Running with Sabers

[Farran Esrimoure]

High up on a rocky peak, and situated a fair enough distance away from the Jedi encampment, a single figure lay. She kept herself flat, making sure that she was as invisible as possible as she looked through a pair of macrobinoculars. From her vantage, the camp was like a buzzing nest of Tatooine ants; Padawans and Knights bustling about in the midst of Cizerack and Alliance personnel. Bizarre yes, but her employer had said that this assignment would be a bit of a departure from the norm. Just the fact that it involved Jedi was enough to make this mission noteworthy. After all, how often did one see a Jedi these days?

She lifted a hand to the small transceiver fitted behind her ear, switching it on. She felt the minuscule jolt of electricity as it connected with her ocular implant, but after so many years the feeling had become normal, and elicited only a quick blink of her eyes.

The was always the possibility that she would have to move closer, but for now her position was adequate, and offered a complete view of the camp's layout below. If she was required to move, then instructions would be sent. But until then, she would stay where she was.

On instinct she let her hand drift down the length of her body to the unadorned lightsaber hilt clipped to her belt, fingers going over the smooth contours and crossbar for only a moment before coming back up to take hold of the macros once more.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa crept through the forest, the ground beneath her footpaws tilting upward as she gained altitude. Eventually the trees would fall away, leaving barren rock, but she would finish stalking her prey before then. She steadied the spear in her paw, held ready to throw, and moved silently forward.

[Farran Esrimoure]

Peering down at the camp, Farran frowned as she swept her gaze to and from, curiosity making her pause here and there as she studied the layout more fully. It was a growing settlement; that much she could tell. Construction crews were all over, steadily building the structures that would serve as much more permanent features than the various tents that were still dotted here and there. She sighed, pulling the macros from her eyes to check her chrono. Funny, how a watched chrono never moved forward. Funny, and not a little bit frustrating.

No new information had been received, and so Farran went back to her observations of those down below.

[Ndonsa]

She tensed, muscles bunched beneath her fur, and threw her spear, neatly skewering the deer. It tried to leap away, but collapsed, it's eyes wild with fear and pain. Ndonsa walked up to it, quickly cutting it's throat and ending it's suffering.

She placed a paw on it's head as the life drained out of it in a sticky red pool, looking into it's eyes and murmuring the customary prayer. It probably wasn't a proper Jedi thing to do, but it was her custom. It wasn't like she was drinking it's blood - well, not this time. Ndonsa pulled her spear free and cleaned it with handfuls of grass before beginning to field dress the carcass.

[Farran Esrimoure]

Movement down below caught her eye, and Farran shifted the macros. They zoomed in to a clearing where a deer now lay, collapse and bleeding out with a spear protruding from just behind its' front leg. As she watched, someone came into view.

A Nehantite?

She supposed she'd seen stranger things, and settling a little bit more, she continued to observe what played out below.

A handful of minutes later, Farran slid back from her perch. Slowly sitting up, she silently went about gathering her few scattered possessions to return to her shoulder pack. The time now called for her to move in closer, and the blonde began the careful trek down the back of the mountain face. Obscured from the settlement, she moved with a small bit more freedom, but she remained as quiet as possible regardless.

[Farran Esrimoure]

The trip down the scraggled mountainside was tricky, but she'd remained mostly silent; or at least as silent as one could be when moving about through nature. Still though, it was hard to keep the errant pebbles and loose shale from occasionally dislodging and tinking down ahead of her. Her shoulder pack was firmly secured across her back, and as a precaution she kept her slugthrower safely nestled in the holster at her hip.

Reaching the base of the mountain with relative ease, Farran paused long enough to look behind her and up the sloping earth to where she'd come from. The sun was at its' zenith, and she lifted a hand to shield already squinting eyes.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa walked out of the forest, the meat of her kill wrapped up in 'something more appropriate than that,' according to one of the cooks who'd not appreciated the big leaves she'd carried her hunt in with before. Whatever the covering was, it was grey and worked fine enough, so Ndonsa didn't really care. Her mind was full of Master Anbira's lessons, so she barely registered the life form in front of her before she was practically on top of it. The sun was at her back, so for a moment they were both equally surprised by each other.

The Kufu dropped her pack, the meat landing with a solid thump on the ground, and leveled her spear at the stranger. "Who are you?"

[Farran Esrimoure]

There was something to be said for pad-foots and their silent walking. It could either be helpful or an unwanted surprise, and it was certainly the latter that she silently cursed as her arms went up slowly, hands open and fingers splayed out to show that she was unarmed.

"Just a surveyor," she said with ease. It was a scripted line should she ever come into unexpected contact.

"Alliance Command sent me down to take some readings."

She gave the Nehantite a disarming smile then, shifting her stance.

"Nothing sinister, I promise."

Farran's eyes went to the tip of the spear that was a little bit too close for comfort.

"You can point that thing somewhere else you know."

[Ndonsa]

She grunted, moving the spear a fraction so it was not pointed directly at the woman's face. "I will walk with you back to the camp." Ndonsa used the Force to pick up the dropped meat without taking her eyes off the sur-vay-or.

[Farran Esrimoure]

Hells.

Still though, it was no huge matter.

"Still have a few more ridges to do," Farran gestured to a line of low peaks farther off with a wave of her hand.

"Can't report back without my quota."

She shrugged, stepping to the side in an effort to put distance between herself and the Nehantite.

"It's numbers and all; bossman doesn't like an incomplete log, y'know?"

[Ndonsa]

She raised an eyebrow and mirrored the woman's shrug, her beaded necklaces rustling. Something about this sur-vay-or was bothering her. "As you say." Ndonsa lowered the spear another fraction, eyeing the woman's clothes and tools. She didn't know enough about Alliance customs to know if what she saw was normal or not.

[Farran Esrimoure]

Her smile widened, and Farran gave a gracious nod to the Nehantite and the point of her spear.

"My thanks."

Lifting a hand, she gave a mock salute, and her eyes went to the pack that was being held.

"Looks like good eating tonight," she offered, hoping to warm the cold encounter.

[Ndonsa]

"It is not enough for the whole camp, but it will add to the rations," she said. Ndonsa tapped her forehead with the side of her finger, a sketch of a salute to mirror the other female's. "Have a good day," the Kufu added, trying to sprinkle human sayings into her conversation to make things more pleasant for people who had to deal with her. Loki had given her a few to work on.

[Farran Esrimoure]

Lofting an eyebrow, Farran stepped past the Nehantite.

"Take care," she finally got out.

The small foothill still sloped downward for a short bit before rising back up and merging into yet another large hill that, further up, merged into another mountain. Her pace was quicker than normal due to the downward angle, but she slowed regardless, coming to a short standstill while turning a final - albeit confused - look back to the Nehantite. It was still strange, and as if the encounter had just been a figment of her sun-drenched and addled imagination, she'd wanted a final look.

[Ndonsa]

Ndonsa watched the female walk away, still a bit unsettled about ...something. The other turned for a glance back before heading away, and the Kufu narrowed her pink eyes.

She pursed her lips in thought, and then she realized what it was she'd been sensing. The female's scent was off. Alliance workers and indeed, just about everyone in the bustling encampment were subjected to the same varieties of soaps. The dust and dirt of the place had a distinct odor as well, to one sensitive enough to detect it. The sur-vay-or did not have those familiar scents. Ndonsa looked at the fresh meat she was carrying, and then back at the retreating stranger.

With an irritated sigh she stashed the meat in the shadowy crevice of some tree roots, certain it would be devoured by another predator before she returned for it, and jogged after the female, spear in hand.

[Farran Esrimoure]

As she picked her way through the underbrush, Farran began the uphill ascent of the next hillock, knowing that the incline would increase the higher she went. It wasn't slow going, but it wasn't a fast pace that she kept either. She paced herself evenly, knowing that it would be best to space out her energy.

Halfway up the hill, she stopped to turn on her hell, looking down at the way which she'd come.

A movement caught her attention, and she narrowed her eyes, blinking in the midday sun.

The macros came out once more, and the blonde brought them up, focusing on what she thought she'd seen.

A low curse, and the woman turned back, starting up once more, her gait quickening.

[Ndonsa]

Blaster didn't always trump spear, but Ndonsa took care to stick to cover as she jogged uphill. With the stranger on the high ground she had another advantage over the Kufu, but Ndonsa wasn't worried. She couldn't just throw her spear through the female's chest, anyway; a little more finesse was needed. The sur-vay-or looked back and sunlight glinted off a pair of macros, then the female started hurrying uphill.

Ndonsa ducked into the undergrowth, cutting hard to the west while gaining as much altitude as she could, then zigging back east, senses alert, all her senses. The hillside was full of information as she experienced it through the Force, even if she was not yet skilled enough to read all it was telling her.

[Farran Esrimoure]

By all the nine hells of Corellia.

Still heading upward, Farran picked her way uphill with as much speed as she dared muster; no need to misstep and send herself tumbling back down. Her macros had been put back in their leather case on her belt, and on instinct she let one hand fall to the handle of her small holdout blaster. The thought was quickly quelled though, and she knew it best to stay her hand.

Another look behind her showed no trace of the Nehantite, but that didn't mean anything. Farran knew she was following.

A sheer cliff, jutting upwards blocked any other way up, and brought to a standstill, she made a face. Such obstacles only made this more difficult. It wasn't insurmountable, but it was certainly not something that she wished to deal with.

Pulling in a deep breath, Farran turned her eyes skyward, crouched, then jumped, her hands going out to grab the closest handhold.

[Ndonsa]

The female was just ahead, blocked by a cliff, and Ndonsa took a bit of time to study the terrain before she leapt out of the undergrowth to cross the distance between them. The stranger jumped at the same time, straight up, hands grasping the rock face and feet scrabbling for traction. She pulled herself up just out of reach before Ndonsa reached the cliff.

"Come down," she called, hefting the spear. It would be an easy throw to skewer the woman, who was still looking for higher hand holds. "Why are you here?"

[Farran Esrimoure]

Twisting her torso so that she could get a better look downward, Farran pursed her lips at the sight of the spear.

"Ain't polite to point spears at folks, Padfoot," came the only callback.

With one hand still holding onto a small outcropping, she half-turned on her heel to afford the Nehantite more of a frontal target. Yet, her free hand moved down to the hilted sabre clipped to her belt. Going for her blaster wouldn't necessarily be the best option, as she was more than certain that her pursuer was more than proficient with her own weapon. So, Farran opted for the other tool at her disposal.

The sabre came out, and she thumbed the activator switch. A brilliant green blade flared to life, and she held it in a cross-guard position, the tip angled slightly downward.

"I think I'll be stayin' right where I am, thanks."