Interlude 3: Prima Kal

  “Careful, Sisters. Our prey should not be underestimated.” I whispered to the rest of my pack through the Psionic Network. The 27 Primal Zerglings created by my father were so small a few days ago, but now most of them are comparable in size to my current form. If their Psionic and mental capabilities weren’t weaker… Well, fortunately my Master took that into consideration when he created them.

  “Patience.” I placed my right claw on Secundo’s left shoulder. Pulling her away from the edge of the cliff. The thick black scales on our backs blended in well with the environment. So too did their dark-brown scales on our almost ape-like bodies, but the purple tiger-like stripes were a little flashy. The big white spikes down our backs were also not very good camouflage in this particular environment.

  “We need to change.” I felt my scales tingle as I altered my coloring. Keeping two of my eyes scanning behind me, I made sure to imitate the scenery at my back. The sky? No. We would still cast a shadow, we would still be noticeable. We need something more subtle.

  Blackened rocks were all around. Our scales were already mostly black. It was a simple matter to shift from dark-brown to the same coal black that surrounded us. Our spines were white, but they could not be changed as easily as scales.

  “Grrr~!” I growled as my spines fell out onto the ground, the wounds in my back healed rapidly as new, darker spines emerged. The same with my claws… And teeth. An acceptable loss of biomass. We would regain more soon anyway.

  “Grrrr~!” My sisters also growled. “Hiss~!” And occasionally hissed in pain. We didn’t speak though. Their minds were very simple compared to mine.

  “Prey. Hunt. Eat.” Their sentiments were roughly as simple as that. Thankfully they were much more obedient than my sister Lingling. It was unfortunate that we lacked wings to fly and burrowing through this hard rocky ground would cause far too much disturbance. It would startle our prey.

  After our bodies were as black as our environment, I led my Pack down the cliff-face. Carefully, slowly. Just as slowly as our targets were approaching their own prey. That colossal beast seemed unaware of any danger. It… No, He, thought that he was safe. He slept peacefully in the light of the suns.

  The Swarm needs his Essence. If possible, we are meant to capture him alive… I very much doubt that we will have that opportunity or ability. Our highest priority are the two Force Sensitive humans disguised amongst the Tusken Raiders. The father, Sharad Hett, is a Jedi Knight. His son, not yet a Padawan, but I would not underestimate the future Sith Lord.

  We reached the valley eventually, the suns moved but not too far. Perhaps an hour or two passed. The Tusken Raiders were setting their traps: Mines, mostly. Placed in the path of their bait. A pile of dead Womp Rats.

  They spread out, some were on the cliffs, hidden above the creature’s lair. Others were hiding behind rocks and taking cover, all around the beast and the simple trap. They waited and so did we. The suns moved slowly. My Pack became more impatient by the moment.

  “Behave.” I glared at Tertius. She sneered at me. Then turned to the Tusken and started drooling again. Her saliva was too acidic. It corroded the rocks and created a stench. It was nothing compared to the Womp Rats, the Krayt or the Tusken, but it was still an unnecessary risk.

  I noticed that the Massifs among the Tusken started sniffing in our direction. They reminded me of tailless alligators with spines along their backs and pit-bull like bodies. They were only the size of ordinary Zerglings and their threat to us was minimal. However, they could find us and reveal our position.

  My knuckles dug into the rocks. I lifted my left hand and looked down at my shorter, obsidian claws. I could also see the Sand People, the Krayt Dragon, and the surroundings… My six eyes could focus on many things and my mind was designed to handle that information effortlessly. Yet… It was still distracting.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath of the dry, hot air. It vibrated around me. It always did. I reached outwards, as if I could grasp my target from this distance. Then I opened my eyes and scratched downward!

  *Shhhh~!* Sparks flew as a few scales were ripped from the sleeping giant’s snout! It only took a moment for the beast to wake up screaming in pain and fury! Those bloody red eyes glared at the pile of rat carcasses and the beast spewed a stream of corrosive acid in irritation!

  “Patience.” I whispered to my Pack. A moment later, there was a deafening explosion as the blindingly bright fireball emerged from where the trap was laid.

  “Ouuuouuuouuu~!” Sharad, the Tusken Warlord, let out a loud warcry and ordered the assault. It was too late for them to run or hide. The beast would have found them one by one. Only by killing it could they possibly survive.

  *Piao-piao~!*

  *Diao-diao-diao~!*

  The plasma bolts screamed across the air and exploded on the thick scales of the giant lizard. The damage was minimal, but not nonexistent. It’s the reason why our creator designed us to deflect, rather than endure blaster fire.

  “Rooaoaaaaah~!” The Krayt Dragon wasn’t seriously injured, but it was very angry at what little damage was done by the tiny creatures assaulting it. A huge tail whipped across the cliff-face, tearing open the rocks and sending several of the Tusken Raiders or pieces of their bodies, falling farther down into the valley.

  The lizard spewed acid at a distant sniper and melted his body, along with the rock he was using for cover. A few of the braver warriors actually climbed the sides of the beast with melee weapons… The effects were negligible. So inconsequential that the beast didn’t bother dealing with them.

  *Wizz~!* A blaster bolt missed my shoulder by a few centimeters. We were close enough that we could get caught in the cross-fire now. A moment later, Septima moved her head to the side and avoided a bolt, only to cause Decimus Nonus to get hit in her left eyes!

  *Boom~!* There was an explosion and she screamed in agony, while rolling around on the ground!

  “You will recover.” I turned to Septima and ordered, “Take her away before she reveals our position.”

  Even though she was loud, everything was loud. They were throwing grenades under the beast, planting fixed explosives on the beast’s back, which detonated before they could escape the blast radius. The noises echoed around the valley constantly.

  “Raaaaoouuuuurrrraaa~!” The Canyon Krayt Dragon was more seriously injured now. It was growing weaker. But it would take more than that to defeat the creature. The number of Tusken Raiders was diminishing by the second as well.

  My Pack were more careful. A gout of venomous acid splashed in front of us, but there were many spaces in between the puddles. I saw a small Tusken woman hiding behind a boulder with an overheated blaster rifle, she was trembling and terrified. The Massiff next to her was also whining and nudging its master to urge her to escape.

  “It’s okay. Everything is fine. We can’t run. We need to keep fighting. If we don’t win, we die.” She was speaking in Tusken, a language consisting mostly of consonants, shrieking, barks and other discordant sounds. Fortunately it was programmed into my genes by my mother, along with many other languages.

  “Hiss~!” The Massiff noticed us approaching, especially focusing on me. My eyes were pitch-black, but no matter how dark my body was now, I wasn’t invisible.

  “Shh~!” I held a claw up to my maw and leaned in close to the tiny woman, “You don’t want to die. You want to live. To live, you must surrender peacefully.”

  “I-I don’t want to die… I need to surrender peacefully…” She put the gun down and her pet whimpered, cowering as he was easily captured by Secunda. Tertius moved forward and grabbed the girl, leaving the weapon behind as she carried the captive back the way we came.

  I picked up the blaster rifle and looked at it for a moment, before shaking my head. I left it behind and started walking on my knuckles again. A large Tusken man was raising his staff in the air and shouting, “Holes! Aim for the holes! The holes are the weak points!”

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  “Shut up! You’re not helping!” The smaller man next to him shouted back as he fired his silver blaster pistol, but the green plasma bolt missed the nostril and left a tiny crater in the dragon’s snout.

  “Hiss~!” The dragon was infuriated and charged in this direction.

  “Run!”

  “No, you run that way!”

  The two of them ended up both running to my left. The Krayt Dragon only took a moment to reach their side, that massive head came down and chomped on the top half of the taller one. Blood and entrails sprayed everywhere, the thick Tusken clothing didn’t do much to protect his squishy body at all.

  “Aaah~!” Then the other one was screaming in agony because his left leg was crushed by that monster’s chin.

  *Tssh~! Raoooaaaa~!* Finally, I heard that familiar sound. Something from my father’s memories. At least the first half was familiar, the sound of that crimson plasma blade extending. The second half was a deafening roar that it emitted because of the nature of its Kyber Crystal: A Krayt Dragon Pearl.

  The Jedi Knight was standing atop the beast’s massive head in the guise of a Tusken Warlord. Before the beast could react, that ‘tiny’ blade stabbed down into his skullcap. There was no resistance.

  I could feel the danger from that blade, from his aura, my senses were warning me, my instincts, the Force itself was warning me to escape. I couldn’t fight him and win. It wasn’t about tricks or tactics, it was almost as if he was Fated to win against me if I decided to duel him.

  “Raooooaaaaaaar~!” The massive Canyon Krayt Dragon kept squirming and started rolling, so the Jedi had to hop away. He leapt dozens of meters through the air easily. A feat that should have been impossible for his fairly normal human physiology.

  *Whiz~!* I looked over and saw a pointy stick flying at nearly supersonic velocity. It was one of those weapons that the Tusken wielded. Thrown by the Jedi’s son, A’sharad Hett. The weapon struck the hole his father carved very accurately, even as the beast was mid-roll. It writhed and squirmed for minutes afterwards, as my Pack slowly and carefully captured or eliminated every Tusken that was still alive. Many of them were wailing in pain from various injuries and couldn’t resist being caught, so it wasn’t particularly difficult.

  “Stop.” Sharad spoke calmly with the lightsaber in his hand, my claws only a centimeter from his son’s back.

  “I’m surprised it took you so long to notice us.” I watched the startled ‘Tusken’ boy roll forward and quickly hide behind his father’s back. He was young, but the Force was strong with him. It was surprising that he allowed me to get so close to his back.

  “I noticed you. But there was nothing I could do to stop you.” His saber roared as he waved it slowly to the left and right, walking forward at a calm pace and holding the hilt to his side with both hands, pointed upwards.

  “My Master wants to meet you both.” I felt the Force flowing through me, protecting me from his manipulation. My eyes returned to their usual yellow, purple stripes appeared on my arms, shoulders, thighs and sides, most of my scales also returned to reddish brown. The claws, spines and fangs remained obsidian, since they required more time and effort to change.

  “Your Master? Have the Jedi come searching for me?” He had a Tusken mask and goggles covering his face, so I couldn’t see his expressions. However, the Force was surprisingly peaceful around him.

  “My Master is no Jedi.” I turned my head towards the southwest and he looked in that direction as well, “His orders were to capture you and your son unharmed if possible.” I looked over at the writhing, dying lizard and sighed, “Along with the Canyon Krayt Dragon.”

  “Your Master is very demanding, it seems.” He looked around at my Pack, each of them holding at least one of his Tusken Raiders as a hostage. Though some of them were only holding Massiffs. It was still the same threat.

  “Father…” A’sharad whispered, “We can’t go with them.”

  Sharad sighed and deactivated his lightsaber slowly, “I will go with you, but you must allow my son and my Clan to escape first.”

  “Father!” The boy obviously wasn’t happy with that ultimatum.

  “Are you sure about that?” I pointed towards a few of the more seriously injured Tusken men and women, “They will likely perish soon. My Master can easily treat their wounds. Even restore their destroyed limbs and organs.”

  “We have Medical Droids. They will be fine.” He was surprisingly firm about it.

  “Very well.” I shrugged and ordered, “Release the captives.” Then I reached out and pulled his lightsaber into my palm with the Force. He didn’t resist or stop me at all.

  “Father, you can’t be serious!” The child shouted anxiously, “They’ll kill you! And then they’ll come after the rest of us!”

  “I was not destined to die today, A’sharad.” The man spoke in a calm tone, though it was still in the Tusken language, so it sounded odd. He placed his hand on his son’s shoulder and spoke quietly, “Until I return, take care of them.”

  “Disable the beast.” I waved my left claw and ordered my Pack to deal with the Canyon Krayt Dragon. It was dying, but not dead yet. If we worked quickly, it might be possible to bring it back to the base alive.

  “Hiss~!” Secunda shouted excitedly as she charged forward with her knuckles smashing holes in the blackened ground.

  “Roaaaar~!” Then it was Tertius. She grabbed the tip of the massive tail. Even though she was whipped around a bit, she hugged the tail tightly and then bit down into it. Injecting her venom. A few more of my Primal Zergling sisters latched onto the gigantic tail, weighing it down. Then a couple dozen of them hopped onto the back of the belly of the beast, while it was breathing heavily and lying on its back. Those long spines and horns got embedded in the ground below it, making it harder for the monster to move.

  They injected the creature with their venom. Slowly but surely, the dozens of injections started to have an effect. I noticed one of the Tusken men taking up his blaster rifle and aiming it at the back of Quintus.

  “Even though the blaster will not hurt my sister much…” I glared at the ‘tiny’ man with my right-side eyes, “I won’t stop her from devouring you afterwards.”

  “Kl’takt, follow A’sharad back home. Protect our Clan. Live.” Sharad gave an order and the angry Tusken man obeyed, lowering his weapon reluctantly. There were others with weapons as well, but they were mostly just clubs or staves. Nothing particularly threatening or long-ranged.

  “Father…” The boy held his father’s hand for a few seconds, before letting go and breathing out a sigh, “I will protect them until you return. Please, return.”

  “I shall.” The Jedi Knight was very confident. It didn’t sound like he was merely comforting his offspring. Then he looked up towards the sky, “Friends of yours?”

  “The Drones are here. Do not be alarmed.” I warned them to avoid unnecessary casualties. The black armor of the Drones blended in with the rocky environment, but they also had bright purple accents, including the webbing between their eight legs. There were dozens of them that floated down into the valley and quickly surrounded the unconscious Canyon Krayt Dragon.

  “Drones?” Sharad actually spoke in Galactic Standard this time.

  “Worker Drones.” I turned my left hand upwards and a small drone was beckoned over, floating above my palm, “They are designed to gather resources, build structures, though they aren’t designed to heal wounded, they do possess some medical skills.”

  I ordered the small Drone to float over to a nearby wounded Tusken woman. She screamed and panicked, but the purple Creep that the Drone vomited onto the gaping wound on her abdomen was able to seal up the wound immediately. Not only was the wound sealed, but the Creep would act as an anaesthetic and also help in the healing process. Whether she would be infected with countless microscopic Zerg parasites, Creep Molds and other microorganisms in the future? That wasn’t my concern.

  “Fascinating.” Sharad didn’t stop the small Drone from sealing up the wounds of the other Tusken men and women. A few Drones also managed to find some surviving Tusken that my Pack had missed. In fact, there were a few that were only partially digested by the Krayt Dragon and removed from its stomach. Along with a handful of small and large Krayt Dragon Pearls. Compared to the ones from the Greater Krayt Dragon, they were much smaller on average, but there were still a few large ones.

  “Here. Although the beast did not die, your Clan has defeated it fairly and at great cost.” I guided the Drones to hand the pearls over to the confused and startled Sand People. The biggest one going to A’sharad Hett, who dealt a great deal of damage to the creature without even using a lightsaber or blaster.

  “You are very generous.” The Jedi Knight bowed to me sightly, then shouted to his people in Tusken, “Victory! Return home and feast!”

  “Yay!”

  “We won!”

  “Victory!”

  The silly Tusken Raiders cheered excitedly. His son on the other claw, seemed rather distraught, thought it was difficult to tell because of the mask covering his features. His presence in the Force was unstable however.

  “Father… Be careful.” The boy hugged the man briefly, then went to guide his people ‘home’.

  “May the Force be with you.” Sharad spoke calmly in Galactic Standard, watching the group of Tusken leaving triumphantly. Then he turned to the scene of the Drones wrapping the giant lizard in a massive purple cocoon.

  It took a while, but soon enough they were able to wrap the entire creature. Then they worked together to levitate the cocoon and carry it close to the ground, over to the large cave that the Krayt Dragon considered his Lair. There were no other Krayt Dragons inside, unfortunately. But that was fine.

  “Follow me.” I left my Pack to guard the cave and started leading the Jedi Knight toward the other side of the valley. He didn’t say much as we climbed the steep cliff. Following behind me at a surprisingly fast speed given his inferior human physiology. The Force was strong with him.

  “You are tempting me.” Eventually the man spoke when we were at the edge of another cliff, leading down into a steep valley.

  “Yes.” I turned to glance at his surprisingly uncovered head. He was bald, with tan skin. Maybe in his thirties or forties, though it was hard to tell human age in this Galaxy compared to my father’s past-life memories.

  “I feel the shadow of the Dark Side surrounding you, Youngling.” His dark brown eyes moved from one side of my face to the other, then he gazed towards the horizon. We were dozens of miles from my Master, but anyone with a little Force Sensitivity could feel that place very strongly.

  “The Dark Side has enshrouded Tatooine since ancient times.” I was looking at him, the black mountains, the sky, as well as the distant tan Dunes simultaneously. Then I closed my eyes and took a breath of the hot, dry air. Handing over the lightsaber to the dangerous human.

  “So it has.” Sharad took his weapon but didn’t ignite the blade or try to Force Push me off the cliff. He just hooked the hilt onto his belt and introduced himself, “Sharad Hett, former Jedi Knight, now… War Leader of the Tusken.”

  “Prima Kal, daughter of Amon Kal, my Master.” I wasn’t sure how to introduce myself properly, as this was literally my first time. So I added, “Pack Leader of the Primal Zerg.”

  “Primal Zerg? I am unfamiliar with the ‘Zerg’. What planet is your Species from?” He asked as we both started hopping from stone to stone, quickly making our way down the jagged rocky mountain.

  When we reached a less steep hill, I turned to him and explained, “My Master is a Langhesi Forger, from the planet Zonama Sekot. The Zerg are his creations, his children… His Obsession.”

  “I see. I have heard tales of the Langhesi Forgers and the bio-ships of Zonama Sekot.” He didn’t seem too surprised or concerned, just walked alongside me as we trudged through the black valley. Eventually he asked, “I am impressed that he was able to create a youngling as Force Sensitive as you… Have you considered joining the Jedi Order?”

  ‘Yes.” I replied with a nod, “I am unsure whether I would qualify as a Youngling by Jedi standards. Although it has only been a fortnight since I Hatched, my mother programmed me with genetic memories, passed down from our Master and creator.”

  “Many exceptions have been made in the past.” Sharad sighed and shook his head, “The current Council has been encumbered by many traditions and rules that run counter to the Jedi Code and what the Jedi are meant to be… We have become enamored by fame and chained down by responsibilities.”

  “It seems as if you are convincing me to avoid the Jedi.” I chuckled softly and continued walking with my knuckles. Although it did fit my gorilla-like body shape, this method of locomotion wasn’t exactly the most efficient or comfortable. Dehaka had the right idea, though I don’t understand why he would not simply heal his partially severed limbs for so long.

  “Whether to join or not is your choice. Perhaps if given the choice back then, I would have stayed with my family…” He smiled wryly, his lips chapped and dry. It wasn’t long before he wrapped his head back up and put his mask back on, “I will need to meet your Master before I decide to advise you whether to stay here or join the Jedi on Coruscant.”

  “Ultimately it is my Master’s decision, not mine.” I knew that my father would likely support whatever choices I made, so long as they didn’t negatively influence his plans or endanger my safety too much. However… I worry that he is becoming more… Zerg.

  Not all change is good or necessary. He knows and understands, but he might still succumb to his obsession eventually. Should I stay here and try to prevent the inevitable? Or simply escape and free myself from this unnecessary burden?