SW Redshift Chronicles, Intelligence Brief #6: Gadnek Is AAR, Pt 2

Situation: 0600 hours

Once the team entered the jungle, the Tau Taus noticed it was quiet.  Too quiet.  Other than the sound buzzing insects, there were no indications of the wildlife normally present in such an environment.

The rescue party enters the jungle.

After travelling 3 kilometers (km) northwest, the team, discovered a cargo container in a clearing, along piles of animal bones strewn about the field.  After a careful search, the team determined the cargo container was airdropped, sometime within the past two weeks. 

Discovering the bone field.

All the bones were broken in several places and hollow.  Every bone examined were scarred with deep gouge marks, as if a carnivore gnawed on them and sucked out its marrow.

Situation: 0700 hours

Scouting ahead, Cad So Billes spotted a dozen, large red-skinned creatures hiding along the path the party was following.  The creatures, wearing animal skins and wielding simple weapons, appeared to be a deformed, possibly mutated version, of a Gunganoid race, like the Tau Taus. 

Avoiding a mutant ambush

Cad backed away from the mutant pack and briefed the rest of the team.  They spent the next hour navigating around the ambush site.

Situation: 0800 hours

After traveling 2 kms northeast the team discovered the remains of six battle droids. 

Destroyed battledroids

Every battle droid was bashed to pieces and their parts scattered over the jungle floor.   Sei'do Avari and Sian Squnn examined two droids that still had their heads intact.  Sei'do noticed the number "7/599" stenciled on both heads.  Cad recalled the battle droids they encountered during their escape from Bongolaan had the numbers "4/599" stenciled on their heads, which stood for 4th Cohort/599th Droid Infantry Legion (DIL).

They surmised then, the destroyed droids were part of the 7th Cohort/599 DIL, from Bongolaan.

Examing the battledroids

Sei'do and Sian extracted the memory chips of the two droids and installed them into Sei'do's data pad.   He played back the droid's memory and discovered the following details--

--The droids were part of a squad consisting of ten droids, led by a Bongolaanian/Imperial Reserve officer, from the 7/599th DIL.

--Their mission was to find Damathon Cohain, but no reason given as to why.

--They were activated at a small basecamp on the eastern tip of the island, less than 15 kms northeast of their current position. 

--The squad found Damathon and four crewmen of the Ivory Bantha less than three days ago.  Two of the crewmen were killed by the battledroids in the encounter.

--Two days ago, while on their way back to the base camp, the squad was attacked and overrun by the mutants. 

--The last two crewmen from Damathon's ship were killed--and devoured--by the pack of mutants.

The team decided to head towards the basecamp to see if they could pick up the survivors trail.

After travelling another kilometer, the party was startled by the sound of blaster fire echoing through the jungle...

To be continued in Intelligence Brief #7: Gadnek Is AAR, Pt 3.