[P9-Kashyyyk-FF] Wrath of the Wookiees - Part 5: Horror of the Shadowlands

The team had finally reached the end of the long log that spanned the trees and immediately rested on the rough, slowly rotting platform beyond. As Jal rested his head against the tree, he began to drift off into a slumber, but was awoken by a click. Jal slowly drifted off to sleep as he rested his head against the tree, but then heard a click. Then another. He looked up; both Tordan and Zari’s plain clothing blended in with the platform. They were asleep while Lieutenant Dorn stood guard at the railing. He motioned for Jal to come over. Below the railing was a horrific beast, with a large domed body and small, almost robotic-looking legs. 

“That is a Wyyyschokk, Searcher,” Dorn whispered while pointing at the monster.

“You think these are responsible for the disappearances?”

“Wyyyschokks are known for being rather violent, but there are no records of them kidnapping large portions of the population,” he replied frowning. “Do you still have more of that drink? I would fancy some while we observe the creature.”

“Indeed,” Jal answered while pulling out the necessary ingredients and two cups. After he finished preparing the Leivaks, he passed one to the Lieutenant and then took a sip of his own. 

Suddenly, a small hole appeared in the ground in front of the beast. It was a hatch cleverly disguised as the forest floor. Out of it climbed two stormtroopers and a droid dragging a limp figure. The Wyyyschokk advanced towards the troopers and the droid, who dropped the figure in front of the beast.

“Searcher, it’s our archaeologist!” Dorn whispered to Jal. “It seems you were right about her disappearance being a boon. Wake the others, now!” 

Jal then shook the others. Tordan and Zari got up in a flash and prepared their weapons, training their muzzles on the large monster.

“Tell me when to fire,” Tordan said.

“Wait, Kesé, I want to observe the proceedings,” the Lieutenant replied. 

On the ground, the two stormtroopers looked at the Wyyyschokk, both of them bored from being sent to the most desolate imperial facility on Kashyyyk.

“Eh, why can’t the Research Division look after their own pets?”

“I dunno, might not want to say that with his droid here,” the other trooper responded. 

“Hey, is this thing gonna eat her or not?” The first trooper said impatiently.

Crack. Zari had kneed a pot sitting on the edge of the platform knocking it to the ground. 

“Karrabast!” She groaned. One of the troopers reacted by pulling out a thermal detonator.

“What was that?” he said.

The other stormtrooper, TK-123, trailed from the broken pot on the ground to the platform with his blaster. 

“Up there, TK-987! Rebels!”

TK-987 activated and chucked his thermal detonator at the platform. Before it exploded into splinters, Jal jumped, landing on the domed back of the Wyyyschookk; its domed back felt oddly squishy, he thought to himself. The platform then exploded, sending Zari flying off the other side while the rest of the platform collapsed to the ground. 

“It’s the monk we were warned about; Blast him!” The other trooper yelled after seeing Jal land. 

The Wyyyschokk loomed over Tolli, the giant maw with deadly pincers clicking hungrily. Unfortunately for her, the narcotics had just worn out. This was a horrible way to die. 

Blaster bolts reflected off the creature's back as Tordan and Dorn tried to distract it with fire. The beast ignored her and advanced in their direction, but then reeled back as if stopped by an invisible force. Jal was flung off of its back from the sudden motion, he looked up and saw him. 

Mual’oq. 

Jal scrambled to his feet, drew his blaster, and shot at the accursed klatoonian. The Wyyyschokk responded by getting in the way and absorbing the blast which did nothing but to slightly shudder its massive frame.

“Ah, Jal Mes, it’s so lovely to convene with you once again. Ossus, wasn’t it the last time that I saw your visage?” 

Jal just stared at him. The crossfire had seized as the two adversaries' eyes locked in a deadly stare.

“Oh, don’t take all day. Give me an answer, I have dozens of experiments to wrap up and a lovely lunch to eat.”

“How do you control the Wyyyschokk, Mual’oq? Once you tell me that, we can exchange pleasantries,” Jal responded fiercely.

As he pulled out his own blaster, he replied, “First off, it’s Professor Nicholas Robert Quibbles P.h.d you meddling, infuriating monk.”

Quibbles primed his small blaster as more troopers emerged from the hatch, and then continued. “And second off, so you have chosen death.” 

The stormtroopers then began to open fire. Jal hid behind the beast which the Professor was constantly changing its controlled directions to shake him off. It almost bit him, but he dodged and rolled underneath it and then quickly grabbed Tolli by the arm and half-walked, half-dragged her quickly to safety behind a large tree.

“Um, hi?” She said nervously, but Jal was too busy firing off shots at the Wyyyschokk and the stormtroopers, while Dorn and Tordan made the treacherous run through the crossfire. 

“Our old friend Mual’oq, I mean Quibbles, is mind controlling the Wyyyschokk’s, that’s why so many are disappearing, but why?” Jal eventually replied while taking cover from an incoming detonator which missed them by mere centimeters. 

Tolli screamed and then regained her composure. “Yep, uh, that’s what kidnapped me. It smells like a, um, wet bantha.” 

Both Lieutenant Dorn and Tordan Kesé made it to the large tree where Tolli and Jal were taking cover.

“When I give the signal, run. Our mission here is complete, we now have the necessary intel for a larger operation,” Dorn said hurriedly in his usually gruff voice. A couple of seconds passed. The signal flew. They all sprinted, but not before Jal grabbed Tolli, from the cover of the large tree using other trees as momentary cover. Tordan fell, shot in the back by the ensuing troops, and revenged by Dorn as he threw his ax which embedded itself into a trooper’s plastoid grave. 

An hour passed, they were in the clear and on a U-Wing painted black, brown, and green, and piloted by Wookiees that would take them back to base camp. Jal looked back at the section of forest, he pointed it out to one of the Wookiees in their native tongue as the dark place where the Empire still lurked. He then reached into his jacket for his Leivaks ingredients, he needed some after that and in his cup he found a worm. Jal took the cup over to Dorn.

“These worms aren’t native to Kashyyyk,” he said calmly, although on the inside he wasn’t calm.

“You are right, Searcher, this matches a species found on Geonosis. They were used for mind control,” Lieutenant Dorn responded. He pulled out his comlink; this new bit of data was urgent.

Jal pulled out a jar, dumped the dormant worm into it, and handed it to Dorn, who accepted it. He sighed; he had helped uncover the mystery, his job here on Kashyyyk was done. The Force would guide him from there.

To be continued…

Post-Shoot Catharsis 😀