“This seems like a bad idea, big guy. Just let him go.”

Swaindrix scowled even harder but otherwise ignored Mako’s suggestion.

“It’s not like he did any real damage.” She knew she risked an explosion of temper, and that’s exactly what she was aiming for. She knew her husband, and knew that he wouldn’t be able think straight until he’d destroyed something. Probably a lot of somethings. “All he did was--”

She had about an eyeblink of warning before he wheeled on her. “He betrayed the crew, he put the ship in danger, he made me look like a fool!” He punctuated each of these transgressions by throwing a different piece of furniture against a wall. “He risked our reputation!” An innocent couch died. “He cost us a kark-load of money!” A dresser followed it, Swaindrix having run out of living room to destroy.

Luckily, Mako knew he was winding up to the big finish, and then the destruction would stop. “And he put you and the baby in danger!” Swaindrix picked up the bed, a king-sized bed. He tossed it out the window, following it up with a rocket blast that turned it into a brief fireball. That’s a new one, she thought to herself. The blast left nothing but the charred frame surrounded by bits of glass to fall the hundreds of meters to the ground.

That was the finale. He stood looking out the now-shattered window, his breath heaving as if he’d just run a hundred klicks in full armor. He was ready to listen and, more importantly, think again. “Drix, stop. He’s one ugly, stupid Houk, and he’s not worth it.”

“Oh, he’s worth more than that,” the hunter retorted. “That and much more. There’s two reasons I can’t let this go, Mako. One, he put you and the baby in danger. There is no forgiving or forgetting that. Remember why we killed the Jedi? And the Chancellor?”

She nodded. She knew exactly where this was going. “To send a message: That bounty hunting is a job, and nobody makes it personal without consequences.”

He drew up short and thought for a second. “I was gonna say ‘don’t kark with us’ but I like that better.” He was listening for sirens or other sounds of police response to his rampage.

“Don’t worry...I pre-bribed the hotel manager. This was a ‘construction accident.’ Not sure how that’ll explain the rocket, but that’s his problem now.” Mako smiled at that last.

“Am I really that predictable?”

“Only when somebody kriffs you off that badly.”

“Mako...if I ever hurt you…”

“If I thought that was even possible, I wouldn’t have come with you.”

He moved in and kissed his wife passionately, knowing what was beneath her words: she knew he never would. She would always be with him. The kiss over, he stepped back and thought. “Awright...so where do we go from here?”

“Well, we need to get the bastard before he has time to set another trap, assuming he hasn’t already.”

“Set a trap? He’s too stupid for that.”

Mako put her hands on her hips and glared at him. “Where were we an hour ago?”

The hunter scowled. “Walking right into Skadge’s trap.”

“Right. And remember when you hooked up with him on Belsavis? What was he doing?”

“Looking for the same mark as me.”

“And who got to the girl first?”

“He did.”

“And whose plan did you use to catch the mark?”

“His.”

“And how did get on the ship?”

“He talked me into it.”

“And did what he said make sense after you thought about it?”

“No, but it was too late...wait, what are you saying?”

“If he was really as stupid as we all thought he was, how did he get the drop on us? And how did he get the rap-sheet that got him locked up on Belsavis. They don’t put stupid people on Belsavis. A stupid brute like we thought he was could be locked up in a local constable’s drunk tank. He’s been playing us, Drix. He’s been playing everyone.”

“Okay...so what’s he after? Where’s he going? And how do we take him down?”

“Gotta answer those first two before we can take on the last one.”

“You’re right.” He noticed a look on her face. One she only got when she was multitasking, doing something with her implant, and just found out something unpleasant. “What?”

“I just re-ran all the ship’s communications for the last year. I ran a few more filters and transforms…” She saw the look of total incomprehension on his face. “...anyway, I found some stuff I hadn’t found before. I’m guessing it’s to and from Skadge, but…” She trailed off.

“But what?”

“I can’t decrypt it. There’s such elegance in this encryption, and yet it’s more complex than anything I’ve ever seen. There’s a missing piece, too. This makes that SIS datapad look like a child’s toy.”

“So either we’re dealing with a genius Houk sadist, or he had help.”

“He’s clearly a lot smarter than we gave him credit for, but I’m guessing the latter.”

Swaindrix stopped scowling quite as much, then cracked a smirk, then started laughing.

Mako glared. “What’s so funny?”

“Gault. All that stuff he thought he was scamming Skadge out of...I’ll bet it’s either gone or worthless.”

She refused to crack a smile at first, but her husband’s laughter was rare...and contagious. She couldn’t help joining in until Gault’s head appeared around the corner. “What’s up?”

They both started laughing harder, and neither could answer him for a long time.

Then they called Torian, Blizz, and Treek into the room and started explaining and planning.

Jasin stepped into the Jedi Council chambers, hands folded behind his back. It had taken a long time for him to make a decision, but once he had it made total sense and he no longer felt any conflict. Satele Shan looked up and smiled at him.

"Master Jasin," she said. "It's good to see you. I trust your holiday has done you well?"

Jasin nodded. "Yes, Master Satele, it has. I've come to a very important decision."

He walked farther into the chamber until he was standing just steps from the large, round table in the center of the room. He plowed on, afraid he'd lose his nerve if he didn't.

"I still don't know what I am," he said. "Jedi Knight, soldier, former prince of the Phaedans...all of this and more. I'm not sure which one I am, but I know who I am, and that's more important."

She nodded for him to continue.

"I am Jasin," he said. "I am a man who cannot stand back and watch while innocent people are hurt and while the people he loves and trusts fight for them. I can't sit back and let others do the fighting." He continued, "I'm not the same Jedi I was when I came to Tython as a Padawan. I'll never be that Jedi again. I don't even know if I'll ever be a proper Jedi again. But here's one thing I do know: I have to go out there and fight and protect the innocent. As long as there's a war going on, I can't in good conscience sit back and try to make a decision on my philosophical standing."

Satele nodded. "Good. I understand completely."

"And I thank you for that. As of today, I am taking command of a strike team of Jedi and Republic soldiers. I don't know if we'll even return to Tython before the war is over, but one thing is for sure: I won't stop fighting until the last oppression on this galaxy has been defeated." He bowed. "Thank you for your time, Master."

He turned and walked out of the Council chamber, feeling better than he had in a long time. He mounted the ramp to his Defender and looked up at his crew.

"Signal our allies," he said. "We're moving out, and we're going to hit the Empire where it hurts."

@Yoshi: awww, I'm glad Akaavi finally got some nicer looking armor!! Also, loved the competition with Havoc.....I have to agree with Aric about the sleeping arrangements later though!

@alaurin, Gault’s pastime is a scream! The Super Spacer series (even if it does have trademarking woes) is fantastic.

@alaurin, oh, Corso must feel awful watching from the sidelines. Seems to me he wouldn't be happy at being unable to help or fix something.

As for Ryessa/Wynston: I'm glad she got some closure. He's lucky Quinn was able to stop her from killing him. I loved that last conversation!! You did a great job portraying Wynston with a broken nose.

Alaurin: Wow, even Gault can’t figure out a way to make money off Skadge. Both halves were fun, the girls trying to figure out why Gault was being a hermit, and Gault racking his brain for a catchy name that isn’t already copyrighted. Too bad The Thing was taken.

Alaurin: Good to see both Mallay and Bella taking those first steps. They both have a long road ahead, but good people all around for support.

@Alaurin: Mando Man? HAHAHAHAH! and then this

Looks like Gault is gonna be working on that for a loooong time!

 

Nice to see the Lauren girls making the first steps to get back to semi-normal again. Interested to see the journey ahead for them.

As for your piece on Drokk.....I think I laughed all the way through it!!! I honestly can't pick a favorite part, it was all good!! Also, I really don't want to know where Treek's berries come from.....

@frauzet: That first step for the Lauren girls wasn't easy, but it was time. I'm glad you are liking them!

@Adwynyth: Skadge.....smart....nope, just can't picture it. He had to have had help!

@alaurin, Glad to see each of the girls taking those first steps toward healing and recognizing that certain methods are better than others. It's lucky for both that they have supportive crews. Especially Mallay. Less forgiving people would probably be keen to cash in on a commander's mistakes.

"Oh you sneaky bastard!" Mallay muttered as she began furiously typing on her keyboard, "I'll teach you to mess with a magic user!!"

They had just left Balmorra, acquiring Tanno Vik as their new explosives specialist. Mallay was in her quarters playing the newest MMORPG, Fantasy Kingdoms of War. She told her squad she was reading and didn't want to be disturbed, not ready to admit them that she was an avid gamer. Bella used to tease her a little about her love of gaming and graphic novels when they were kids, saying it was a little nerdy.

It was bonus points weekend for her favorite PvP competition, Land’s Bounty and she was getting frustrated with the teams she kept getting put in. No one was working to win really, they were just padding their kill counts. She kept dropping subtle hints them that this was supposed to be a competition to gather resources for your kingdom and keep the base safe......not a free for all kill fest. Unfortunately, she was ignored. I really wish I had the time to commit to joining a guild, she thought, then I wouldn't be stuck with idiots in these competitions! She figured she'd do what she could to gather on her own and had been doing quite well until some sneaky Rogue ganked her.

"Dammit, he's a Shadow Shifter," she realized when he cloaked out of her ice block, "no matter. I can still fry him." She grinned as she began one of her favorite fire spell sequences, "aaaannnddd.....face....is....melted!" She gave a triumphant laugh as she use the giggle emote at the now dead Rogue and finally began to gather the resources they’d been competing over.

***

"Oh, you little....." Aric growled, hearing the Mage laugh at him as he waited to resurrect. "Your a** is mine as soon as I revive!"

He managed to get a res and get over to her as she was about to gather the last resource from that area. As soon as he was close enough, he shadow stepped behind her and hit the stun key.

“Now who’s laughing,” he chuckled as he went to grab the last resource. Unfortunately, his stun didn’t last long enough and just before he could reach the node, he found himself frozen. “she’s a persistent one, I’ll give her that.” he growled as he began furiously typing. He tried to cloak out of her ice block again, but she was ready and threw a fire DoT on him, making him unable to stealth for a moment. That was enough for her to blast him with a barrage of fire spells and once again, he found himself dead and her laughing at him.

“Stupid Mages!” he muttered.

"What's going on?" Dorne asked as she came into the galley where he was playing. She peaked at his computer, "Is that Fantasy Kingdoms of War?"

"Yeah," Aric admitted, a little embarrassed at being caught playing. He wasn't usually the gamer type, but he saw the ads for the latest MMORPG and decided to give it a go, getting hooked immediately.

“I love that game!” Elara admitted, “I’ve been playing since it came out!”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I usually play in the med bay while you all think I’m doing inventory,” she smiled shyly, “I thought you might make fun of me.”

Aric laughed, “I felt the same way. I usually play in here when everyone else is busy or in the weapons closet. I started playing shortly after it came out, but this is my first MMORPG.”

“I’ve played a few,” Dorne told him, “so what were you in here growling about?”

“This Mage is being a pain in the a**!” Aric told her, pointing to his screen, “We’ve been competing for the same resources for the past five minutes and she’s been kicking the crap out of me. I normally don’t have problems killing that class, but she’s good!”

“Ooo, she’s an Elven Mage,” Elara said, “They’re pretty powerful, and can break out of stuns easier. However, they’re really squishy, especially the fire ones.”

“She’s definitely fire,” Aric nodded, “and my stuns haven’t been lasting as long on her. I just started PvPing though, so maybe I just need a little more practice but she's really annoying the hell out of me!”

“I’ve seen a lot of people complaining on the forums that Mages are overpowered. Hey, I’ll grab my laptop and join you.” Elara suggested, “I’m a healer!”

“That’d be great!” he grinned as Dorne left.

“What’s your name?” Aric asked as soon as she got back and logged in.

“Nightingale,” she replied and accepted the group invite.

Aric queued them and a moment later, they got in. He checked the name list and spotted her on the opposing team, “There she is…..Firebelle.”

****

“Hmmm, someone’s a glutton for punishment,” Mallay smirked as she was once again stunned by Shadowkiller, “That’s ok, I have no problem melting his face some more!” She giggled as she began her attack, then realized he wasn’t alone.

“Oh, someone found a friend…..that’s a naughty boy bringing a pocket healer with him.” Mallay grinned, “No matter, I can fry healers too…..oh damn,” she realized as she was stunned with a sleeping spell, “she’s a Siren Priestess…..pain in my a** little singing wench!” She saw the Siren start to heal Shadowkiller when she broke out of the sleep spell. She quickly put a silencing spell on the healer and ice blocked the Rogue. As soon as the healer burned her trinket to break the silence, Mallay turned her into a tree.

“Now that his healer’s out of the way….let the face melting begin!” Mallay quickly nuked the Rogue before his healer could break out of the morph spell. “These nodes are mine!”

****

“She’s really good!” Elara shook her head as Firebelle killed Aric and turned her focus on Elara. “She was just waiting for me to pop my trinket. Sorry, Aric, I’m not that great at PvP really.”

“Let’s keep trying…..she’s really starting to piss me off!” he growled.

They were working on their second attempt to kill Firebelle when Tanno walked in, “Whacha doing in here?” he asked, “Oh, is that Fantasy Kingdoms of War?”

“You play?” Elara asked.

“Hell yeah!” the big Weequay grinned, “I’m a Demon Warrior! So what’s going on?”

“This damned Elven Mage is really pissing me off!” Aric growled as FIrebelle once again was laughing at his corpse.

"She's a cheeky little tart, isn't she?!" Elara snorted, glaring at the little Mage that was now giggling at her corpse, "She needs to go down....badly!"

“Huh,” Tanno shrugged, “Dorne I could picture gaming, but not you, Jorgan.”

“It’s my first game,” Aric admitted, “and normally magic users don’t give me too much trouble, but this one’s good.”

Tanno looked at Aric’s screen, “Oooo, a Shadow Shifter Rogue…..nice! Yeah, Elven Mages can be tough, especially the fire ones. I think they’re getting nerfed in the next patch.” Tanno admitted as he watched Firebelle take them out again, blowing a kiss at Aric’s corpse, “Oh, she’s just messing with you now! The trick is that you need resistance trinkets with those because of their strong stuns and crowd controls. Make them waste all of those cooldowns and go in for the kill. Mages are squishy…..especially Elves, they have a reduced armor rating.” Tanno explained, “Hey, let me grab my laptop and we can knock the snot out of this little brat.”

A few minutes later, Tanno came back in with his laptop and Aric gave a low whistle, “Wow, that’s some machine there, Vik!”

“I got a buddy on Nar Shaddaa that makes these babies,” Tanno told them, “Top of the line gaming machine! Toss me an invite, Strangelove.”

“Strangelove?!” Elara giggled.

“Yeah, the chicks dig it!” he chuckled as he accepted his invite. “Now, lets go show Firebelle what happens when she messes with Havoc Squad!”

“Here, here!” Elara agreed, "Time to show that cocky little tart who she messed with!"

“I’m gonna enjoy this!” Aric grinned as he queued them up. Luck was with them and Firebelle was on the opposing team again, “Let me go in first….it's personal now!”

“You got it, boss.” Tanno agreed.

****

“Hey, my new stalker is back,” Mallay giggled, “I guess he and his pocket healer didn’t get fried enough last time.” Mallay quickly morphed the Priestess and went to work face melting the Rogue when they surprised her with a new friend. “I’m so screwed,” she sighed when she saw the geared out Warrior. “Those bastards…..ganging up on an innocent little Mage….so mean!” she snorted, as the Rogue delivered the killing blow, “Oh, and look at that turd…..dancing on my corpse!”

Mallay figured she should probably take a break now that she had three of them teaming up on her. She logged off when that round of the competition was over, having been killed several times by Shadowkiller and company. She left her quarters to get a snack from the galley and was a little shocked to see Aric, Elara, and Tanno all sitting at the table together.

“What are you three up to?!” She smirked.

“Playing Fantasy Kingdoms of War!” Tanno grinned.

“Really?” Mallay asked, walking over to the table, “I didn’t know you guys played.”

“You play?!” Aric choked.

“Well, yeah,” Mallay admitted, not so embarrassed now, “I love MMORPGs! In fact, that was what I was doing in my quarters. I thought you all might make fun of me, so I usually play in there.”

“Aric and I felt the same way,” Elara giggled.

“Stars, I wish I would’ve known that,” Mallay sighed, “I was just doing Land’s Bounty…..its the bonus competition this weekend, and I kept getting ganked by this stupid Rogue. I think I wasted him three times before that sneaky bastard got himself a pocket healer!”

Aric and Elara looked at each other as Tanno started snickering, “Uh…..then what happened?”

“HAH!” Mallay laughed, “I melted both their faces! Unfortunately, they found another friend, some decked out Warrior, and I didn’t come out so well that time. They repeatedly kicked the crap out of me for the rest of that round. Can you believe that jerk danced on my corpse every time they killed me?!”

“Hey boss,” Tanno asked, a wicked grin on his face, “What do you play?”

“I’m an Elven Fire Mage…..Firebelle!” Mallay told them, then she noticed Aric’s screen and the name above his character, “Shadowkiller?! That was you guys?!!!”

“I’m afraid so,” Elara nodded sheepishly as her CO dissolved into a fit of laughter.

“Stars, Aric,” Mallay laughed, wiping tears from her eyes, “You really suck! You gotta learn to play!”

“Hey,” Aric growled, “I’m not that bad.”

“Really?!” Mallay snorted, “It took three of you to finally take me down!”

“Eh, Jorgan’s a noob and Dorne doesn’t PvP much,” Tanno explained, “So you gotta cut them a little slack. You wouldn’t have killed me that easily.”

“Probably not, but it would have been a good fight!,” Mallay admitted, then turned to Aric, “Now you…...for starters, you’re a Rogue,” Mallay told him, “Your best attacks are from behind your target…..you needed to be ready to blind me as soon as I broke your first stun so you could keep getting me from behind.”

“Is that your way of telling me you like it from behind?” Aric teased, a wicked gleam in those laser green eyes.

“Stars you are such a turd sometimes,” Mallay muttered, blushing as that image came into her head. She was certain that would be appearing in the naughty dreams she was having about her XO. She was beginning to wonder if Bella was right about Aric being attracted to her. Maybe I should try flirting one of these days, she thought, I’ll talk to Bella about it when we’re docked at Carrick later.

“Hey, we got four here….you guys want to do a dungeon?” Elara suggested, interrupting Mallay’s thoughts.

“I’m in!” Aric nodded.

“Definitely!” Tanno agreed.

“Hell yeah!” Mallay grinned, “Let me grab my laptop!”

I figure there must be gaming in the Star Wars galaxy.....come on, there just has to be. Fantasy Kingdoms of War is completely made up! I've only played SWTOR and WOW, so hopefully I didn't infringe on anything.

Gelt was never one for forcing slaves to fight for profit. If he thought on it, he didn’t wish to force slaves to fight for any reason, not even their lives. It wasn’t worth it to him. Of course, he was often alone with such thoughts as he watched these shows. Still, he came when he wanted and interfered as he wished. Very few had enough sway to challenge a Darth taking a beaten slave for whatever his purposes were. Said purposes were often questioned and accompanied by lewd rumors of sexual servitude, but he was no deviant.

Today’s fight was, again, between some captured Jedi and some rising Sith Apprentice. He wondered if the Apprentice thought himself above the captured Jedi. He likely did, but he, too, was a slave. He was a slave to his master, a slave to the Emperor, and a slave to the Force. A slave was a slave was a slave. The lights in the arena flickered brighter as the lights over the crowd dimmed. Gelt would bother with semantics later, the fight was starting.

And there she was, that gorgeous white-haired Jedi who had nearly driven her saber through his chest when they first met. It was love at first sight. She was calmer now, but he would recognize the fire in her presence anywhere. The announcer shouted who they were: Jedi Slave Twelve and Apprentice Yerni and the crowd went wild. She smiled calmly and mouthed something. He knew what it was. It was her name. Narithia.

When the signal was given, the Sith charged first. They always did. But the Jedi, no, Narithia, stayed calm. She drew the crummy vibrosword that always shorted out at the right moments and worked it as if it were a top of the line model. He enjoyed watching her graceful flips, her calm and sure attacks and deflections. She either wasn’t allowed much Force use or had been drugged in some way, but, when she could manipulate the Force, she was as calm and sure as she had always been. She was a beacon of light and serenity and he found himself drawn further into her warmth.

When the Apprentice had all but lost the fight, Narithia’s sword shorted out. That’s how it went. She would be on the verge of victory only to be struck down because of a “malfunction.” Gelt hated how rigged everything was. Still, he put his credits on her. He believed in her ability to overcome this madness.

Gelt watched her twirl her useless blade as she waited for the final blow to come. For the briefest of moments he swore she looked over at him. A flicker of eyes perhaps, or just his imagination. Perhaps she had noticed him sitting in the very first row. Perhaps she had felt his staring or, oddly enough, his belief that she would squash this peon. She didn’t disappoint him. As the long awaited final blow came and the crowd waited with baited breath and betting slips ready to be sent for collection, Narithia was nothing if not calm. Then the ground quaked. The Apprentice stumbled in his charge and, when he had finally regained his footing, he found himself under a rather large boulder of metal and rock. The crowd was stunned into silence for all but a moment then erupted in rage filled shouts and thrown cups and bottles. Gelt laughed. He had likely bankrupted the entire arena, but the credits mattered little to him.

After the raging crowds had left and started a minor riot that was squashed as thoroughly as Yerni, Gelt went under the arena to the slave holding cells. He found her meditating in the very last cell.

“I remember you,” she said softly as he approached, “from the crowd.”

He faced the cell and was surprised to find her eyes focused on him. Sharp, calculating, and a most pleasing shade of aquamarine studied him without betraying a thought. He arched a brow, but stayed silent.

“Have you come to kill me?”

He blinked hard. In moments like these, the calmness of Jedi disturbed him. Any normal creature feared death. Jedi were not normal creatures.

“Who is your owner?” he asked.

“He calls himself Ravage,” she replied, still staring at him.

Of course it was Ravage.

“Are you interested in her, Occulus?” Ravage asked from the doorway.

It was always Ravage.

Gelt sighed through his nose. “What do you want, Ravage?”

“Zash, of course.”

“Of course.” He should have known Ravage was up to something.

Ravage barked a laugh. “That was easy.”

Gelt smirked. Of course it was easy. Azasha, as he called her, had been a thorn in his side. She was constantly pushing herself bodily against him, making lewd remarks, and being a right pain. He wondered if Zash and Ashara had blended annoying personalities in order to exact revenge upon him. It didn’t matter, she would be Ravage’s soon and he would have this white-haired wonder in his leagues.

“Azasha is outside the arena waiting. Tell her of our deal. If she puts up a fuss, well, I don’t need to tell you how to deal with what is yours,” Gelt said, side-eyeing Ravage.

“I wonder if she still enjoys shock collars,” Ravage murmured a little too loudly as he left to collect his prize.

Gelt shuddered. He didn’t need to hear that. Any of that. Ever.

“And now I am yours. I will fight who you say,” Narithia said softly.

Gelt turned his attentions back to her and shook his head. “No. No more pit fighting. You are to accompany me home. I will discuss your duties when we arrive.”

Her calm exterior cracked just enough to allow fear and disbelief through. It pleased him to know that even this Jedi, this beacon of all things serene could become unnerved at the prospect of him bringing her home. It did bother him a tad to think of the horrid thoughts that might be running through that white-topped head of hers. He would deal with it later. For now, he had a Jedi to take home and acclimate to life in the Empire.

Merok had been spending a lot of time in the Cartel Bazaar lately; even though the Bounty Acquisition Corporation had left weeks ago, the Bazaar was still a great place to find information for jobs and meet with his contacts; even on the Imperial Fleet it was technically a neutral business.

Merok glanced around the Bazaar. A pair of Mandalorians, one clad in white-and-brown and one clad in orange-and-purple, walked in and moved over to the Hutt in the back left corner of the room. A Kubaz janitor swept scraps of flimsi and cans out from under a table. Two Imperial Intelligence operatives conversed quietly in a corner with a droid. That made Merok perk up. The Intelligence agents might well be looking for him.

He licked his lips, activating a comlink hidden between his teeth and lower lip.

"Kaliyo, be ready to move," he said.

"Aww, but I was...just getting...started," she complained. Most of her words were muffled and Merok figured she was busy kissing Pierce. "Just a...few more...minutes?"

Merok scowled at no one. "Kaliyo, I think I was just made. Be ready to move."

"Fine," she grumbled.

Merok glanced up in the rafters. The Cartel sniper, a security guard who kept order and neutrality, already had his weapon cautiously trained on the two Intelligence agents. Merok stood, left a few credit chips on the table, and left the cantina.

He found Kaliyo and Pierce hiding behind the GTN terminal, definitely kissing. He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Pierce. The Imperial looked ready to protest.

"I need you to cover for me, Pierce," Merok said. "Intercept those two Intelligence agents."

He reluctantly nodded. "All right."

Kaliyo blew him a kiss before Merok dragged her away, out of the Bazaar.

I love the Cartel Bazaar. Best thing they ever did, adding a new room to the fleet.

@Alaurin - Mando man? Please, Torian is a boy I'd have liked Gault better as the LI as well, even if I don't like how he joins the crew. As for Bella/Mallay - I'm glad to see them moving forward, even if Bella's got to learn how to handle her tequila a bit better I'm glad that Mallay has that support structure too - one of the things I really liked about the trooper story was the very strong sense of team the companions have (other than Vik, I guess) - they're people you could see gelling as a squad and always being there for each other, even if they don't always enjoy each others' quirks.

@Yoshi:

It was a mid-sized, gangly creature with flabby skin and greenish-tan fur, six legs, and an acidic-looking slobber coming from the corners of its mouth. Its intelligent yellow eyes caught sight of her and it perked up.

Dha gave her my last landlord?

Dankin knows the way to Akaavi's heart, I approve. As does Akaavi

@marissalf: I see you've moved on when it comes to making your characters sad! I'm really enjoying your Melodai stories though, even if *cough*

@frauzet: Possibly the first time Skadge has ever been innocent of doing something, ever?

@bright: I really really enjoyed your stories but will now be spending several hours reading all of your older Wynston stories too. I am holding you personally responsible for anything else I am unable to do during that time.

Unrelated

Not a subtlety rogue, though. I made it clear early on that if he specced subtlety we didn't have a future together. Subtlety rogues are jerks!

YES! /signed ex-ret pally/disc priest/resto shaman pvper

@DarthSillyMonkey: So how's Drokk enjoying the Mako doghouse? I was strangely reminded of Meet the Parents, I guess because everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Hilariously, tragically wrong

@Adwynyth: The sad but true tale of Skadge, Bane of Bounty Hunters everywhere

@Irish: Rigged pit-fighting sounds about right. I also continue to enjoy the descriptions of Azasha.

The body twitched twice more before it toppled over on its side. A cerebral hemorrhage was difficult to accomplish so cleanly, but my practice on the Evocii had proven quite useful. I was unsure if I would be able to replicate the feat, but it was possible I would not have to. Eyes gleaming with pride, I turned to my rival, the one who had dared compare her prowess to my own.

“This isn’t fair!” Her cheeks were nearly the same shade as her hair, now. “You cheated! Somehow, you cheated!”

I wagged a finger in her face. “Now, now, Thana. I know you are frustrated, but it does you no credit to throw false accusations at me. Perhaps you might just admit – once and for all – that I am more adept at this than you are.”

She screamed loudly in frustration and focused on her target, a middle-aged human with odd facial markings. If she failed to perform the same exacting procedure that I just had, her defeat would be complete.

I watched with growing joy as I sensed the strain it was putting on her to attempt to manipulate the blood vessels within the man’s head. Her control of the Force was not nearly as refined as my own, leaving her sweating and shaking from the effort. After a few minutes, her best efforts were proven fruitless. The prisoner lurched forward, groaning as blood spilled from his nose, mouth and ears. The other prisoners watched in horror as his body shut down from the strain Thana had put it under.

Thana was on her knees, clearly worn out from her failed attempt. As the droids dragged the corpse away to join the others, I felt proud and could not help but smile, knowing I had once again demonstrated my superior grasp of the Force. Baras might not appreciate my skills, but I was sure Gravus did.

I hurled the controller across the room, towards the view screen. "This isn't fair, T7, Rusk has to be cheating somehow. His dual-cannon wielding rogue has killed my knight eighteen times in a row."

Rush shook his head. "I'm sorry, Sir, but it's not cheating. I've calculated the probabilities of every outcome in the combat scenario, and my victory is the result 99.42% of the time. Perhaps some further balancing is required."

T7 released a blat, but said nothing else.

I shook my head. "I don't understand, why would you have classes that are so unbalanced? My character can't hope to compete, and I'm supposed to be the hero of the story."

T7's dome rotated around a few times, approximating a 'no.' He beeped once, something I didn't catch, then continued. "Jedi = playing class that can heal to full // T7 must balance around that + customer expectations of dual-wielding rogue."

I pushed myself up from the chair and stabbed a finger at what passed for his eyes. "I've had enough of this, I'm not playing any game where the combat is unbalanced, and I'm not going to give you approval to use my likeness." I began to walk towards the door.

"T7 = including proper Jedi robes next patch // Robes + new baby rancor pet = good for Jedi."

I stopped for a moment. "Baby rancor pet?" Just when I thought I was out, T7 pulls me back in.. I sighed. "Fine. I'll keep playing until I beat Rusk, at least."

The Chagrian seemed to be amused. "Unlikely, Sir. I estimate your chances for success at 0.13%."

Thorns leaned seemingly casual against the frame of the computer as Smilo was typing away at the console. His eyes never left the corridor behind them for long. He paid the console no mind, knowing that the Cipher was the one best suited to deal with it. Ru was pacing in front of the ray shield that blocked their way. The Inquisitor seemed nervous. Thorns suspected he was eager to meet the next challenge. Fighting Colicoids with plasma canon shots and destroying droids probably had done little to sate the Sith’s usual bloodthirst. Ciner eyed the ray shield separating them from an identical corridor and console on the other side.

“How long?” the Sith Warrior inquired.

“Shouldn’t take long. A few more commands. This isn’t designed to delay us.” Smilo answered, his attention still focused on his typing.

“Good, because our rivals just turned up.”

All eyes except the Cipher’s looked through the separating shield, to see a Republic team arriving. They seemed to have reached the checkpoint without any problems.

“I just might have found a possible way to play this safe.” A slight smile played on the Cipher Agent’s lips.

“Meaning?” Ciner demanded.

“Just sliced into the security system. No problem to activate the turrets on the other side.”

“Care to repeat that? You want to do what?” Thorns asked appalled. “If somebody had told me, this was a competition for cheating, I’d have sent Gault in my stead.”

“Keep calm. I am only stating the options here. The enemy is on the other side.” Smilo levelly replied.

“What are the chances of being detected? I wouldn’t want to get disqualified.” Ciner asked.

“Kill them and open this damned shield!” the Inquisitor hissed impatiently.

“You really want to do this?” Thorns was left in disbelief.

“Stop it right there!” Ciner rounded on him. “You accepted a contract Hunter. A contract not to compete in but to win this damned contest. And win this contest we will! If I knew we had to fight them face-to-face, I might be inclined to go for a fair fight, which might even be challenging. But I do not know the design of the contest. We will probably win regardless of those Pubs. But I don’t bet on probably when the course of the war is at stake. Probably isn’t good enough for Malgus.” He turned to the console. “I am waiting for an answer, Smilo.”

“I could tamper with the recordings making it appear as if we were here before or after them, both options are not optimal. And I can’t exclude that somebody might have noticed us entering.”

“But there is another option!” Ciner grinned.

“I’ll make it appear as if they tried to cheat and accidentally triggered the wrong turrets.”

“Do it!”

Thorns slammed the wall, hard. It hurt his hand despite the gloves but it didn’t help otherwise. He heard the turret fire. Out of the corner of his eye he saw their rivals drop. The shield blocking their progress vanished. He shook his hand.

Ciner looked him in the eye. “Are we ok to proceed?” Their other two allies had already exited the corridor, waiting for them to follow.

Thorns sighed. “Yes! Let’s win this damned contest. I’ll nurse my conscience later.”

Voslic stepped out of the stateroom and into the crew common area. He stretched and looked at his chrono. “0500 ship’s time. Good time to start my day.” He thought to himself as he put his arms over his head and stretched. He was about to head to the cargo space where they had setup a make-shift gym when he noticed Tanno kneeling in the hatch to the armory.

“This can’t be good.” He decided he better have a look. He crept across the common area until he was behind Tanno. He leaned against the bulkhead and watched the Weequay “work”. Voslic watched as Tanno pulled a wire from a conduit and spliced the wire into the metal crated deck in the armory. Voslic shook his head.

“What are you up to Tanno?”

The Weequay jumped to his feet and spun to face Voslic. “Oh, just running a cable that the X.O. wanted for a..comm uh relay here in the armory. Yes sir, that’s it. Just a comm relay. If you’ll excuse me sir.”

Voslic chuckled as he watched Tanno retreat hurriedly back into the crew compartment. He noticed Elara come out of the stateroom and moved across to join her. He bent and kissed her forehead then bent further and kissed the top of her stomach.

“Would you stop that.” Elara said with a smile.

“No.” Voslic replied simply.

“OH BLOOD OF THE MARTYS AND SAINTS!” A voice yelled from the crew quarters, startling Voslic and Elara. A loud crash came from crew quarters. Voslic spun around looking at the hatch. Elara stepped cautiously up next to him. Both were now staring wide-eyed at the hatch.

“HOLY NERF ****!” A now panicked voice cried followed by another loud crash.

“Maybe we should go have a look?” Elara asked worriedly.

“OH KARKING HELL!” And another thump.

Aric appeared from the conference room and headed toward the armory. He was holding Tanno’s field phone in one hand and had a large glass cage tucked under the other arm. “Morning Skipper, morning Elara.” He sounded awful chipper. “Comm relay my fuzzy butt.” He muttered.

Voslic noticed Yuun peering at the hatch. He then chuckled in his Gand like way. “Vik 2, Jorgen 1.” He chuckled again and went back to his watch on the bridge.

“AAARRRGGGHHH!” Thud.

Voslic put his arm around Elara and steered her toward the cargo hold. “Looks like Aric learned how to ‘relax’.”

Elara sighed. “Stars, this is going to be a long trip.”

The sniper’s jaw clenched as she felt yet another insect take a chunk out of her thigh. She was dressed in a ghillie suit she had made. She had insured the inner shell had elastic bindings at the wrists, waist and ankles. It didn’t matter. No matter how hard she had tried, the little bastards managed to get inside and ravage her skin. Her jaw clenched again as another bit her in the ***. “That one’s not so little.”

Kaylio’s voice came over the personal comm link. “Agent, tell me why we’re here on Hutta again?”

Hardly moving a muscle Almaly answered. “Because I don’t like loose ends.”

“OK, I get that. What did this loose end ever do to you?”

Amaly scanned the target zone again. “He knows who I’m not. And I’m not trusting him to keep his mouth shut.”

“What? You don’t think you paid the guy enough to keep quiet?”

Tiring of the questions and hoping to shock her spotter into silence Amaly answered back. “Oh I paid him well enough. I screwed him senseless.”

“Oooo, I knew you were a bad girl. So could I get the same deal for my silence? Huh agent? Please?”

Almaly was the one shocked and she broke the first rule of sniping as her head jerked in Kaylio’s direction. “What?”

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’ve thought about it. Haven’t you? Heads up. Movement. Two fifty to our one o’clock.”

Almaly quickly moved her head back behind the scope. At the edge of the clearing she had chosen for her ambush, first one, then two more figures appeared. They were trying to move tactically but failing miserably. They scanned the clearing then signaled back into the brush. Her target moved into the clearing.

“Dhenno Rey?” Kaylio’s voice came over the comms. “Now I know you’re a bad girl. Although I thought your standards were a bit higher.”

Almaly focused on her target. “I was on mission.” She sighted her rifle on the man’s chest. “He could have blown my cover.” She curled her finger around the trigger and watched the man’s chest explode.

“Nice shot, a little off center. Not your usual perfect shot. But I figure there might have been something there after all that lust and passion the two of you shared.”

“Wasn’t me. I didn’t shoot.” She said as explosions began raining down on the three stunned men Rey had brought along for protection. All three men went down hard under the barrage. Almaly watched as a Chiss emerged from the brush and methodically made sure each man was dead. He knelt by Rey’s body and started looting through his pockets.

“Bounty hunter took care of your problem Agent. Now can we get out of here, the chiggers are killing me.”

After no response from the agent, Kaylio glanced over the three meters to her right to where the agent lay. She was still aimed in on the target area. Kaylio’s attention was drawn back to the clearing by a female voice screaming.

“NI’BOCH!”

The bounty hunter, for as big as the Chiss was, was surprisingly nimble. He spun and was drawing his blaster when another shot rang out. He lined up the man charging him from behind with a vibro-sword just in time to watch the man’s head explode. Mako rushed out of her hiding spot and almost gagged. Ni’boch slowly turned and faced where the shot had to have come from. He stood scanning the tree line, blastpistol at low port.

Mako stepped up beside him and glanced at the big man. It was then she noticed the red dot.

“Ni’Boch.”

“I know.”

“Ni’Boch, there’s a..”

The big Chiss cut his eyes at the girl and raised his eyebrows. “I know.” He emphasized.

He again scanned the far tree line. He slowly nodded his head and slowly holstered his weapon. “Mako, holster your blaster then move your hands to waist level away from your body, palms out.”

The girl looked at him. “We’re surrendering?”

“No, just showing whoever is in that tree line we don’t intend to fight them.”

Ni’Boch watched as the girl holstered her weapon. He noticed her eyes darting back and forth. He understood what she was doing. She was looking for the closest cover and the running the numbers on her odds of making it. He gave her credit, good initiative, but moving would be very bad judgment.

“Don’t think it Kid. You wouldn’t make it two steps in any direction. If they want us, they got us.”

“It could be one of the pirate’s friends.” Mako shot back.

“If that were the case Kid, don’t you think we’d both be dead?”

Mako’s brow furrowed in thought. “Then who?”

“Republic or Imperial would be my guess. The shooter is well trained. Did you see the round placement on that guy they took down? Head shot, right between the eyes at about 250 meters. Granted the target was moving nearly straight at them, but color me impressed.”

“They and them? How many are out there?”

“Depends. Imperials run sniper squads. Could be five two-man teams running around out there. Republic does more with less. Either way, we’re looking at least a two-man team out there.”

Ni’Boch kept watching the tree line wondering what would happen next. He figured he would give the shooter time to either clear or show themselves. He hoped that the fact that he and Mako were still breathing was a good sign.

Finally, movement to his front caught his attention. “Hey kid, there’s our shooter. One o’clock.”

“What is that?” Mako gasped out. To her it didn’t look human, it looked like a walking bush.

“Ghillie suit. Stay loose Kid. Let’s see where this goes. Don’t get antsy, still one unaccounted for.”

They waited as the shooter approached and stopped about ten meters from the pair. Ni’Boch tried but could not discern any features beyond it was human. The shooter’s face was hidden in shadow. The suit did its job by breaking up the outline of the body.

“I hope we didn’t step into an operation. You know, spoil something for you.” Ni’Boch said. “Just here to collect a quick bounty.”

“Hey agent, if you’re going to kill’em, can I at least have the Chiss for a few minutes. Never had one before, could be fun.” A silky voice sounded behind Ni’Boch. It was all he could do to keep from jumping out of his skin. Now he realized what took so long for the shooter to appear in the first place. He was waiting for his spotter to get around behind them.

A gloved hand came up and pushed the hood off the shooters head. Intense blue eyes watched him. “Female.” He wondered aloud.

“No Kaylio.” Amaly said flatly.

“OK, you want him for yourself. I get that. Can I have the girl?”

Ni’Boch looked quickly over his shoulder. A Rattataki stood there leering at him over the sights of a blaster.

“You touch the girl I’ll…” Ni’Boch started. Kaylio cut him off.

“You’ll what big guy? My sniper pal there would drop you before you could breathe funny.”

“Don’t worry bounty hunter. No one else is going to die here today. You’ve done me a good turn by eliminating this pirate. You can go on your merry.”

With that Amaly turned and headed toward the tree line. The Rattataki moved between Ni’Boch and Mako. She turned and faced the bounty hunter. She deftly ran one hand up the inside of his thigh. “It was almost a pleasure.” She then turned and headed off toward the agent.

Ni’Boch watched them go. “Well what do you know about that. A female Imperial agent, and a sniper to boot. Huh.”

Mako shot him a nasty look. “Take a holo big guy, it will last longer.”

“Hmm?” Ni’Boch glanced at Mako. “Not my type.”

“Which one?” Mako shot back nastily.

“Neither. The sniper can probably outshoot me and the Rattataki sounds like a psycho” Ni’boch turned and headed back in the other direction. “Come on. We got what we came for.” He stopped and thought for a moment. “You know, I got a feeling we’ll be seeing those two again.”

Mako shot him another nasty look that he ignored. “It’ll be too soon for my taste.” She mumbled.

I firgured this made for a better story than "Hey I met a buddy of mine who decided to play SWTOR at the pub on Hutta". Another thing that kinda irritates is that the sniper class has no ghillie suit and can't go prone. Snipers mostly shoot from cover on their bellies. Just saying.

@Yoshi: a wise decision by Jasin. Knowing who you are is more important than knowing what you are. His enemies are screwed.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her away from Pierce. The Imperial looked ready to protest.

All I could hear when I read this was Pierce, "Heeeey, I was kissing that!". Looks like Kaliyo missed her chance again! haha

@Alaurin: Go Mallay! I hate rogues. Hate. Them. Cheatin' little stun-locking bastages! Since I usually play a tank'ish sort (and also suck at the pvp's), I wind up becoming someone's "special friend". Usually, a rogue type. Loved how everyone was hiding it from one another. It also reminded me of one of my favorite commercials!

@Irish: Nooo! No more Azasha? Awww. Be interesting to see how she gets her revenge though.

@Lesaberisa: I couldn't stand Thana. I had to kill her in the end. Love seeing her get her smug sense of superiority shoved in her face.

I stopped for a moment. "Baby rancor pet?" Just when I thought I was out, T7 pulls me back in.. I sighed. "Fine. I'll keep playing until I beat Rusk, at least."

HAHAHAH!! I have a friend who's like this. She's bought second "refer a friend" acct's in games just to get the pet/mount being offered. That and the dual wielding canons made me laugh hard.

@Frauzet: Loved that piece. I could see the response circle popping up and Thorns losing. Also liked how it showed thorns personality clashing with the dark side choices around him. Nicely done.

@Sthrift: HAHAHAH! Love seeing Tanno get his. The dynamic you have going between those two is great.

Drokk'it came up the stairs holding a bag full of groceries and walked into the cockpit.

"Heya Makes. I'm back."

"Y'know, you have to be the very first Grand Champion of the Great Hunt unable to pronounce a specific vowel in the basic alphabet." she sighed.

"Yeah, about that. I think your problems are solved." He fished around in the brown bag, pulled out a box, and set it in front of her.

She picked up the box and studied it.

Mako looked at him, opened her mouth to speak.

She thought about it for a second, and then closed it.

She looked at the box a second time, and then looked back at Drokk.

"Drokk... what exactly am I looking at?" Mako asked with a straight face.

Drokk shrugged. "I found them on the shelf when I was getting Commando Crunch-Berries. I figured since they're whole grain and vitamin fortified, they'd be good for us." His face pulled into a grin.

"Plus they apparently make me say 'Ooooooo!'" Drokk was now fighting his laughter, and losing the battle.

The box had a picture of Mako, smiling a wide smile, on the cover giving a 'thumbs up' sign. "Mak-O's. A healthy way to start your day! Fortified with 12 essential vitamins and minerals. Whole Grain for the Grand Champion in you! Makes you say Oooooo!"

Fire flashed behind Mako's emerald eyes. The vibro-knife that was suddenly sticking out of the grocery sack helped turn the tide of Drokk's battle, and he stifled his chuckling.

"Dammit Drokk! This isn't funny! This is all over the shelves of... of... who the hell makes this anyways?!"

Mako looked the box over. She slammed it down on the console and pulled her vibro-knife from the grocery sack, as she stared her husband in the eyes.

"You go back to the store. You buy every box of these they have. The entire inventory. EVERY. BOX." She waved the blade in front of Drokk's nose, "While you do that, I'm going to kill the head of GM cereals."

"Sure Makes, I can do that. Where's GM cereals though? Should I have Torian get clearance to launch?"

Mako started towards the cockpit door. "No, I'm pretty sure I can find the president in the crew quarters. GM stands for G-Rennow Mills", she said through gritted teeth.

As she stomped off, Drokk heard her say "Gonna make that bastard say 'Oooooo' all right. 'Oooooo Kark!' when I cut off his--" and she was down the stairs.

Drokk went to the mess, and pulled another box out of the bag.

Plastered on it was a picture of Blizz, jumping into a bowl of cereal that had blue colored mallow jawas floating in it. The box read "Blizz Berry! The healthy way to start scavenging your day! Turns your milk blue! Mallows contain no actual jawa parts."

Drokk sighed. Better buy all these too, just to be safe.

Prudii, dressed in a gray-and-black speedsuit, stretched as he stepped out of the speeder-home Havoc Squad had rented. He inhaled deeply and grinned at the smell of the fresh woods air. He turned and looked back into the speeder-home.

"Come on, guys!" he said. "This is going to be great!"

Jorgan came out of the speeder, wearing a black shirt with the Frog-Dog team emblem stitched on the front in orange. He was carrying a tent kit on his back. Elara, wearing a casual blue-and-white tunic, followed, dragging a crate full of medical supplies, food, and water. Yuun, dressed in a brown, formless Gand Findsman cloak, followed and settled down in a clearing, entering a meditative posture. Tanno Vik came out last, carrying another tent and a few casks of ale. He wore a tunic similar to Jorgan's, but with a purple Rotworm symbol rather than the orange Frog-Dog one.

"Boss, are you sure we should be here?" Vik asked.

Prudii laughed. "We're on vacation, Vik! I'm not spending it in some stifling city like Coruscant!"

"But I hate the woods!" Vik complained. "No technology, no explosives...and so many–" he slapped his cheek, "–bugs!"

Prudii pulled a canister out of his pocket and threw it to Vik.

"Bug spray," he said. "Apply liberally."

Vik rolled his eyes and followed Prudii out into the clearing, where Jorgan was already setting up the first tent. Elara pulled a duraplast folding table out of her crate and unfolded it carefully. She did the same with two more tables, and then began setting out food, medicine, and water and other drinks between them.

"Where do you want me to put this, boss?" asked Vik, holding up his tent.

"Ten feet from Jorgan's," Prudii replied. "Standard safe distance."

Vik nodded and started unpacking the tent. Prudii left the squad, walking out into the woods to look around, enjoying being armed with nothing more than a folding knife and a holdout blaster. It had been a long time since he'd been camping, and he intended to enjoy it. Walking over to the nearby lake, he examined the banks, determining the best fishing spots. Then he walked away from the lake, quietly, and began scouting for suitable animals to hunt. He saw several dens and other signs of wildlife that would be ideal to catch and eat. He returned to the camp a half-hour later.

"Kark it!" Vik exclaimed.

He was under his tent–literally. The tent was actually flat on top of him.

"I don't know how to do this, Boss," Vik complained.

Jorgan groaned and lowered his head slowly into his hand. "I'll help him, sir."

Prudii nodded. "Great. Thanks, Jorgan." He took a deep breath. "We're going to have a great vacation."

I'm going camping this week, can you tell?

Voss was a strange place. Things looked pretty and peaceful, especially within the sanctuary of Voss-Ka, but outside was a world that was a lot more “alien” than most. Alylia had insisted Felix go back to the ship after that incident in the Healing Shrine. It was some kind of life-transfer ritual and it really did feel like someone was reaching in and rearranging his guts, but he got through it (Aly's voice kinda helped in pulling him out of it and back to reality), and the Voss kid was okay. Mischief managed. He felt perfectly fine now, but he really couldn't blame her for worrying like a mother bantha and insisting on taking Nadia for the next part of the vision quest those guys wanted her to do. Qyzen had decided sitting around wasn't his thing and went to check out the local wildlife.

It was hard to get more than a sentence out of Ambassador Attitude, but a lot of guys were like that. There was this one suicide jockey named Rusk; not much for conversation, but give that man a rifle, some mission parameters, then point him in the direction of some Imperials. You'd have the mission parameters filled to the letter, a patch of snow lit on fire, and...well...Rusk sometimes brought back prisoners. Felix doubted Zenith would bother. Tharan was a different story; Nar Shadaa wasn't likely to change much, no matter how the war went. He had no relatives outside of Hutt Space, wasn't directly affected by the fighting. He said he was fond of Alylia and mentioned Master Syo Bakarn was no good at Pazaak (Most Republic citizens only saw Jedi in the holo-films. How in nine hells did a guy like him manage to be pals with two high-ranking Jedi Masters?), but any mysticism or talk of the Force was met with eye rolling and comments that were just this side of causing a diplomatic incident with a culture like the Voss. Wisely, Alylia told Tharan to stay behind. Frankly, the man seemed a little oblivious to the realities of the world around him. They didn't have to understand The Force or the Voss Mystics to know they worked.

That left the three of them in a forested patch just out of Voss-Ka's limits; all of them armed in accordance with the advisories, and bored out of their minds. Hence, the shooting contest. He and Zenith tried the usual; small rocks, shooting between the branches of a tree without burning the limbs. Tharan simply followed along, acting as referee as needed. Most of the time, he just didn't seem interested, occupied with whatever was going on in his head. They'd hear whatever he was thinking about later; in professorial detail, no doubt.

“Let's try something a little different,” Felix suggested. “That little rock balanced on that big one way over there. First one to knock it off wins.”

“Trick shot at best, Lieutenant,” Zenith said curtly. “Bad angle, long distance, small target.”

“Wouldn't have suggested it if it was an easy shot, Ambassador. C'mon, let's try it.”

Zenith shrugged and pulled the rifle off his shoulder, checking the angle, checking the position of the sun, aiming carefully...

The shot crossed over the top of the smaller rock, close enough to leave scorch marks, but the rock itself remained sitting on its perch.

“You try.”

“Fair enough.” Felix got into position, checked the angle, checked the sun, crouched down for stability, and took his shot. His shot wasn't as clean as Zenith's, it went slightly down and to the right, blowing a hunk off the larger rock, but still not knocking off the smaller stone.

“Yeah, we've got a bad angle here,” Felix admitted. “Looks like neither of us are going to -”

“Pardon me, but can I give it a try?”

Hell number four out of the nine froze over, because Zenith actually chuckled. “You and that Zhellday night Nar Shardaa pea shooter?”

“I'll have you know this is a Czerka CX-38, one of the most efficient blaster pistols the company ever designed. No, I'm quite sure I can knock your stone off its perch with a shot from this.”

“This I gotta see,” Felix said.

Tharan stepped up, checked the angle, checked the sun's position, licked a finger and held it up to the air, then turned and started staring at the nearby trees and rocks.

“Hey, Mr. Pacifist, you gonna shoot or not?” Felix teased

He held up a hand. “Please don't rush me.”

“No calling your holographic love slave, either,” Zenith said.

That got something impressively close to a death glare out of the scientist. “Holiday is no slave, Zenith. She is my assistant, and please respect her accordingly. Now, let's see...” Something must have clicked because he nodded, straightened, and aimed...

“You aren't aiming for -” Zenith stopped speaking when they saw what happened next.

Tharan had shot through a thick vine holding down a thicker tree limb. Once free, the limb sprung up, flinging a rock caught in its branches. The rock landed on a stick balanced on a decaying nurse log, sending it flying end over end, knocking it into the smaller stone, which dutifully fell right off the pillar. Zenith and Felix were both left blinking in amazement.

Tharan waked over, picked up the stone and the stick, handing the stone over to Zenith and the stick to Felix.

“It's called physics, gentlemen.”

He'd met her on Dromund Kaas. He had joined several of his brothers outside a cave rumored to contain an ancient beast, worthy quarry. No scouts had survived the cave’s depths to give them more information. When he first saw her she'd been engaged in a staring contest with his clansman Jogo, who hadn't recognized her as the Grand Champion of the Great Hunt. After Torian had pointed that out, Jogo had reluctantly stepped aside. The Champion had nodded to Torian, said "Thanks, kid," and tried to move on. He'd given her his name, let her know he wasn't a kid, and then let her go on to her hunt. She and her two friends, the Devaronian and the Human, emerged less than two hours later with a freshly cut set of gnarled black claws, proof of the kill. She didn't look especially worn out by the experience. She'd waved at him on the way out, nodded to the Mandalorians cheering her victory, and left, her friends following behind.

All that was just a curious encounter until his sensors reported three humanoids entering his hideout on Taris. From here he had been searching for the long-exiled traitor who had been his father. It was well out of the way; he didn’t expect anyone to find it, least of all the Champion and her followers.

The alarm sounded well in time for him to get into position on a battered but stable catwalk angling over the ruined building’s clearing floor. The Champion, Calline, walked into the hideout's heart too loudly, too carelessly. She was a warrior, but not much of a huntsman. The three of them fanned out in search of – he didn’t know what yet. He waited to get her alone.

The opportunity came soon enough. He dropped silently from his vantage point, waiting for the Human and Devaronian to look the other way before he raised his blaster and made straight for the unwitting Chiss.

She heard him before he reached her. Adrenaline crackled through his limbs as he saw her stiffen. "Thought you'd be harder to get the drop on," he said smugly, walking up to not quite touch his blaster to her helmet.

"Calline!" the Human squeaked, whirling to point a toy of a blaster at him. The Devaronian, more worryingly, brought a rifle to bear. Torian kept his eyes on the Champion. As long as he had her, they couldn't get him.

“Torian?” She raised her hands, slowly, and pulled her helmet off, letting it drop at her side while her thick blue hair fell in waves from its inadequate clips. Then, hands up, she turned around. "Got me," she said with a wry and striking smile. "Friends, yeah?"

Warmth flooded him, both at the tactical victory and the gracious reception. "Works for me." He lowered his blaster, satisfied.

Without another word she looked around, studying the place, seeming to make a note of every angle, walkway, and storage container. That might’ve done her more good thirty seconds ago, but at least she was aware now. She didn’t take things for granted after the first surprise. Good to know.

“You know,” said the pretty Human, walking up to take her place beside Calline, “most professionals I know just say hi.”

He shrugged. “Couldn’t resist.” Calline shot him a dark look at that before returning to a calm survey of the surroundings. He couldn’t help but grin.

“I for one am glad that the blindsiding Mandalorian ambusher isn’t the one who has reason to kill us,” said the Devaronian. “The name’s Gault, Gault Rennow.”

Torian nodded. “Torian Cadera.”

“Mako,” said the Human. “Does Calline know you?”

“Dromund Kaas,” said the Chiss.

“Oh,” said Mako. “I should’ve remembered.”

“There were a lot of us,” said Torian. “And you were busy.”

“Performing surgery I’d just as soon not repeat,” said Gault. “So, what brings you to this swamp?”

“Could ask you the same.” He directed it at the Champion. "You're not here for me. Who, then?"

Her forehead creased as she looked away. "HBusiness."

"The traitor," he guessed, and her silence was answer enough. "I'm looking too. But not for a reunion. To reclaim my clan's honor."

Her eyes narrowed. "Your own father?"

"He's not my father. The only thing left between the traitor and me is the matter of honor.” He couldn't read her Chiss eyes. She stared at him, unsmiling. He could only go on. "I promise you, I can find him. I already know where to start. Someone's set up dew collectors, beast traps, around an old transport station. Have to be the traitor's. The only entrance is thick with rakghouls. Risky." It would’ve taken him a long time to prepare the attack alone. Now it might be easier. "Got a way to throw off rakghouls, but I'll need help. Materials." She nodded. He went on. "Fresh rakghoul bodily fluids, both blood and waste, and a decomposing rakghoul. Least a week old. Then we'll rendezvous at the transport station."

The Champion hadn't moved a muscle since he'd mentioned the fluids. She stared at him for close to half a minute.

Finally Gault cleared his throat. "Let me just say," he said, "that I should really bow out of this stage of operations? I'm sure Teefive could use a hand back on the ship."

"I, uh," said Mako, "I'm with you, Calline, but…really? Would a big GO AWAY sign not do the same thing?"

The Champion never took her eyes off Torian. "This revenge for ‘kid’?"

"What?” Did she think he was that childish? “No, we do need this."

She jerked a nod, gestured to her people, and stalked out like she was readying to face down a rancor. It made him wonder, just as on Dromund Kaas, what it would be like to be on the receiving end of that determination.

*

Calline played along with Torian's evil, smelly, roundabout game in order to reach a holocall wherein Torian's father set her on some evil roundabout game. The smelliness was not yet verified but remained within the realm of possibility.

She liked this family less with every encounter.

She and Mako dreamed of clean clothes but moved in what they had to meet with Gault and seek the elements of the Mandalorian death challenge Jicoln Cadera had laid for them, a series of valuable objects left for them to track in the wreckage-studded swamp. While they worked, Torian was busy finding Jicoln’s hideout.

Of course, Jicoln Cadera was no longer a Mandalorian with a Mandalorian’s honor. The ritual objects were traps, each set up in an exposed area within a sniper’s sights. So Calline got the job of evading potshots and praying the energy shield overlay on her armor held while her dubious ally worked on securing an empty nest. She was relieved to finally get his holocall: he’d found the traitor’s hideout.

In fact, he’d tracked him down to…three dozen meters to the left of the rakghoul-infested morass they'd slogged through this morning, a few klicks back. Calline brought up the map on her holo. She traced a glowing line of the path they’d traveled so far today, their current location, and the hideout’s location. She let Mako and Gault take in the unfairness of it all.

Mako groaned. “Really?”

Calline returned to her speeder and got it ready to go. Better get this over with.

This nest was built in from the lopsided door of a huge ancient shipwreck. Calline was more careful here than she’d been in Torian’s camp; she didn’t want the boy getting the drop on her a second time. Or anybody else. Automated defenses opposed her every step of the way. It was all she and Mako could do to disable pressure and IR sensors while Gault covered them against droid patrols.

Torian had been silent over holo, which suggested bad things about the defenses even further in. Calline gritted her teeth and tried to speed up their precarious pathfinding.

She gingerly felt her way through a broken bulkhead and tripped something. She dropped to the floor, but the only thing that changed was a bright cold light turning on. It revealed dark stains on the floor, and at the center of the dark stains…

“Torian!” She unslung her pack and seized the first supplies that came to hand. She was no doctor, but she could try. The kid was curled up as if trying to hold his insides in, but he was breathing.

He looked up as far as her busy hands. “No,” he said hoarsely, “get the traitor. He's tricky. Electro-net put him down, but – used it to cook off his munition cache. He's running. Don't let the trail go cold.”

“Mako?” The Human was better at patching people up than she was. Calline handed her the supplies and stepped aside.

Torian didn’t exactly resist, but he raised his head and fixed Calline with an almost manically bright stare. “I'll be fine – just get him! He's hurt. Bleeding. Running. Deep tracks. Bloody mud, straight lines – even you could follow.”

Calline touched Mako’s shoulder. “Good?”

“Yeah,” she said, prepping a stim needle. “Go on.”

“You’re giving the traitor too much time,” repeated Torian.

The kid appeared to be the only person in the room who didn’t care about him bleeding out. Even Gault was making expressive faces. “You’re welcome,” said Calline.

“Oh. Sorry. Thanks.” At least he sounded sincere. Which was nice, seeing as Mako was currently saving his life. Good of him to notice.

Calline and Gault got moving, threading their way among the ship’s corridors and deactivated sensor nets to reach the cool stagnant air outside. Her shoulders itched as she looked around the ruined countryside. She wanted this day to be over. This day and all its bizarre instructions and its slightly crazy…plus very crazy…Mandalorians.

“I don’t like him,” said Calline.

“I don’t know, he’s not as bad as his old man,” said Gault.

Calline snorted.

“At least he’s not shooting at us.”

Calline glared at him. Gault wasn’t the one who’d had Torian’s pistol clapped to his head during the last meeting.

“Oh, we all know he wasn’t going to pull the trigger on you. And isn’t that what counts?”

“Let’s go,” grumbled Calline, making for the sickly-colored grove where they’d secured their speeders. Time to explore the swamp in depth. Again.

*

The boy with the ritual scars caught up with Calline before she found his father the traitor. Traitor to what, she didn’t know; it didn’t seem to matter to these people, or else it was so obvious that she was already supposed to understand. The younger Cadera had a brief conversation in Mando’a with his father. Calline had invited him to say anything else he wanted to say, meaning to freeze Jicoln in carbonite for delivery after…and Torian had taken out his blaster and dropped him. Just dropped him. It was one thing to know Mandalorians prized honor and another to see it gunned down at her feet. She felt dirty just being near that demonstration. Jicoln was his blood. That had to count for something. But not to Torian.

She took Jicoln Cadera’s remains; she needed the bioscan to verify the kill. After all, for her this was neither an honor hunt nor a family matter, it was a job. She secured the body in the cargo bay of her own ship, told Teefive to look after the place, and headed back out with her crew to pick up final supplies on the orbital space station.

When they returned to the concourse they found that it had been taken over by…well, a Mandalorian hunting party. Supplies gathered around one airlock entrance, a midsized party of armored men gathered around the middle, talking.

She recognized a few from Dromund Kaas. One in particular, Jogo the Irritable. He approached her now with something less of a scowl than he’d had then. “Burc'ya.” She would have to look that up and figure out how offended to be. “Wasting no time earning new honors, I see. We've been sent to collect the traitor from you.”

She gestured behind herself. “Cargo bay.”

He nodded. “We'll make this quick.”

One man stayed put when the other Mandalorians moved. Torian. “Need to ask you a favor, Champion.” He stood up straight and serious. “I want to come with you.”

And what was wrong with his own ship? “I don’t do passengers.”

He shook his head. “I mean to serve. Join your hunts. Earn respect for my clan.”

Her jaw dropped.

“Wow,” said Mako. “He could be really useful.”

Calline attempted to sort past the initial “what the hell is wrong with you? Also no” response. He clearly didn’t mean her any harm; he already could’ve killed her once and had chosen not to. Among Mandalorians that was practically flirting. Speaking of which, he was Mandalorian – not the slapdash label Mandalore had awarded her to keep up the quota among Champions, but a true Mandalorian, raised in the culture, good and bad alike. He could teach her a lot about what it meant to join the first brotherhood that had ever wanted her.

But…really? He sprang a cheap trap, covered her in rakghoul waste, sent her in circles over a monster-infested postapocalyptic wasteland, and blasted his own family in front of her…and he thought this was grounds to be on her crew?

“I’m for it,” said Gault. “Ship's pretty boring when you're off doing your thing.”

Gault could come do her credits-earning thing with her rather than sitting on the ship, but she didn’t point that out. Neither did she point out that another crew member meant splitting profits another way; she couldn’t imagine Gault could have overlooked that detail. Instead she…right, remembered to close her mouth. Torian was still waiting, unruffled, blue-eyed and patient, seemingly unaware of the colossal amount of nerve his request displayed.

He had nerve, he had some skill, he took her seriously and he knew everything there was to know about the people she wanted to belong with. History of senseless persecution aside, he really was everything she could ask for.

All three of them were waiting on her word. She jerked her head toward her own ship before she could think better of it. “Welcome aboard.” In the interest of diplomacy she bit back the “kid.”

Gault and Mako both started for the ship. Torian stayed put. “Thank you, Champion,” he said quietly.

“Hm. Name’s not ‘Champion.’”

“All right.” He flicked a look behind her, part of that habitual scene-checking he did. "How about mesh'la?"

"What?"

"You don't know Mando'a?" He half smiled. "Hard to translate. ‘Honored’ comes close.'"

“Sure.” She gestured toward the ship and let him move on ahead of her. Time to show her newest crew member and official Mandalorian tutor around. He’d better not smoke or anything. Oh, and just in case, Teefive was getting instructions to dispose of any more hardcore wilderness tracking ingredients on sight.

Mesh’la is Mando’a for “beautiful.” One might reasonably doubt that Torian would stoop to such deception, but I kind of want him to on impulse because reasons. He may have expected her to know it; otherwise, if it’s not a word she recognizes, it can be a promise to explain later.

The initial scene could contain my favorite [Flirt] in the game (the one where you put him off balance with a flirt, then flip/disarm him), but it’s badly out of character for Calline to use feminine wiles to get anything. (Oh, but did game-Calline click it? You betcha.)

All right, new guy. We have some ground rules."

It was Mako talking, and Calline eyed her with as much curiosity as the kid did, possibly even more. Mako did catch Calline's eye long enough for the Chiss to nod permission. She wasn't sure how else to keep Torian occupied while Teefive was prepping his quarters, and if nothing else Mako's interpretation of the rules might be entertaining.

"Okay. Rule one, don't be a dick. She strictly enforces that one." Calline nodded approval. "Rule two, we split paychecks. Roughly proportional to effort expended, but we share."

"Got it," he said, nodding confidently. "What else?"

"No burning anything on the ship. Ever. For any reason. I guess there've been…incidents in the past." Calline nodded emphatically. Never on a ship she owned, but she'd seen things. And narrowly reached ill-outfitted escape pods while fleeing things.

Mako wasn't continuing, so Calline rapped on an imaginary door. "Right!" said the Human. "Don't go in her quarters. Or mine, for that matter. Unless invited." Calline started a vigorous throat-cutting motion at that. "Or at all?" said Mako, staring at her. "Don't go in our quarters. At all." – 'At all?' she mouthed. 'Really?'

'We'll talk,' mouthed Calline.

Mako nodded. Torian looked either politely interested or slyly amused, it was hard to tell in the bridge's murky light. He had certainly seen Mako's side of the unvoiced exchange…well, let him make of it what he wanted, reality would sort things out soon enough.

"So," said Mako, "don't be a dick, share profits, no fires, no exploring quarters…oh, and clean up after yourself. Obviously."

"Can do."

"Good!" She leaned toward Calline. "I miss anything?"

Calline cleared her throat. "Don't mess with Teefive."

Mako perked up. "And there you have it! Everything the boss holds dear in six easy steps."

Well, close enough, for all practical purposes. Calline nodded approval, and Torian seemed to take it in stride. He might work out here after all.

@Yoshi, Great job describing the fleet’s Cartel Bazaar; you painted such a vivid picture of the different types that hung around there. And Jasin’s speech to Satele Shan was wonderful in how it showed the journey he’s taken and the future he’s trying to protect. It may not be a “proper” Jedi stance, but it’s the right one for him.

@alaurin, This story was so fun! Love the screen names you gave everybody, and I like that it took all of them to best Mallay.

@Irishfino, Ooh, that’s an interesting way to get rid of Azasha. Look forward to seeing Narithia settle in with Gelt.

@Lesaberisa, In reply to your comment, I am a danger to poor, defenseless characters everywhere. *cue evil laughter*

I’m going to sound like a terrible person, but I wholly approve of any endeavor where Thana Vesh comes out the loser. Ugh, that woman is terrible. Seeing her fail always makes me smile. And in the second,

"T7 = including proper Jedi robes next patch // Robes + new baby rancor pet = good for Jedi."

That’s just too good to resist.

@frauzet, It’s hard being the one honest soul in a group that’s set on cheating. (Reminds me of the dozens of games of Monopoly I lost to my sister as a kid.) Cool to see all the classes together like that, too.

@sthirft, Ahahaha, I like that Jorgan gets a little bit of revenge. Good for him!

I hope Amaly and Ni’Boch meet up again, too! Great story. Your Kaliyo was perfect, especially this part;

“Oooo, I knew you were a bad girl. So could I get the same deal for my silence? Huh agent? Please?”

 

Almaly was the one shocked and she broke the first rule of sniping as her head jerked in Kaylio’s direction. “What?”

 

“Don’t sound so surprised. I’ve thought about it. Haven’t you? Heads up. Movement. Two fifty to our one o’clock.”

@DarthSillyMonkey, So many funny things! I think this was my favorite:

Plastered on it was a picture of Blizz, jumping into a bowl of cereal that had blue colored mallow jawas floating in it. The box read "Blizz Berry! The healthy way to start scavenging your day! Turns your milk blue! Mallows contain no actual jawa parts."

Words: 480'ish ...quick someone get a doctor! I think I might be sick!

I hear there’s this Doc that might be able to give you something for that. Seems like a credible fellow.

@Allronix, Felix! I really like seeing things from his POV. And that’s a nice last line from Tharan. Man, you really make me want to roll a Consular. That’s the one class I’ve done nothing with yet.

@Bright, I liked the Mando’a at the end. Sort of a subtle flirty thing. I feel like Calline and Torian are going to get along just fine, in time. They both seem like the “man of few words” sort.

And Mako’s rules! I love it.

“Vector, it’s time.”

Kinka crept into the cargo bay to rouse him from his meditation. She hated disturbing the few peaceful moments he took to commune with the nest, but any delay might allow seeds of cowardice to root. One push was all it would take and she’d be gone. Keeper’s plan — allowing the agent to be captured and tortured — was a fool’s quest, one that could very easily claim her life. She knew it. Keeper knew it. But the Empire demanded no less. There was no choice but to oblige.

She managed a few solid hours of rest the night before, cradled safely in Vector’s reassuring arms. His calm never faltered as she spoke of her fears; she wondered how he managed that, knowing what would come. When she couldn’t sleep, they talked. Or made love. Or simply held each other in silence. All the things one might do if they thought they'd never get another chance. But eventually she drifted off, stealing what little sleep she could before the dawn.

When Kinka awoke, she set about preparing for the day, first pulling her hair up and out of her face, dressing in loose clothes that offered maximum movement and concealment. Every article of clothing was chosen with practicality in mind.

Afterward she recorded messages for the crew. They’d return from leave in a few hours and wonder why the ship was empty. The first message would explain that she and Vector had left on some trivial errand for the military. The second was set to play 18 hours later. It detailed what really happened.

She stopped short of making out a will. That was one step too far, lending real credence to the possibility that she likely wasn’t coming back. And if she didn’t make it, Vector wouldn’t either. It was the only outcome she couldn’t stomach.

Kinka left fear for her own safety behind the moment the two of them stepped off the ship. She was resourceful, always had been. But Vector didn’t have the training she’d had. He was perfectly skilled in a fight, but he’d never been taught to resist torture. Never been put through what Intelligence training had done to her. I should have left him with the others, maybe taken one of them instead.

“You don’t have to come with me, Vector. They don’t need you. Putting yourself through this isn’t necessary. The risk—"

He stopped his stride and took her hand. “—is worth it to us. We have always known the dangers associated with this job. And if it were merely a job, we might be inclined to take you up on that. But, agent, you do need us. When they let you go, you’ll need someone there for you. We love you, agent. And we will do what is needed.”

“You always have.” Even now she couldn’t help but smile at him. “And I just want to tell you how grateful I am that you’re with me. That you’ve always been here for me. You may not know it, but you got me through the darkest days of my life so far. You...you know which ones. I needed something to hold onto — a constant — and that was you.” She squeezed his hand, her determination renewed. “We will get through this. I promise you that.”

***

Laughing and explosions. Drunken fools tottering about as bombs rained all around them. Ash and bone. Hunter’s smug face.

Darkness.

Consciousness returned slowly. Kinka could hardly remember anything after boarding the apocalypse party boat. Her body was sluggish, heavier than it should be. The mercenaries had stripped off much of her gear, leaving her barefoot and cold. Whatever noxious gas had been used to subdue them was wholly unfamiliar to her.

Mild panic flared as Kinka felt the tug of restraints binding her hands, and the full realization of what was happening set in. She opened her eyes enough to see a figure approaching. They knew she was awake. The Twi'lek strode forward and stopped just in front of her before smashing his fist into her jaw.

Kark, why did they have to start with the face? Kinka let out a yelp, but the reaction was more from surprise than pain. The Twi’lek punched like a wimp. She’d had worse from Kaliyo on Hutta years ago. Nothing was broken — not yet — but it was going to leave a nasty bruise.

Hunter’s smarmy voice got her attention. “You took something of ours, Cipher. We want answers.”

She looked for him among her captors before connecting his voice to the glow they were gathered around. She sneered at his image on the holo. Coward couldn’t even bring himself to interrogate her in person. “Talk to Intelligence. I hear they’re good with answers.” Glib and sarcastic. It wasn’t out of character. He’d buy the indignant act.

“You should have kept your programming,” he huffed. She’d gotten to him. For as long as she’d known Hunter, it always seemed to bother him when she turned on the sarcasm. She took a little pride in watching him pout. It was short-lived. He glared at her and nodded at one of the goons. “This would be a lot less painful if you had.”

The holo switched off, the fading glow leaving the room almost entirely dark. She was alone with the mercenaries, save for Vector. They had restrained him in the far corner but he appeared unharmed as far as she could tell.

There wasn’t time to take a proper catalog of her environment. One of the mercenaries, a beefy punk with an uneven buzzcut leaned in close and braced himself against the arms of the chair. “Moff Zamar’s report. What did it say, and who did you tell?”

They never gave her a chance to answer. Buzzcut spun her around and the Twi’lek landed a hard punch just below her eye. She felt the agonizing sting of blood mingling with stale air. Kark. Bastard had found brass knuckles. The chair spun again and Buzzcut took his turn pummeling her ribs. On the fourth hit, Kinka felt bone splinter. She gasped hard, and struggled to keep herself from screaming. She could either stifle it or stay conscious. It was easier to bottle the scream.

***

Kinka found herself swimming in blackness. An endless, inky dark. She was alone in the void. Until his voice whispered in her ear. “Cipher.”

“What are you doing here?” There was no sense to any of it. He shouldn’t be there. But he was. It wasn’t just his voice, it was him. Watcher X, arms crossed over his chest. He was disappointed, angry. No so different from how he always appeared. “Is this real?”

“As real as the last time we spoke, Cipher.” He paced in front of her. “You didn’t learn your lesson, did you?”

“What lesson?” He loved his vague platitudes. For once she wished he’d just come out with whatever he really meant.

“You should have gotten out. They’ll kill you, one way or another.”

“I have a job to do.”

His face began to fade, but the voice was still clear. “Best get back to it then.”

***

Kinka sputtered back to consciousness with a jolt to find herself soaking wet and shivering. One of the mercenaries had grown inpatient that their punching bag wasn’t awake and decided to speed the process. The shock was enough to knock her off balance and onto the floor. Her shoulder took the brunt of the fall, and she landed with a grunt.

“Quit your whining, Imperial scum.” It was the Twi’lek that growled in her ear. Every word that left his mouth came with a sneer. He pulled the agent off the floor and sat her back on the chair. “You’re lucky we’re not bored of you yet.”

Letting them torture her took all the self-control Kinka had. Every instinct screamed at her to fight them. Training taught her to look for any opening for escape. Anything that could be used as a weapon. They hadn’t bound her legs. She could kick Buzzcut, cause a distraction. Fighting with her hands bound behind her would be terribly difficult, but it was possible. She’d been trained for that, too.

Crack.

But that wasn’t the mission.

***

“How’s work?” Watcher X was glib. If she’d had strength, she’d have punched him. As it were, she bobbed along in the void, just as before.

“Why are you here?” Why was he always there when things were at their worst? “I want answers.”

“So do I. Do you still think you’re serving the greater good with Intelligence? Or do you merely enjoy being jerked around like a puppet?”

“I’m no one’s puppet. I do what I do for—”

“—the good of the Empire. Yes, I remembered.”

“Good, then you can quit wasting my time,” she snapped. Kinka turned her back on him, but he was face-to-face with her again immediately.

“One more question,” he purred. “More of a challenge really. Answer it to my satisfaction, and I’ll disappear.”

“Fine. Just get on with it.”

“I want you to show me one person — one ordinary person — whose life you’ve made better by playing Sith lapdog.”

“I...” The list, which she’d originally thought was merely short, seemed to be nonexistent.

“Think carefully, Cipher. I’ll wait.”

Smug bastard. Like he’d ever done anything worthwhile. All she’d ever seen him do was brood and calculate. It was all about him. It was easy to grasp at hypothetical improvements. The concrete things were harder. But then she remembered. A smile grew with the satisfaction that she’d bested the Watcher. “The Eradicators. Two years ago. I disabled them before Jadus could fire them. I saved countless Imperial citizens, not just the Sith.”

“And what happened to our favorite Darth afterwards?”

Kinka looked away from him. “He got away,” she whispered. She remembered his ship speeding off as she looked on impotently. Biggest letdown of her career at that point.

“With just the promise of being a good boy from now on. I’m sure he’ll behave.”

Watcher X had already known all of that. Somehow he was in her head again. He was well aware of the keen disappointment she felt after Jadus was allowed to escape. He knew. It was all meant to goad a reaction from her.

He was starting to fade again. There was only time for one word. “Why?”

***

Crack.

Something solid and heavy slammed against her leg. She cried out, alarmed by the raw terror in her voice. Pain shot through the extremity before going numb entirely.

For the first time, she was starting to doubt that she could endure the torture. Opening her eyes was a struggle; they were nearly swollen shut. It hurt less to keep them closed, but she wanted to find Vector before blacking out again.

She promised him they’d make it. She needed to see him and remember that. But he was too far away, and the room was too dark.

“Vector!” she sobbed.

Dammit. Yelling for him was a mistake. It was weakness. She needed to know he was there, but it wasn’t worth costing him his life. She prayed the mercenaries wouldn’t use that to harm him.

“Hang on, agent. Someone will come—” His voice cut off, replaced by the sickening crack of a blaster but against his skull.

“Get him out of here,” Buzzcut barked. “And get ready for round three.”

***

“You’re fading, Cipher. Can you make it to the end?”

Darkness still. But instead of bobbing along, she felt solid ground beneath her. She gazed up at the Watcher, unwilling to spend effort on a sarcastic retort.

“You can end it, Kinka.”

He knew her name. She was beyond questioning how or why. Nothing made sense. That’s the only thing she knew for certain. Watcher X crouched beside the agent. The hard lines on his face softened as he looked over her battered body.

“Don’t let them snuff you out,” he whispered. “You can do so much more. You have to get out.”

“Get out,” she repeated weakly.

“Yes. You know it deep down. You’ve known it for a while now. There are hundreds more behind you, all cogs waiting to be used in their unfeeling machine. Don’t be anyone’s cog, Cipher. Not anymore.”

***

Kinka awoke as one of the mercs yanked her hair, pulling her head back with enough force to draw a frightened shriek. Cold metal pressed against her exposed throat. Vibroknife, double-bladed variety by the feel of it. She flinched as the thrum of a second weapon switched on and buzzed in her ear. They’d resorted to poorly-executed intimidation tactics. Had she not been under duress, it wouldn’t have fazed her. They wouldn’t use the blade — not yet — not before they had what they wanted. Hunter would be pissed if they did. But Hunter wasn’t there.

“We can do this all day,” Buzzcut said.

“High tolerance for pain,” another marveled. “They train you Imps well.”

She was desperate to find a way out. Something that would make the hell end. It was so hard to concentrate. So much pounding and pain. They wanted a certain reaction. These kinds of rabid dogs fed off of fear. It was all a job to them; the bonus came from seeing their victims broken and frightened.

She meant to speak, beg if she had to. Instead all that came out was a whimper.

Buzzcut stopped mid-punch and grinned. “So, are you ready to play nice?”

Kinka took a sharp breath and nearly choked at the telltale metallic taste of blood in her mouth. She sputtered again and spit somewhere in the dark. “Yes,” she said, her voice shaky and small. “M-moff Zamar’s report...”

Focus. Tell them what they want, and it’s all over. “W-we don’t have enough troops. But reinforcements forces are coming... led by a Sith lord.”

Her head raced. She was going to pass out again, but she needed to fight it. Just a little longer. She wasn’t safe yet. The mercenaries would either let them go or finish things. If not for Vector, she wouldn’t have cared either way.

“See, that’s all we wanted.” Buzzcut lifted her face to look up at him. “Boss says your vacation’s over. Time to check out now.”

Kinka wanted desperately to fight him. Making them pay would feel so gratifying. But it was foolish to do anything but give in to the blackness one more time. Anything else would only get herself killed. He let go of her face and she slumped forward in the chair, unable to hold up any longer.

***

Kinka flinched against the blinding sunlight. It was too harsh after all that time spent in the dark. Making out anything concrete was impossible, save for a large shadow looming over her.

“Move slowly.”

Vector. His voice was salvation in her ears. She wanted to jump up and wrap her arms around him, but the best she could manage was limply rolling onto her side, an act she immediately regretted. A low moan escaped her lips, and she felt Vector’s hand gently stroke her hair. “You did your job. You should be proud.”

Proud was not the word she was searching for. She’d never be proud of putting herself through that torment. In fact, there wasn’t much about her time with Intelligence she could take pride in. This least of all. Watcher X was right. It wasn’t worth it. Not any of it. Had the mercenaries killed her, no one would mourn outside of her friends. There’d be no state funeral or loving tributes in the press. She’d have been another body lost in the smoldering rubble of Corellia.

With Vector’s help, Kinka attempted to stand. Pain shot through her bones, and she wobbled to the ground. Moving anywhere on her own was not going to happen. She looked up at Vector and felt a wave a nausea at the sight of a swollen purple welt on his forehead. “They hurt you.”

“It was nothing compared to you,” he said quietly. “We...” He could hardly speak.

“It’s OK now,” she reassured him. “I just... I need to...”

***

“There she is. You gave us quite a scare.” Dr. Lokin’s cheerful voice chaffed against her ears. How could he sound so cheerful? She was too afraid of breaking to glare at him.

A rush of footsteps grew closer, and Kinka cautiously worked to open her eyes. They were no longer heavy, and her body felt more fluid than it had when she’d awoken in Axial Park. One by one Kinka took in the faces of her crew. They were all smiles, but each masked untold alarm.

Temple spoke first. “We were worried, sir. Especially when your second holo message came through.”

She wanted to explain, but Lokin shushed her.

“Pace yourself, agent,” he cautioned. “You’ve been in the kolto tank for the past 12 hours; it will take some time to regain your strength.”

Kinka nodded and slowly stretched her arms and legs, wincing at the bruises that covered a great deal of her body. She reached up to touch her face and felt a nearly healed cut under her left eye.

“That will probably scar,” the doctor added. “Your face was near unrecognizable when Vector carried you in.”

She searched for his face with panic; calming when her gaze finally settled on him. The swelling in his head had gone down, but the skin was still a discomfiting shade of eggplant. It hurt to see him wounded, but it could have been so much worse. He was alive and so was she, thanks to him. There were no words she could say to express how grateful she was that he’d taken care of her. Even so, he smiled as if he knew.

“Injuries,” Kinka croaked. Her voice was unnaturally hoarse after all those hours in kolto. “I want to know exactly what they did.“

Lokin grabbed his datapad and gave her the rundown. “Three broken ribs, fractures to both of your humerus bones, various contusions and second-degree burns, and a hairline fracture to your jaw. By rights, you should be dead. And you nearly were. Vector got you back to us just in time. Another half hour and you’d have been just a specimen floating in that tank.”

Kinka opened her mouth to speak but was cut off as Temple stopped in the doorway. “Sir, you’ve got a holo coming in from Keeper.”

It’s still not enough for them. Kinka bristled at Watcher X’s voice. Even now, after all you’ve been through, it’s not enough. She tried to push his voice away. “Tell her I’ll be right there,” she sighed, “just as soon as I can drag myself off this table.”

“You should rest,” Vector urged. He was still worried. The experience had shaken him in ways he couldn’t express.

“You’ve been through so much.”

Kinka let out a bitter chuckle. “What’s that saying? No rest for the weary? I’m pretty sure they’d tell me I knew what the deal was when I signed up for this job.”

“Nobody signs up to be put through what you’ve endured,” he said softly.

“That’s why there’s no rest for me.”

*incoherent flailing*

Eeheeheee!

@Irish: Rigged pit-fighting sounds about right. I also continue to enjoy the descriptions of Azasha.

Geltie is pretty familiar with rigged pit fighting, having fallen victim to it plenty of times himself.

Azasha's existence continues to amuse and appall me.

@Irish: Nooo! No more Azasha? Awww. Be interesting to see how she gets her revenge though.

Oh, Azasha isn't gone yet. You'll see.

@Irishfino, Ooh, that’s an interesting way to get rid of Azasha. Look forward to seeing Narithia settle in with Gelt.

Azasha still has her role to play. MAUAHHAHAAHAHAAAAH! [cough; hack]

Thanks for reading everyone!

There weren’t many things that bothered Gelt, but the silent ride back to his Estate unnerved him. It wasn’t the silence itself, but Narithia’s remarkably calm exterior. It shouldn’t have surprised him, she was a Jedi after all, but it did and he felt all the stranger.

After Altansk parked the speeder in the vehicle hangar, Gelt decided to show Narithia her new home. Altansk protested. He was the servant here, not Gelt. Even as a Pureblood, he knew his place and that was assisting his Master in matters most trivial. Gelt waved him off, ordered him to take a break and visit with Talos for a while, and left with an obedient Narithia in tow.

Gelt’s estate was a comfortable size. It was neither too large nor was it too small and the furnishings within gave the appearance of luxury without effort or extreme cost. It was a home rather than a place to store shiny bits and baubles.

Their last stop was the medical bay.

He motioned for her to sit on one of the beds. “My father will be handling your exam,” Gelt said conversationally. Narithia arched a brow and he smothered a smirk. “Or I could have Talos do the exam. He has soft hands.”

“Are your only medics male?” Narithia asked calmly.

He smirked. “Of course.”

“Very well.”

He hid his disappointment at her blasé acceptance of the situation. Truth be told he wanted confirmation of her status as a human, not just a Jedi. He had stolen bits and pieces of it before on the battlefield and when he took her for himself. He wanted more. He wondered if she knew. There was no possible way for her to know, unless she knew more of him than she let on. She might have. Ravage was a chatter in the bedroom according to Gelt’s well-placed informants. And that, of course, was the main reason for the exam.

He crossed his arms as she settled herself onto a bed. She crossed her legs at the ankle and placed her hands in her lap. She was calm. Her calm unnerved him. He didn’t know why.

“Father will be in shortly,” he said stiffly.

“I have nothing to do but wait,” she replied.

He scowled at her. “Tell me, Jedi, what made you stop the last time we met?”

“During the Imperial siege of Tython, you mean?”

He nodded sharply.

“You said something that… reminded me of something,” she said quietly.

“Potato salad?” Her face burned brighter than a traditional red lightsaber blade. He grinned, bearing his teeth and said, “So you do remember.”

She stared at him in confusion and opened her mouth to speak when Quinn entered the room. Father and son spoke quickly and quietly before Gelt departed to give her some semblance of privacy during her exam. Though he wondered how much privacy one had when one’s legs were up in stirrups while someone poked and prodded around your bits. And not in the fun way. He shook his head to clear such strange thoughts.

After her exam, Narithia reported to his office as requested. In truth, he had her health report in his hands. He knew everything. Nearly everything. There was one bit of information that piqued his interest.

“Ravage never touched you?” he asked, slamming head first into the topic he was so curious about. It was as if he had no idea what tact was.

Narithia choked.

“It seems no one ever touched you.”

“I am a Jedi,” she replied stiffly.

“You were a Jedi, you are no longer.” He glanced at a screen on his desk. “Lucky you only a scan was needed to confirm that little tidbit of information.”

“It kept things from getting awkward,” she replied with a small smirk.

“Cocky little girl, aren’t you?”

“Never.”

“Tell me how you avoided Ravage’s bed.”

“It was rather simple. He wanted to use me for fighting. I argued that taking me to his bed would only exhaust me which could lead to mistakes during my bouts. He seemed a bit put out, but accepted my argument without much resistance.”

He arched a brow. “That can’t have been your only argument.”

“I may have… used my looks to my advantage.”

“How would one use their looks to their advantage when avoiding coitus with one such as Ravage? Does that not defeat the purpose of the entire endeavor?”

Narithia tilted her chin down and batted her eyelashes at him. “I’m just so…” she sighed dramatically, “…tired after my fights. Won’t you let me rest in preparation for the next one?”

Small splotches of pink appeared under Gelt’s freckles. “And that worked?”

“It’s working right now.”

“Touché.”

After speaking further on Ravage’s sexual habits, ways to disarm him, and other minor matters, Gelt showed her to her room. He was sure to arrange a room with a bed, a sitting area, a desk, and its own attached refresher. He didn’t want Narithia to think herself as a slave or a pit fighter. If she was anything to him, she was an apprentice.

When he returned to his office, he checked in with Azasha. Ravage was quick to take her to his bed. She was eager to tell Gelt of her exploits in Ravage's bed, but he made his excuses of "Ew, that's disgusting" and "What the kark is wrong with you?" She huffed a bit and gave her brief report. She didn’t have any new information for Gelt now, but she promised she would before the week was out.

Aren't Sith fun?

Thanks for reading!