The thrum of the ignited lightsabers mingled with the clicking of crustacean legs on stone. As the brothers took up defensive stances, preparing dodge and counter whatever attacks were to come, the creature suddenly hesitated in it's advance, almost as if it could sense that their moods had changed from surprised to aggressive.
"What the...?" Raezyr wondered aloud.
"I hate Force sensitive creatures," Trychon said and launched himself over the creature in a leaping somersault, slashing as he spun. Both Sith were quite surprised to notice the energy blade merely scored the carapace of the animal.
The beast spun sideways, now trying to watch both Sith at the same time, apparently aware the attacker had now become the prey.
"The shell is harder than I'd imagined," Trychon stated as much to himself as to his brother.
Suddenly Raezyr put one of his two blades away. "I've got an idea," he called. "Hold it immobile."
Without hesitation, Trychon stretched his hand toward the beast and stretched out with the Force. Immediately the creature reacted, acting as if it were in pain, but try as it might, the most the beast could manage was to scrabble it's legs on the stone below.
Raezyr used his lightsaber to break free a rather large stalagmite from the ground, and lifted it after deactivating his lightsaber. At nearly two thirds of his own height, and possibly as heavy as himself in all, it made for an impressive blunt weapon. He hefted it up on his shoulder, holding tight to the tapered end, and swung it off his shoulder and down as hard as he could on the armored back of the crustacean. Its heavy body crashed from its suspended position to the ground, and appeared stuck there as Trychon continued refusing to let it move itself.
Raezyr was then able to heave the stalagmite in a full arc up and over his head and down as hard as he could, reinforcing his own considerable strength with aid of the Force. The sound of the object hitting grew with each strike. The animal continued to struggle against the invisible grasp it was held in, showing no ill effects from the attacks.
Trychon was about to interject when Raezyr jumped in the air mid-swing. He grabbed his makeshift spearhead by its base and thrust it down as he landed on the chitinous back. The point broke several pieces of the armor off and continued through into the meat of the body.
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While that final blow from Raezyr hadn't killed their prey instantly, it didn't take much work thereafter to finish it off. They were able to dismember it neatly after finding the weaker spots in its joints as they figured there would be. They hoped that the remaining corpse would work as a decent warning sign to any family the creature may have had. It usually was a pretty decent deterrent for most animals.
They took back with them two of the large claws, to give a tentative test to the meat it held. Nearly anything they could scrounge often was better than the bland but filling rations they brought with them. One claw probably would feed the whole group, but alien animal flesh could sometimes be touchy when it came to overcooking or undercooking.
Upon reaching the entrance of the cave, they were happy to see that not only had Trychon's wind shelters held, but Schyrt and Reed had already built a fire and had unpacked some other basic provisions they would need for shifts resting.
They were successful in carefully removing some of the muscle tissue from the claw and cooking it over the open fire, and the resulting meal was more than enough for the four of them. After their supper, Trychon and Raezyr headed out into the open to get a general lay of the land, and look for probable approaches should they be attacked. The three mid size moons that hung over head gave them plenty of light to survey the surrounding area and make what plans they had to.
On the horizon, they could see a large hill that was surrounded by a light back-glow. It flickered gently against the sky. The two brothers turned back to their camp, satisfied that they knew not only what direction to keep the closest eye on, but also where to point themselves when the sun arose.
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