The Rebel Faction

He stood there at the doorway of the large hut carved out of the giant Casata tree. Rain beat softly on the dark green grass of the marshland where the Kalaktar made their home. He leaned against the doorjamb, feeling the damp droplets which drifted into the hut via the gentle breeze. Lightning struck far in the distance on the savannah, illuminating the dark sky for milliseconds at a time, the bolts hit far enough from home that they did not make a sound. The silence along with the apprehension enhanced the melancholy atmosphere where the Cathar warriors prepared to hunt for blood.

Larducias took in a deep breath as the sweet air entered his nostrils, through all he had gone through, through all he <b>would</b> go through; the Cathar warrior was calm. He was adorned in the armor forged from that of the Mandalorians whom his ancestors had once fought fiercely against. Larducias' armor was made up of a deep cobalt blue chestplate reforged from the lightsaber and blaster-resistant, Mandalorian iron; the Cathar's armor was complemented by a set of grey-blue pauldrons also reforged from Mandalorian armor. The Kalaktar crest was emblazoned on the left pauldron, the tenets of the Cathar warrior; <i>courage, ferocity, and honor</i> were enshrined in a circle around the crest. His garb was completed with a red cape which was the color of the Kalaktar clan.

Though Larducias preferred to fight with his own pair of retractable claws which could easily cut through durasteel, the thick carapace of the giant Kiltik Beetles made Larducias' claws innefective. Though the Cathar claws could cut through the hard surface of the Kiltik's natural armor, the plating was too thick for a Cathar to cause any serious damage. So it was for this reason that Larducias elected to wield the one-handed sword, which the Cathar referred to as the Kel'Serah sword. The Kel'Serah sword was sharp enough to both peirce the carapace of a Kiltik and sever the insect's limbs.

"Come, Larducias. It is time." The familiar voice of Elder Kryja said as Larducias stared out into the beautiful storm that was brewing on the horizon.

The younger Cathar nodded as he joined the rest of the warriors at the center of the room, where the Elder lead them in one final prayer before they would embark on the Cathar rite of passage. As the warriors bowed their heads and joined hands, Larducias looked up and around the room where he met the gaze of Krazo. The two Cathar locked eyes for a moment, it was a strange mix of emotions that came over the pair of warriors; though their faces remained that of stone. Larducias nodded at the man who had been his enemy, and today would be his partner; setting aside his own feelings of anger towards his clanmate.

Though both warriors' wounds had healed from their previous encounter, the lasting effects of that fateful battle would be felt until each warrior drew his final breath.

Krazo put his paw on the hilt of his Kel'Serah sword as he and Larducias approached the Kiltik hive they had been assigned to. Larducias motioned his paw indicating that Krazo should wait before drawing his sword.

They could see the entrance to the hive as they silently made their way closer and closer. It was mid-day so the Kiltik beetles would either be sleeping or resting, it was Larducias' hope that the two Cathar could sneak right into the nest without detection.

The pads of the bottoms of their paws tread lightly on the soft tawny grass as they approached the entrance. Larducias paused holding up a hand for Krazo to stop in his tracks. Larducias looked over to Krazo as he sniffed subtly, his ears twitched ever so slightly. Krazo nodded as he slowly unsheathed his sword, and Larducias did the same.

They marched forward into the shadows of the hive slowly, sensing something just around the corner. They came to a near halt at the entryway of the hive which descended underground. As the two Cathar entered the hive, it opened up into a cavernous lair which had many paths leading in different directions; each path large enough for one of the giant Kiltik beetles to pass with ease.

Both warriors looked around, sensing the insectoids presence but not seeing any of the Kiltiks. Krazo went to grab a glowrod from his belt but Larducias stopped him, shaking his head. He didn't want to alert the Kiltiks to their presence yet, if they hadn't been alerted already.

With his right paw Larducias motioned to a trail which led to another path on the right side of the hive. The two warriors made their way towards the path, staying close to the walls, the soft pads of their paws making little noise as they walked towards the path.

As they came to the opening of the path, Larducias stuck his head around the corner to see what lay ahead. As he turned the corner he saw one of the Kiltik guards coming down the path. He immediately brought his head back, but it was too late. The Kiltik was already aware of their presence. The large beetle scurried through the path towards the feline warriors.

Krazo and Larducias immediately spread out and entered defensive stances, preparing for the impending fight. The beetle stood up on its two sets of hind legs letting out a high-pitched scream as his front legs flailed above his head. Krazo surged forward managing to slice the claw from the Kiltik's left leg causing the creature to bellow out in pain.

With its right claw the Kiltik lunged forward attempting to thrust its claw towards Krazo's chest, causing him to sidestep the attack quickly and in the process he lost control of his Kel'Serah sword which flew towards the wall of the cavernous hive.

Larducias immediately came forward with a high arcing blow which severed the Kiltik's right leg, causing a greenish-purple blood to spurt from the severed claw. As the creature reeled backwards in pain, Larducias advanced thrusting the Kel'Serah blade through the underside of the beetle's mandible and coming out the top of the insect's head. The creature stood high as it thrashed about screaming in pain before falling to the dirt with a hard thud.

As the creature stopped twitching, Larducias gripped the hilt of his sword and removed it from the Kiltik's lifeless head. As Larducias shook the thick insect blood from his sword and returned it to his side, Krazo picked his sword up off the ground and did the same.

"Your armor is inadequate, Krazo." Larducias said as he looked at Krazo's leather chestpeice shaking his head. "Their sharp claws can slice right through that."

"You just worry about your own fur, Larducias. I'll take care of myself." Krazo said, as the two Cathar walked through the dimly corridor.

The Blood Hunt had begun, but it was far from over.

The two Cathar warriors tread silently down the path that lead deeper and deeper into the Kiltik nest. Larducias was single-minded in his focus to take down the queen.

"We're getting close to the queen's chambers." Larducias whispered.

"How do you know?" Krazo questioned.

The truth was, Larducias didn't know how he knew. Somehow, he just <i>knew</i>.

"The patrols are converged along that path ahead, they're protecting their queen." Larducias said as he pointed far ahead to where the Kiltik patrols criss-crossed a singular cave. It sounded like a good explanation though it was more of a guess on Larducias' part.

"Well then, what do you say we get this over with?" Krazo said, as he took the lead walking forward silently with his back up against the wall of the hive so as to go undetected.

Larducias followed in kind. As they got to the point where the paths converged, Larducias sensed that there was a patrol coming from his direction, and another from Krazo's. Larducias gave the signal to Krazo that there was one patrol coming from each direction.

"How do you know?" Krazo said in a low voice. "You didn't even look."

"You take the right, I'll take the left. Remember, take them down quickly, <i>quietly</i>. If they alert the rest of the hive we're doomed." Larducias ordered and before Krazo could respond Larducias interrupted, "No time, they're coming!"

Both warriors leaned against the wall waiting for the Kiltiks to cross. Larducias held up a paw signaling the countdown for their surprise attack. The two Cathar leapt to action in harmony catching the Kiltik off-guard.

As Larducias rounded the corner, everything seemingly slowed down. He got a bead on the giant Kiltik beetle before the creature even sensed his presence. Much like his duel with Krazo previously, Larducias began to experience his hallucinations. In the middle of the creature's forehead just above the mandible, he saw a red explosion which by now Larducias knew was his target to strike. Without hesitation the feline warrior leapt forward cleaving the insectoids face in two as the creature slumped forward into the dirt, <i>lifeless</i>.

Larducias turned to see if Krazo had downed his target with as much ease, and quickly realized that he hadn't. With its monstrous claw, the creature slammed Krazo into the nearby wall bringing its alternate claw in for the kill. Larducias surged forward with speed that he couldn't explain just in time to cleave the creature's claw before it dealt the killing blow to his comrade.

The Kiltik changed its focus to that of Larducias whose mind was muddled with confusion after his recent hallucinations and his uncharacteristic speed. In the instant before Larducias could regain his composure, the creature slammed a backhanded claw across Larducias' chest hurtling him back several meters.

Krazo jumped to his feet, rushing to the aid of his partner. The Kiltik scurried over to Larducias who laid lifeless on the ground after being hurled into the wall. The creature turned before reaching Larducias upon the realization that the other Cathar was right behind him. The two exchanged furious blows back and forth, the Cathar parried and counter-attacked while the insect did the same.

Krazo feared he was overmatched as the creature pressed its attack. Just when Krazo thought his days might be numbered, the creature gave him an opening, a hole in its defense. It was all the trained Cathar warrior need to thrust his blade forward peircing the hard carapace of the Kiltik's head, killing the giant beetle immediately.

Krazo breathed a sigh of relief as the creature collapsed to the hard dirt. His thoughts quickly turned to that of Larducias who was lying huddled against the wall. Krazo shook his fellow Cathar for a few moments before Larducias awoke from his involuntary slumber.

"Krazo?"

"Wake up, Larducias. We've got to get out of here before more patrols come. You're in no shape to go on."

"No!" Larducias quickly responded. "We've come this far, I'm not leaving this hive until that queen is dead."

"You just got knocked unconscious by a mere drone, Larducias. If I hadn't been here to save your fur..."

"I momentarily lost focus, Krazo. If you don't think you can handle it, then by all means head back to the village. But I've got a queen to kill." Larducias said as he rose to his feet, dusting himself off as he made his way towards the queen's lair.

Krazo snarled in contempt but nonetheless followed the Cathar.

Soon, Larducias would either cleanse himself of his inner darkness, or he would die trying.