Log Date:
	2/10, 2/11, 2/22, 2/24/98

Log Cast:
	Dane Noth, Shenneret Veery, Paul Nighman, Kairne, Urio'kosh

Log Intro:
	The respite has ended, and Shenner hasn't found it as restful as
it could have been, or as restful as she'd hoped. After suffering a night
full of bad dreams at the camp their party has made near the hot springs,
Shenner awakened the next morning to find the men in the group debating the
mysterious statue of a female figure at the site... and what the markings
on its base meant. Much to the astonishment of the group, the statue seemed
connected to an energy field of some kind around the site that shorted
out Kairne's armor when he attempted to proceed into the jungle -- and 
the statue _also_ changed shape, taking on an expectant stance, which it
held until the Mandalorians turned over their armor and most of their
weapons. Then it changed shape a second time, yielding up another key, which 
Paul has claimed. Thus stripped down in gear, the party has set off again,
leaving Shen unnerved by the polymorphing statue... and increasingly unnerved 
by the fits of fear which have been gripping her more and more often....

----------
Catching up with Urio'kosh did not take the rest of the group long, and was 
  punctuated by the usual arguements and lofty comments as all of the 
  interactions with the younger Mandalorian seem to degrade to. Finally the 
  group settles into a silent progression though the jungle, silent more due 
  to the fact that the effort of said progression takes away everyone's voice 
  to either concentration or exhaustion ... if not both. Progress is obscenely 
  slow, the heat and density of the forest bearing down harshly on all of the 
  team. This continues on for days, during which their pace is slowed to 
  practically a crawl, Paul's machette doing most of the carving now. Each day 
  becomes a monotonous drag of heat, twisted clinging flora, and ominious 
  sounds. After the first day there is a suspicion that they are being 
  watched. After the second day it is clear that they are being followed by 
  -something-, but every time a glimpse of it is gained, it, whatever it is, 
  vanishes from sight again. A few stops are made to try hunting their 
  predator. Traps are set. However, there is only the continuing shadow of 
  fear that these efforts are for naught. The hunts turn up empty, as do the 
  traps. Finally the team agrees to move on rather than waste time and energy 
  trying hunt down their invisible tracker. To make matters worse, rations are 
  getting low, and the local game is either too elusive or too diseased to be 
  eaten. Everything here seems very wrong .... diseased, broken, deformed, and 
  twisted. Water is also very low, each person allowed a sparing allotment for 
  each day. The water found along the way is clearly unsafe to drink. It is 
  now the fifth day of this nightmarish slog, and with no other markers in 
  sight, there is the decided worry that they are off track and merely 
  wandering about wildly. It is getting late ... maybe a few hours before they 
  will be forced to stop for the night ... exhaustion making the rest 
  mandatory.

Dane pauses for a moment and brushes a hand through his short hair, glancing 
  over the group to check thier own state before progressing any further. 
  After seeing that they are still ambulatory he continues on in silence 
  thinking that this is almost as bad as boot camp..

Five days. Five endless, miserable, numbing days... at least, she thinks it's 
  five. Shenner isn't sure anymore, and the fact that she can't quite remember 
  how many days have elapsed since that one brief respite at the hot spring 
  disturbs her deeply... when she has the energy to consider it. The girl has 
  fallen into a dull, near-mindless state, her world focused down to the basic 
  necessities of Move, Eat, Drink, Rest, and Watch for Danger. She has kept 
  enough attention only to keep that attention riveted on Paul, bent on 
  mimicking his actions and coordinating them to aid her own survival. The 
  redheaded girl hasn't spoken a word to the disdainful Urio'kosh, and she 
  doesn't now. After five days of the trek she looks like hell, her hair lank 
  with sweat, her face and form once more covered in sweat and dirt, but 
  somehow, she's managed to keep up with the others, and she doggedly does so 
  even now.

Fatigued eyes drop to his chrono, the only connection Paul has to the 
  civilized world any more. Time in the forest is meaningless ... the trees 
  and vines choke out all but the most determined sunbeams. Time has become 
  the Corellian's refuge, his anchor to the real world. Course, couldn't get 
  much more real than this, save for the fact that everything here is so ... 
  wrong. It must be radiation damage ... or something ... to cause such 
  violent mutations in the flora and fauna. One thing is for sure ... it 
  doesn't bode well. _Soon we'll stop ... soon ..._ There are probably only 
  enough rations for another five days ... a week tops. Water is even less 
  than that. Wiping the sweat from his eyes, Paul notes that the piece of the 
  turban that he wrapped about his head must be soaked if it's getting in his 
  eyes again. Blinking he shakes his face, wiping at it again gruffly. There 
  is a suspicious flicker to his left, and turning his face quickly, he stares 
  between the trees. _Frig it ... now I'm -seeing- things_

Kairne's skin has turned to a deep tan now that it has recovered from his 
  earlier shock, one that left his skin mildly burned and sensitive for a few 
  days. He moves along methodically, as if in a trance, his long red hair tied 
  back into a pony-tail, his fire-brand strands bouncing around his face as he 
  walks. He carries one blade in each hand in his traditional underhand style, 
  whacking out randomly and precisely at any brush that crosses his path, his 
  eyes never seeming to move. Tired, but focused he pushes on through the 
  grueling forest, all the world a silence around him.

While as quiet as the rest, only Urio, surprisingly enough, seems to be the 
  least fazed by the experience. He is sweating profusely, but moves with a 
  certain amount of ease and grace that seems to indicate that he is not tired 
  or weary. His pale gaze is sharply focused, and as Paul's head jerks, he is 
  already looking that way. Green eyes narrow shrewdly before he notes, "Our 
  friend is back."

The changes in the jungle haven't been lost on Shen. As the trees and vines 
  and other flora have grown strange and fell and twisted around them, the 
  girl has inwardly shuddered at the things she's seen. She doesn't want to 
  know what caused the trees to change... she has the feeling that whatever 
  caused this would be even more dire to contemplate than the changed trees 
  themselves, and they're bad enough to haunt her dreams, to keep her 
  ill-rested and hollow-eyed. After five days of this, the girl's found her 
  surroundings taking on a brittle kind of clarity, the kind of mindset one 
  gets after riding the edge of exhaustion for days, and the gaze with which 
  she greets her surroundings has become more than a little haunted. Paul's 
  smaller, paler shadow, she trudges along, her pack lessened in weight by the 
  consumption of five days' rations... the one small mercy on the journey, for 
  it lets her move a little faster. Urio'kosh's observation penetrates her 
  slightly skewed awareness, but it serves to only make her flick her gaze in 
  the direction Paul has glanced. It's a feral little look, that.

Dane glances in the same direction as Urio for a moment but then quickly looks 
  the other way, expecting a distraction then ambush. His grey eyes narrow as 
  his weapon comes up again, that same ready position that the man seems to be 
  able to hold for hours at a time. He maintains silence and merely listens, 
  trying to screen out the noises of the others, not letting the heat or 
  wonderful beauty of the jungle distract him from his task. After a bit he 
  starts to move again bit abruptly stops and starts listening again..a look 
  of deep concentration crossing his features..the predatory gleam of a hunter 
  in his distant eyes.

Kairne keeps his eyes headed forward, letting his ears do the seeing. 'Never 
  confront your enemy directly' he remembers, 'Use that which does not see to 
  see, that which does not hear to hear' runs through his mind. Kairne says to 
  the group, "Just keep moving. There is no need to give whatever is an 
  advantage."

Each time in the past, the threat has made itself known and then vanished 
  without a trace for hours. This time seems like no exception. Urio'kosh, 
  stands perfectly still despite Kairne's recommendations, then seems to give 
  a slight nod making his way through the woods, his eyes still alert.

Starting up again reluctantly, Paul continues to carve a path, the wood 
  ressilient and refusing to cut readily. His arms have gone beyond feeling 
  like lead these past few days. Indeed, the Corellian frequently wonders why 
  they work at all.

Dane continues along quietly, waiting to see if something moves so he can get 
  a shot..he seems patient if nothing else.

Kairne advances through the bush, his mind trying to figure out what to do 
  about the current situation. He calls to Dane, "Why do you think whatever is 
  following us has played this game for this long?"

Dane answers with a simple reply, his voice lower that Kairne's, almost a 
  growl, "Fun.."

Kairne replies to that answer with, "Don't you think we had some of our own?," 
  as if hinting at something.

Dane shakes his head, 'Divide and conquer.." he glances around, "There could 
  be more than one and they might be trying to seperate us..like dividing a 
  herd."

Flashing Kairne a confused look, Paul finds that his temperment these days 
  doesn't have the patience to deal with a lot of subtly. "What are you 
  talking about? I don't think anyone here has been having anything resembling 
  -fun- recently." His hand raises, chopping down another branch with an 
  almost savage hacking motion.

Kairne just returns Paul's look with one of his own, "A situation is how you 
  place yourself in it. I've been through worse, and this is no different. The 
  jedi hunts were far worse."

"Jedi hunts?" That causes Paul's eyes to narrow sharply. "Kairne ... what are 
  you talking about?" he probes darkly. He turns to face the 
  Mandalorian, drawing up closer to Kairne by increasing his pace.

Even Shenner seems to rouse a little from the near-mechanical state she's been 
  in for hours now, turning her head towards Kairne, her brows knitting.

Kairne stops in his tracks, "Do you not know the history of the Clone Wars? 
  And of the 'Great Betrayal' by the Empire? This whole planet has suffered 
  the curse of that betrayal."

Dane rolls his eyes and stays on guard as Kairne launches into his great 
  betrayal speech, motioning for Urio to do the same..

Barely avoiding from rolling his eyes, Paul nods. "Of course I know Kairne ... 
  what I don't understand is your involvement in the "Jedi hunt" persay. You 
  make it sound like you were an active part of their destruction." Frowning, 
  Paul glances about, wiping the sweat from his eyes as best he can.

Urio'kosh looks to the right sharply, his eyes rolling in tandem with Dane. 
  Then he pauses for a moment, a small smirk curling his lips as he turns his 
  head, glancing to the left.

Dane murmurs, "We all were Paul.." he looks to the man briefly, "it was our 
  duty..not perhaps a good one but one, at the time, we thought was right."

Kairne says "That's the great secret, the thing we all wish we could hide, the 
  secret the Empire keeps from your ears. Deception has always been their 
  greatest weapon, and they led our race down a dark path. This is the pain 
  that I live with everyday, the blood I cannot wash clean.""

Shenner just stares for a little while at Kairne, considering; then, she opts 
  not to bother to mention that she's done well to know the history of her own 
  homeworld, much less any other. Instead, she shifts where she stands, her 
  weight forward on her toes, her gaze swinging slowly round to take in the 
  trees on either side. The sense of something tracking them has only served 
  to make her waking hours a reflection of her dreaming ones, and the girl 
  seems only half here.

That pulls Paul up short and for a moment he can do nothing but stare. He knew 
  that the Mandalorians fought for the Empire ... and were betrayed by them. 
  But he had always thought that it was Jedi against Jedi ... the Dark that 
  destroyed the Light ... and some mysterious group known as the Sith. This 
  ... along with what he knows completely floors the Corellian, drawing him to 
  a full and dead stop.

Dane sees Paul's reaction and merely goes back to watching while he comes to 
  grips with what's being said.

Kairne says "We were used as pawns by the Empire, by the Dark Jedi and the 
  Sith. And when our usefulness had passed, they turned on us, and what you've 
  seen here on Mandalore is that betrayal."

As if in puncuation to that statement, there is a wild snarl and leaping from 
  the branches of one of the trees, there is a dark blur, knocking both Paul 
  and Kairne to the ground as it leaps upon the pair.

Dane spins and drops to one knee, trying to draw a bead on the creature 
  attacking his friends, hoping he can trust Urio to cover his back as he does 
  so. He sights in for a moment trying to get a clear shot..

Shen whirls, her hand flying to the blaster at her thigh, but for an instant, 
  she freezes like that, as the nightmarish sense of the scene grips her. 
  Then, she whips out her gun, thinking only, _Gotta shoot it..._

Urio'kosh turns as well, his blaster out and ready, but unwilling to take a 
  shot. Or perhaps he has no intention of doing so at all. In the heat of the 
  moment and the rush of the attack, there is no time to guess at anyone's 
  motivations ...

Knocked to the ground heavily by a sweeping paw or wing, Paul gasps in shock, 
  striking out and up with his machette that is still in his grip. It impacts 
  with something, and there is another sharp snarl, the machette ripped from 
  his grasp and something heavy and sharp smashes against him, knocking him 
  over and into a trunk, his head whirling.

Shenner's world narrows again, in a split-second, leaving the only thought in 
  her head _Defend Paul._ The girl's eyes febrile and bright against her pale 
  face, she takes aim, and fires...

Dane uses the confidence that his years as a warrior have bred in 
  him..sighting for no more than a milisecond he triggers his blaster 
  rifle..blasters are clumsy..hah..

Kairne tries to roll as he gets knocked to the ground by the beast, almost as 
  instinct as his training has taught him. But the beast has got him pinned, 
  one of it's paws dug deep into Kairne's left shoulder, it's talon straight 
  through. Though the pain is excrutiating, Kairne moves his right hand and 
  arm, blade still clutched tight and laid almost flat between their chests, 
  as best he can up to the beasts midsection, waiting for the slightest give 
  the beast can give if it repositions itself. A swift twist of the blade and 
  upward pull will cause the right effect if the beast moves.

Shen's blast hit's the creature on one wing, causing it to rear up in surprise 
  and pain, but it is Dane's blast that catches it sharply in the chest, the 
  thing screaming furiously as it roils backward, scrabbing the air with wings 
  and paws, mouths working furiously. Claws ripping up and out of Kairne, it 
  flips, crashing heavily off to the side and back. As if in reply to the 
  scream, there is matching shadow that descends from the north corner, 
  another dark shadow swooping down only to jerk up sharply with a screaming 
  cry of anguish as Urio, spinning with deadly accuracy turns and fires 
  directly into it's oncoming path. The second one veers off violently, 
  colliding into a tree with a retched shriek.

Dane takes the time to fire one more blast into the first beast, then with the 
  trained moves of a warrior he rolls off to the side, trying to get a tree to 
  his back so he can fire at the creature Urio fired on.

Either Urio's shot was the killing blow, or the tree was. In either case, the 
  ... thing .... seems quite dead, it's chest a mass of exploded flesh, it's 
  long neck most likely snapped if the angle of it is anything to go by.

Holding her blaster ready to fire again, Shenner scrambles towards Paul, not 
  wasting breath yet to call to him. Never mind a warrior's moves; she moves 
  with the instincts of a girl who's spent ten years on city streets and one 
  of those in Mos Eisley, and the agility of the young.

Dane shouts, "Circle formation back to back..Now!" his eyes scan the trees for 
  any more creatures, hoping that the others will comply as he moves over near 
  his two fallen friends.

Shen snaps a look towards Dane, a scowl darkening her features as her first 
  thought is, _No Dammit Defend Paul_ -- but then she registers that Dane's 
  headed her way, too, and his command gets through. She grabs a direction at 
  random, turning her back towards the old warrior.

The place reeks of blood, violence, and burnt flesh and plant life. Both 
  creatures seem quite dead, the rest of the jungle eerilie silent in the 
  aftermath. Urio draws back to the others, facing out toward any other 
  possible danger as he joins up with Dane. Kairne is laying pretty much right 
  where he had been standing, blood flowing freely from his shoulder. Paul is 
  nowhere in sight.

Dane lowers his voice as he strains to listen for any other sign of attack, 
  "Shenner..deal with Paul and Kairne..Urio and I will watch over you."

Shenner swallows, then moves, whipping her pack off her shoulders and diving 
  into it for her medikit. Deal with Paul. This she can understand. It's only 
  then that the girl realizes that she can't _find_ Paul, and she pauses, 
  torn, before half-falling down to Kairne's side. "Paul?!" she hollers 
  raggedly, then she leans over Kairne, mind flashing through reviewing what 
  Paul taught her about first aid. First thing -- is Kairne conscious? She 
  barks out, "Kairne... talk to me," as she flicks a swift glance up and down 
  him, trying to assess his damage even as she opens her kit.

Urio glances over at the remains of the one he shot, swallowing unpleasantly 
  at the sight. It isn't what's been done to the creature that affects him, 
  but the fact that he recognizes the animal. Barely. Jerking his head toward 
  it, he rasps, "Major ... these were Kr'tal's .... once." The Kr'tal, a 
  wonderous feline predator animal of immense proportions were a rare and 
  majestic creature. The thing at his feet is more of a travesty. Where there 
  were clearly meant to be eyes, there are none. The mouth is hideously 
  mishapen, with strange multiple rows of teeth. There are more limbs on each 
  than there is supposed to be ... and they never used to have wings .... or 
  what at least -looks- like wings, but on closer inspection are no more than 
  strange fleshy apendages.

Kairne just nods his head at Shenner and rolls onto his front side so that he 
  can push himself up onto his knees with his right arm, blood pouring out of 
  the fresh wound in his left shoulder. With a small grunt he pushes himself 
  onto his knees so that he's sitting on his heels, "I'll be fine," he says as 
  his gaze moves over to his left shoulder, "So long as we stop this damn 
  bleeding... and quickly. Someone grab my medkit before I lose too much 
  blood. That thing tore straight through like a punji." He places his left 
  arm into his lap, and his right hand over his wound to try and stop the 
  bleeding with direct pressure. Trying to motion Shenner towards the medkit 
  in his shoulder pack, Kairne starts to fall forward but braces himself with 
  his right arm, his left arm now falling out of his lap and letting blood 
  flow more easily yet again. "I don't mean to be an ass, but hurry up there."

The girl's already got her own kit out and open, and swiftly, she slaps 
  together a compress and slams it down onto the wound. She doesn't bother to 
  reply to Kairne's jibe as she holds the compress down with all the strength 
  her slender arms can manage; indeed, her only response is to call out again, 
  roughly, "Paul?!"

Dane glances at them and grimaces, for a moment he just stares at the 
  misshapen beast and utters some Mandalorian curse under his breath. With a 
  nod he acknowledges Urio's claim and starts to sweep his gaze around for any 
  sign of the missing doctor.

Kairne places his hand over Shenner's, adding more force to the compress, and 
  motions for her to remove her hand, "Get my medkit, I need more than just 
  this. I've got to clean it out, there's no telling what's in the wound now. 
  I can hold this for now."

The Corellian is still out of sight, and there is no reply to Shen's calls. As 
  the team still standing gaze about, then can see that the creature had been 
  flipped over and off of Kairne with the power of their blasts and is now 
  crashed against and splayed along the base of a tree with thick brush, a 
  little back from where Kairne had been standing.

By way of reply, Shen nods sharply at Kairne, not having the mental energy to 
  spare to think something annoyed about the warrior's apparent disdain of 
  'human medicine'; she only dives at the pack he'd indicated, ferreting into 
  it with a pickpocket's efficiency before she comes up with the thing and 
  brings it over.

Dane seems to be satisfied with the lack of creatures and hurries over to the 
  one splayed out, his weapon in a ready position as he approches and calls 
  out to the doctor in Corellian, "Paul.." he starts to search around the 
  beast using his bayonet to roll it back from the tree.

It is no easy feat to move the animal. The body is heavy enough alive, but now 
  it is pure dead weight. The corpse shifts reluctantly, but enough to solve 
  the problem of the missing Corellian. Paul is beneath it.

Kairne notices Shen's slight disdain, "Nothing against your medicine Shen, 
  just that I know what works with me. Now open up the medkit, and grab the 
  bottle that has has green liquid in it. Medium sized container. Now in a 
  smaller container in there is a box of finger sized green/red leaves, grab 
  those too."

Dane says "Urio..I need your help." he says rather calmly for the young 
  woman's benefit, "Now." his last words carry the tone of command as he looks 
  for a branch or something usable as a lever."

Urio'kosh turns, holstering his weapon reluctantly as he approaches, taking in 
  the scene. Glancing toward the redhead, he merely nods, and not seeing an 
  appropriate lever, he makes one. Pulling out his blaster he shoots a rare 
  long straight limb, the branch crashing down heavily. He heads over to pick 
  it up and brings it back to Dane, commenting only, "How are we going to roll 
  it without crushing the Lord General?"

Shen glances in Dane's direction, but all she can see is the warrior and the 
  dead creature. With a palpable effort she forces herself to focus on the 
  medikit, and to locate the items Kairne wants. "Got 'em," she rasps at him. 
  But a beat later, she can't stop herself from calling hoarsely to Dane, 
  "D'ya see him?"

Kairne turns his head to Urio, "I can be moved.. Help me up and out of the 
  way, but carefully and don't touch my left arm, I've got the bleeding 
  somewhat under control." Kairne winces a little as he says that, his hand, 
  compress, and cloting slowly becoming more and more blood soaked.

Nodding to Dane, Urio murmurs, "You'd know better how to move him safely ... 
  or if he is exagerating."

Dane says "The Lord General is going to have to suck it up and move." he 
  replies and takes the lever looking for something to use it against that 
  won't interfere with the doctor's body. Surprisingly enough he shoots a 
  smile to Kairne, "Can you move Kairne..I need to roll this monster?" he 
  glances to Urio and lowers his voice and speaks in Mandalorian, "Once I get 
  it off of him you slide the doctor out carefully..understood?" he then looks 
  back to Shenner and Kairne, "Shenner I need you to assist Kairne in moving 
  out of the way okay?""

Glancing down at the barely visible prone form, Urio queries calmly, "What if 
  there's something broken ... like his neck or vertebrae?" in Mandalorian. 
  Then there is a thoughtful pause as he realizes that if that -is- the case, 
  it won't matter if he moves the doctor. Least, not here ... not now. "Never 
  mind."

Shen glances at Urio'kosh and Dane, her brow furrowing as her nerves prickle 
  with the brief desperate thought of _Why the kark aren't they lookin' for 
  Paul?!_ Still not having gotten a good look at the fallen Corellian, she 
  gets to her feet at Kairne's side. "Grab my arm?" she whispers roughly at 
  him, holding out her right hand to him.

Dane nods to Urio grimly, "Exactly..if this thing did that much to him it 
  won't matter if we move him.." he braces the lever against the tree, "Ready 
  yourself."

Crouching down, Urio nods silently.

Kairne says "Just grab under my right arm Shenner, and I can roll onto my 
  heels and push up. If I let go of the compress, I'll only be worsening 
  myself."

Dane inhales, channeling his energy into his body and the act of moving the 
  lever just as he was taught as a child. He patiently waits for Kairne and 
  the young woman to move clear of the beast before acting.

Shen's brows knit once more, and she nods mutely, moving to do as Kairne bids 
  her. She might be a slip of a redhead, but she at least can firmly support 
  the warrior's arm for him, giving him something against which to brace 
  himself and push up to his feet.

Kairne places some of his weight onto Shenner, and rolls backwards onto his 
  heels, and with another small grunt, pushes himself upward so that he is 
  standing, albeit a little wobbly. "Ok Shen, help me out of the way."

Wordlessly, the girl obeys, though her gaze flicks around to the surrounding 
  jungle once more. And she can't stop herself from calling out roughly, 
  "Paul? Paul, can you hear me?"

Dane waits for his long time friend and the young girl to move clear of the 
  beast and then levers the branch against the tree trying to get the monster 
  up long enough for Urio to get the crushed form of Paul from underneath it.

Urio doesn't take any chances, waiting until Dane has completely freed the 
  Corellian before trying to pull him out. Clothes catch on brambles and 
  brush, and despite the fact that the younger Mandalorian has had more of an 
  adversarial relationship with the doctor than anything else, he isn't happy 
  with the fact that he is forced to yank the man free. His features, however, 
  remain impassive, as he roughly drags the Corellian clear before calling to 
  Dane, "Alright, he's free."

Dane knows of the rivalry between the two and double checks Urio's work before 
  letting the beast fall back to the ground..he inhales again and releases a 
  bit of the tension in his body as he kneels next to his fallen freind and 
  checks for life signs.

The Corellian is alive at least. He is unconscious and blood flows from his 
  nose and mouth and head. There is also blood on his left side seeping 
  through his shirt. He is covered with blood from the creature, which is 
  fortunately a shade of dark dark red, easily discernable from his own. His 
  pulse is weak and erratic, his breathing incredibly shallow. Urio'kosh 
  carefully peels back the Corellian's eyelids, revealing dilated and 
  mismatched pupils. In addition, there seems something decided wrong about 
  his right arm as well. His left hand is still holding his blaster with a death 
  tight grip, the heated tip indicating that he must have gotten of a shot at 
  the creature before it landed on him. Clearly to no avail.

Dane murmurs damn under his breath, realizing that this situation is beyond his 
  feeble medical skills he calls for the expert, "Shenner..come here please. 
  Urio can deal with Kairne."

Her shoulders were heavy with exhaustion five days ago; now, Shenner barely 
  notices them, in the odd state of near-mindless detachment she's managed to 
  achieve. So she doesn't really register it as they begin to twitch with 
  mounting impatience and worry. She only grimly forces her arms and hands to 
  stay steady for the seconds necessary to get Kairne to where he can stand or 
  sit unaided... and only then, as Dane calls for her, does the girl turn. 
  "What...?"

Kairne turns to Shenner, "Shall we get back to patching this up, then see what 
  we can do for Paul? Dane and Urio can take care of him while you help me, 
  then I can lend my knowledge. But I'm no good if I don't get this under 
  control."

Dane slips his knife out of it's sheath and starts to cut a piece of Urio's 
  robes off to make a bandage from, "I'll buy you a new one when we get back." 
  he adds and presses it to Paul's side.

It's then that Shenner actually realizes what's happened, her gaze flying 
  immediately to Paul's unconscious form. Already as pale as she can possibly 
  get, she can't get any paler, but her expression turns stricken, her eyes 
  going huge and dark, and the only sound she manages to utter is a strangled 
  "P--"

Kairne moves himself in between Shenner's line of sight and Paul's non-moving 
  form, "Don't pay attention to them right now, I need your help. I focus on 
  that."

Urio's brow raises with surprise, his lips curling in a smirk despite himself. 
  "Quite alright Major," he assures wryly. His eyes take a look at the man 
  laying before him, assessing the damages and reaching some decisions. 
  "Concusion if he's lucky," he murmurs coolly. "Careful with the pressure on 
  his side ... probably has broken or cracked ribs. His right arm is broken 
  for sure, but that's the least of his worries. Like I said before, don't 
  know if he's got any crushed vertebrae ... but if he does, he won't make it 
  out of here anyway." Ripping more of his robe, Urio addresses the head wound 
  first as it is bleeding the most excessively. He then fetches is medical 
  kit, raising Paul's feet and propping them up with a handful of branches. He 
  wraps a blanket around the man as carefully as he can and then cuts the 
  shirt open to look at the wound on his side.

Dane stands back and lets Urio work, who'd a thought he was good for something 
  besides blaster stopper. He then heads over to Shenner and Kairne, "how's it 
  going over here?"

It takes a full second before Shenner seems to realize that Kairne's even 
  stepped in front of her. Then, she lifts her horrified, heartsick gaze to 
  the Mandalorian, and her expression is all too clear -- love, terror, and 
  worry all intermingled in her features. It takes another full second for her 
  to register Kairne's urgent words to her, and she mumbles, "Help... w-what 
  next?"

Kairne motions to Shenner, "When I remove my hand, you need to rip open my 
  shirt, so that we can get a clean look everything. Then place some of those 
  leaves on either side of my wound and then pour the liquid in the bottle 
  over both sides of the wound. I may jump but don't worry.. it's just the two 
  reacting to each other, and cleaning out the wound. Then we'll need to use 
  what I used on Paul earlier, remember that?"

Shen doesn't seem to register Dane's arrival at all. Almost robotic, now, that 
  stricken expression still frozen on her face, the girl nods mutely to Kairne.

Dane walks up and claps a hand on the young woman's shoulder lightly, trying 
  to reassure her.

Shenner doesn't seem to notice Dane's clasp to her shoulder; the girl is still 
  staring at Kairne, waiting for him to move his hand as per his instructions. 
  The medikit is still in reach, but she's apparently almost tuned that out, 
  too, her gaze turned dark and dazed.

Dane says "Shenner? Are you going to help Kairne?" he glances at the wounded 
  warrior, "Let Urio deal with Paul."

Urio'kosh works silently, spraying something along Paul's side, obstensibly to 
  stop the bleeding and then continuing to check him over for any further 
  injuries. His eyes are intent on his work, almost introspective now that he 
  is alone. Only the occasionally strange smile curls his lips as he examines 
  the Corellian, as if he were delighted with the injuries that he encounters. 
  Despite this somewhat disturbing and peculiar tendency, he seems to be 
  taking care of Paul just fine. He considers the Corellian for a moment 
  before apparently making a decision, gathering up materials for a makeshift 
  splint.

It takes her name to rouse some semblance of attention out of the young 
  redhead. She starts, frowns vaguely at Dane, and then nods shakily at him, 
  mumbling, "I-I-I got it..." Her gaze, nevertheless, flicks more than once at 
  the fallen Paul, and her hands aren't exactly steady as she starts trying to 
  follow Kairne's instructions.

Kairne nods to Shenner, "Whenever you are ready... I'll remove my hand.. you 
  places those leaves and pour.. and just be prepared."

Another shaky nod from Shen; she is, perhaps, as ready as she's going to get, 
  her eyes nearly black against her pale face, now.

Dane inhales deeply and wipes a hand across his brow, his own gaze falling on 
  Paul for a long moment as he watches Urio work, deciding that it would be 
  best to keep an eye on the young Mandalorian he starts back over.

Kairne removes his hand, blood starting to freely flow from his open wound, 
  but not so much as the enhanced natural clotting of Mandalorians has begun 
  to seal the wound. "Now Shenner!"

The girl manages -- mostly -- to carry out Kairne's directions, though it 
  takes her a couple of repeat attempts to get his shirt ripped open and to 
  get the leaves into place. Blood trickles along her hand as she clamps down 
  on the warrior's shoulder, and her other hand trembles a little as she 
  brings out the vial of liquid he's instructed her to pour.

There is a soft unpleasant grinding noise, barely audible, as Urio'kosh resets 
  Paul's broken arm. The Corellian makes a soft noise for the first time, the 
  pain of the re-setting process enough to penetrate the depths of his 
  unconciousness. The younger Mandalorian glances up briefly for a moment, 
  waiting to see if the Corellian will come to. When he does not, he places 
  the split about the break, securing it in place firmly.

Dane looks down at Urio with a blatant look of suspicion, "How's he doing?"

"Arm broken and set," is Urio's distracted but calm reply, "Definitely 
  concussed, hopefully not a fractured skull. His side has been gored pretty 
  good, but he's got cracked ribs there, so I just used an antiseptic spray 
  and clotter for the moment to control bleeding and infection." He raises up 
  slightly, still not even glancing as Dane hovers above the pair. "Could be a 
  lot worse than it looks though ... I have no way of knowing if there are any 
  internal damages. He could easily be dying and I'd have no way to tell if 
  he's bleeding internally." Pointing the traces of blood about Paul's mouth 
  and nose he notes, "That's not a good sign." The Mandalorian reaches to 
  Paul's throat, laying a hand there as well as at the Corellian's wrist, 
  checking the strength and pace of the two pulse points.

Dane rolls his eyes a bit at the lack of tact possed by the younger Mandalore 
  but then thinks that he's probably doing it on purpose.."Well we make camp 
  here for the night then. Perhaps for the next day or two until we can 
  fashion a travois."

As it happens, it's Shen who jumps, rather than Kairne, as the liquid she 
  pours onto his injuries begins to do its work. The warrior remains 
  rock-calm, only a slight rough edge to his words belying any pain he might 
  be feeling, as he continues his urgent instructions to the girl, questioning 
  her about what she sees, spelling out in clear terms how she must apply the 
  same medicated strip to his shoulder that had been previously used to 
  bandage Paul's head before. This time, though, it takes rather more of the 
  strips than the last time had done, and more than once, Shen's fingers shake 
  as she patches Kairne's shoulder up for him. By the time she's finished, her 
  hands bloodied, dotted with fragments of the leaves she'd applied to the 
  wounds, she looks more white-faced and shaken than Kairne does -- but then, 
  Kairne's drawn features aren't exactly their normal color, either. He 
  finally instructs Shen to fetch him a light dosage of painkiller out of his 
  medikit, after calling over to Dane that he is going to require at least a 
  short rest before he can function again. Shen has no comment to make; 
  wordless, she assists Kairne in settling himself down to rest as the warrior 
  desires. It doesn't take long for the Mandalorian to drop into a meditation 
  that's half light doze, as he begins working with the medication he's had 
  applied to him to make his body heal... leaving Shenner to turn his stricken 
  gaze to the others. Especially Paul.

Urio'kosh pauses, glancing up to Dane, the message in his eyes clear. _What 
  would be the point of that?_ He has the decency not to speak his mind aloud. 
  Pale green eyes flicker toward Shen and in Mandalorian he adds, "If he is 
  bleeding internally, we would be doing him a favor by killing him here and 
  now. He would not survive the duration it would take to get him back to 
  civilization."

Dane nods and replies in Mandalorian, his voice one of command, "he will not 
  be killed...is that understood? The doctor's a strong person and deserves 
  the chance to fight for his life."

"I merely said it would be a mercy. I didn't say he would be necessary." 
  Urio's light eyes flicker toward Shenner for a moment before he murmurs 
  under his breath, still in Mandalorian, "She is finished and coming ... I 
  would suggest keeping her back for a bit until I'm finished myself."

Dane nods and turns to face Shenner, "Shenner we need to give Urio some 
  room.." he starts to intercept her.

For all the attention she's been spending on helping Kairne, Shen's heart is 
  now with the unconscious Corellian. She's registered Urio'kosh's clinical 
  report to Dane in a kind of haze, not really comprehending the individual 
  words, but rather, digesting them in a general summary of Paul Is Not in 
  Good Shape. She murmurs huskily to Dane as he addresses her, "I wanna help 
  him." Her words come out of her low and toneless, her gaze riveted on Paul's 
  silent form.

Dane nods, his tone turning more fatherly, "I know you do Shenner but right 
  now Urio is helping him and he needs to have space to work on him." he tries 
  to make eye contact with the young woman, leaning slightly to draw her gaze 
  to his, "Right now I think all that can be done is being done."

Once again returning his attention to the thready pulse, Urio closes his eyes 
  for a moment, nodding to himself before he carefully settles himself over 
  Paul, his knees on either side of the Corellians torso, delicately balanced. 
  He rolls up his long sleeves, takes a deep breath, and then he raises his 
  arm, sweeping it down to slap against the side of Paul's face, rocking the 
  man's head to one side. He turns to bring his hand across the opposite side, 
  a resounding crack breaking the tense atmosphere each time.

Shenner jerks violently as Urio begins to strike the injured man, howling out 
  an incoherent cry of protest. She starts to lunge at Urio'kosh, her eyes 
  going even wider, her face more horrified.

Dane grabs Shenner by the shoulders trying to be careful with the girl, his 
  own eyes curious, tinged with a bit of anger, "Urio what are you doing?"

The hand sweeps down for another crack in the meanwhile, Urio glancing up 
  suddenly, as if the pair had been somehow forgotten. "I have to bring him 
  back. Wake him. I need him to be concious." Glancing down at the Corellian's 
  features, Urio let's his hand swing once again, the impact lighter this 
  time. Paul's head rolls with the impact, but then, turns back the other way.

"You have to _hit_ him?!" Shenner wails, straining against Dane's grasp on her 
  shoulders.

Dane keeps his hands in place on the girl's shoudlers, "Urio be careful..he 
  may have a concussion right?"

Sighing, as if almost annoyed, Urio'kosh raises up off of the still figure 
  carefully, dusting himself off. He nods to Dane, avoiding the redhead's hot 
  gaze. "Yes he does ... and if he remains unconcious, he could slip into a 
  coma. If nothing else, I can't treat him if he cannot tell me what is wrong. 
  He's the only one that's inside of his body. Dr. Nighman is, at this moment, 
  his own best physician."

Dane nods, "Very well..do it." he says grimly and keeps a grip on Shenner..

Shenner settles down, but only a little, seeming to at least grasp the concept 
  that it is necessary to awaken Paul -- even if it means striking him. Even 
  so, she still reflexively jerks in Dane's grasp, all her senses still 
  screaming _Defend Paul_, reeling at the sight of him lying there unmoving, 
  unable to defend himself against the blows. A chill little knot of fear 
  coalesces in her stomach, something in the back of her mind not at _all_ 
  liking the fact that it's Urio'kosh doing this....

Dane shakes the girl slightly, "Shenner!" he tries to make eye contact again, 
  "Stop it..that needs to be done.." he starts to guide her away from the 
  disturbing scene, "Come on."
Dane says "I -need- you to help me set up camp.."

Nodding brusquely, Urio'kosh turns, positioning himself over the prone 
  Corellian once again. He checks Paul's pulse and then the hand raises again 
  to cross with a sharp slap. The sound of fleshing ringing against flesh is 
  the only sound to be heard in the hot humid air, darkness settling about the 
  small wounded party ominiously. After a few strikes however, it stops, and 
  there is a low hoarse moan that follows in the silent wake.

"NooooOoOoooo... no, I ain't leavin' him," Shenner mumbles, wrestling against 
  Dane's hands, trying to dig in her heels in the earth. The moan that 
  Urio'kosh's blows call forth insures her gaze remaining right on the 
  Corellian, and she begs Dane in a bleak whisper, "Don't make me leave him..."

Dane looks down at the girl for a moment and sighs, "You have to.." he says 
  quietly, "At least until Urio finishes with him. Then you can talk to him 
  for a bit but he's going to need his rest."

The world rushes into the Corellian's open void with a rush, a violent ringing 
  in his head and a sharp pain in his ... well, everywhere, burning all of his 
  nerve endings. Eyes open with a snap, unfocused and glazed as Paul tries to 
  see things clearly. Shapes are mere blurs, and knowing that is wrong, he 
  shuts his eyes again, insisting to himself, _I'm going to open my eyes and 
  everything will be clear_ As hazel flickers open again, the latticework of 
  shadows has coalesced into the branches of trees. Eventually when the 
  ringing dies down, he can hear a strange guttural noise. It takes him a 
  moment before he realizes that it's his own. There is a slight pressure at 
  his throat and he tries to raise his right arm, only to let out another 
  strangled noise ... finally the fact that someone is calling his name 
  penetrates his conciousness and blinking again, he focuses, making his lips 
  form the word to reply, "Yes?"

Something in Dane's tone sinks through the frantic mood that has gripped the 
  girl, and Shen lifts a pleading gaze to the old warrior... pleading and 
  despondent, as if she's starting to realize that yes, Dane does need her to 
  work. She flashes one more desperate glance at Paul as he speaks, hope and 
  fear and desperation flashing across her face.

Dane brushes a lock of hair from Shenner's face and nods to her, "Come on. 
  let's get a comfortable place set up for Paul to rest."

Shenner can't manage to speak, not now. She nods dejectedly to Dane, after one 
  more long lingering look at Paul.

"Paul ... Paul," Urio repeats over and over again in probably what is the 
  first ever use of the Corellian's first name by the younger Mandalorian. He 
  merely continues to reiterate it until he receives that affirmative 
  response. He then starts to press questions to the man, waiting and 
  repeating until he receives clear answers. He asks Paul to perform various 
  simple tasks - moving his fingers, his feet - turning his head. All of these 
  are performed to Urio's apparent satisfaction. Voices drop lower, more 
  discreet as Urio begins to ask Paul other questions, this time in 
  Mandalorian. Paul responds in the same without even realizing the shift it 
  seems, and Urio seems vastly content with the responses that he receives.

Dane waits for the girl to start towards teh supplies before moving towards 
  them himself, also casting one glance back at the fallen man.

Shen does move, but mechanically, without a single word. Her only thought is, 
  as Dane has suggested, making Paul a comfortable place to rest; thus, she 
  heads straight for his pack, dragging it off a little ways and delving into 
  it to fetch the pieces of his tent, the first thing she thinks of to 
  facilitate the Corellian's comfort.

Dane starts to cut some of the nearby brush down with Paul's blade, hacking 
  away enough to form some extra padding.

The Corellian and the Mandalorian converse for awhile quietly. Paul's voice is 
  rough and dark, and for those who have been there, it is clear that he is 
  trying very hard to cover his pain. After awhile Urio rises, approaching 
  Dane, is eyes touching lightly upon Kairne's resting form with a small 
  frown. Touching his fellow Mandalorian on the shoulder he murmurs in their 
  native tongue, "I require your assistance."

Dane nods and turns to follow his fellow Mandalorian, switching to speak in 
  his native tongue, "What is it?" his eyes meet Urio's for a moment.

Shenner keeps dully constructing Paul's tent, her face pale and set, her eyes 
  hollow. Every so often she keeps glancing in the Corellian's direction, but 
  she has yet to say anything, and she doesn't make any move to return to his 
  side.

"Nothing serious," Urio replies. "I think that there is little or no serious 
  internal injuries, though he is clearly concussed. When we take shifts 
  tonight, whoever is on duty is going to have the added responsibility of 
  keeping him awake and as alert as possible. I unfortunately don't think it's 
  wise to give him any pain killers, as they usually have a tendency to induce 
  sleep as well. Until we are sure he is alright, he needs to stay awake. Time 
  will tell." Shaking his head then, Urio reaches up to pull his hair back and 
  resettle the silver clasp there. "I need your assistance in sitting him 
  upright so I can banage his ribs. Need to make it good and tight so he 
  doesn't puncture a lung, and until that has been secured, I don't want him 
  trying to rise up on his own."

Dane nods and kneels next to Paul offering him a smile and switching to 
  Corellian, "How're you feeling Paul?"
Dane gently slips a hand under the man's back and looks to Urio, ready to help 
  move Paul when asked.

"Like I've been rolled on by a big ugly thing," Paul murmurs with a twisted 
  smirk. "No really, did anyone get the number of that hovercar?" The hazel 
  eyes still don't look right, a haze of pain and the fact that the pupils are 
  still overly dilated give the Corellian's bravado away.

Urio'kosh pulls out a long length of strapping fabric and nods to Dane. 
  "Alright Paul, just relax and let Dane do all of the work," he advices in 
  Mandalorian.

Shen's thoughts form no words, but the simple fact that Paul is hurt dominates 
  her mind. She keeps glancing at him, her throat closing up as she watches 
  the pair of Mandalorians kneeling on either side of the man. The tent takes 
  shape under her hands, and without mishap, albeit slowly.

Dane gently eases the wounded doctor into a sitting position, eyes flicking 
  over to the distraught young woman for a moment as he does so, "Easy 
  Paul...let me know if I'm going too fast."

The Corellian makes a sharp noise, somewhere between a indrawn breath and a 
  strangled yelp, his frame tensing sharply despite his efforts to relax and 
  not show the amount of pain that he is in. Hazel eyes close as his features 
  scrunch up in reaction as well, but the worst of it is over, the upright 
  position having been attained.

Dane rests a hand on teh doctor's shoulder to keep him upright until he 
  adjusts to the new position. His gaze once again falls on Shenner, knowing 
  that the woman will most lilkey no tbe able to reatrain herself too much 
  longer before coming to attend to Paul.

The tent built, Shen's gaze lingers on Paul, out of the way though she might 
  be. She winces visibly at the man's obvious pain, but so far hasn't tried to 
  join the men again, yet.

Nodding in approval, Urio traces over the lean frame, removing the shirt 
  carefully and examining the wounds along his side. He applies a bandage to 
  them first and makes sure that all of the ribs are still in the right place. 
  "Alright Doctor," he murmurs lowly, "this isn't going to tickle, but try not 
  to jerk." His hands then move surely around Paul's torso, settling the 
  stretch bandage into place and securely wrapping Paul's rib cage. The 
  Corellian makes no comment, but a soft, "Hrrrrrrgh ..." breaks through his 
  lips as the pressure is applied, hazel eyes deciding that the closed 
  position is the preferred one at this time.

Shen has hunkered down on the ground by the constructed tent now, mutely 
  watching the proceedings. Her expression is bleak, her hollowed eyes full of 
  anxiety, and at Paul's low noise, her features crumple a little.

Dane keeps a hand on the doctor's shoulder so he doesn't fall, eyes flicking 
  to Urio as he does his work.

The younger Mandalorian works efficiently and throughly, even going so far as 
  to bind up Paul's right arm in a sling that holds said arm firmly against 
  his chest. "Alright Doctor, just to reconfirm a few details with you, you 
  have either broken or cracked ribs which I've just bound along with a 
  somewhat gored side. You've broken your right arm, which I'm binding to you 
  torso to offer extra support to both your rib cage and your arm. No using 
  it. You also have a large cut and lump on your head, and your eyes are still 
  quite dilated. That means no sleeping. You have a concussion, and due to 
  that you may find that you are nauseous and may be ill during the night. You 
  need to stay awake. Until you're more stable, I'm not going to recommend you 
  have any pain medication .. it will only make you drowsy." Glancing up, pale 
  green eyes pinion hazel ones, the voice apologetic even if the lips turn up 
  into a slight smile. "Sorry."

Shen's features crumple a fraction further at each detail of Urio'kosh's 
  diagnosis. She still remains silent, sitting now with her knees hugged up to 
  her chest and her chin propped atop them, limp strands of red hair 
  straggling across her face.

Dane frowns atthe smile on Urio's face, resiting the urge to lay him out he 
  glances at Shenner, hoping she won't have the same sensibility. He looks to 
  Paul and tries to smile, "Well looks like we'll be camping for a day or 
  two..let me know if you need anything."

Nodding brusquely, all Paul wants now is to rest. Unfortunately the pain and 
  Urio and common sense won't let him. Urio points out another wide tree 
  trunk. "I think it would be best to keep him upright. It will be easier for 
  him to breath and stay awake."

Dane nods and looks to Urio, "Give me a hand with him then." he then calls out 
  to Shenner, "Why don't you pad that tree a bit Shen. It'll make Paul a lot 
  more comfortable."

Shenner straightens where she sits -- her face falling even further. _So he 
  doesn't need the tent..._ The girl clamps her eyes shut, masking the look of 
  profound disappointment that floods her weary features, then she looks 
  up.... well, towards Dane, but not quite _at_ him. "Yeah," she mumbles 
  huskily, her only reply. She gets to her feet and starts gathering anything 
  she can find for padding, including Paul's bedroll.

It is the first realization that Paul has had that he has neither seen nor 
  heard Shen ... or Kairne for that matter. There is the immediate shock of 
  the fact, the sudden guilt of not being concerned, and the natural response 
  of trying to turn to see if she is alright. That, of course, is a mistake, 
  which causes Paul to hiss sharply and stop his motion. He does, however, 
  glance over to Dane to ask belatedly, "What happened? Is everyone else 
  alright?"

Dane nods and starts to ease Paul in the direction of the tree trunk, "Shen's 
  okay..Kairne's a little roughed up but nothing he's not used to."

Coming into better earshot as she hoists Paul's half-rolled bedroll up into 
  her arms, Shenner puts in immediately, "'Mokay." But she remains focused on 
  trying to bundle the padding against the tree, staring fixedly down at it, 
  now.

Urio assists in moving Paul back, but simply shifting him over the ground is 
  clearly more difficult and for the Corellian, more painful. There is a sharp 
  cry out of the man, which causes Urio to stop. "It would be best to simply 
  lift the Doctor straight up and walk him carefully back to the tree and then 
  lower him again. We're dragging him too much, and it's causing a pull 
  against his injuries." The Doctor in question has broken into a sweat, as if 
  anyone had actually stopped doing so at any time, and his features are one 
  of embarrassed annoyance at both his pain and his uncontrollable reactions.

The padding's as situated as Shen's going to get it. She straightens up to 
  stand there by the tree, and, inevitably, her gaze latches back on Paul as 
  Dane and Urio try to move him; from the look of her, you'd think someone had 
  run a vibroblade through her guts at Paul's latest cry.

Dane nods, "I'll just carry him then. " he kneels and starts to lift the 
  doctor under the knees while supporting his back, "Okay?"

Urio touches Dane's shoulder lightly. "No really ... that will probably hurt 
  him more. You can't offer sufficient support as you lift and carry. There's 
  nothing wrong with his legs." Paul, for once, must agree with the younger 
  Mandalorian, because he nods wearily, but in agreement, the very idea of 
  being lifted making his body tense nervously.

Dane nods, "Okay.." and lets the doctor go back to a sitting position, "On 
  three then Paul.." he looks to Urio and takes Paul under one arm, "Going to 
  to help?"

Urio drops down to take the broken arm, holding it very carefully so as not to 
  aggrevate the injury. One brow arches ironically at Dane's barely civil 
  question. "But of course Major ... after all my efforts on his behalf I 
  certainly don't wish to leave off now." That small smile is back once again 
  as he murmurs, "One ... two ... three ..." and lifts up.

Dane lifts simultaniously with his fellow Mandalorian, carefully manuvering 
  the doctor to his feet.

Her stance as tense as a strung bow, Shenner simply stands there watching. She 
  doesn't dare say anything -- it takes every ounce of her concentration to 
  keep her face as schooled as she can make it, to keep herself from trying to 
  interfere with what the two Mandalorians are doing. _They're helping him,_ 
  she tells herself, but can't stop the dejected addendum, _I'd just screw it 
  up, I'd hurt him..._

Paul manages to get to his feet, fighting against a swamping wave of nausea 
  and dizziness as his concussed head has it's own opinion about such a move. 
  He sags in their grasp but remains upright, gritting his teeth and forcing 
  his feet to carry him in the direction guided. The threesome finally end up 
  at the tree and slowly, carefully ease Paul down until he is resting against 
  the padding there. Paul leans heavily against it, eyes closing at the 
  rushing in his head, but clearly there is a touch of relief to his features 
  as the tree supports his weight. "Thanks," he manages to rasp out gruffly.

Dane nods to Paul and glances at Shenner, "Why don't you keep an eye on him 
  for a bit Shenner. Urio and I can finish camp and get dinner started."

There's unmistakable startlement in the girl's eyes as she looks swiftly at 
  Dane, then, reluctantly, at the younger Mandalorian. "Uh... yeah," she 
  finally agrees, her voice still husky. "Sure..."

Rising up, Urio considers Dane for a moment before volunteering, "I'll make 
  food," and heading off toward the appropriate packs to do just that.

Dane nods and starts over to finish working on setting up the camp, "Fine by 
  me I don' want to poison anyone." he chuckles.

There is a twisted little wry smile that crosses Urio'kosh's mouth, but he 
  merely nods, murmuring, "Quite ... " Then after a few utensils have been 
  broken out, he adds, "Check on the Lord General and make sure he hasn't left 
  without us? I've noticed the decided lack of his voice recently." There is 
  certainly a tinge of sarcasm there, but also a surprising sense of good 
  humor intended as Urio goes about his business of making something palatable 
  out of the rest of their rations.

Shenner swallows hard, then, slowly and stiffly, drops to her grimy knees by 
  the Corellian; with an effort, she forcibly keeps her hands to herself, 
  clenching them into slender fists, lest anyone notice her fingers are 
  shaking. She doesn't ask Paul if he's alright; she does ask him, though, 
  "You gonna be okay?" It comes out of her low and plaintive, her voice and 
  expression controlled enough, but her eyes are tinged with an almost 
  childlike pleading.

Hazel gaze flickering open, Paul studies Shen as best he can, knowing that she 
  is worried. In fact, he suspects that worried is rather an understatement. 
  Offering her a wry lopsided smile he returns in as strong and assured a 
  voice as he can, "I've been through worse. Yes, I'll be fine." Then there is 
  a slight pause. "Definitely."

Dane goes about completing the set up of camp, stopping for a moment to check 
  out Kairne, "You still alive old friend?"

Shen's brow furrows. "'I'll be fine' is comforting," she says hoarsely to 
  Paul, a flicker of something that might be a smile momentarily making her 
  mouth twitch. "'Definitely' ain't."

Smirking despite the pain, Paul actually manages a weak chuckle. "Touche'." He 
  pauses again, waiting for the rolling nausea to pass before asking, "So what 
  -did- happen? I never saw a thing really, 'cept when it was landing on me. 
  It was a bit too late after that." Glancing over, Paul then catches his 
  first sight of the creature, blinking in surprise.

Kairne draws himself out of his deep-meditation for a few moments, 
  acknowledging Dane's question that permeated through the layers of 
  consciousness between Kairne and the real world, "I'll be whole enough 
  again, soon. But let me concentrate for a while longer, as the medication 
  has since worn off, and I'm on my own now." Kairne breathes in again, and 
  releases it slowly, drifting once again back into meditation.

"Dane and I shot it," reports Shen, her hands now fidgeting with one another, 
  resisting her attempts to keep them still. "It got Kairne too, he had me 
  patch him up. I think there was another one, Urio'kosh got it." Shen is 
  grimly pleased that her voice delivers those words without quavering.

Dane nods to Kairne, "Food will be done soon. I'll wake you for that at 
  least." With that he sets about to finishing the camp before dinner.

Eyebrows raised, impressed on a multitude of levels. "Wow," he offers softly. 
  "I'm almost grateful I wasn't there to see it, so to speak." Glancing over 
  to where he can now hear the Mandalorian's voice, Paul rasps, "Is he hurt 
  badly, or was I the only one stupid enough to somehow get under the thing?"

Conversation. She can handle conversation, right? And here's Paul, talking to 
  her cogently enough -- _Cogent. Hah! Three-credit word_ -- so he's going to 
  be okay, right? Never mind the way he's bandaged up and the pain under his 
  voice... Her own voice staying steady, if hoarse, Shenner replies, "His 
  shoulder's all torn up." She frowns, then, glancing down at her hands; she'd 
  forgotten to wash them, and has no water to spare anyway. Self-consciously, 
  she wipes them on her pants, trying to get rid of the last traces of 
  Kairne's blood. "Made me stick that stuff on it he put on your head, before."

Nodding as they slip into almost idle conversation, Paul finds that focusing 
  on Shen's face is much easier than trying to look about the camp. It's less 
  dizzying. The smell of food is in the air now, and despite the fact that he 
  can tell he is hungry, the very scent of it is unappetizing to the 
  Corellian. "Sounds like you've been busy," he murmurs, not glancing down to 
  her hands and bringing her attention back down to that disturbing experience.

Shen's face is pale, her cheekbones sharply delineated, her eyes slightly 
  sunken and ringed by darkened flesh. "Yeah," she can be heard to murmur 
  huskily back to Paul. "Not too long, though... you, ah... weren't out all 
  that long." Her eyes flash down, then up again.

Dane finishes assembling the camp and takes a seat, eyes falling on the dead 
  beast, "We better do something with that. " he remarks, "It's going to draw 
  more of them."

Glancing up as he finishes with the food, Urio casts a glance at the two 
  fallen beasts before shrugging. "What can be done? They're too heavy to 
  move, and it's too dangerous to try to burn them. I don't suppose we have 
  anything that will disintegrate them. I would suggest that we simply move 
  camp come morning and remain highly alert tonight." Rising up, Urio'kosh 
  carries a plate over to Kairne, crouching next to the man before murmuring, 
  "Lord General? Dinner is served."

Dane nods, "probably true..we should try and cover them up though. I think it 
  will lessen the scent."

Shenner looks up and calls over gruffly to Dane, "I could help, cover 'em, or 
  somethin'...?"

Time is rather meaningless when you're unconcious, but Paul shrugs, or tries 
  to. The motion reminds him sharply of his injuries, and inhaling sharply, he 
  stops, allowing his shoulders to drop gradually back down. Ever the 
  scientist, Paul considers the growth about them. "You could cut some 
  branches I suppose, but it really won't hide the smell of blood." His eyes 
  scan the area as best they can, closing occasionally to rebalance.

Dane nods, "Okay Shenner, " he starts to hack down some more branches, "Make 
  sure Paul stays awake though."

The girl starts to rise, then pauses, and considers the Corellian. "How... ah, 
  how should I keep you awake?"

If the younger Mandalorian could look any more affronted, he probably would. 
  However, he makes no comment other than, "Dinner is ready," as he seats 
  himself and partakes of the stuff while it is still hot. Cutting and hacking 
  and more dirty work can happen after sustenance has been partaken.

Glancing up slowly, Paul offers her a weak smile, rasping softly, "I'm not 
  falling asleep any time soon ... after that, I dunno. Talking, music, 
  kicking me occasionally. Whatever works."

Shen catches Urio'kosh's announcement, and her head turns slightly in the 
  young Mandalorian's direction, though she does not look directly at him. 
  Back to Paul, she seizes nevertheless upon Urio's words, and asks the 
  Corellian, "You think you can eat?"

"Don't know if I should ... might just throw it all up again, and I think that 
  would hurt more than going hungry for one night." Paul then leans his head 
  back against the trunk, closing his eyes for a moment and trying to find 
  just the right level of breathing, neither too heavy nor too shallow.

Dane hacks a few branches up and sets them in a pile, after which he moves 
  over towards the food in silence.

"Okay," Shen says huskily to Paul, and she rises to reluctantly claim her own 
  share of the meal. As she goes, she keeps glancing anxiously at Paul.

Kairne takes in a deep breath, his lungs fully filling, and opens his eyes as 
  he exhales slowly and deeply. He moves his neck around and stretches it, 
  careful not to create any unnessecary motion that would disturb his injured 
  shoulder. "Some water if anyone has it, would be most appreciated."

Water can be provided, and Shenner wordlessly moves to get Kairne some, 
  digging up her waterskin simply because it's closest. She brings it over to 
  the warrior, holding it out quietly.

Rising up, Urio brings over a canteen, offering it to Kairne. He points out 
  the food next to the injured man, noting, "Dinner, if you want it."

Shenner blinks, then eyes Urio'kosh sidelong, and steps back, then. _Fine... 
  great... everybody's useful around here but me...._ She glances back to 
  Paul, and takes her canteen to him instead, asking, "D'ya... need water?"

Kairnesays, "Any water will do," as he takes the canteen from Urio, and lets 
  the liquid fill his mouth before he swallows, and drinks. After filling 
  himself with a fair amount of water, as he had dehydrated himself for a few 
  days, he pulls the canteen from his lips, "And yes, food would be most 
  appreciated also."

Dane walks over and takes his dinner, taking a seat he starts into it quietly, 
  his eyes never straying from the surrounding jungle.

Dark and shadowed eyes flicker back open, the pupils still over large even for 
  the dim light. Rasping huskily with a sudden fervor, Paul manages to say, 
  "You're a god send," and reaches out with his unbound left hand gratefully.

That coaxes a wan smile out of Shenner, who can't help but warm a little to 
  Paul's saying such words to her. As she surrenders her waterskin to him, her 
  hands remain lifted a moment or two out of unconscious desire to make sure 
  he doesn't drop it; then, catching herself, she lowers them, and retorts to 
  him, "God with a real mooklashit sense of humor, maybe."

The hand shakes a little, but being ambidexterous has certain advantages, this 
  being one of them. Paul drinks in small sparing sips, despite his desire to 
  guzzle down the lukewarm liquid contained therein. Gasping slightly, he sags 
  against the tree, handing back the canteen. "If there is a God or Gods, they 
  better have a sense of humor, or I quit," he rumbles, a burr of pain still 
  evident underneath the joke.

Shenner grins, narrowly, and only then allows herself to take a few scant sips 
  of her share of water herself, then attend to her share of the rations.

Dinner, then -- in so much as the dwindling rations the party carries can be 
  labelled with the word. Only after everyone has taken sustenance is the task 
  of covering the beasts taken up, with Dane and Urio'kosh hacking down 
  branches; Shenner considers taking up Paul's machete and joining them in 
  that, but is instead put to placing the branches cut down on Dane's advice. 
  Every so often she keeps checking on Paul, swallowing down her nervousness, 
  her dull exhaustion about the only thing that keeps her from gluing herself 
  to the Corellian's side. She says little to Dane and even less to Urio'kosh, 
  instinctively keeping away from the younger Mandalorian.

At last, the three hale members of the party divide up the watches, allowing 
  the wounded ones to get what rest they can.... or at any rate, Kairne. Paul 
  they keep awake, by conversation, by prodding, by any means that can be 
  concocted without drawing undue attention to their campsite -- no telling 
  what might be lurking out there in the darkness. Shen makes it through her 
  own Paul Vigil by stoically prodding him for song requests; the only 
  instrument she's got with her is the ocarina, but in her state, she forgets 
  to dig into her pack to fetch it. Only when Urio'kosh takes over from her 
  for the last of the watches does he deem Paul stable enough to grab 
  something like sleep himself, and by then, the girl has crawled off to rest 
  nearby as well. She takes Paul's tent -- but she keeps the front open, 
  determined to keep an ear out if the Corellian needs her....

[To be continued...]