The Quiet Panther
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2019 11:43 am
“It’s time to move, little one.”
Orella took a breath and took in the visor in front of her. The etchings on the side matched the clan traditions of one of her guardians, Lerahn Rodarch. She still didn’t understand why she couldn’t be with her parents this time. She knew how to protect herself, even if she wasn’t as good at it as Kairi or Xavien.
Then again, she could have asked the same for the other children too. She was the oldest one, even if she was barely a teen.
“Remember: the quiet panther gets the big catch,” Lerahn whispered. He ushered the others with his blade and took silent steps towards the hatch. Maybe his steps weren’t so quiet in that armor of his. The constant rumbles from above made it difficult to listen to anything else.
Her other guardian, Verahn Rodarch, pushed her along. All of them climbed down the tunnel to more and more caves. Orella wished they could just stay at one place, like the family home. Too dangerous, though, with all of the war going on.
There wasn’t any talking allowed during these trips. It was hard for the younger ones to keep totally quiet. That much was what the two Rodarchs trusted Orella to help with.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It might be a little dark but Lerahn is a master of finding his way. And Verahn is just behind us.
She turned to Verahn and was surprised to see him not there. “Keep going,” Orella said and she took a few steps back. From what she knew about tactics, it didn’t seem necessary to split off when running the rear guard.
Her hand shook as she directed it to her sidearm. Sometimes the adults said to be prepared for anything. Sometimes they said she didn’t need to worry.
Lerahn likes me enough. I can bother him with tactics questions.
Orella pushed the kids forward, taking on the new responsibility of rear guard. Once they all squeezed up against the leader, he turned right around to them.
“What are you doing?” Lerahn asked. He was clearly annoyed and the only thing keeping him from yelling was his attempt to keep it at a whisper.
Before another word was spoken, something wrapped around his throat and he was dragged away from them. Orella scrambled to get her pistol out of its holster and pushed through the children.
“Stay right there!” she shouted at them, “Don’t move at all!”
Orella caught up to see Lerahn’s feet kicking as he writhed for freedom. He was dangling from the ceiling by the neck. It might have been his armor keeping him from suffocating completely. She pulled out the dagger from his waist and -
Somebody knocked her to the ground, causing her to drop both her blaster and the blade. She reached for her pistol but her assailant got to it first. It was crushed before her eyes in a fist and the grip then went for her throat. As she struggled for freedom, her captor pulled out a heavy blade and cut down Lerahn.
“Where are the designs?” the assailant demanded. Lerahn reached behind his back and the blade was turned to Orella’s cheek. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”
“Coward!” Lerahn barked, “You’d bring a child into this?”
“Tell me what I need to know and she’s free to go. Then we’ll settle our qualms in a duel.”
Lerahn raised his hands. Though it was hard to read his body, his breath was coming out fast through his vox.
“How do I know you won’t just kill her?” Lerahn asked.
“You don’t. Now stop buying yourself time and tell me what I need to know.”
With the grip around her throat, there was nothing she could say. But his wrist was right there and she could just press one of those buttons.
A whipcord shot out, missing her cheek entirely. Lerahn took that as a sign to grab his sword and come in. The assailant tosses her aside and parried the blow. It continued that way: Lerahn attacking, the other parrying. Orella recognized it for what it was.
The quiet panther gets the big catch.
Orella crawled over to the knife she had tried to use earlier. It felt awkward in her hand, not like Kairi and any weapon. But she knew that all she needed was a good moment. She continued to circle them, planning to get just behind the assailant in his blackened armor.
She saw her moment. She sprung to her feet and went in for the stab. And in that same moment, the tables were turned again.
Lerahn’s sword arm was twisted and then severed. He was shoved right into the charging Orella, whom had moments to avoid stabbing her own guardian. The pair toppled to the ground and laid there together.
The blade next went into Lerahn’s calf, adding to his groans of pain. It sank in deeper, into the rock beneath them, and was left impaled in him.
“Are you ready to talk now?” the assailant asked, “I can make it quick, just like I did for your brother.”
“You aren’t going to break me,” Lerahn muttered, “We didn’t offer ourselves up to the Empire, hoping for scraps. Your ancestors would -”
The blade was drawn from Lerahn’s leg and then it came right back down through his neck. His head began to roll off but was picked up before it got too far.
“Tell your parents that Clan Saxon is feeling merciful today,” the assailant announced, “I’m sure they’ll know that anyways, with you surviving.” He wiped his blade against Lerahn’s cape and then rummaged through his belongings. Once he got his datapad, the assailant stopped his desecration of the dead.
“Do your best not to die down here. I want you to let the rebels know what happened here.”
After those words, the murderer skulked back into the shadows and was little more than a memory. Orella’s breath began to hasten and she struggled to pull out her commlink.
Orella took a breath and took in the visor in front of her. The etchings on the side matched the clan traditions of one of her guardians, Lerahn Rodarch. She still didn’t understand why she couldn’t be with her parents this time. She knew how to protect herself, even if she wasn’t as good at it as Kairi or Xavien.
Then again, she could have asked the same for the other children too. She was the oldest one, even if she was barely a teen.
“Remember: the quiet panther gets the big catch,” Lerahn whispered. He ushered the others with his blade and took silent steps towards the hatch. Maybe his steps weren’t so quiet in that armor of his. The constant rumbles from above made it difficult to listen to anything else.
Her other guardian, Verahn Rodarch, pushed her along. All of them climbed down the tunnel to more and more caves. Orella wished they could just stay at one place, like the family home. Too dangerous, though, with all of the war going on.
There wasn’t any talking allowed during these trips. It was hard for the younger ones to keep totally quiet. That much was what the two Rodarchs trusted Orella to help with.
“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It might be a little dark but Lerahn is a master of finding his way. And Verahn is just behind us.
She turned to Verahn and was surprised to see him not there. “Keep going,” Orella said and she took a few steps back. From what she knew about tactics, it didn’t seem necessary to split off when running the rear guard.
Her hand shook as she directed it to her sidearm. Sometimes the adults said to be prepared for anything. Sometimes they said she didn’t need to worry.
Lerahn likes me enough. I can bother him with tactics questions.
Orella pushed the kids forward, taking on the new responsibility of rear guard. Once they all squeezed up against the leader, he turned right around to them.
“What are you doing?” Lerahn asked. He was clearly annoyed and the only thing keeping him from yelling was his attempt to keep it at a whisper.
Before another word was spoken, something wrapped around his throat and he was dragged away from them. Orella scrambled to get her pistol out of its holster and pushed through the children.
“Stay right there!” she shouted at them, “Don’t move at all!”
Orella caught up to see Lerahn’s feet kicking as he writhed for freedom. He was dangling from the ceiling by the neck. It might have been his armor keeping him from suffocating completely. She pulled out the dagger from his waist and -
Somebody knocked her to the ground, causing her to drop both her blaster and the blade. She reached for her pistol but her assailant got to it first. It was crushed before her eyes in a fist and the grip then went for her throat. As she struggled for freedom, her captor pulled out a heavy blade and cut down Lerahn.
“Where are the designs?” the assailant demanded. Lerahn reached behind his back and the blade was turned to Orella’s cheek. “I wouldn’t try that if I were you.”
“Coward!” Lerahn barked, “You’d bring a child into this?”
“Tell me what I need to know and she’s free to go. Then we’ll settle our qualms in a duel.”
Lerahn raised his hands. Though it was hard to read his body, his breath was coming out fast through his vox.
“How do I know you won’t just kill her?” Lerahn asked.
“You don’t. Now stop buying yourself time and tell me what I need to know.”
With the grip around her throat, there was nothing she could say. But his wrist was right there and she could just press one of those buttons.
A whipcord shot out, missing her cheek entirely. Lerahn took that as a sign to grab his sword and come in. The assailant tosses her aside and parried the blow. It continued that way: Lerahn attacking, the other parrying. Orella recognized it for what it was.
The quiet panther gets the big catch.
Orella crawled over to the knife she had tried to use earlier. It felt awkward in her hand, not like Kairi and any weapon. But she knew that all she needed was a good moment. She continued to circle them, planning to get just behind the assailant in his blackened armor.
She saw her moment. She sprung to her feet and went in for the stab. And in that same moment, the tables were turned again.
Lerahn’s sword arm was twisted and then severed. He was shoved right into the charging Orella, whom had moments to avoid stabbing her own guardian. The pair toppled to the ground and laid there together.
The blade next went into Lerahn’s calf, adding to his groans of pain. It sank in deeper, into the rock beneath them, and was left impaled in him.
“Are you ready to talk now?” the assailant asked, “I can make it quick, just like I did for your brother.”
“You aren’t going to break me,” Lerahn muttered, “We didn’t offer ourselves up to the Empire, hoping for scraps. Your ancestors would -”
The blade was drawn from Lerahn’s leg and then it came right back down through his neck. His head began to roll off but was picked up before it got too far.
“Tell your parents that Clan Saxon is feeling merciful today,” the assailant announced, “I’m sure they’ll know that anyways, with you surviving.” He wiped his blade against Lerahn’s cape and then rummaged through his belongings. Once he got his datapad, the assailant stopped his desecration of the dead.
“Do your best not to die down here. I want you to let the rebels know what happened here.”
After those words, the murderer skulked back into the shadows and was little more than a memory. Orella’s breath began to hasten and she struggled to pull out her commlink.