[Solved] A gun in the hand

Jamidua had drawn the third watch of the night. After a day's hard march from the Jedi monastery to the wreckage of their starship, he struggled to stay awake. Damn, and he needed to go to the toilet too.

Leaving his sleeping companions behind, Jamidua picked his way into the bush by the light of many unfamiliar stars scattered across the sky.

He was almost done when he heard the quiet but unmistakable sound of a twig snapping. He jerked his head, peering into the darkness.

There! A low shadow was moving toward him. Carefully, he draw his blaster. Two yellow, almost cat's eyes, pierced the darkness. 

There was a pause that seemed to stretch out forever. 

Then an explosion of motion. The creature, whatever it was, leaped at him, all pretense of stalking gone as it growled fiercely. With a start, Jamidua fired off two shots, both going wild. He had plenty of experience hunting wildlife on his homeworld of Haruun Kal, but this creature was fast.

Then, as the creature closed, he fired a third shot that hit. The red blast illuminated for a moment the creature. Red skin. Six limbs. A vast underbite with sharp teeth. It was a gundark - but far larger than any he'd seen previously. 

The predator fled into the dark from the blaster shot. Jamidua fled in the other direction. Toward the Godspeed? He hoped so...

Druffin snapped awake. The sound of a blaster bolt and a spike of fear felt through the Force combined to pierce the fog of sleep. His night eyes - the larger pair of his four eyes - searched immediately for Jamidua, who had relieved him from the second watch. The man was nowhere to be seen. 

"Druffin, you're with me. I need your eyes."

The commanding voice belonged to the Jedi Knight, Jun Jin-Wa.

"Lyra, Asa - protect the camp." With that, Jun started running in the direction of a commotion that could be heard in the undergrowth.

Jun was quick and almost silent, despite the dark. Druffin chased after, nervously scanning the bush around them. Wherever he was heading, Jun seemed confident of the direction. 

"Quickly now!" Jun burst into a clearing and ignited his lightsaber. The brilliant blue glow lit a frightening scene. A terrified Jamidua was crouched behind a fallen log. Just behind him, rose a heavily taloned claw - poised to strike. 

Shocked by the sudden light, the gundark reared back.

Druffin fired, twice, from his blaster before - with a big shout - Jun leapt forward, lightsaber raised. It must have been Force-assisted as the man propelled himself forward two meters in the air before landing atop the fallen log. The blue blade twirled, casting furious shadows left and right.

Druffin pulled Jamidua back from the log and wrapped a large arm around the man. Together, pair crouched, blasters raised toward Jun and the gundark, looking for a shot.

They needn’t have bothered.

Pained bellows and screeches came to a sudden gurgling halt. Jun stood, framed by a blue halo, as the gundark shuddered and slumped to the ground. Its head fell separately.

"Are you boys okay?" Jun called. His voice was steady, firm, confident, but his breathing was rapid.

His voice quiet, Jamidua answered for the pair of them. "I think so, Jun... yes... but only thanks to you."

Jun nodded, uncomfortable with the affirmation. He hopped down off the log and took a closer look at the vanquished predator. 

“This is odd… look at these back legs - they’re diseased or infected or something.”  The Jedi Knight prodded the creature with his boot. The skin on its hind legs was stretched taut, scaly and black. As Jun watched, something seemed to move underneath the skin, to pulse. 

Creeped out, Jun pointed the tip of his lightsaber at the spot and slowly pressed it through the skin. The hind leg convulsed and emitted an acrid stench. Of most concern, however, was the stabbing but fleeting pain all three of the Force sensitives felt in their heads. 

“Something is definitely wrong about this place…” muttered Jun, absentmindedly reaching for where he normally kept his - now absent - whiskey flask. “Come on, let’s get back to the camp.”

This is Druffin's fourth lesson as a Jedi initiate, based around combat. The creature is meant to be a gundark, partly inspired by these depictions.