Before - Legends THE WOOKIEE WARS TRILOGY - EPISODE I: JUNGLE WORLD (chapter 14 added)

This story is one I started wirting a while back and I'm in the process of typing it up on my computer. There are more chapters on The Star Wars Character Cafe website (you'll find a link to it in my sig and profile) but I will be posting the rest here. It is set 6000 years before A New Hope and was inspired by the game Star Wars Battlegrounds when I pitted Wookiee civilisations against each other!

THE WOOKIEE WARS TRILOGY

EPISODE I: JUNGLE WORLD

By Emimar

PART I: ALONE

CHAPTER 1


The herd of ungulates, a kind of gazelle with small, rounded, knob shaped horns grazed peacefully on the grassland below, seemingly unaware of the panterine dogs that stalked them. The dogs resembled a large cat but their behaviour patterns and bone structure placed them firmly in the canid family. Carrie watched the age old scene unfolding before her, the dance of life and death that had been going on since the first multicellular organisms evolved from the first eukaryotic cells. The drama that had been replayed over and over again on every planet in the galaxy and beyond that could support life, though the players were always different, the result was always the same, death. Death for the prey if the predators caught it or death for the predator by starvation if it failed.

Life and death pretty much depended on the other, without one the other could not exist and such was the way of predator and prey. Some civilised peoples would have balked at the scene unfolding before her, but Carrie didn?t for she knew that the prey could not survive without the predators. If there were no predators then the prey would breed out of control, eventually destroying the habitat around them thus causing their own destruction.

One of the gazelles picked its head up from the grass and sighted and smelt the pack of panterine dogs. It stamped its hooves and gave out a hooting noise to warn the rest of the herd. One of the dogs, a young and over enthusiastic animal lunged into the mist of the herd, scattering them and causing the herd to take flight. The dogs, stimulated by the fleeing prey gave chase. One dog closed in on a gazelle, which began to leap and prance to advertise its fitness. After a few testings of the prey, one gazelle emerged that was weaker than the others. The panterine dogs seemed to sense this and began to close in it.

Carrie could see that it was old and its time had come, weakened by an old injury to one of its delicate legs and unable to feed properly as the silica coated leaves of its food had worn down its teeth almost to the roots.

The alpha male, the most skilled hunter of the pack, brought the old one down and the rest of the pack set upon it, tearing out its stomach, viscera and organs spilling on to the ground, almost eating it alive. Again someone else would have thought the panterine dogs to be viscous and cruel killers if they did not know the complicated structure of the pack, how they protected each other, even the outcast of the pack from other predators, how they cared for their helpless young.
After some time, each pack member with the alpha male at their head went back to the den from which the alpha female and six pups emerged. The male greeted her and offered her some of the kill. The younger members of the pack, last year?s litter, gambolled around the pups, competing with each other for the privilege of feeding them.

Carrie smiled and watched them until the pups went back underground again. Then she turned away, heading back to the camp.



***



?What did you see?? Jowan Ros asked Carrie as they headed towards the camp. Carrie told him about the gazelles and the dogs. Jowan was her father and her Master in the Jedi arts. Carrie had been orphaned as a child and Jowan and his apprentice Chonwyyyak had found her on the world of Abregado rae. Jowan was a Twi?lek and Carrie, having no family of her own, took Jowan?s clan name.

Jowan was dressed in typical Twi?lek robes, his head tails looped around his neck.
?Where?s Chon

 

Here is the next chapter.

CHAPTER 2

Carrie woke just before dawn and the Wookiee still had not returned, so she decided to go look for him. Carrie was a woman in her early twenties with shoulder length red hair and emerald green eyes. It was cold this morning and through the window of her room in the prefab shelter she could see a light mist had descended on the grass land caused by the transpiration of water through the plants? vascular vessels meeting the cold night air. It was still early summer on this part of the planet and often misty in the early mornings.

She hardly took any notice what season it was on a planet she visited, though when she was seven she remembered going to Alderaan when it was winter and had engaged in a snowball war with Chonwyyyak, much to Master Jowan?s indignation. They ended up pelting the Twi?lek with a raucous bellowing from the Wookiee and Carrie?s girlish giggling. The Wookiee was fun to be with sometimes.

Turning away from the window, Carrie donned the dark brown Jedi robe over her lose fitting white shirt and black trousers for protection against the chilly morning air.


***


Carrie soon picked up Chonwyyyak?s trail in the forest. Flowers had started to spring up where dappled light hit the forest floor, though the petals of most were still closed, waiting for the sun to warm the cold insects that fed on their nectar and passed pollen from one plant to another. Each had its own particular species that fed on it and each flower species opened at different time of the day to ensure that only the pollen of its own kind dusted the stigma.

Carrie had learnt much more than just Jedi lore from Jowan, she had learnt many things from Chonwyyyak as well and one of those was the ability to follow a trail by sight in the forest. She soon came to the tree Chonwyyyak had climbed. She jumped as he landed behind her and snaked an hairy arm around her. He pulled her down behind a bush and growled softly in her ear.

She glanced in the direction he indicated. In the night, Trandoshan slave ships had landed. Carrie, though she had heard of the slave trade the Trandoshan?s had imposed upon the Wookiees since they first became aware of each other, didn?t really understand what was going on. Chonwyyyak stiffened as he recognised one captive in particular. It was Klootabuk. Carrie squeezed his hand.

?You know them, don?t you?? Carrie asked in a whisper. The Wookiee grunted a soft affirmative.

There was another ship, different to the slave ships and a dark man emerged. Even with little experience Carrie knew there was something wrong about this man, a darkness, a corruption of the Force that his presence caused. He turned to look in their direction, sensing the light like a moth on a dark night and being drawn towards it. Chonwyyyak knew they had been discovered.

He pushed Carrie away, roaring at her to run. She hesitated and Chonwyyyak roared at her again. This time she did run, back to camp. As she neared, she knew that something was terribly wrong. She smelled smoke, coming from the prefab shelter as it burnt to the ground. She ran faster, mindful of the tree roots that seemed to want to trip her as she loped.

There was no sign of Master Jowan, but she knew instinctively that he was dead, something in the pit of her stomach told her and making her nauseous as the realisation struck home. The freighter they had arrived on was on fire too and now the Trandoshans moved on to the starfighter.

Igniting her lightsabre, she charged at them, deflecting blaster bolts. She had fought before, but that had always been practice with Chonwyyyak, however, training with the Wookiee had taught her how to deal with opponents who were physically bigger and stronger than herself and she used her small size against them.

Something of her anger at Master Jowan?s death seeped through her has she tried no to think of what would happen to Chonwyyyak. There was nothing she could do to save him as the starfighter could only carry one person and a Wookiee, even

 

Interesting...

 

In chapter 3 we go to Kashyyyk where Tallamichuk an untrained Force sensitive Wookiee is taking his son on his Rite of Passage...

CHAPTER 3


Dappled light filtered through the trees as Tallamichuk and his son Mittsha travelled into the forest. Tallamichuk had been preparing his son for the Rites of Passage for over a month now, drilling into him everything a wise hunter should know, tracks and signs that showed the prey had passed by recently, how not to over hunt and cause the prey?s extinction, no matter how ferrous the creature might be. They all had a place in the ecosystem of the forest, which even the Wookiees were a part of, not a separate entity.

He warned his son about not giving into impatience. When Tallamichuk himself had been Mittsha?s age, just before his Rite of Passage, he had sneaked out of the nursery rings one night to see what the lower levels were like. Armed with only a small Ryyk blade, which was meant for skinning, not hunting and youthful optimism and brashness, he walked the forest paths alone.

He didn?t realise that Chitwamlambek, one of the village?s greatest Berserker Warriors had noticed his passing and was trailing him to keep him safe from trouble, but Chitwam wasn?t the only thing trailing him. A web-weaver dropped out of the branches above him, raking his face.

The Berserker, acting quickly, saved his life, but not before permanent damage had been done to the Wookiee youth. The web-weaver may not have been able to take his life but it had taken away his hearing. For a long time he had been unable to communicate properly with other Wookiees. He slipped into depression and wished that the web-weaver had killed him out right. Death would have been preferable to not being able to hear.

But Kentromapia, Chitwamlambek?s younger sister, wouldn?t give up on him. She devised a way of communicating with him using hand signals. Once he had recovered his confidence, underwent his coming of age Rite of Passage, he discovered something. His deafness hadn?t hampered him. He just seemed to know where the predator he was hunting was and where it was going to strike.

He told no one about this except Kentromapia. After that, he was allowed to accompany the older Wookiees on hunting expeditions for food and had once saved the chieftain?s life from a kartan. He and Chitwamlambek became good friends. Tallamichuk fell in love with Kentromapia and when he was old enough asked her to be his mate. She agreed.

He remembered his jubilation when after two months of them being together, she told him she was pregnant. He had hunted a quillarat and shared it with her. They didn?t tell anyone else about her pregnancy, not even Chitwamlambek until it began to show. The baby had been Mitshanik. A few years later, Kentromapia became pregnant again, this time with twins, both females, which was unusual for Wookiees as they usually only have one. They were called Tillacuk and Sherorbuk.

Kentromapia was now expecting again. Tallamichuk hoped that it would be another son. He loved his daughters more than his own life, but he just didn?t have the same bond with them that he had with Mittsha and he felt that was now close to ending. Mittsha would soon be choosing his own name, if his Rite of Passage was successful and he would start making his own decisions, Tallamichuk would only be there to guide him.

Part of him was proud of his son, that he would soon be independent, but he would miss the bond they shared now.

Tallamichuk quizzed his son as they travelled deeper into the forest lower layers, using hand signals. Mittsha, as with most of those close to him answered using the language of hand signals. There was one advantage to using the hand signals and that was they were silent, though when conversing with others around they usually vocalised their words.

They came to the sacred hunting ground. Mittsha was just about to load his bowcaster, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. Tallamichuk pointed to his son?s Ryyk blade. A look of apprehension crossed Mittsh

 

Oh just before I get to chapter 4, here is a picture of Carriedrawn for me by Lal-Khan at The Star Wars Artist Guild Online.

CHAPTER 4

Carrie had been out in space for twenty-four hours now, coming to terms with her loss. She had contacted the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and told them of Master Jowan?s death and the Trandoshan slavers. They gave her the location of the Wookiee homeworld, Kashyyyk. She had to help those Wookiees, she thought, if only to honour Chonwyyyak?s memory.

Now, she punched the co-ordinates into the navicomputer and waited as it completed the calculations. It was extremely slow. Finally, the computer completed the complex calculations and she flipped the hyper drive lever. The stars elongated to starlines as the craft leapt into hyperspace.

It would take a few hours to reach her destination, so she explored the small storage compartment behind the pilot?s chair. Chonwyyyak usually piloted the starfighter and the musky scent of his body and clumps of hair were all over the cockpit. She sighed. It was as if he wasn?t gone, but Carrie didn?t let her thoughts intro fooling herself that he wasn?t. she found his bowcaster, too heavy for a human to use. With it, she also found his Ryyk blade. She knew he had made both of these during his Rite of Passage ritual.

She studied the personal markings and designs on each and knew that they were to do with the Wookiee?s family, but didn?t know quite what they meant. It made her feel sad, thinking of the family she never had and thinking that Chonwyyyak never got the chance to see his again before he died.

She made a vow to him then that she would find and free the Wookiees he had given his life to save or die herself in the process. Tears suddenly came hot and heavy once again, but eventually quietened down, exhausted and slept.


***


She woke to the sound of the warning klaxon of the navicomputer, telling her that they were coming up on Kashyyyk. She yawned and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes before flipping the switch for reversion into real space.

From space, Kashyyyk was a ball of blue, green and white. She sensed a lot of life down there, both through the Force and the ship?s sensors, but no cities. She wondered if the Jedi Temple had given her the wrong co-ordinates.

The ship trilled a warning as it detected other space craft. The ships were of similar to the ones that had taken the Wookiee slaves, but they weren?t the same ones. She guessed that they were of the same operation as she sensed Wookiees on board the larger vessels, miserable and frightened.

One of the ships fired on her, but missed. It would take too long to calculate the jump to light speed, so she took the only action possible. She manoeuvred her ship planet side. A squadron of Trandoshan starfighters gave chase. She knew she had little chance against twelve fighters, so she concentrated in just running and hoping she could survive long enough to eject and throw them off her tail.

Her ship rocked as laser fire glanced off her shields. She manoeuvred from side to side to make herself harder to hit. By now she had hit upper atmosphere and the forest stretched far below her, but she had no time to admire the scenery. Her only chance was to get down into the canopy and weave between the trees, hoping that they?d crash into the side of a tree.

When she dropped beneath the canopy, she almost crashed into one of the trees herself. To say that the trees of Kashyyyk were big would be a gross understatement. To say that they were enormous would not do them justice. In her shock at the size of the trees, she had forgotten about her pursuers and they hit her several times. She lost shields and engines.

She tried ejecting but that system was down too, so she braced herself for impact. The starfighter pushed through the leaves and branches, snapping twigs until it came to a halt on a broad branch the width of one of Coruscant?s promenades.

Ign

 

PART II KASHYYYK

CHAPTER 5

They struck in the night. Kentromapia woke to screams and blaster fire. Heaving her heavily pregnant body up from the bed she usually shared with her mate, she walked over to her twin daughters? room and woke them. As they were heading to the secret trap door, Trandoshan slavers burst into the dwelling. Kentromapia fired her bowcaster at the first Trandoshan, killing him instantly. The second one fired a shot at her but he wasn?t a very accurate shot as it shot only managed to glance off her arm. Still, it was very painful for her and it was just as much luck as skill that she shot and killed the second one.

From the trapdoor, her daughters were roaring her to hurry. She smelled smoke. The Trandoshans were torching the dwellings! Kentromapia lowered herself into the hollowed out tree branch that was there as an escape route. Its original purpose was not to escape from Trandoshans, but to escape from raids made by neighbouring tribes and in particular the mercenary bands.

The mercenary bands, gangs of male wookiees who had been ousted from their tribe were the worst. Other tribes usually kept themselves to themselves unless their territory was invaded or times were hard. The gangs on the other hand, possessed no honour and as well as pilfering food, they would sometimes try to raid the nursery rings for young females that were just about to undertake their Rite of Passage. That had happened to Kentromapia when she had been that age. Her father had been killed by a band of mercenaries a year before and it had been up to Chitwamlambek to provide for his mother and five younger brothers and sisters. Kentromapia was the second oldest after Chitwamlambek.


Chitwamlambek was helping her to prepare for the Rite of Passage, out in the forest when the band of twenty had attacked. They had heard about Chitwamlambek and thought that because of his age he would be a pushover. They were wrong.


Chitwamlambek took his responsibility to his family very seriously and even though they had bested him during the initial ambush, Chitwamlambek was determined to rescue his sister.
Tracking them alone, himself suffering from injury, Chitwamlambek finally caught up with them. He waited until nightfall and struck while they were sleeping. There were females and young wookiees among them but they didn?t put up any resistance, even a young male about Kentromapia?s age who was obviously the son of one of the mercenaries.

Because of their dishonour, kidnapping young females was the only way they could mate as no female would willingly go with them. Most of the females didn?t know which tribe they were from, so they were accepted into Chitwamlambek?s tribe. Even though the children of the freed females had been fathered by the mercenaries, this was not held against them and became valued members of the tribe when they reached adulthood.

The mother of the young male, who had been the unwilling mate of the leader of the mercenary band, offered herself to him as his mate. Chitwamlambek refused her offer, telling her to enjoy her freedom after being enslaved for so long. He had told her that if the circumstances had been different, then he might have accepted but he already had his mother and younger siblings to look after.

She never mated, obviously waiting for Chitwamlambek.

Chitwamlambek?s chieftain had rewarded him for his bravery by giving him the rank of Berserker Warrior.

There was movement behind them and Wynnachibow and her son, Mantoba carrying a rwookling (young wookiee child) that was his daughter, Azalea, caught up with them. Mantoba passed Azalea to his mother and took the lead, escorting his mother, the pregnant Kentromapia and the three children to safety. They emerged from the tunnel onto another wroshyr tree, connected to the one holding Kentromapia?s home when the branches of two different trees meet and grow into one another, creating a super tree.

The commotion could still be heard coming from the village as wookiees were slaughtered or ens

 

...And because I couldn't get online Sunday, here's chapter 6...

CHAPTER 6


Chonwyyyak woke to find himself bound to some kind of torture chair.

?Good. I am glad you are finally a wake my friend.?

[I am no friend of yours,] the wookiee growled.

The human ignored his comment.

?I am Lord Basalis. You have some special abilities that I am interested in.?

The wookiee growled softly, realising that he meant his Jedi abilities.

Basalis turned to one of the Trandoshan technicians.



?You may begin, but don?t kill him or harm him permanently in any way. I will be back soon.?

?As you wish, my lord.?

The Trandoshan knew how to inflict the greatest pain with the least amount of damage.

Chonwyyyak retreated inside himself, meditating as he had been trained to do. No matter what the Trandoshan did to him the wookiee didn?t react, either in pain or anger. Basalis returned five hours later and was disappointed when confronted with a calm wookiee. He was expecting him to be howling in pain or anger at his appearance, but there was no sign of either.

?It seems that you have more resolve than I gave you credit for. Take him to his cell while I think of something else.?


***


It had taken three days but Mittsha finally bagged the Katarn he had been tracking and that had been hunting him. He had sustained a large gash across his chest where the creature had slashed him with its claws. Tallamichuk had been ready to fire his bowcaster when his son had plunged the Ryyk blade deep into the creature?s heart.

Now they were heading back to Chitwamlambek?s hut. Halfway they had met the Berserker and Mantoba, whom Chitwamlambek had sworn to silence about the birth of Kentromapia?s son. Tallamichuk noticed nothing amiss with Mantoba?s presence, since the brother of his mate and Mantoba usually traversed the forest together. It had been that way sine the Berserker had freed him and his mother from the mercenaries.

Noticing the Katarn and the deep wound in his chest, Mantoba ribbed Mittsha about how, that now he was an adult, the females would be impressed with his bravery and would want to mate with him. This caused him embarrassment. Mantoba was notorious for flirting with young females. Chitwamlambek joined in with the ribbing, though he turned the tables on his friend.

[And just think, Mantoba, about all the females wanting to bed you so they could get close to my nephew.]

Tallamichuk had the last word, saying something along the same lines about Chitwamlambek. The Berserker left it at that, since he could think of no appropriate rejoinder.

When they got closer to the hut, Chitwamlambek told him about the destruction of their village. Tallamichuk asked about his mate and daughters and was much relieved when he heard that they were fine. He became a little suspicious when Mantoba almost gave the game away about his newborn son, but Chitwamlambek gave him a glare that silenced him.

[We must look for survivors of the village before we go on,] Tallamichuk signed as well as voiced.

As the hut came into view through the foliage, Tillacuk and Sherorbuk saw them from the window and ran out to meet them. They ignored their brother completely and mobbed their father before turning their attention to their brother.


***


[They are almost here,] Wynnachibow said. She was stood at the window watching the approach of Tallamichuk and Mittsha with the other wookiees. [It looks like your son was successful.]

Kentromapia was sat in the chair and Carrie was sleeping on the pallet.

[Just let me know when Talla is almost here.] Kentromapia held her baby in her arms, wrapped in a blanket. He was sleeping now after taking a feed of his mother?s milk. Azalea was sat on the floor among the warm skins. Kentromapia wore a tunic to hide her wound from her mate. She had already decided not to tell him how close she had come to almost losing him and her own life.

[He?s here,] Wynnachibow reported.


***

Tallamichuk stood dumbfounded in the door way when

 

This next chapter is kindda depressing, as you'll see when you read it...

CHAPTER 7

The destruction brought on by the Trandoshans to the wookiee village was tremendous. It saddened the hearts of the four wookiee males as they entered the outskirts of the village. The smell of burnt wood, foliage, wookiee hair and flesh had reached their noses long before they had reached the settlement. Already wildlife were encroaching where once they?d not dared to tread, seeking out food.

Mantoba let out a loan moan. It seemed that Azalea?s mother would never had been able to escape the carnage.

Days before, the village had been a happy place, preparing celebrations for Mittsha?s success. Mittsha shared a glance with his father. A few hours ago, Tallamichuk and Mittsha had been filled with jubilation, first at Mittsha?s success in his Rite of Passage and then the birth of a new son and baby brother. Now this was forgotten as the deaths of many of their friends and family were staring them in the face.

For the first time ever, Chitwamlambek had failed to protect his tribe. The first body they came to was a young male, of undetermined identity at first, until Chitwamlambek discovered a blackened Ryyk blade near by. He picked it up and after examining the blade, found the patterns were almost identical to his own; it belonged to one of his younger brother.

However, the young wookiee had put up a valiant fight, as no less than four Trandoshans had been massacred near by. Chitwamlambek let out a mournful howl as he recognised the grizzled old female. It was his mother.

Tallamichuk reached over and squeezed his shoulder. As they made a search of the village, they found the bodies of many old wookiees, interspaced at intervals, though rarely, a brave warrior cut down while defending the others. Sickeningly, a few pregnant females were also dead, culled it seemed as had the old wookiees.

Predators were feeding on the carcasses. As soon as they saw these, the predators were shot or frightened off.

The worst carnage was in the nursery rings, where children of different ages had been slaughtered. It was here that Mantoba found the body of his mate, defending a group of rwooklings. It seemed hopeless that anyone would still be alive.

The other wookiees left Mantoba alone with his mate?s body for a while as they decided what they were going to do.

<It is safe to assume those that weren?t taken by the raiders are all dead. We should collect the bodies and dispose of them,> Chitwamlambek signed.

<Yes. We also need to now how many. No wookiee would want to live here again. There is too much death.>

Mittsha was just too stunned at all the death about him to contribute anything and he realised that killing the Katarn didn?t make him an adult. It was how he reacted to this atrocity that would determine that. He wished he?d stayed back at the hut.

They started the long process of gathering up the bodies, making three piles. One for the children, one for the young warriors and females and the final one for the old. Any that were recognised as a family member or a friend were put to one side with Mantoba?s mate. Normally they would deal with death a different way but with so many the only method to dispose of them it seemed was a funeral pyre.

The most hard hitting of all was for Mittsha, when he discovered the bodies of two of his friends. Only weeks before he had spent most of his time with them when he wasn?t with his family. They had been almost as excited about his Rite of Passage as he had been and just as fearful for him. He had believed they were safe. How ironic it seemed that they were dead instead of him. Worst of all, they had talked about going through this process together but it seemed Mittsha would have to face it alone, just like the final confrontation with the Katarn.

They found no one alive and in the final moments before setting light to the three piles, they looked at them, the pile of children being despondently and horrifically the largest. They kept vigil of

 

It would be nice if anyone is reading this to let me know...Then I'd know I'm not talking to myself here.

CHAPTER 8

The name Tallamichuk and Kentromapia had chosen for their new son was Katarykh. Mittsha had confirmed his adult name, which was Mittshawarro, but everyone still called him Mittsha. A week had passed since the funeral pyres and Carrie learnt that if circumstances had been different, then the wookiees would have celebrated both Mittsha?s completion of his Rite of Passage and the arrival of the new baby.

This suited Carrie just fine as she was in no mood to party herself. Carrie had learnt enough of the hand signals to be able to communicate now with the wookiees. Now that she and Kentromapia had recovered a little, both Chitwamlambek and Tallamichuk had agreed it was time to see what had become of the wookiees of Xaczik Island, even though they were enemies. The two tribes were distrustful of each other and this sometimes escalated into ritual warfare, but at other times they did help each other out and this was one of those times.

Carrie was now learning and understanding the relationship between the different wookiee tribes. Chitwamlambek?s route would take them through several tribes before they reached the coast. the nearest village was three days away . Mantoba would be coming with them and Mittsha wanted to come too. Tallamichuk was reluctant to have him along at first but then relented. After seeing him as a child for so long, he found it hard to see him as an adult now.

He was still a child in so many ways but the only way he could ever hope to make his own way was by putting himself in dangerous situations and, he decided, he would be no safer at the hut than travelling with them. In the end, they all decided to travel together.

The nearest village was called Rrrorro. Even though the two villages had sustained their own skirmishes in the past, a kind of peace had grown between them in recent years since Chitwamlambek and a Berserker from that village had joined together to rid themselves of bandits that had been plaguing both villages.

Another time, Chitwamlambek had had saved the eldest son of Rrrorro?s aging chieftain from another group of bandits. Last Chitwamlambek had heard was that the chieftain had died and his son was chieftain now. He owed Chitwamlambek a big favour, that was, if the village was still there. With the Trandoshan slavers? raids, he couldn?t be too sure if the village was still there. Then he could warn them of the Trandoshans and ask them to shelter his sister?s family while he, Tallamichuk, Carrie and Mantoba went to Wartaki and then on to Xaczik.

Chitwamlambek led the way, with Kentromapia, her baby, Azalea and her daughters in the middle for protection. Wynnachibow, who knew how to look after herself after being with the mercenaries, brought up the rear. The others fanned out to the sides, though Tallamichuk offered her some protection because of her injury. She carried Chonwyyyak?s bowcaster and Ryyk blade, both of which were heavy, but she used to spar sometimes with Chonwyyyak and this had given her strength which she would otherwise not have had.

As they walked, Carrie began to take notice of Kashyyyk?s complex ecosystem. She sensed a lot of danger around her and watched Tallamichuk carefully. She could sense the Force in him. Once, he raised his bowcaster ready to shoot a web-weaver that tried dropping out of the upper branches to attack them. He fired and it was dead before it hit the branch they were walking on.

There was so much foliage between them and the ground that Carrie didn?t even realise how far up they were. To her, it felt like she was just walking through any normal forest. That was until they came to the edge of a clearing and the trees just went down, down into the darkness. Stupidly, she looked down and vertigo almost came over her. Tallamichuk pulled her back away from the edge.

The forest stretched on to the horizon in all directions. It was a spectacular sight, one that Carrie thought wou

 

I know this is far from my best story, but some feedback here would be nice...Don't people like wookiee stories?

Chapter 9

The group were waiting for Chitwamlambek and Wynnachibow. They had agreed to set off that morning. The night before they had eaten dinner with Feybacca and his family. His mate prepared the most delicious foods, including Xachibik broth, Vrortik cocktail, Factryn meat pie and fried Klak to name but a few. They also had another addition to the group, Xxandah, a human spacer who had crash-landed on Kashyyyk six months earlier.

Chitwamlambek and Wynnachibow hadn?t turned up for the dinner like they had promised either. When they did finally show up, (which was almost noon, they had supposed to have set off at dawn), they came from the direction of the forest, not the village.


Chitwamlambek walked with a kind of swagger that Tallamichuk had never seen in him before. Kentromapia touched his arm and signed with one hand, <It seems my brother has found a mate at last.>


<How can you tell?>

She signed her reply secretly so that no one else would see. Tallamichuk grinned at her rather sheepishly, but only for a moment. Now he understood why they had not shown up for dinner last night. Carrie caught his eye and he got the impression that she had already known.

When Wynnachibow and Chitwamlambek were level with them, Wynnachibow apologised to Rebecca?s mate for missing last night?s dinner. Then Chitwamlambek announced to them all that they were betrothed. They had lost track of time out in the forest.

While everyone were congratulating them, Wynnachibow signed, <I will get you for this.> to Carrie. Their departure was delayed for a day as the wookiee?s celebrated the betrothal, but both Wynnachibow and Chitwamlambek had agreed not to go through with the nuptial until they had freed their village.

During the night they had spent together, they had gone against wookiee tradition by mating before they were joined. It was a secret they kept to themselves, but Tallamichuk and Kentromapia guessed what they had done, why else would they have been so late?

Chitwamlambek laid awake that night, reliving in his mind what they had done the previous night,. He?d never known anything that had felt so good, so right. He knew he had committed a great transgression but still, he wanted to experience that again.



***



The morning came and this time they did set off. Both Tallamichuk and Chitwamlambek said goodbye to Kentromapia and her children. Mantoba was unhappy at having to Azalea behind, but he knew it would be best for her safety. They would be staying with Feybacca?s family.

Tallamichuk noticed that Mittsha wasn?t there to see them off. Even though he had gone through his Rite of Passage successfully, he was still too young to go with them in his father?s eyes so Tallamichuk had made him stay behind.

Tallamichuk regretted that his son wasn?t there to see them off and that his son was angry at him but he felt he had made the right decision by leaving him behind. He knew that his son was watching them, hidden from view behind some foliage.

Tallamichuk allowed him to think that he didn?t know he was there. He gave no indication to the others of his son?s presence until Chitwamlambek commented on his son?s absence at their departure later.

[He was there, hiding from view. I just didn?t let him know that I knew that.]



***



From his hiding place, Mittsha watched his father begin his journey. He waited until his mother, sisters and Feybacca?s family had returned home before he emerged and followed his father?s trail. He would not be left behind!



***



Tallamichuk first became aware that they were being followed when they stopped to set up camp that night. He informed the others of his revelation while they were enjoying a meal of roasted meat from a trakkrrn Feybacca had hunted and Wynnachibow had cooked, seasoning it with herbs and mild spices. They consumed it with wastril bread and rillrrnn seeds that the female wook

 

Chapter 10

Kentromapia paced the room one more time. She was worried about Mittsha. That morning she had not been able to find him as he wasn?t in the room Feybacca?s mate had given him nor anywhere else in the house. She?d known he was upset with his father and had thought he merely wished to avoid him and expected to see him later in the day.

Feybacca?s mate took her own daughter and Tillacuk and Sherorbuk out to gather wroshyr beetles, while Kentromapia stayed at home to look after her newborn and Azalea. She had gone into the kitchen and noticed all the westril bread had gone. She knew her son had taken it. He loved his mother?s wastril bread but loved it all the more because she made him wait until the proper meal times before she let him have any.

While he had been growing up, the two had made a game out of it to see if she could keep all the bread safe until dinnertime. She caught on to his early tricks easily but as he got older he became more cunning, but it was just all in fun and served to strengthen the bond between mother and son.

She?d known something was up because before he?d only taken a couple of pieces, not the whole batch. When he didn?t show up at noon, she?d just thought he was hunting. He had made friends with the other young males quite easily and perhaps that was why he had pilfered all of the wastril bread.

Mid afternoon, her daughters had come back with a good batch of wroshyr beetles. Feybacca?s mate and daughter were with friends and had given the batch they had gathered to the two sisters to bring back home. The had also brought back other food, fruits and wild parasitic herbs that grew in the tops of the trees. As they came in, they were chatting to each other about the young males their brother had befriended, about their strengths and their weaknesses, which one they liked most out of the group, just the usual things young females talk to each other about.

[Was your brother with them?]

They replied a negative and continued chatting about the males while they helped their mother put the food away.

Since then, Kentromapia had become increasingly worried about her son. When dinnertime passed and he hadn?t turned up, she began to think about the possibility that he had followed his father.

After dinner, she had gone outside and sat with her baby, feeding him as she waited. The baby had grown since he had been born and his fur was now long and thick. He had his mother?s deep chestnut colouring and a dark stripe running down his forehead.

Although she loved her other children, she felt there was something special about this one. Perhaps it was just because she?d almost died giving birth to him or it could have been something else. At the moment, she didn?t know what to make of it.

After feeding, he went to sleep. Sleep was what he seemed to be doing a lot of and she looked forward to the time when he would be more active with a mixture of joy and dread. Joy because she liked playing with them at that age, dread because he would be a handful. When he reached four years, he would spend most of his time in the nursery ring with other wookiee children.

Then when he reached Mittsha?s age, he would go through his Rite of Passage and do something foolish and then she would be sat outside worrying and waiting for him to come home. Which wouldn?t happen because he?d been eaten by a Katarn or something?

Stop it, she told herself. There is no point in worrying about something that hasn?t even happened yet!

Night fell and she gave the baby his last feed and put him in his bed to sleep. It was now in the early hours of the morning and though she had tried to get some sleep, she couldn?t. Feybacca?s mate emerged from her room.

[You should try to get some sleep. It will do you no good to sit up all night and worry.]

[I have tried but I can?t.]

[What would your mate say to you now if he was here?]

Kentromapia thought about it, considered what he would say.

Finally she answered, [He would say that I should be proud of him, no

 

Chapter 11

It was dark when Tallamichuk and Carrie arrived at their camp. For along time Tallamichuk had not moved, but Carrie had finally pushed him into action. They had gotten rid of the dishonoured one by rolling him off the branch and into the depths of the forest. She felt his pain and told him not to be angry or hold hatred towards the mercenaries. He listened, or rather took note of what she told him, but Carrie didn?t know if he understood or took heed.

Then they?d gathered up Mittsha?s belongings and made their way to camp. Chitwamlambek noticed something was wrong almost immediately. Tallamichuk told the other Wookiees what they had found. Carrie sat down and accepted food from Wynnachibow and indicted that Tallamichuk should do the same.

He obeyed reluctantly. He wasn?t in the mood to eat but knew that the human was right and he didn?t want to offend his mate?s brother?s betrothed by not eating the food she had prepared. She was a warrior, that much was true and in being so it made her a much better match for Chitwamlambek than any other female, but that didn?t mean she wasn?t like other Wookiee females.

Feybacca related to Tallamichuk what he had learnt earlier about the mercenaries or bandits as he had spied on them. Unlike other bands, they had no females and children with them and there had been an alien. From Feybacca?s description of the alien, Carrie concluded it was the same ones she had seen when Chonwyyyak was lost. Something sinister was definitely going on.

Chitwamlambek was already formulating a plan to free Mittsha. He split the group into two, Mantoba, Xxandah, Wynnachibow and Carrie would go to the next village, while he, Tallamichuk and Feybacca rescued Mittsha. Carrie objected, saying that she wanted to rescue Mittsha as part of the Life Debt to the Wookiees and that they should try to capture the alien alive as it could lead them to the enslaved Wookiees.

Tallamichuk agreed and Chitwamlambek relented. Then he asked Wynnachibow if she knew the way to the next village.

[I know,] Wynnachibow said. [Because that was where I was born.] She looked at her son. [We have family there, Mantoba.]

Chitwamlambek looked at her. [Why didn?t you go back?]

She smiled at him, a hint of predatory seduction in her eyes. [The answer to that, my mate, is simple. I just knew I had to have you the moment I first saw you.]

The Berserker returned her smile, which said, you?d caught me the moment I first saw you. Not for the first time since starting out on this journey Wynnachibow wished they were alone together. She remembered the passion they both felt that night in the forest together and she wanted to experience that again, the passion that only two true warriors could make. For Wynnachibow, it had been a loving experience.

She wished partly that she would be fighting at her future mate?s side but was looking forward to seeing her family again whom she had not seen since she was an adolescent. She wondered about her younger sister, if she had a mate yet. She?d had a brother but he and her mother had been killed by a Katarn when her brother was only a baby.

She realised how distressing it must have been for her father and sister to lose her too. Perhaps Mantoba would lessen that pain.

It was Chitwamlambek?s turn to take the watch and she went over to sit with him, back to back, so they could both keep watch for danger as they talked in low growls. Mantoba had followed his mother. He wanted to know more about his family, especially since the only other family he knew was his dishonourable father.

Wynnachibow had wanted to be alone with her betrothed and wished her son had waited until they were travelling to ask these questions, but she was glad he was interested and she couldn?t send him away.

She stated by relating to them what had happened to her mother and brother. Her father was the chieftain of the village and, having no son meant he had no one to pass his title to. Close relatives were putting pressure on him to step down and let on

 

Chapter 12

Carrie was crouched next to Tallamichuk in the leafy canopy above the mercenary camp. From her vantage point she could clearly see the Trandoshan and the bandits. Kept prisoner in an energy cage was Mittsha, but what sickened her the most was the sight of a skinned Wookiee and his hide that had been stretched out to dry. From the colouring of the fur she guessed the skin belonged to someone from Feybacca?s tribe.

She signed to Tallamichuk. <How could they do this to their own people?>

<They aren?t,> came the simple reply. <There are several distinct races of Wookiee, as you already know, but I have never seen any like them before.>

<So they aren?t Xaczik?>

<No.>

This was getting weird. First that Dark Jedi and now this. She wished she could contact the temple on Coruscant, but her means of contacting them was destroyed with the ship. They waited for a signal from Feybacca and Chitwamlambek. There was a metallic flash from Chitwamlambek?s Ryyk blade. Tallamichuk spotted Feybacca?s flash and he flashed his own to confirm that they understood.

Tallamichuk dropped down on top of the Trandoshan and knocked him out cold with a heavy blow to the back of his skull. Carrie followed a moment later, her lightsabre activated and fought her way through to Mittsha. The smell of scorched fur reached her nostrils as she loped the right arm of a Wookiee that swung a Ryyk blade at her with her blue bladed lightsabre.

She hacked the control panel of the energy cage with her lightsabre. The energy flicked for a moment and then faded out, freeing Mittsha from his prison. ?Come on!? she yelled, tossing him his bowcaster. The young Wookiee caught it easily and roared his thanks to her.

Seeing that Mittsha was free, Chitwamlambek retreated to the rendezvous point in the lower level. Chitwamlambek had the urge to wipe out the entire mercenary camp, but they had achieved their objective and so reluctantly slipped away. Carrie knew they were being pursued when she and Mittsha caught up with Tallamichuk. The Trandoshan was draped over his shoulder.

Carrie felt something hit her in the shoulder. She reached out and pushed with the Force, smashing their pursuers into the thick trunk of a wroshyr tree. Tallamichuk led them down to the lower levels, moving with such speed that Carrie could hardly keep up.

She felt hot, sticky blood flow down her back, but ignored it. Once they?d shook them off their trail, Tallamichuk slowed down to a walk. Carrie really noticed the pain now and Mittsha let her lean on him for support. She passed out when they reached the rendezvous point.


***


When Carrie came round, it was dark. She didn?t know if it was because night had fallen or if it was because they were a level down in the forest.

The Trandoshan was bound to a tree. Feybacca was sat a distance away from the others. She learned later that the skinned Wookiee had been Feybacca?s brother and upon recognising the fur pattern, he?d lived up to his warrior caste and gone berserk, wiping out the entire camp.

Carrie found the strength to take some food and then went to sleep again.


***


It took only a day and a half for Wynnachibow to reach her village. The first Wookiee they met was her sister, Kayabcumku, who from her appearance was as much a warrior as her sister. Cumku looked basically the same as she had when she was younger apart from being bigger and more powerful than she?d been back then.

Wynnachibow?s return drew quite a crowd, mostly old friends. One of them went to get Chicchan, Wynnachibow?s father and still the chieftain of the village. He looked a lot older than she remembered, partly because the sadness of losing nearly all his family.

His once black fur was turning grey and was patchy with age, but he still had the same awe and power he?d had in his younger days. He studied his long lost daughter for a moment before crushing her in a bear hug. He felt thin to Wynnachibow but still strong.

After he released her, she introduced her son to her father and

 

Awesomeness, emimar! This is the first fanfic I've read that focuses on Wookiees, but I'm really loving it so far. Keep it up!

And I like your pic of Carrie, too. Very cool.

 

Oh thanks. I was begining to think that no one was reading this story.

 

I should be getting chapter 13 done for Monday.

 

Okay..okay...I lied about getting chapter 13 up today. I just need to put some finishing touches on it and then it will be ready...

 

CHAPTER 13


Chicchan lay dying. Across the room Tallamichuk, Mittsha and Feybacca kept Kayabcumku?s children amused by telling them stories, Mittsha acting as an interpreter for his father. Some were actual adventures they?d had, while others were legends or myths, stories based on truth but had become distorted as time passed, which was usual for such things.

Most of the stories were told by Tallamichuk and Feybacca, but his father let Mittsha tell them of his Rite of Passage. For his first story, Mittsha told it quite well and his father told him that a good warrior was also a good story teller, especially if he exaggerated a little. This made the older children and Feybacca laugh and Tallamichuk warned his son against telling stories that weren?t based on truth. These were usually badly told and the lie would come out in the end.

Chitwamlambek wondered what web-weaver fib his sister?s mate was spinning. Tallamichuk seemed to get on better with the children than Chitwamlambek did and he didn?t know why. Perhaps it was just because Tallamichuk had children of his own. Whatever it was, it was good that he was able to keep them occupied away from what was happening at the other end of the room.

Chitwamlambek turned back to Wynnachibow and slipped a comforting arm around her. Chicchan was talking to Wynnachibow now.

[After your mother and brother died, I thought that was the end, that I would have to give into pressure from Alkalyyk and make him chieftain. When you did your hyyytayyk alone, but didn?t come back, I thought I?d lost you but it made me realise I didn?t have to give in. Wynnachibow, I don?t know how to say this. I name you as my successor.]

[Father, please, name Mantoba - ]

[No, daughter. He still has a lot to learn. Only you are ready. You are stubborn, Wynnachibow and because of this I do not expect you to obey me, but for just this once do what I tell you. Only you are strong enough to lead us.]

Reluctantly, Wynnachibow agreed. [I guess I doomed myself to this the moment I killed the web-weaver.]

[You better be strong enough to be her mate, Chitwamlambek. She is going to need a strong mate to give her support and protection. See that she carries out my wishes. Be good to her. The journey you are about to undertake with her will be the hardest yet.]

Chitwamlambek rumbled that he understood and promised to see it through. Then Chicchan turned to his grandson.

[Mantoba, I hope you don?t think I am questioning your rrakkttorr when I said you weren?t ready. I have only just gotten to know of your existence and my only regret is that I didn?t get to know you sooner. Already I see much of your mother?s honour in you and I know that one day you will be ready to be chieftain. I only ask that you support and learn from her.]

Chicchan was losing his strength fast now.

[Father, save what strength you have left,] Kayabcumku said, but her father didn?t hear her. He had fallen asleep but he was still breathing, slowly and shallowly.

Mantoba turned away and joined Tallamichuk. He informed them that Chicchan was almost gone. The breaths were far apart now and each time he breathed, Wynnachibow expected it to be his last, but the last one never came.

She felt Chitwamlambek?s arm grow tighter around her, but the warmth of his body did little to comfort her. She just wanted it to end, but a stubborn spark of life still fought to hold on inside her father and she hoped that it was all a mistake, that he was going to live after all, but he kept fading.

The spark of life grew dimmer and then he took his last breath and breathed no more.


***


When news of Chicchan?s death reached Alkalyyk, he felt exhilarated. He visited them soon after.

[So it seems that I will be chieftain after all,] he gloated.

Tarkazbek rounded on his father.

[Chicchan named Wynnachibow his successor.]

[I can?t say that I?m not surprised. I will hold you prisoner here until you name me chieftain.]

[You don?t have the right to do that. When the people learn of what you

 

Nice story. I await the update.

 

CHAPTER 14

Jawar exited the Jedi Council Chamber. He had been given an assignment, go to the planet Kashyyyk and locate the missing Jedi Carrie Ros, or if failing that, at least determine what had happened to her. Jawar had known Carrie since she first came to the JedI Temple with Master Jowan and Chonwyyyak. Jowan had been a good friend to Jawar's deceased Master and so had gotten to know Carrie better than most.

Before heading to the docking pad for his ship, he stopped at Carrie's room to pick up items of clothing for her in case she needed them. In passing a table, he spotted a recent holo taken of her with Master Jowan and Chonwyyyak. For the first time, he noticed just how beautiful she was. She was tall, her height reaching Chonwyyyak's chest in the holo. He turned his attention away from the holo.

There was no point in staring at a holo when the real Carrie could be in trouble. It did serve one purpose; it made him anxious to see her again. Being a JedI didn't make him dead and he tried to hide what he felt for her from the other JedI, but they knew.

He chose some clothes for her and put them in his backpack. On an impulse, he took the holo as well.

***

Carrie recovered quickly from the infection, but it had slowed their progress down a bit. During that time, Chitwamlambek and Wynnachibow had decided to get married now, rather than wait. They could have another, more official ceremony later when they had freed the rest of their family.

Carrie decided that she could do with a bath after all the travelling and various other adventures she'd had. The human Xxandah had disappeared and it didn't take much of a genius to work out something unfortunate had happened to him. Carrie was staying in the house that had once belonged to Wynnachibow's father that now belonged to her.

She asked Wynnachibow where she could go to refresh herself and the Wookiee gave her directions. Unlike Chitwamlambek's hut, Wynnachibow's house did have some technological features, but it would still have been classed as primitive by more technologically advanced species. Carrie didn't hold such prejudges. She liked it, though she wished she had some way of contacting the Jedi Council.

It was when Tallamichuk and Mittsha came back from hunting for the feast after the wedding, that she had a surprise. They had come across Jawar and his freighter in the forest just outside the village. Jawar had showed them the Lightsabre and they guessed that he must be a friend of Carrie's.

After greeting Jawar, Carrie introduced him to the Wookiees. At that moment, Wynnachibow appeared and after Carrie explained to her who Jawar was, she invited him to dinner.

At dinner, Carrie noticed that Feybacca was absent. He had made friends with many of the berserkers. After the influence of Alkalyyk had been removed, all but his most loyal supporters had become more congenial. Those who still supported Alkalyyk had disappeared with him and it made the Wookiees a little uneasy, but it seemed unlikely that he would cause trouble for the time being.

Even so, with one adolescent, six children and six adult Wookiees, it was very noisy.

Jawar commented on it.

"You get used to it after a while," she replied.

Carrie had now changed into the clothes Jawar had brought. Carrie had explained the various relationships between the Wookiees earlier and of the forth coming wedding. Though Carrie liked the company of the Wookiees, she was glad that Jawar, one of her own kind, was finally there.

 

I am only up to chapter 7 but have enjoyed your story so far. Don't let the fact that people are not responding to your story, get ya down. Just keep going and keep up the good work!

 

Yeah, this is really good stuff. Not many people replied to mine either, but it's okay. I'm thoroughly enjoying this story-Wookiees are indeed awesome...

 

That last post went a bit funny.

 

That's better. Now the story should start getting a little more interesting. They're going where even Wookiee's dare not tread...

 

Woookieeees Woookieees I need more Wooooookieeeees!

Keep it up emimar!