The Negotiator and the Fire Fang

Stranded on Canarath: Wisps in the Night

"I had a similar class. So you think we ran into one of these Dark Sided creatures?" Kenobi asked. Sahrea nodded.

"I do. There are certain planets that are bathed in the Dark Side of the Force. Take Korriban for instance." He raised an eyebrow. "Korriban?" he inquired. He looked over his shoulder as someone else answered.

"She means Moraband sir." Gheo chimed in. Kenobi hadn't even noticed the clone walking behind them. "The Republic renamed the planet a few hundred years ago." Sahrea pointed her index finger at him in agreement.

"He is correct." she affirmed. "It is the known as the birthplace of the ancient Sith. Both the Republic and Jedi hoped by renaming the planet, it's dark connections would be forgotten and it would help the Sith Order stay dead." Shan explained.

"But, back to my original point, Canarath is one of those places. It makes a perfect breeding ground for Dark Sided creatures." Kenobi couldn't argue against it. Her logic definitely fit.

"Do you have any idea which creature we may be dealing with?" he asked. She shook her head. "I wish I did, but I don't even have a guess. I've never heard of a creature like this." They looked up as a clone called to them.

"Hey general!" Cody shouted, pointing at something in the distance. The Jedi came up next to his commander. He rested his hand against a nearby skeleton tree. He hadn't paid them much attention before, but he now realized that its bark felt strange under his touch. It was almost metallic. Kenobi looked out to what Cody had seen.

"A village." Ice said beside him. Kenobi crossed his arms. He could just see the semblance of a settlement. However, the town looked like it hadn't been touched in a very long time. It was situated in a valley below them.

It was small, only consisting of one main road with houses running parallel to it. The metal buildings were falling down. Everything was coated in inches of red dust. A nearby speeder had been rusted to a shell. That was all he could see from this distance.

"No one's been here in years." Shan remarked as she stepped forward. She was the first one to make the slide down the uneven hillside. She brushed her finger against the ground to keep her balance, her boots kicking up the loose terracotta colored soil. A small dust trail was left behind in her wake.

When she hit level ground, she called up to Cody, who's leg was still bothering him a good amount. She used to Force to carry him down, while Ice and Serak carefully climbed their way to her, testing the soil and looking for footholds.

Varo and Gheo went next. Kenobi took a deep breath, his ribs protesting, before sliding down the slope himself. His feet hit the bottom and her took a step or two to slow his momentum, stopping inches away from Consult Shan.

"Hello there." he greeted with a smirk. She rolled her eyes. "Obi-Wan." she answered, her lips turned up in a smile. They turned, walking carefully down the main road of the town.

It was even worse up close. The buildings were edged with rust. Doors had fallen off or been removed. Baskets woven from the skeleton trees had disintegrated, the splitting fibers a tangled mass on the ground. Through one of the empty-paned windows, Kenobi caught a corpse of a weather beaten couch. What had happened here to make everyone leave? He stopped his examination as he heard a saber ignite behind him. He didn't know what and he didn't know why, but he echoed the motion anyway. Obi-Wan turned around.

The wisps had returned.

"Everyone, stand together!" Shan commanded them. All of the Republic soldiers backed up, grouping up in a tight circle with their backs to each other.

The wisps danced before them under the cover of dark, attempting to entice them with their shifting, hypnotic light into one of the ruined houses. A voice echoed out of the doorless frames, soft, gentle, and endearing. It spoke a language Kenobi had never heard before. It was gruff and hissing, but still smooth. He tightened his grip on his saber.

"Guard your mind Sahrea." Obi-Wan told her. He would do the same and hopefully it would protect them from that sluggish sensation. He saw Shan nod out of the corner of his eye. A breath later, that stiffening cold returned, but now that he expected it, it didn't affect him as strongly as before.

The voice became more urgent, persuading, pleading. It tugged at his soul. No. he snapped, shielding himself. He scanned the ruined building. He could sense the creature in there, but his eyes detected no movement.

Kenobi's head jerked instinctively to the side as a few blue blaster bolts shot into the house, skimming the tops of the green and violet wisps. As Sahrea lowered Gheo's blaster, a horrid cry echoed through the ghostly village. It was loud and animal like, a toned scream that you felt vibrate in your chest and in your skull. The creature finally revealed itself.

It was a thing of nightmares, looking like shadowed vapor. The creature floated a few feet off the ground with its edges smudged, like that of a storm cloud.

It was somewhat humanoid, with a head and arms, but the bottom could only be described as a wispy tail. Its charcoal colored body had no defining features, with the exception of three black spots on its face, two eyes and a mouth. It had some semblance of being female, but that may have just been the way it moved. It was like rolling fog, a midnight mist. Its arms, which were much too long for its body, stretched out wide as the creature gave a second cry. This one was not of pain, but of rage. It disappeared.

"What the-" Varo muttered. A shot went off behind Kenobi. The creature had reappeared instantly twelve feet away. It flew up high, dodging the blaster bolts with pin sharp turns and dodges. It dove down at the nearest clone, which was Serak. He took his hand off the rifle to punch the monster. His arm went straight through. In response, the creature put an indistinct hand to his throat and tossed him a few meters away. Shan growled.

"How the hell are we supposed to hit it?" Ice snapped. As the creature rounded towards Kenobi, he swung his saber at it, irritating his ribs. It dodged nimbly before disappearing again with a slight pop. It reappeared on the opposite side of their circle.

Shan altered her aim and took another shot at the shadow with the pistol. Serak did the same from behind. Most of Shan's shots missed widely, but one caught the creature's shoulder. It gave out that heart stopping cry of pain again, this time leaving his ears ringing. Serak landed two more on its back. The creature whirled around and grabbed Commander Cody.

"Ahh!" the clone shouted. Ice flung his rifle down and grabbed his brother's foot. The creature tugged harder, trying to drag the clone off into the woods beyond. Gheo jumped to clasp Cody's other ankle.

While they pulled downwards, Kenobi leapt forward and dug his saber into the creature's misty body. There was no cry this time. The creature released Cody, who dropped roughly immediately onto the dirt, his armor clacking together loudly. The misty being floated gently down to the ground before dissolving into nothing.

"What the hell." Cody stated as he pushed himself up to a sitting position. The creature's presence was completely gone. "Do you think it's dead?" Serak asked, staring at where it dissipated.

"Yes." They all turned to Shan. She was pale, but looked much better than their first encounter. "I also think I know what that creature was." Kenobi cocked his head at her.

"Do tell." he answered, geniunely curious. "I think it's a Neris. They are dark-sided creatures who are rumored to have the ability to make people disappear." she explained. "Or at least that's how the stories go. They can phase through solid things, but not through light, which is why our sabers and blaster shots could hurt them, but we couldn't."

"You said they make people disappear?" Varo asked. She offered a hand to Cody. He took it and she helped him to his feet.

"Yes. No one knows how. They are believed to be able to hop between dimensions. I remember learning about them." Sahrea explained. They all stared at each other.

"That could explain why this planet is deserted." Kenobi said, brushing his beard. "These Neris may have been taking the inhabitants and that scared off the remaining people." He didn't blame them. If he had to deal with those things on a daily basis, he would leave too.

"But what about the flora and fauna?" Cody asked, already recovered from his brush with dimension hopping death. Sahrea shook her dejectedly.

"That I'm not sure about. I haven't heard anything about that." Shan said. They all stiffened as metallic footsteps approached from their left side. They didn't stick around.