Dr. Maeva vs. Master Mune Cinteroph

Located on the Rimma Trade Route within the Outer Rim territories, Dagobah could very well be the best place in the Galaxy to hide. The remote location of the planet in combination with the lack of any kind of advanced civilization made it a system of little value to any kind of galactic government. The planet is hot, humid, and mostly filled with foggy, swamp-like jungles.

Dragonsnake Bog is a murky lagoon on the surface of the planet. Fog covers the cloudy waters of the bog. The waters ranged in depth, but at its deepest the bog was roughly 4 meters deep. Even in the shallow areas, the floor of the bog was thick with mud, making it easy for something or someone to get stuck within the lagoon.

True to its name, Dragonsnake Bog was the home of the large, snake-like creature known as the dragonsnake. The beast had an average length of 7 meters and weight of roughly 200 kilograms, though some fully grown dragonsnakes were much larger. It had large, venomous fangs that could help it to subdue prey and a hunger that was nearly unmatched. The dragonsnake usually hid just below the surface of the water, waiting for an opportunity to find its next meal. Once the creature spotted a snack, it would quickly lunge out to attack it.

Both opponents had received the name and species of the one they were going to battle. Maeva rolled her eyes as she scoffed. This was probably Vincent’s way of making sure that the ones that signed up for the tournament wouldn’t accidentally attack or maim the wrong person.

‘Mune Cinteroph. Shistavanen.’ That was all it said. Not even information if they were Force User or not. She assumed that Mune would have something similar on her. Just her name and what species she was.

Thanks, Vincent. Maeva bitterly thought as she turned off the screen and waited for the landing. The ship shuddered as laundering struts met ground, followed by the hiss of the hydraulics as the ramp slowly opened into the dense fog. Maeva made her way out, eyes searching the shapeless darkness for discernible silhouettes. She glanced back towards the ship as it took off. With a deep sigh, the medic watched as an amphibian creature croaked before jumping into the swamp with a small splash and the ripple that followed. Perhaps she could find a friend for her grog. Right now, there were other things on her mind. She needed to find her opponent and start thinking of different strategies.

Maeva decided she could try to use this environment to her advantage but she had no idea what her opponent was capable of. She reached into her bag and got out the echo grenade and turned it on. On her glasses it barely showed anything because of the open space but she could make out some trees and herself.

It would have to do. The young medic went to execute an idea she had.

The pure white fur of the Shistavanen was practically glowing in this swamp. Mune raised their nose up to the sky and kept sniffing for any unusual scent that may not be an inhabitator of the bog. Their tail twitched in annoyance as a soft splash went up against their pristine fur on their legs.

“This will take ages for me to get cleaned…” A rumbling growl escaped from their maw. Their ears twitched when they caught an unnatural pulse-like sound. They paused for a moment and noticed that it was at every ten seconds. Mune raised an eyebrow.

Instead of going to investigate, they closed their eyes. Their obsidian claws barely moved. Their ears shifted and rotated at every sound they were hearing. Their heartbeat matched with the pulse of the Force around them.

Mune stepped towards the small little grenade that was sending out the sound waves. Then a blaster shot rang out starling nearby avian creatures. Great shadows took flight through the fog, their shrill cries drowning all other noises…

Mune’s opened their ruby eyes as they looked into the vastness of the marsh. So their opponent was trying to set up a trap? They released a soft rumbling chuckle as they walked further into the hazy bog.

Maeva watched like a convor from her perch amongst the branches. She laid on her belly on a particular thick branch, her clothes soaked, alien flora clinging to her. Her breathing was deep and slow as she kept her finger on the trigger of her BlasTech X-8 Night Sniper. She waited patiently. Her heart skipped a beat when she heard some ruffling in the trees but she assumed it was the creatures on this planet.

Then a voice followed by the terrifying double snap-hisses, “Did you really think that you were going to shoot me like that?” Maeva’s body completely froze. She could feel her heart went from steady to running a marathon, pounding against her ribs. She slowly shifted her head to see the well-built white Shistavaen at a higher branch, looking down at her. The purple and blue glow of the sabers bounced off their radiant fur. Could they sense her sudden panic?

“Canines have roughly three hundred billion or so scent receptors… is that the same for Shistavaen? I need to know. Or rather, confirm. There had been debates over-”

The swamp released a loud ebullition below the branch that distracted them. Maeva quickly spun her blaster around and squeezed the trigger. The blaster bolt met a plasma blade and bounced back at Maeva, who yelped when she felt the impact on her shoulder. The smell of the singed fabric reached her nose. She rolled off of the branch and took off at breakneck speed into the muggy swamp.