Chapter nineteen. The trial

Zekk Stilco coughed and spat up blood, working to loosen the clasp of his helmet. Blood and spit dribbled down and leaked out of his helmet. He didn't fully remove it, just enough to spit the rest of the crimson liquid from his mouth. He was sure that his arm was in even worse shape now. Not to mention his ribs were starting to send a lance of pain up his body. Bandit was bleeding pretty badly too. He was sure the man wasn't going to make it. Blood painted his side and he could see the gaping hole that Bandit held shut with bloody hands. Kerren seemed to be alright, just a little shaken up. If not for her, they would've been dead. She had barely managed to teleport them out of there in time. He grimaced and dragged himself to his feet. Looking back at his ship, he knew they wouldn't be able to get the thing back into the air or space. "Ahhhh!" Bandit gasped, trying to fumble with the first aid kit sprawled out in front of him. They had been teleported to world in the middle of a jungle. The air was sticky and humid. Insects swarmed around, buzzing and clacking. Deep in the distance, the bounty hunter was sure he heard a loud roar of some predator.

The stream that was about twenty or thirty meters away looked clean and fresh. The giant trees that nearly blocked their view of the sun, swayed and danced in the light stiff breeze. Zekk grunted, walking over to Bandit. "You alright?" the man smiled- or tried to. "Yeah, of course I am. Just had a piece of metal slice me open. I nearly lost my guts thanks to you and your flying." "It wasn't much flying. More like trying to keep us from crashing into that building." Kerren stepped up behind them, leaning on the bounty hunter's broad hunched over back. He didn't say anything which surprised her. "I'm sorry. I wasn't able to keep us safe." She whispered. She stared at the ground, trying not to look them in the face. Bandit sprayed disinfect on his body, wincing against the pain. "Not your fault. If you weren't there, we would have died. Besides." He paused and lightly applied a self-sealing bandage. "You can't control your ability. We could have been teleported into a sun or black hole." Zekk Stilco nodded. That was true. They could've easily been warped into a black hole or sun. It was pure luck that they hadn't. He tapped his range-finder, trying to get more information on the world that they had landed on. According to the data base, the planet was called Ghngecko, a small planet with an even smaller population. The air was breathable, but not everywhere. Apparently the deep jungle contained gasses that were toxic to the lungs. If breathed in you would die in a matter of hours. That is if the Jallik beasts didn't eat you first. Or the Prowlers, or the small seemingly defenseless birds, known as the Sarkers. He filed all of the information away. Coming to stop at the most valuable information. There was a small settlement. Nearly three hundred natives lived there. There was a shipyard for passing and wondering merchants or traders. Some people came here to hunt the infamous Ork Rancor. A beast so big that it nearly dwarfed its smaller cousin, the jungle Rancor two times. That would put it at nearly one hundred feet tall. If this place had ships than they could easily make it back to Coruscant. But would they be in time to execute the Chancellor? He knew that they wouldn't be. "Oh, ok." Kerren said, she knew that Stilco was researching all he could about the planet. Whenever he was doing that everything went smoothly. Her job was to just be there if he needed her. Bandit had finished patching himself up, the color had returned to his face. "Damn. Those torps came out of nowhere. Those Jedi really aren't stopping till Stilco is dead, huh?" he slipped his shirt back on and started to pick up his data pad. "Kerren, did you get hurt?" she shook her head, blinking the dazed expression off of her face. "No. Just some cuts and bruises." The Mandalorian stood up, moving his arm, trying to test how bad it was. He was surprised and a little shocked that the wound hadn't reopened. It was a bit stiff and sore but other than that he was able to operate it decent enough.

His ribs were another matter. He was sure that one had been broken if not two. Every breath he drew caused a sharp pain to lance his side. "We need to move, grab the things that you need and leave the rest. Bandit, get me a detailed report on this planet's environment and the natives. We need to know what or who we're dealing with before we just go walking off into the jungle." he walked over to his ship. Smoke and small flames licked away at the hull, but he was still able to get in. He could see the damage done to it. It was really bad. The hull barely had been strong enough to take the hits and not give way completely. The ship couldn't be repaired in just a few hours. All of the systems were down, the thrusters were completely destroyed. And he was pretty sure so was the ion drive and sub light drives too. He tapped open the weapons locker and glanced over his selection of weapons. He didn't really want to take a laser weapon. They jungle wasn't too kind to the battery cells or the energy nodes. The weapon might malfunction in the middle of blaster fight and that might not be such a good thing. He decided to go with a gun that shot titanium bullets. It was called an NARC rifle. It was used during the Old Republic and was a gun that was cheap and reliable, the recoil and rate of fire was decent. He checked the scope and adjusted it quickly. He grabbed the two bandoleer on the rack and slung them over his shoulder. "Kerren, Bandit, get in here and grab a slug rifle or something else. We can't use blasters here. Something in the air eats the energy and battery cells." He shouted. Bandit was the first one who came, he frowned while looking over the stash. "Good thing I had to go shopping before we landed in this mess. I've got the latest equipment. Like the NARC rifle, this one is lighter though. Its scope is adjustable with a flick of your wrist. Very mobile." Kerren followed a moment later, she tapped Zekk's shoulder. "Is Bandit trying to sell you something?" "Hey, I was just saying. Here." He disappeared for a moment in the cockpit. "I think I got it right here." His muffled voice could be heard from the ship's small hold. "So the planet's air eats blaster energy and stuff?" Kerren asked. The bounty hunter nodded, tossing her a small pistol that shot slugs. "That weapon can shoot up to fifty shots before you need to reload." He informed, handing her the holster along with another bandoleer. She nodded, testing the gun in her hands. It felt a little heavier than what she was used to but it would have to do. "Thanks." "Don't thank me yet." Bandit said, walking up behind her, he tossed the rifle he was carrying into the Mandalorian's outstretched hands. "Thank me now." It was an elite semi-automatic rifle. The ones used on jungle worlds when blaster rifles stopped working. In fact, several clone regiments used them when engaging enemies in jungles and heavily wooded areas.

Blaster rifles didn't take too well to the sticky and humid climates. They usually froze up or overheated far too quickly. This gun was by far the best used in jungle warfare. The bounty hunter turned it over, inspecting the smooth barrel and the padded grip stock. It was a Mrosn ballistic weapon. Shooting a 4-inch bullet so fast that it literally left a smoke trail as it exited the barrel. It was light weight and had a bipod. The scope was set up to link into your helmet's POV if that was easier. The Mandalorian nodded. Yes it was indeed a good weapon. "Great." Kerren said, she clapped her hands. "Now we just need another rifle for me." Bandit smirked and raised a finger in protest. "If I remember correctly, you said you preferred pistols. So I got this." He held out the gun that he had in his holster. "Great, now-" "Wait." Stilco raised a gloved hand. He just started to realize the rumbling sound. It vibrated the whole ship. "Get out, get out-" his words were cut off as the whole deck beneath him disappeared and was replaced with the ceiling as the ship was sent flying through the air. A deep guttural roar followed seconds later. He hit the floor, grunting against the pain. Kerren rolled and stopped near him, trying to get her arm from under Bandit's limp body. The man must have been knocked out completely when he hit the floor. "Dammit. I can't-" "Kerren, calm down." Her eyes were wide and she was pulling at Bandit's body. "No! I think- I think he's dead." She said. The ship was lifted up and dropped. Stilco muttered a curse and quickly regained his footing. "We need to get out of here. Leave him be." There was blood pooling beneath the young man, his eyes were wide open as he stared blankly at the ceiling. One moment he was alive the next he was dead. Stilco didn't have time to check for a pulse, he dragged Kerren to her feet. "We don't want to end up like him. Move." He shoved her out of the ship and turned for the Mrosn rifle. His fingers had just closed on it when the ship was again shoved. Whatever was doing that it was huge. He jumped out of the ship, turning to face the threat, and froze. Standing and kneeling over the Hark three class star fighter was a giant canine creature. Its huge fang-filled mouth locked around the entire ship in a vise grip. Fresh blood and drool dribbled and streamed down its teeth. The red gleaming eyes were focused on the smoke pouring from the underbelly of the ship. Its fur was black and covered in blood. The creature was easily forty or fifty feet tall. Its giant paws tore and ripped at the ship, it was trying to open it and claim whatever was inside. Kerren was staring at the beast in horror. That thing was probably the biggest creature she had ever seen beside a Rancor. But this thing looked twice as deadly. And twice as fast too, Stilco thought too himself. He realized that he might actually die now. The creature finally seemed to notice that it had visitors, it dropped the ship and turned around, eyes glaring at them, mouth open wide. Kerren glanced at Stilco, trying to keep a brave look on her face. Even though the bounty hunter could see her legs trembling, he gave her at least some points for trying to be brave. "W-what do we do?" she whispered. With a roar that nearly knocked them both to their knees, the canine attacked. Singling Stilco as the more difficult opponent. It snapped at him with jaws wide enough to swallow a whole speeder. He fell to his stomach, feeling the hot and rancid air from its toothy maw on his helmet. He fingered the rifle's trigger and released a quick burst of bullets into its chest. Fur, blood, and bone erupted, covering the bounty hunter. The creature roared and jumped back. Eyes wide in shock and then quickly narrowing to slits of anger. It roared again. The fight was on.