“Are those your droids?” one of meesa’s companions asked at the hateful individual we’sa was speaking to. The replie’sa of non gave a funny look to the jedee’s face, he’sa seemed confused and wasn’t sure what’sa to beleives it or not. Afta he pointed it out, meesa looked and saw it on the edge of the clive’s horizon. Mee’sa quickly pulls me blaster rifle and blazes it out in a satizfying boom.

The palos whome I gave ownership of skibeetle, Mac, blasts the duen metal box down. Before mee’sa knows it, enitre thing becomes’a mess. Gian’ garbage incinerator pop out, peoples blastin it an’ mesa tries to blast the she’sa escaping. See’s no’ons else begans chase, so’s mee’sa dids. Mee’sa’s grapple was ats me belt and I quickly climbed these walls, whiles things goes explodey beneath me.

At’s the top, a large pilla block me sight to fliey-whiey. Thanksa’ey it block’sa many shrapey pieces.Mee’sa could partially sees the she’sa blast’in aaway’sa with her weapons. Mee’sa was impressaed. If’s mee’sa coulds ony make her me lieutenant, it woulds be great’sa. Shee’sa moved evens more into mee’sa’s view and I ran towards her, but stopped. If mee’sa gots into struggle thes jumpy will riddle boths.

Then the storm’sa took his attentions elsewheres, and mee’sa took thes’a she’sa to the ground. She’sa was heavy, though norms size. She’sa was dense. She’sa was a droi’s. Maybee’s she couz becomez me lieutenant; mee’sa’s would jus have to reprogamiz hers.

Pain it’sa no fun. Especialy if’s it was burn of lasers, then a wholse new type layered upons it’sa within a new’s seconds. I was hurt’s badly, but not so much as lieutenant. I decided to seaza my struggle and to blast the d wangzapper to thes nesta worl’sa. Hee’sa fell of’s the cliff. The shee’sa flees me an’ mee’sa must pursuit.

Shee’sa nimblas crossas to sa’bunkle, there mee’sa blasts her hard, then mee’sa can see the robtics benease shee’sa’s skins. Shee’sa jumps from zee bunkle, preparis to enta thee sub-terrans. I made a notha’s shot that didnz ends her adn shee’sa gots insides.

I maseds hasta to follows her, jumpin’s twice untils mee’sa gotz undagrounds too’sa. Then she trie’sa to shoot mee’sa oddly bas hits stoll triggeraz some alarms. Halves a dozens no head droi’s acti acti. Anz thens Mee’sa does’sa…..

Corran strolled through the Jedi Temple library. He had never been here before, but he seemed to know what lay around every corner. The lack of surprises left him scared. Then, blasted shelves collapsed as heavy artillery rumbled through the library. It seemed to be coming from inside the Temple. Corran rounded a corner and saw two AT-STs blasting at a rag-tag group. A Gungan was engaged in a lightsaber duel with a Chiss Dark Jedi in front of the walkers. An older soldier lobbed a grenade at a heavily-armored trooper across the corridor.
Corran scurried up a column. The support had been chipped mercilessly over the last couple of years by blaster fire, allowing for safe handholds. When he was over the walkers, he leapt onto one, slammed his hands down to slow his tumble and remained on top.
Knock knock.
The hatch opened. The co-pilot stuck a blaster rifle in Corran’s face. The doctor from Corellia pulled the pins on the three stun grenades, meshed together with tape, and dropped them into the cockpit. A blinding flash of light erupted from the vehicle. Corran leapt inside and began hauling the bodies on top of one another in the co-pilot’s seat. He studied the controls then turned the blasters on the Chiss.
Indrum, an Imperial agent, swung the saber intensely at Ssoy. When he swung high, the Gungan tumbled between his legs. When he slashed low, the Gungan somersaulted over the Chiss’s head. Of course, Ssoy had little experience with the lightsaber and wasn’t scoring any hits on his opponent.
The ARC trooper fell back into the open. Mac popped out and zapped the trooper on the leg. TC, Ssoy’s protocol droid, ran behind Mac. “You’ll get your circuits fried,” Mac protested.
Shaler raced into the corridor and leapt five meters into the air, catching himself on the top of the AT-ST. He ignited his lightsaber and began to cut through the thick hatch. The vehicle tried to shake the Jedi, but Shaler’s grip was locked tight on the railing. Shaler cut deeper. The vehicle shimmied far to one side, and Shaler tumbled over the edge. He caught the side and reached up to pull himself back on top. His hands locked on a small sensor dish which snapped off in his hands. He fell with a plop to the tile at the walker’s feet.
TC’s vocabulator mimicked Vader’s breathing. Indrum stopped stunned and turned to face the droid. The walker pilot froze even. The ARC trooper paused and turned away from Winston’s blaster rifle, which fired a blast that took him out.
“Surrender,” Corran’s voice demanded through his walker’s speaker. Indrum turned and sneered at Corran. Then, he seemed to vanish into shadows. Corran pumped a grenade his way. Shaler tumbled beneath the walker to avoid shrapnel. Pop! Pow! Corran kept pumping blaster fire at Indrum. TC hollered, feigning fear and raced toward the Temple exit. Indrum and the walker driver froze from the distraction. Mac fired and blew the Chiss’s leg out from under him. The dark Jedi’s body collapsed lifelessly. The Imperial walker turned on Corran’s walker and pounded it with blaster fire. Corran returned fire.
Ssoy and Shaler mercilessly slashed at the walker’s leg with their lightsabers. Mac fired a blast at its punched in “face.” The lights flickered inside the walker. Winston fired a shot that ignited its generator. The war machine exploded. Shaler ran from the flames. The impact sent him sliding across the immaculately-polished floor. Ssoy got caught in the heart of the blast. His body was flung across the Temple and bounced off a column, which collapsed.
The roof started to fall in, and everyone raced to the landing platform, where an Imperial landing craft sat waiting. As the rebels got themselves configured, the scanners picked up an incoming squad of TIE fighters. Ssoy piloted the landing craft right into the squad. Winston fired. A TIE burst into flames and crashed into the lower levels of the city. Shaler fired a concussion missile. It struck the power generator and created a fireball which consumed the TIE’s wingmate as well at itself. Corran whirled the blasters at a TIE and pounded it with laser fire. Mac finished it off. The surviving TIE flew in at full speed, attempting to strafe the landing craft. The blasters missed their mark. It spun around and fired another ill-aimed volley before turning tail. Ssoy ran right up its exhaust vapors. Winston fired after it and turned it into a fireball that Ssoy flew right through.
“Where are you going?” Shaler yelled at Ssoy who wasn’t going skyward.
“Not without my baby,” the Gungan captain growled.
TC and Ssoy punched up a map and pinpointed the transport’s location. Before leaving the landing craft, Ssoy turned to Mac. “This is your ship, Captain.”
TC and Winston joined Ssoy on the transport. Both ships raced spaceward as the shadows of star destroyers eclipsed the planet. Turbolasers blinded the crews. Corran hurried into the back of the landing craft and rerouted power to the engines. Shaler spun the ship in a wild series of flips, avoiding the turbolaser battery fire. TC calculated an escape vector. The idea hyperdrive jump lay just past where three star destroyers were about to cross paths.
In the transport, Winston tried to reroute power but couldn’t get any extra oomph. The engines were heavily taxed by the heavy weapons it was carrying. Ssoy tried to spin the craft away from the incoming fire, but several volleys of laser fire scorched his ship, nearly knocking TC and Winston off their feet. Winston ran to the bridge and tried to find a clear path through the fire. More blaster fire pounded the transport.
Shaler reached out through the Force to find a clear shot. “Now!” he shouted. TC sent the jump coordinates to Ssoy. Both ships raced through the narrow gap between Sa triad of Star Destroyers, rocking violently as the shields collapsed under the bombardment. Then, the stars turned to streaks, and they were away in hyperspace.
Back on Home One, the rebels celebrated their victories. Winston dropped Mace Windu’s name, one that Corran recognized. Then, the lights click on and General Crix Nadine strides into the room. The music stops on a chance cube, and the troops snap to a sharp salute. Crix calls the heroes’ names out, one by one, and commands them to follow.

The heroes are taken up a turbolift to a deck reserved for General Jan Dodonna and his highest generals. With quick long strides, Nadine leads the rebels to a conference room, where Dodonna and Anokwa sit waiting for them.
Dodonna says, “The Bothan Network uncovered a potential transaction for a CIS holocron. It’ll take place in two standard days on Cato Neimoidia. The buyer goes by the Holonet alias House of Wookies. I’m sure you’re familiar with that name. The seller is believed to be a grave robber who enjoys looting the estates of once powerful Neimoidian clans. You’re to go to Cato Neimoidia. Intercept the holocron at Gunray’s redoubt. Keep a low profile. You are representatives of the Alliance to Restore the Republic, and we do not want the Neimoidians thinking we’re no better than the Empire. I’m fronting you thirty-five thousand credits for this mission. Any questions?”
“Are there food and medical supplies we can bring to the population?” Ssoy asked.
“You can provide relief assistance. The Neimoidians have suffered harshly under the Empire. Their cities are constantly bombed, as reminder of their role in the Clone Wars. They could be great allies,” Dodonna said. “But you will no doubt be dealing with an outlaw who’s been excavating ruined estates, not the general populace.”
“What is this outlaw’s name?” Shaler asked.
“We did not get that information from the intercepted transmissions.”
“How much is the holocron being sold for?” TC asked.
“Again, we don’t know,” Dodonna replied.
“If the holocron is as important as we think it is, can we get more credits for this mission?” TC pressed.
“I can add eight thousand more credits,” Dodonna said. “That straps Home One for cash though. I believe this is worth it though. Retrieve this holocron. May the Force be with you.”
Before reporting to the docking bay, the rebels picked up new gear or got improvements to their existing gear. Mac got an enhanced energy projector for his rifle. Winston acquired a stealth commando medium suit of armor. Ssoy gave Shaler the lightsaber Mace Windu had given him.

Winstonwandered through the Coruscani caves, picking up what his foes had dropped. He found a light saber, studied it and carefully flipped the switch. A purple blade shot to life. The Rodian approached the table the Mandalorian iron box had been fastened to and took a swing, severing one of the legs.

“Are you making progress recovering the box?” Juno asked over the com.

“You could say that,” Ssoyreplied.

“Then leave the bar. Master Windu is ready for you.”

Juno piloted the heroes through pipes and subbasements before deboarding in front of a lift tube that opened back up to reveal the High Council Chamber of the JedI Temple. They were met by a young man wearing a gray cloak. “Do they have the boxes, Juno?” he growled. “Yes Galek,” she replied. The young man with the gray cloak and the light saber led the way to a room adjacent to the JedI Council Chamber.

!http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/28184/_house_galek.jpg( house galek)!

An odd-looking droid called Proxy presided over an ancient and complex machine, into which Galek placed the boxes. Master Windu was there, as was another JedI Master called Kota. After a lengthy ceremony that relied as much on technical precision as it did ritual, the latch to the Mandalorian iron box fell open. Master Windu looked inside.

“Well?” everyone seemed to gasp at once, as Master Windu closed the lit again.

“You were carrying a piece of Conkesta, an ancient city built on the power of the dark side. By possessing such an artifact, we can better understand how the dark side functions.”

“If you think that’s wild, check this out,” Winston said, producing the light saber from his backpack.

“Where did you get this?” Master Windu demanded.

“In the caves beneath the city.”

“The last time I saw this light saber was in Palpatine’s office, when I attempted to arrest the Chancellor. I dropped it before I fell out his window. Whoever got this light saber got it from the Emperor’s inner sanctum.”

“Emperor’s bones!” Macgasped.

“Hopefully,” Mace responded.

Winston eagerly returned the weapon to the Master.

Mace thumbed a hidden trigger on the throne armrest, and a clear light saber handle popped from the throne. Mace ignites it, and a blue laser burned from the hilt. “This was made by an ancient master of the light saber. I will provide it to you as a reward.”

Ssoy willingly accepted.

Mace also provided a bow caster, which Winston took, and a master craft security sensor, which Mac gave to Shaler.

“You did well,” Mace said, turning to look out the window. “You should take some time to enjoy Coruscant. It is a remarkable place.” As he spoke, the sun began to peak over the horizon, its rays dodging between buildings. The sky took on a red-orange hue, and the ships criss-crossing the skyline came into focus. A new day had begun.


!http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/28186/house_vader1.jpg( house vader1)!


The chamber filled with an odd zipping noise. Before anyone could inquire, the windows all shattered inwards as the 501st storm trooper legion broke into the room, blasters firing. The turbo lift leading into the chamber opened. Out stepped the Dark Lord of the Sith himself. Galek emerged in the corridor behind his former Master. “Goodbye Master,” he hissed, raised a hand, and the 501st and Dark Lord all flew backwards and out the window. Vader caught the ledge and pulled himself back inside as another swarm of 501st swung into the room. Vader raised his light saber in time to block a series of devastating attacks from Master Windu.

“Get the artifacts and Master Kota out of here!” Juno Eclipse ordered as she rushed into the corridor. Mac followed. Four 5021st troopers rushed toward them. Juno took cover behind a column and provided covering fire, so Mac could dart across the open corridor and take position.
“The shoulder armor on the front left trooper isn’t on right. Hit it!” Juno shouted. Mac and Juno pounded the trooper in the weak spot Mac got caught in the middle of a blaster barrage.

Bolt after bolt seared his flesh. Juno lost her sense of reality. All that mattered was what she saw through her targeting scope. Mac was about to collapse when he saw a trooper produce a grenade, With the last of his strength, he lifted his blaster and shot the trooper in the hand, a split second before he would have thrown the sphere. The grenade sent troopers flying. Juno cleaned up the last threat in the hall.

!http://cdn.obsidianportal.com/assets/28185/_house_macedarth.jpg( house mace darth)!


Mace launched himself at Vader, blade a blur, but to no avail. Galek shot lightning at Darth Vader, putting him in agony. The apprentice tried to follow up by Force choking the Sith Lord but couldn’t overcome his former master. Likewise, Mace couldn’t overwhelm Vader with his own Force powers. Winston climbed onto what had been Ki Adi Mundi’s throne and blasted away at the 501st troopers at the window. One by one, they fell out the window.

Ssoy ignited his saber and attacked Vader. The Dark Lord easily kept the Gungan at bay. Then, Ssoy leapt, feinting that we was going to strike high. Instead, he let gravity bring him to the ground, and he drove his saber through Vader’s ankle. The Sith Lord hollered in agony. Vader raised a hand, and what had been Yoda’s throne flew at Ssoy, who nimbly dove out of the way.
Galek charged Vader, light saber whipping through the air. Darth Vader casually reached forward and snatched the blade from Galek’s hands. Then, the Dark Lord of the Sith turned the blade on his former apprentice and impaled him on it. Galek fell.

Winston blasted Vader with a series of autofire shots. Mace Windu got past Vader’s defenses with two powerful strikes, before he raised a hand and sent Vader flying through the air and out the window. The Dark Lord vanished in the shadows below.

Ssoy charged the surviving troopers. He swept one’s leg out from under him and kicked him so he was dangling out the chamber window. “Did you ever think you’d be killed by a Gungan?” Ssoy asked before dispatching his enemy.

The other troopers saw what Ssoy had done and worked their way toward him. Mace and Winston slowed them down with a series of light saber slashes and heavy weapons fire.

“Guys,” Mac called over the com. “I’m in the security office. There are some shuttles on a landing pad just across the main corridor. Juno and I are on our way.”

The pair ran down the center of the Grand Corridor. The columns were four meters in diameter and three stories high, dwarfing the humans. Mac paused as he noticed movement in the shadows of a column. He detected a heavily armored trooper waving a hand cannon his way. Mac lay down fire, driving the trooper back. He never saw where the vehicular blaster bolt came from above and behind him, vaping Juno. The air behind Mac shimmered, and two AT-Sts materialized, with a Chiss dark JedI between them.

Ssoy charged one of the walkers, trying to climb its legs. Unfortunately, the movement shook him to the ground in front of the vehicle. The Chiss ignited a light saber and attacked the Gungan, who tumbled away from the blade.

Mac shot and shot, chasing the ARC trooper around the column. Frustrated, he drew a grenade from his belt and lobbed it where the trooper seemed to be heading. The trooper screamed in pain as the blast consumed him, cooking him inside the armor.

Death. Identity. Morality. I’ve come closer to such abstracts in the past two days than most folk do in three lifetimes, and you can rest easy knowing that as soon as my job is done, I’ll be drinking away all memories for those same two days.

A younger man, one less aware of how much the galaxy was aiming to bullseye his ass with a rancor in hyperspeed, might be enjoying the ride. As I write this entry, I’m currently sitting my soul in something I’d never heard of before, trying to get comfortable with the sensation of a couple dozen organic weaponized spikes coming out my shoulders, and while everything I didn’t sleep through in science class says I should need a year just to learn how to feed myself after such a change, I think I’m actually better off in some ways. These eyes I’m loaned can see a good fifty yards farther, hands work at least as good as my default ones, and anything that comes looking for a spot on my back to slide a knife isn’t gonna wake up any time ever. All of this is so cool, I just know there’s going to be a catch.

We’re on our way to where the disembodied soul of Mace Windu (possessing the body of some wicked battle droid with some organs thrown in for gross-out factor) tells us a cloaked Sith ship is parked, where they have stashed something called the Dark Staff. I don’t know what it is, but it’s bad enough that some fool Force-sensitive dedicated his soul to guarding the thing – wish he’d have succeeded, then we wouldn’t be in this mess. The bodies we’re in were the first troupe to go after these pieces of bantha fodder, and I can only hope whatever pokes people out of their bodies can’t work on bodies or souls that’ve already been poked. My little helper doesn’t have much to say on that, just that if we don’t find a way to re-secure the Dark Staff, running won’t do either of us much good. Why not just strap a bomb to my heart and be done with it, you ask? Because that’d just be mean on a level that has no right to exist.

Oh great space god, what exactly did we do to inspire the need for watch us suffer so?

Winston raised his blaster rifle and fired at the closest red saber. He pulled the trigger, only to have the blast deflected by the red energy. San Ryu backed away from the saber that threatened him. The saber lunged like a hydra, catching the Neimoidian on the wrist. He hollered. When he raised his pistol at his attacker, he couldn’t hold it steady enough to make the shot count.
The blades closed in on Valiri/Ssoy, who actually looked like a capable Jedi in the long brown robes. With her long white hair and attractive human body, she was definitely not like Ssoy in every single way. The Jedi/grappling Gungan struck hard and fast in a stunning arc that clove the first saber clean in two, moved on to the second saber, which fell in two pieces likewise. Then, the blade seemed to catch the remaining Sith lightsaber by surprise and turned it into shrapnel and sparks.
The mist coalesced behind the heroes, forming the shape of a cloaked man. His voice boomed through the walls. “Please, powerful Jedi, be merciful! Do not destroy the poor, lost, weak-willed fool enslaved by Darth Rivan all those centuries ago!” “You’re Sith. We’re going to destroy you and this place,” Winston threatened. There was a mometary pause.
Mac-El Guapo wished he could make contact with Venra, his Force spirit guardian. Where had that old broad gotten to? “I was imprisoned here by my Master to guard his temple. I will destroy you if you attempt this. You did not come here for me. You are after the ones who came before. They desecrated my Master’s sarcophagus, stole his tome and brought a very powerful Sith artifact, one my Master feared greatly, the darkstaff. This temple could have been destroyed.” San, always looking to profit from a situation, muttered to himself, “Sith artifact, that looks promising.”
“Who were these people?” Winston asked.
“I cannot see as you do,” the Sith spirit explained. “I see light and dark. These beings were on the darker side of the gray. They attempted to perform a ritual to create battlelords.” “Battlelords?” Winston prompted.
“Leaders. More than leaders. Individuals to whom the lives of their armies are bonded. As long as the Battlelord lives, the army cannot run away from him. The entire army become slaves to the Battlelord. They put that thing on my Master’s altar, and they performed the ritual…” The Sith crypt filled with the apprentice’s evil cackling. “Almost.”
“What do you mean, ‘Almost?’” Valiri/Ssoy questioned.
“I mean that they didn’t perform it precisely correctly. Or, they did, but it didn’t work. Because of the darkstaff. Instead of binding the soldiers to their leader, it ripped the Force essence from their bodies. Like your friend here.”
The mist drifted and formed the shape of a long hand and arm that wrapped itself around Valiri/Ssoy.
“Are their essences still in the temple?” Winston asked.
“No. The essences went away into a large crystal. Their bodies are scattered throughout the temple.”
“Why should we trust you?” Winston growled.
“Because we have similar purposes,” the spirit said, forming back into the visage of a cloaked figure. “I want revenge against those who trashed my Master’s crypt and desecrated his altar with the darkstaff ritual.”
“We don’t want revenge,” Ssoy countered.
“You don’t want an army of battlelords running loose though. We want the same things but for different reasons.”
“Is there anything in the temple we can use to defeat this battlelord master?” Mac asked.
“My master greatly feared the darkstaff because it was a power he could not properly control or defend himself against. There is nothing here. I’m a slave, tied to a place I must protect for as long as this planet orbits two suns. Please, leave me be.”
With that, the mist faded, and the heroes were alone in the crypt.
On the way out of the temple, Ssoy noticed a Selkath warrior creeping toward them. He raised a hand. “Stand back,” he said and ignited the lightsaber. The Selkath ignited a purple lightsaber of its own and took a defensive position. He seemed to recognize Valiri. “Stand down,” the Selkath advised. “Things are not as they seem. A group of Jedi was captured by a Chevin slaver called Phylus Mon. I tracked them down to this temple. I found their bodies.” The Selkath motioned toward the temple’s entrance, where six bodies lay, five with amulets around their necks.
The Selkath continued, “I tried to remove the amulet from the Selkath. It broke. I felt faint and found myself in his body.”
“I feel it brother,” Ssoy replied.
The Selkath led the group to the bodies. “They are all alive, but their Force essence is gone. I somehow know where it is.”
The heroes looked down at the bodies. Among them lay a Wookiee, an albino Trandoshan, an odd creature with quills on its back, a Tarasin and a dark-skinned human beneath tons of cybernetic equipment. This guy had not seen good times. Mac stared a long time at the cyborized human. “Sithspawn, this is Mace Windu!” Mac shouted. The words reverberated into the heart of the temple. A rumble responded to the announcement of the Jedi Master’s intrusion.
“Phylus Mon and the crystal pyramid containing the essences are on a starship near the asteroid field. We must hurry. The essences are being consumed by the darkstaff. It is a prolonged horrible death. I don’t know how strong you all are at fighting, but these vessel bodies are top notch fighters. If you break their amulet, you can use them to help defeat Mon. I can tell you their combat prowess lingers in the bodies. It will give you an edge.”
“What happens if the bodies die?” San asked.
“I have a feeling the essence will be doomed to die in the crystal pyramid, but we will return to our own bodies. You must decide if you will risk their fates.”
“They don’t have a chance being fed to the darkstaff,” San said and stepped toward the albino Trandoshan. He broke the amulet. The Neimoidian’s body fell. The Trandoshan’s eyes opened. Winston stepped toward what looked like a Sith creation. He didn’t know it, but the Rodian was taking on the body of a Barabel.
Mac stared intrigued at the Spiner. He broke its amulet.
The heroes struggled with the ghosts of the bodies’ memories, none of them pleasant. Beatings. Sexual abuse. Torture. Death had been wrought by all the vessels.
Mace and the adventurers dropped out their own bodies at two different hospitals then turned Mace’s YT-1300 and San’s borrowed Surronian Assault ship toward the asteroids above Almas. They all felt something drawing their attention toward the blackness between two asteroids. A pair of Naboo Starfighters appeared from behind the asteroids on the left and charged the incoming ships. Mac ordered San to power up the YT 1300’s guns. Winston already had the Surronian’s blasters ready. They unleashed laser fury, but the distance was too great to get a bead on the attackers. Winston gritted his Barabel’s teeth and fired again, catching the ship beneath the cockpit. In the laser flash, he could tell there was no pilot. The ship was a drone. Ssoy routed more power to the engines and rocketed the ship toward the oncoming yellow starfighter. Mac howled in victory as he mercilessly pounded the starfighter to a dead husk of scrap metal.
Mac took a cue from Ssoy and closed the distance, squeezing every bit of power from the freighter. San fired, catching the ship on its port wing. The drone made its attack run. The passengers’ mouths gaped as the lasers flew inches from the hull. “It is the will of the Force,” Mace rationalized. Mac whipped the freighter around, and San fired again, catching the other wing. Suddenly, a shadow fell over them as the Surronian rocketed toward the drone on its own attack run. The ship exploded, and the assault ship flew through the debris.
The closer to the gap between the asteroids the heroes flew, the worse they began to feel. It’s like soot in the air, thick and unpleasant and burning their lungs. It’s like a sheen of oil floating atop a pond, fouling everything good that lies beneath.
The heroes kept expecting the tractor beam, or the laser cannons, or the flight of starfighters. They drew closer to the blackness. Nothing. Five kilometers. Four.Three. Still, no sign that the ship inside that black haze knew they were closing.
Two kilometers.
One.
The blackness was both deeper and more transparent as thea come upon the ship. Shadows swirled along the surface of a cylinder that surrounded the vessel. A docking bay stood open, just the other side of the swirling shadows.
And then, they were through.
The docking bay crew wandered about in a daze, eyes vacant, zombie-like. Mac pulled the ship sharply upward to avoid squashing the crew. The top of the ship pounded against the hangar’s ceiling. Sparks flew. The hull buckled. Then, the ship settled atop one of the crew members. Ssoy noticed the docking bay workers walk purposelessly. When they bumped into a wall or one another, they turned to face a random direction. He swung the ship as far to the left as possible, where there seemed to be fewer zombie-like beings. The hull scraped against the wall as it settled.
Ssoy drew the lightsaber and rushed down the ramp. His eyes bugged. He heard a distant hum, which became a whispered conversation, which became the murmur of an unquiet crowd, which became the roar of an ocean, which became the screaming, wailing, horrifying death shout of a world. His ears ached. His eyes swam. The ground beneath his feet turned to mush.
Mac messed with the shipboard computer and found an odd signal broadcast throughout the docking bay. He tried to isolate it but couldn’t. Winston worked on a similar theory on the other ship. “I think I figured out why they’re acting like that,” he said, and Ssoy returned to the ship. Together, Mac, Ssoy, San, Mace and Winston struggled for 20 minutes to lock down the high frequency and broadcast a counter signal to neutralize it. They knew they were successful when all the docking bay members snapped back to reality.
Ssoy bounded down the ramp again. “Ladies and gentlemen,” he began. “We are here to take out the notorious Phylus Mon. Join us. Earn you freedom from him. Help the Galaxy.” He waited for the cheers, for the men and women to pick up fusion welders and hydrospanners as makeshift weapons and roar a warlike cheer.
Instead, they began to hiss. One of them said, “Why would we betray Master Mon?” Another added, “He is fair and just.”
A third, “He would hunt us down and kill anyone who betrayed him!” The second, “He is very fair that way.”
“If you don’t help us, we will fight you,” Winston threatened.
“You have to catch us first,” the third crew member said. They all turned to run through service hatches. Winston caught the smartass from behind with a blaster bolt to the back.
The heroes wandered down the long passageways. Horror crept to their bones as they realized they couldn’t hear a voice, a footstep or the whir of a droid. The security cams sat blank and unmoving. This was a ghost ship. The internal radar let them know they were very close.
Then, there was the sound of children crying down a side passage. Everyone looked at Mace Windu, who had stopped walking and looked down the hall where the children were suffering. They moved as a wall of justice to the doors of Mon’s zoo.
Three Nikto sat playing sabacc in the center of a large room, where various aliens of many odd species stood in the center of laser cages, equipped only with a bowl and some hay. Some were no bigger than Mace’s foot. Others made a Wookiee look like a cute little guy.
The target of the Niktos’ ire were the three Tarasin children. “Children are too weak for hyperspace travel. I don’t care what price they will fetch – I say we kill the lizard-brats now, and save ourselves the trouble of watching them!”
San ran in first, blaster firing. The seated Nikto jerked his head to his shoulder to avoid the shot. San was amazed by this guy’s reflexes. They were not up against amateurs. Ssoy ran in next, lightsaber humming. Winston entered third. He set the blaster on auto and let the blaster talk. Two Nikto at the table opposite Winston took the blaster bolts to their arms as they raised them to protect their faces. Mace raced into the room and ran behind a length of crates and barrels, hoping to be able to assault the Niktos on a second front. Mac stayed in the hall, looking down the scope of his rifle. The seated Nikto who had effortlessly avoided San’s shot stood no chance against the blaster bolt to his chest.
The fourth Nikto, who had been checking the settings on a control display by the far door, rushed toward Mace and took up defensive position at the opposite end of the crates and barrels. He fired at the Jedi Master, who easily leapt the blast. The Nikto fired again. Mace misjudged his jump in this different body and landed awkwardly, so he couldn’t avoid the next shot. He didn’t get his saber up in time. The blaster caught him in the side. He sucked in the pain and focused. Then, his blazing eyes looked up at the Nikto who had scored the lucky shot. The two Niktos Winston had blasted got to their feet and pulled out monstrous blaster rifles. They seemed to form an impenetrable wall between them. Winston took the blaster off auto and pumped a round into the Nikto on the left. The shot caught him in the right hand, blowing a hole clean through. When he raised the blaster to fire, he couldn’t hold it steady because of the pain, and the blast went wild.
San, Mac and Ssoy ganged up on the Nikto Ssoy had just slashed. He took five blaster bolts to his body and two lightsaber slashes before dropping.
Mace rushed the Nikto who had hurt him. His saber whirled like a storm as it repeatedly found its mark, slashing the unfortunate Nikto. Six swings and four deep slashes later, the Nikto dropped.
San, Mace and Ssoy turned on the Nikto on the right. Blasters fired. Blades swung. The overwhelmed Nikto couldn’t get a break against these battle masters. Ssoy toyed with the Nikto, then backed away carefully before charging back in with a quick slash that impaled the zookeeper. San raised his blaster on the remaining Nikto and pulled the trigger. Its head exploded like a melon.

Gungan to Human, Man to Women, Maniac to Jedi

The Amulet resists. Ssoy releases his grip for a second, his consciousness telling him something unfavorable might happen. However the little bleep that was his consciousness was clouded by the temptation of the really pretty amulet, and what it might do. Ssoy reestablishes his grip and pulls once again, the chain breaks, and Ssoy falls into darkness.

Sitting up the jedi looks around, confused. Everybody in the room stares at him, he feels different, but he knows not how. “Meesa confused,” he speaks out before spotting his previous body, or should we say her previous body. Ssoy continues to look around, but a flood of memories flood his mind.

When introduced to “that other guy” Ssoy merely stated he had to think more. She was a jedi now. She knew because he had planned to keep her lightsaber, but now things were weird. She was a jedi, she could cite the code, rehearse the forms, remember many years, that were not his. Around this time she noticed his mind was thinking much clearer then it had ever before. She was smarter, but she didn’t feel smarter she just couldn’t imagine how slow he thought previously.

Ssoy coming to grips with her new mind move on to her body. Before the swap, he had been agile fast, and flexible. Now it seems she had lost her previous dexterous nature, not all of it but most. In place of his previous flexibility, he could feel strength. So much in fact that she believed he could take on a wookiee right then and there. Ssoy had never had a thing for humans so she couldn’t effective judge how attractive the body was, but comparing it to an average female gungan, she felt it was a bit heavy.

Ssoy stands up as some of the others start to chip away at a large stone. She tries to hold her breath. Feeling pain in he lungs she releases and sighs, “dang-it.”

The Ithorian captain begged the terrorists to let him put on his Captain’s attire. For some reason, he did not want to prosecute the Rebel scum in dressed in a bath robe, with Tempest spice spilled on the floor in the next room. The anxious trigger-happy Rebels held their fire as the learned Professor Kwadwo Anokwa and Neimoidian noble San Ryu ascended in the turbo lift. Captain Roogark asked permission to have the binders removed. The Rebels, who had uncovered copious amounts of evidence suggesting Roogark had gone to great lengths to frame them… and had played a large role in the deaths of Ambassador Milac Troper and his assistant Venra Andsoff, were not about to give the Ithoian an inch. But in the end, it was the Mon Calamari’s reasoning voice that came through. “There is no need for him to be bound,” he explained. “We are going to get to the bottom of this calmly and respectfully.” There wasn’t much respect. Accusations flew back and forth across the room. However, the Rebels had electronic evidence from the dark Jedi blackmailing Roogark into helping. There were 50 Hoojibs who had almost been ejected into space for witnessing what had really happened in the herdship habitat. There was the Aqualish hired by Roogark to contain the damage and help frame the Rebels. There was the droid from the medbay who had tested over half the Hoojibs and couldn’t find a single suggestive trace of an infectious disease in their blood. In the end, Roogark was placed back in his binders, and the second in command was given control of the ship and orders to deliver Roogark back to Ithor with all the evidence that had been presented against him. The issue remained… what to do with the Hoojibs. They had been slaves of Wookiee trappers, promised freedom if they had helped neutralize the heroes’ weapons back in the habitat by using their natural talent to suck the power out of the weapons. Should they go to Alderaan? Shaler felt something uncertain about their future on that world. Naboo? Ssoy didn’t think the Naboo would take kindly to another alien sentient race. Studying the Galactic charts, they found a very habitable planet in the Cularin system. Isolated. Lush. Perfect. Anokwa gave Ryu leave to deliver the Hoojibs to their new home. As they journeyed into the Outer Rim, Shaler logged onto the holonet and learned about a public sorcerer battle in the streets where the dark Jedi had fled to. He contacted a buddy who was actually there when it happened (trying to rig the slot machines). He even managed to record the epic fight between two Dark Jedi, blasting one another back and forth, through walls and onto the street, using supernatural powers to destroy one another. “Let’s do a shot of Corellian brandy every time one of them says ‘You betrayed me,’ Mac joked. Winston broke out the bottle. Ssoy collapsed first. Winston held on through most of the video, but after a dozen accusations of betrayal and an equal number of shots, he passed out. Mac stood resolutely with the battle, and as Hereven killed his mother, who croaked “You betrayed me” with her dying breath, Mac took one last shot and leaned against the hull for support. At that moment the Aurora, Ryu’s ship, came out of lightspeed. The Cularin system was surrounded by asteroids and comets. The sober crewmates were divided how to proceed: a quick jump through an opening or a prolonged sublight navigation of the asteroid field. Afraid of the consequences of making the jump at the wrong moment, sublight won out. Mac passed out in the turret chair as Shaler fired the cannons from the co-pilot’s chair. Rocks slammed into the ship from every direction, and the Jedi’s blaster bolts found the only gaps between the rocks. Ryu spun the ship insanely between debris and boulders that dwarfed the YT-2400. They finally emerged into the Cularin system, as the drunkards began to snore and regurgitate the brandy. They touched down on Cularin at the Gadrin Starport. Governor Chistor agreed to analyze the hoojibs for communicable disease and contact the local natives about allowing the tribe to settle. If everything turned out all right, and he had no doubt they would, the hoojibs would be allowed to stay. The heroes would be staying the week anyhow because of the damage the Aurora had suffered in the asteroid field. Anokwa paid for the repairs, and Ryu used his contacts to get a starship for local usage in the meantime. He was very curious about the Jedi temple and Sith temple on the moon of Almas. If they could find some artifacts, they’d all be rolling in the dough. Ryu had no problem talking the others into the trek, so they set out for Almas. A couple thousand kilometers from the Sith temple, Ssoy and Mac began to hear voices whispering about betrayal from the others. Soon, Mac couldn’t see his allies. They had all turned to Sith! Shaler saw Darth Vader approaching him, red lightsaber ready to impale him. Ssoy saw his home city be swallowed by a gigantic fish. Somehow, despite all the attempts of the dark side to drive the heroes mad, they settled the Surronian ship on top of the mostly-buried Sith temple.

Shaler and Ssoy saw the sandy path ahead of them had rake-like marks across its sides, as if someone had tried to cover the tracks of some creature or person. Winston identified the sandy path as quicksand and advised everyone to carefully make their way around the path. Shaler decided it was safest to go to the left around the quicksand. Everyone followed. The Rodian’s foot slipped on the edge of the sand, and he tumbled into the quicksand. As he called after his companions for help, Winston noticed a gigantic veermok hiding in the foliage extremely close to Shaler. “Don’t move! There’s a veermok right…” The beast charged Shaler, nearly knocking the Jedi into the quicksand behind him. Mac launched energy bolts toward the monster, and Troper stealthily circumvented the veermok through the forest, to sneak up on it from behind. Shaler ignited his saber and swung low, beneath the veermok’s mighty arms. Ssoy pulled Winston from the quicksand, and the muddied Rodian was quick to draw his blaster rifle and cause the veermok a galaxy of hurt. Ssoy charged the veermok and tackled it. Troper and Winston closed in and blasted the life out of the tackled beast. Winston took point again and was more concerned with getting the drying quicksand off his clothes and equipment than watching where he was going. Luckily, Shaler caught up to Winston and helped him stay on the path. Winston looked up and saw another veermok charge out of the brush. He drew his blaster but nearly got knocked off his feet. Shaler drew his saber and started slashing the creature. Troper and Mac raised their weapons and started pounding energy into the veermok. Ssoy charged the veermok and pinned its arms behind its body. The beast roared and sank its teeth into Ssoy’s neck. Purple Gungan blood rained onto the path. Winston raised his blaster and blew the beast’s head into fragments. Winston stared at the rocky uphill path ahead of him and then at a path through the brush created by nerfs passing by. The nerf path looked like it would circumvent the difficult road ahead and meet up where they wanted to go. The path passed through a small clearing, where topped trees formed an attractive shelter at the far end of the clearing. Ssoy thought it looked like a perfect place to camp, and since the artificial sun was sinking low, he started toward the tree shelter. Shaler kept up with the Gungan, curious about what might be inside the den. He noted two sets of blazing red eyes blaring from the den. Ssoy saw them also and fired a blast toward them. The blaster fire hit, and the space black vornskyr charged forward, drawn to Shaler because of his force sensitivity. Shaler leapt aside and swung his lightsaber. The creature seemed able to anticipate his action and side stepped the swing. Mac and Winston drew their blasters and became quickly discouraged at how the beasts were able to effortlessly avoid the blaster fire. Troper took a position beneath a tree, dropped to one knee and proved the vornskyrs could be shot. However, they kept attacking Shaler. “Those things are attracted to force sensitive types, Shaler,” Troper warned. Shaler had already figured that out for himself, as the vornskyr ignored everyone else. The second vornskyr dedicated itself to Ssoy. It charged him and dug its claws into his flesh. Ssoy backed up a step and hurled a stun grenade toward the vornskyrs and to the left, to keep Shaler from being fragged. The dogs howled but kept up their attacks. Shaler swung at his vornskyr’s scorpion-like tail. The tail caught his hand. Shaler’s lightsaber fell past the vornskyr and rolled on the ground. The poison seemed to make the blood in Shaler’s veins burn in agony. Ssoy decided to charge and wrestle the beast that was attacking him. The vornskyr was not anticipating this and found itself aching beneath the Gungan. It couldn’t tear itself from Ssoy’s grip. The Gungan pulled out his carbine and set it to autofire. The vornskyr tore loose from Ssoy and pinned his assailant beneath its maw. Ssoy pulled a reversal and pulled the trigger, burning a hole in the beast’s belly. Troper seized the moment and seared the vornskyr’s side. Winston struggled to hit Shaler’s vornskyr. The vornskyr flipped onto Ssoy again. The Gungan had begun frustrated by now and reached to punch the beast in the hole he’d blasted open. The beast howled. Troper shot the dog again, and it rolled off Ssoy onto its side. Meanwhile, Shaler’s vornskyr dug its claws into the Jedi’s chest. The Jedi fell unconscious beneath the large tree. Winston caught the beast unaware and pounded it with a mighty shot. The wounded vornskyrs had a difficult time avoiding the blaster bolts and quickly became defeated. Ssoy climbed out from under the unconscious beast and dove elbow first at his attacker’s neck. Crunch. One vornskyr down… permanently. Winston blasted the other vornskyr to death. The Rodian rushed toward Shaler and pulled out his medkit. Within twenty seconds, Shaler was stabilized. Winston looked toward the den and saw two smaller pairs of eyes gleaming out at him. Cubs. “We can’t stay here,” Winston said. He fireman carried Shaler to the main path, where the jungle sloped down to meet a little beach on a small lake. The artificial mountain range was tucked behind the lake. At the beach edge was a large tree that could hold everyone safely in its branches. The group climbed up and settled down to sleep as the light left the jungle. On Winston’s watch, the middle shift, he saw a herd of nerfs make their way across the beach. Then, there was a shrill cry that sent the jungle into a panic. A beast twice as large as the nerf swooped from the sky and dragged a screaming nerf into the darkness above. “At least it’s full and won’t come after us,” Winston told Troper. When morning came, the rebels made their way down from the tree. Shaler was awake, but not too steady on his feet. “We avoid combat today,” he announced. Ssoy saw the nerfs on the beach and smiled. “We can make better time if we ride these,” he said and ran onto the beach toward the nerfs. They scattered running. Ssoy stood in front of one, motioning for it to approach him. The beast charged, and Ssoy dove out of the way in time to avoid being engorged on its horns. Winston guided everyone down the beach, keeping everyone away from the water and the lobster-like creatures with razor-sharp claws chattering at the water’s edge. He looked to the side and saw a large three-headed snake slink out of the water. Shaler saw the divto and ran. Ssoy produced a stun grenade and hurled it. The snake writhed in the blue electric storm. Mac shot and hit the beast. It slithered up the beach and snapped at Mac and Ssoy. Its third head went limp, thanks to the grenade attack. Ssoy pulled an empty sack from his pocket and dangled it in front of the snake, as if it was a treat. He tossed it onto the beach, and the divto ran after it. Mac and Ssoy took the opportunity to run off after their companions. They reached the foot of the artificial mountains, which stood like a wall in front of them. The path led up to a giant waterfall. Winston noted there was a cave behind the waterfall. He looked around. The cave seemed to be the only way past the mountain and to the door behind it. The rest of the party agreed. They gathered their wits and began the climb.

Blah. Blah. Blah. Ambassador Troper was going on about how the security detail wasn’t necessary. Great start to guard duty… being told you aren’t really wanted. Then, everything changed as the blast door leading out of the herdship jungle fell shut and locked. Everyone was trapped inside. Somewhere n the deep rainforest, a beast roared. Venra, the cherub-like assistant to the ambassador, muttered, “I thought Ithorians didn’t keep preadators on their herdships. I have a bad feeling about this.” “Looks like you need us now,” Winston rubbed in Ambassador Troper’s face. The Rodian turned to the others and whispered, “I think it’s the girl. She set all this up.” “That doesn’t make sense,” Shaler said. “She brought us in here. Why would she do that if she wanted to off her boss?” Apparently Venra had been listening. She barged into the conversation. “If I was behind this, I would not be on this side of the blast doors,” she said. “Well, I’m keeping a blaster near you,” Winston sneered. “Please do,” Venra pled. “I’m unarmed, and it sounds like there’s something nasty out there.” Then the chirping started. It began like a hundred spukamas purring affectionately. Large eyes and furry white bodies, no more than a two feet high, poked out of the brush. Mac recognized the creatures from a Galaxy Wonders Explorer holovid he’d watched while snookered on Correllian brandy. The creatures in the trees were known as hoojibs. What did that program say? Mac recalled the narrator saying hoojibs were sentient, not beasts. They can also drain energy by being in close contact with electronic devices, like droids and power packs. Mac looked down and saw furry paws running across his utility belt, pawing his blaster’s holster. “Get those things off you!” Mac shouted. “They’re called hoojibs, and they’ll suck your power packs dry.” “Let’s tie these things up,” Winston suggested. “I’ve got synthrope,” Shaler volunteered. The hoojibs all leapt from the arms of the rebels and tore off into the jungle. “After them!” Winston shouted and pursued the largest herd of the group. The Rodian noted the hoojibs leapt from tree to tree, so the trick to tracking them was finding cracked branches. Winston led the group through the jungle, following the hoojibs’ subtle trail for almost an hour before he misjudged a cracked branch as being a change in the hoojibs’ path. Five minutes later, Winston, who had grown up tracking beasts across Rodia, had to admit the trail had gone cold. He backtracked twelve minutes before catching the trail again. Winston burst with renewed hope so much the others could barely keep up with their tracking leader. Mac casually looked over his shoulder and noticed a big-eyed white-faced creature sneaking up on Shaler from behind, paws reaching for his lightsaber. “Hey! Mac yelled and took a swing at the hoojob. The startled creature fell back a step, and Mac fists vanished in the fur but didn’t hit the body.

“What is your ship’s name and your purpose on Bazarr?” the Ithorian’s voice crackled throughout the cockpit. Shaler froze. He muted the com and turned to Winston. “Should we use this baby’s real BOSS registry information?” Shaler could see veins try to leap out of the Rodian’s head. “No way!” Winston shouted. “We stole this Imperial freighter back on Butun Liind.” Shaler swallowed and unmuted the com. “Bazarr traffic control, this is the Atlantis. I’m Shaler. Winston’s sitting next to me, and Ssoy, Mac El Guapo, Marella and Wrrl are also on board. We’re supposed to report to an Alliance officer on board your herd ship.” “Permission to land granted,” the voice crackled. “Stand by for landing coordinates.” Shaler scanned the docking bay’s directions and swung the freighter toward Isttu City. Upon approach, the Jedi pilot snagged his sleeve on the thrusters. Instead of kicking in the repulsor engines, he launched the Atlantis toward the hangar at mind-shuffling speed. With Jedi reflexes, he pulled the ship upright, so it shot perpendicular to the herd ship. In the barracks, Mac flipped off his cot and wound up on top of the sleeping Gungan. The G-forces yanked Marella out of the refresher, unwillingly sending her on top of El Guapo. The Atlantis roared over the Bazarr and corkscrewed its way back to the docking bay. Once on safe durasteel, the Rebels marched down the landing ramp. They were greeted by the herd ship’s commanding officer, Captain Roogark, and his top officers. “Sorry about that mess with the docking bay,” Shaler apologized, trying to look as official in his Honor Guard uniform as possible. He certainly didn’t feel like he belonged in the garb. The uniform must have covered up his lack of confidence, because Roogark replied, “Those controls can get a bit feisty. Come on. Venra is waiting at the command center.” Outside the docking bay, a Thranta was tethered to the wall. The Ithorians undid the ropes, once the Rebels climbed into the cabin strapped on top of the eight-meter long bird-fish. Roogark took the reigns. Instantly, everyone found themselves with a phenomenal view of Isttu. The city consisted of classic Republic architecture, seamlessly blended with the landscape. Nothing had been torn down or moved to make way for these buildings. Engineering had been executed to utilize nature. In the center of it all sat a long street connecting two plazas. The plazas were filled with market stalls, selling anything and everything legal to be sold in the Galaxy. The street was lined with storefronts, for those who’d graduated from market stalls. The Thranta released some methane, and the Rebels needed wobbled to the nearest seat. Winston and Shaler gagged. Ssoy felt uncomfortable, but it was only as bad as some of the bogs he’d hiked through back on Naboo. Minutes later, the Thranta set down on a landing pad outside the municipal facility. The doors to the traffic control offices slid open, and a freckle-faced brunette human female stepped forward. She was dressed in a pressed white shirt and a suit jacket. She was all business. “Welcome to Isttu. Anokwa did a good job choosing the Honor Guards. Different species. A female amongst the boys. You’ll do nicely. My name is Venra Andsof, assistant to Ambassador Troper. You’ll report directly to me.” Venra selected Shaler, Winston and Ssoy. “You three are on hangar detail. Go through traffic control’s databases. They have on file every ship in the Bazarr’s hangars. Go through the hangars ship by ship if you have to. Single out every vessel belonging to a mercenary, assassin, bounty hunter or known Imperial agent. I want threat assessments made, and then we’ll remove them from the herd city. We will strike all potential problems before they come to the awareness of Incom’s executives.” Venra addressed the other Rebels. “Put on your best smiles, lady and gentlemen. You’ll be decoration for a photo with the ambassador, his staff, and the gents from Incom.” While Marella, the Wookiee and Mac went blind from all the holocam lights, Ssoy, Shaler and Winston scrolled through the traffic control computers. Ten thousand ships were docked inside the Bazarr. No red flags appeared. “How about we narrow the search for two to five-crew member ships?” Winston puzzled. Several key clicks later, the ten thousand ships became four thousand. The Rebels stared dully at all the data. Shaler jacked his datapad into the holonet transceiver. Transcript of chat with Gola S: Gola? G: Who are you? What’s your holonet handle? S: I’m Zrask’s friend. He told you might be able to help me out. G: Possible. S: I need four thousand ships checked for known aliases and wanted postings. G: Hacking into BOSS isn’t easy. It takes someone real talented. You’re chatting with the right Bothan. S: So how much are we talking about? G: 400 credits. S: Sounds pricey. G: 200. I’m behind on my rent. [pause] 100. S: Sorry. It sounds too good. End of transmission. “Well, how about we look for…” Winston began, as the others overheard a traffic control technician saying, “Bloodstains by the ramp…smells like death. Stay away from the ship. We’ll send a crew to check it out.” The rebels pounced on the Ithorian like lemmie defensive players on a loose ball. “What was that about?” Sayler asked, all but shaking the poor Ithorian in his chair. “There’s a Dynamic freighter in the docking bays. Someone passed-by and noticed a horrid smell coming from it. She investigated and saw what she described as blood stains on the landing ramp.” “Give me the coordinates. We’re going,” Shaler announced. Roogark ordered an air speeder be delivered to the landing pad for the Rebels’ use. As Shaler piloted the speeder into the bay, Winston noticed this was a long term docking area. Shaler slowed the speeder to a hover as he double-checked the coordinates. This had to be the Dynamic Class freighter all right. He set down. The lady who filed the complaint was right about one thing. The place smelled like death. As the trio approached the closed and locked ramp, they noticed bloody streaks on the ramp panel. Not just smears, it looked like bloody carcasses had been dragged on board. Shaler commed Roogark. “Captain Roogark, this is Shaler. You’d best get down here.” Roogark sighed and said, “I’m sending a crew to open it up. Sayler spent the next minute trying to keep Winston from tinkering with the security keypad. “We don’t want the ship’s owner to know we’re here,” the pilot kept trying to get through the soldier’s head. Little did Sayler know, the owner was already present. Eventually, two Ithorians and two droids arrived. The technicians wired the droids into the keypad. Minutes later, the landing ramp descended, along with a rank stench that made Winston’s head spin, Sayler need to drop to his knees as his stomach flip-flopped. “Ssoy,” Sayler croaked, “You go first.” The Gungan shrugged and strode on board. He faced closed doors in front of him, to his left and right. He chose the left door. It wound around to what should be crew quarters. When the barracks doors slid open, Ssoy was not prepared to find one of the Galaxy’s top trophy room inside. Veersmoks, krayt dragons and Nevvalan heads were mounted to the hull. The Gungan’s tongue dropped out as he gaped at the ultimate work of a master hunter. Sayler chose the right door. It led to the circular living quarters. His eyes stumbled on a holomag of Rodian pornography, left on the round table. There was another one on the chair. And another two on the booth’s seat. Who needed this much Rodian porn, Sayler pondered, unable to pry his eyes away from the green-skinned girls. Winston entered, saw the holomags and decided to keep his cool. He’d pocket one or two before he left the ship. He moved the magazines off the chair, sat down and opened what appeared to be a log book. The transactions were primarily with a Trandoshan clan. The captain of this ship provided the clan with pelts and paws of dead Wookiees. Sometimes, he brought whole Wookiee villages as slaves. Wrrl was going to blow a coupling when he heard about this. Ssoy headed toward the cockpit. He almost passed-up the com quarters, but screens and print-outs, all displaying bounty postings on a Rodian named “Horno” made him stop in midstep. “Any of you recognize a Rodian named ‘Horno,’” Ssoy asked over the com. Sayler had… in Bespin cantinas, spoken in whispers among bounty hunters looking for easy credits. Winston recognized the name. but the context eluded him like an itch behind his brain. The Jedi slipped through the corridor to the captain’s quarters. His eyes were transfixed by the amazing number of empty gun racks mounted to the hull. Empty boxes of thermo detonators sat discarded in a corner. Packaging for enough blaster packs to keep a mercenary force happy lay dumped on top of the bunk. Under the bunk was an unassuming box. Inside it was a dozen Wookiee paws and the teeth and fingers from a dozen other species. Trophies for a demented mind. Under the pillow, Shayler hit pay dirt. It was the captain’s journal. Unfortunately, it was written in Rodese. “Winston, get in here,” Shayler called. The Rodian cut through what would typically be the ship’s cargo holds. The first was filled with taxidermied sentients. They stood posed as they’d been when Horno killed them. The ghastly remains of a renowned Rodian enforcer stood lifeless, looking Winston in the eyes. The young Rodian’s blood boiled. He moved onto the next compartment, which was obviously where the stink originated. Different beasts lay torn apart in different stages of preservation and reassembly. One creature lay strapped to a table, where it had been allowed to slowly bleed to death. Seconds later, Winston entered Horno’s quarters and began flipping through his journal. The itch behind his brain turned into a seed, and his associations with Horno’s name returned into a flood. Horno, a long time ago in the Tyrius system, was a renowned big game hunter. Being among the top hunters on Rodia essentially put him in the top hunters Galaxy-wide. Horno’s career hit a severe bump when a competitor alleged Horno drugged his prey before killing them. Horno responded to this outrage by meeting with his accuser, who he accidentally killed. After a massive manhunt and a bloody trail of mangled enforcers, it was apparent Horno had escaped the planet. Horno decided to tour the Galaxy and kill the biggest, nastiest game possible, to reestablish his reputation of the Galaxy’s top hunter. To finance these expeditions, he took work from a Trandoshan clan to sneak onto Kashyyk and enslave or butcher whole tribes of Wookiees. Horno’s exploits were so horrific, the Wookiees declared him their public enemy number one and placed a large bounty on his head. When the details of Horno’s deeds reached mainstream press, the Trandoshans had to save face by turning against their prized freelancer and place their own bounty on Horno’s head. According to the journal, the Rodian hunter journeyed to Ithor to hunt some game. He docked the freighter two weeks ago and will return shortly. Shayler called Roogark. “You need to find this guy,” the Jedi ordered. “We will,” Roogark explained. “He rented a shuttle from here to Mother Jungle. The shuttle returned two hours ago. We’ll catch him.” Meanwhile, Ssoy slouched in the pilot chair. The controls were the most basic he’d ever seen… A searing pain burned through his back. He smelt ozone and saw flakes of the chair explode behind him. He’d been shot! Before he could turn around, the blaster man got another shot off, knocking Ssoy back against the control panel. Before Ssoy could get a look at his attacker, the blast door leading out of the cockpit slid shut. He must have a silencer, the Gungan thought. “Misso been shot!” Ssoy yelled into his com. Shayler and Winston dropped the journal and box of trophies. They sprinted down the corridor toward the living area hub. Winston caught movement from the corner of his eye. Something was moving down the corridor to the storage area. The door was closing fast. The Rodian altered his course. “The cockpit’s this way,” Shayler shouted. “I saw something go this way!” Winston yelled and dove through the closing door. The soldier tumbled true and popped up to see the mechanical legs of a med droid. The droid turned around, revealing cold impassionate eyes. Blood soaked surgical instruments whirred at the ends of its appendages. They were nothing less than torture devices to Winston. He raised his blaster and hit the droid between chest plates. The processor blew, igniting the droid’s core. The chassis exploded, and a whirling saw buried itself in the hull six inches above Winston’s head. Ssoy hit the button to open the blast doors. As soon as there was a visible gap, he dove through, getting himself entangled in a net Horno had set in the corridor. The Gungan kicked and whirled, throwing the net off him. Horno popped out of the comm. Room. He wore a white trench coat and bizarre white hunter’s hat. For some reason, he chose to wear sunglasses inside the ship. The Rodian carried a massive blaster rifle, painted to blend in with jungle foliage, and topped with a vibrobayonet. The hunter wasn’t shooting or stabbing at the moment. He produced a grenade from his satchel and lobbed it at Ssoy. The ball hit the net Ssoy swung about him and got swatted right back at Horno. It exploded in a rain of blue sparks, which stunned the Galaxy’s top hunter. The door opened behind Horno. Shayler had his blaster pistol drawn and aimed. He squeezed the trigger, and Horno hollered as he stumbled forward. The Rodian then charged Ssoy and impaled him on the bayonet. Shayler ignited his lightsaber and leapt through the doorway, swinging the blade so it would disarm Horno one way or another. The narrow corridor messed with Shayler’s swipe, and the saber barely slashed Horno’s upper arm. The Jedi was shocked to hear a Wookiee bellow close enough behind him to smell the creature’s breath. A blaster bolt caught Shaler in the back. His attacker was a huge Wookiee, even larger than Wrrl. Its fur was black. It wore a bandolier equipped with numerous hooks for carrying all types of weaponry and gear. Winston stood in the living area, unseen to the Wookiee bounty hunter. He shot the beast with a barrage of bolts. Shaler went for another disarming strike against Horno, getting more shoulder than arm. Horno pulled the bayonet free and tried to sidestep into the comm room. Shayler again swung the lightsaber. Ssoy heaved an energy ball into the room, catching his opponent in an agonizing sphere of electrical energy. Shaler whirled around, sizing up the Wookiee hunter. He didn’t like the odds a bit. He dove between the Wookiee’s legs and spun around, pistol drawn. He caught the hunter in the back with a shot only a Wookiee could suck up. The bounty hunter took out her frustration on the Gungan’s face. Then, the entire freighter shook as a missile struck the ship’s cockpit. Seconds later, the sound of claws stomping on the durasteel floor echoed down the corridor. Ssoy ran toward it, amidst his comrade’s cries of “What do you think you’re doing?” A gigantic Trandoshan marched through the cockpit’s remains into the corridor. Ssoy dove past the bounty hunter, through the hole the missile made and rolled on the hangar floor. Panting, he activated his com. “Captain, Roogark, please hurry.” “I’m already here.” Ssoy looked up to see headlights shining, plus whirling security lights, whisking through the labyrinth of starships. “Bossk,” the Wookiee hunter hissed, just before the giant lizard raised his flame thrower and filled the corridor with fire. Shaler screamed as he ducked and covered himself with his arms. Fire washed over and engulfed him. Winston dropped back as he swatted the swirling flames. The Jedi rolled on the deck, snuffing the fire. The Rodian helped him to his feet and led him to the ramp for a strategic retreat. Ssoy was already giving Roogark the rundown when the charred Rodian and human limped up to the Ithorian guards. The officers hurried inside, blasters raised. Shaler looked around. He saw the unconscious forms of the maintainance crew and the busted hulks that had been the droids. Roogark caught Shaler’s gaze. “Ion grenade,” he explained. They’ll be okay. Minutes ticked by as the guards covered the ship. No blaster fire sounded, making Shaler extremely uncomfortable. He paced beneath the freighter. He stopped walking, leaned against a landing leg then whirled around to look into Bossk’s chestplate. The enormous Trandoshan delivered a mind-wobbling uppercut to Shaler’s face, sending him bouncing off the landing leg. By the time the Galaxy stopped spinning in front of him and he could say a coherent word, Bossk had vanished. Above, he could see a trap door that led into the comm room. He didn’t even need to be told by Roogark. Harno was gone.