. "Sorry. Focusing. I'm not sure, but we've got to at least scope the situation out."

"Yes," Maya said. "I can sense them nearby...there are a lot of them. But I think we can handle this. If we play our cards right, perhaps we can shadow them until they locate the terentatek. They'll assault it and it will kill a lot of them. Then we strike."

"You're okay with just murdering them all?" Seth asked.

She sighed. "I wish it wasn't this way, but...these Mandalorians have proven they desire nothing more than suffering and gain at any cost."

"You really think the terentatek will rip into them that bad?" Nova asked, focusing them both on the situation at hand.

"Mandalorians are often rash and violent and angry. The terentatek is far more violent and angry. At worst, we can strike when they are distracted. But we should go now."

"We should," Seth agreed.

They left the pair of speeders they'd ridden out there in a small clearing. He and Nova moved quickly and quietly through the dense foliage of the Dantooine forest, but Maya was like a ghost. He couldn't hear her at all, and she barely pinged his peripheral awareness. That was creepy, and he was deeply glad that she was on his side. Although he'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared of her. As they made their way through the forest, Seth began to hear sounds. He listened closely. At first, they were fairly indistinct, no more specific than the fact that a living sentient was probably making them. Then they began to resolve.

He heard voices. Shouting, laughter, the occasional sharp command or retort. Mandalorians. They were crashing through the underbrush, not doing much to be silent. Probably intentional. This beast they were hunting would more than likely be drawn in by the noise. He tried to calm the rising tension and fear he felt within himself. Fighting Mandalorians was bad enough, but he also had to fight a damned terentatek?

He didn't even know what one looked like.

They pressed on through the forest and got close enough that they could make out individual phrases before Seth felt the first tremor. All three of them froze at the same time. One of the Mandalorians up ahead shouted for everyone to get ready.

Another tremor shook the area around them.

"Maya," he whispered, looking at her, "you led me to believe that this thing was not that big."