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| - “So let me get this straight,” Carth began as he leaned on the elevator wall, “we’re going to break in to the Black Vulkar base--in the middle of a gang war--steal a dangerous piece of equipment, and then win the most deadly sport in the galaxy!" Nik crossed his arms. “I didn't hear you coming up with any good ideas, Captain. You heard Gadon. The only way we can rescue Bastila is if we win the race. Now come on. We have to find that Twi'lek." The two soldiers crept through the maze of makeshift tents and huddling peasants, barely able to see as the colossal skyscrapers cast shadows over the entire planet, blocking out the sun completely. Smoking meat tickled their nostrils, cries of suffering hammered their ears. “Run, Hendar, run!” a woman's voice called in the distance. "I don't like the sound of that," Nik muttered "Hurry, Hendar, hurry!" Nik and Carth discovered its source at the village gate. A man and woman were arguing. "He’ll never make it. He’s doomed!" "He will make it!” the woman exclaimed, turning her attention to the man on the other side of the gate. “Run, Hendar, run!" His voice called from the opposite side of the wall. "Open the gate, quickly! There isn’t much time!" "I can’t, the rakghouls are too close!” the guard yelled. “If I open the gate they’ll kill us all!" The woman saw the two soldiers coming and fell at their feet. "Please, make him open the gate! Hendar will die if he doesn't!" Nik shifted his view between the guard and woman. "Open the gate. We'll worry about the rakghouls." The guard looked at Nik in surprise. "You'd risk your life for a stranger? You're brave, upworlder." As the gate whined open, the two soldiers drew their weapons once again. "Here they come..." Nik said softly. Carth twirled his pistols and pointed them at the monsters. "Let's go!" Before either could strike, one of the mutants a good twenty feet away lunged at Hendar. His lifeless body crumpled onto the dead soil. Another rakghoul set its eyes on the two soldiers. Carth immediately ducked, the first rakghoul soaring right over his head. A few shots from Nik's blaster rifle took down the second mutant. Nik stood over Hendar’s fallen body, and in respect closed the dead man’s eyes. He heard a wail as Hendar’s wife ran away crying. “All part of being a soldier, Lieutenant,” Carth said, but his words were of no comfort. Nik nodded, and as he stood up, some movement caught the corner of his eye. His blaster rifle trained on something blue. It got closer, and Nik quickly lowered his rifle when he saw the familiar, young Twi’lek he had met in the bar. "Please, please, you have to help me!” Mission yelled as she grabbed Carth’s arms. “No one will help me, not even the Beks will help me!" Carth grabbed the young girl’s shoulders. "Just calm down, Mission. What's going on?" Mission tried to relax, but Nik could see the urgency her eyes. After a brief moment he allowed her to continue. "It’s Zaalbar. He’s in trouble--big trouble. We have to help him. If we don’t, they’ll sell him into slavery!" Nik rubbed the girl’s back. "Wait, who will sell him?" Mission wiped the tears in her eyes. "Gamorrean slavers. We didn't even have a chance to run! Big Z threw himself at them and then roared for me to run! I took off...I figured he'd be right behind me..." "Do you know where he's being kept?" Carth asked. "The Gamorreans make their camps in the sewers I bet that’s where we’ll find Zaalbar.” Nik perked his eyes. "That’s where the secret entrance to the Vulkar base is! Okay, Mission, we’ll help you if you show us where that secret entrance is." Mission smiled. "It's a deal. Let's go!" Nik jerked in reaction to the stench of waste products as if he had been punched in the face by a Wookiee. The Tarisian sewers somehow managed to smell worse than the Lower City, and were twice as dirty. As the trio moved into a big, round room, Nik tried to ignore the monotonous trickle of water that threatened to lull him to sleep. Mission solved the problem for him. "Hey Carth, you're a soldier for the Republic, right? You’ve been all over the galaxy, right? So how would you rank Taris to other planets?" The older soldier shrugged. "To be honest, Mission, Taris would rank pretty low. With all the prejudice, the rich spoiling themselves while the poor starve beneath them, it’s not a pretty picture." "Yeah, but that’s only since the Sith occupation,” Before that...” Missions stopped and rethought before she spoke again. “Well, I guess it wasn’t all that different, really." The sewers rumbled. Nik swore he could see something moving in the distance. "Trust me, Mission, there are a lot of worlds better than Taris--there are worse, too, but Taris is no place for a kid to grow up on her own, even a kid who’s got a Wookiee to look out for her.” "Hey, I ain’t no kid! I look out for Zaalbar as much as he looks out for me. Big Z’s my friend, not my baby-sitter! I come to ask you a question and you give me a lecture!" Nik felt the ground shake, and the growling sounded closer. "Uh, guys..." Carth got into Mission’s face. "Don’t you snap at me, missy! You want a lecture? How’s this? Only bratty little children fly off the handle because of a simple comment!" Nik saw the dark shape again. It was big. "Guys..." Mission shoved Carth away. "I don’t have to listen to you, Carth. You ain’t my father...though you’re sure old enough to be!" The dark shape flashed its long teeth, and drool poured down. “RANCOR!!!" The twenty-foot beast howled, its rancid breath making the eau de sewer seem like expensive perfume. Fortunately for the trio, while the rancor was a notoriously deadly animal, its oversized frame made outmaneuvering the beast a breeze. Mission and Carth danced around the rancor's legs, ducking for cover. Nik whipped out a frag grenade and hurled it at the large beast. While the monster's thick hide protected it from the explosion, the blinding blast stunned the beast long enough for the group to escape. Nik leaned on his knees and glared at the other two. "Let's keep the chit-chat to a minimum, all right?" The trio continued through the maze of drainage pipes and rusted walkways. Carth took the lead, with Mission in back, and Nik separating the two. "All I'm sayin' is I think you should let me lead the way. I'm not the one that led us to the rancor." She dashed around a corner, cutting off the two soldiers. "Sorry for my outburst, Carth. But I’ve managed to survive Taris on my own for so long, and I’m sick of everyone treating me like I’m a helpless kid. Come on, I think I recognized this place." Carth didn't bother trying to stop the young Twi'lek. "How could you? It all looks the same." Nik held up his hand. "Wait, Mission! There could be--" The door opened, revealing a pack of overgrown pigs who grunted and snarled at the trio. “--Gamorreans.” Both sides drew weapons. Nik ducked as a vibro-axe sliced the air in two. Mission and Carth fired off a couple of shots, but the thick animal hide of the Gamorreans' armor absorbed all the energy of the blasts. Carth strangled the pig in the lead, allowing Nik to grab the brute's weapon. Nik was rather grateful that his boasts about Carth's strength were accurate. Fumbling with the oversized axe, he managed to strike another Gamorrean with the blunt end. As Carth continued to choke the first guard, Mission pulled out her own vibroblade and thrust the sword into the third guard's chest. Nik cried out in pain as blood spattered on his face and a vibro-axe dug into his shoulder, almost near his neck. The pig's grunt of pleasure turned into a squeal of agony as Mission came from behind and slit the Gamorrean's throat. A roar hollered through the thick metal door. Mission attacked the deadbolt, and before the door could slide open she jumped into the arms of the giant Wookiee. "Big Z! I thought I'd never find you!" The Wookiee growled a sympathetic response. "Promise me you won't go poking around the sewers on an empty stomach ever again!" Zaalbar chuckled. "I promise. And now I owe each of you a life debt for rescuing me." Mission stared at her friend. "Are you sure about that, Big Z?" The huge beast nodded. "It would disgrace the Wookiee name if I did not." Nik wiped the warm mess off his shoulder with a damp cloth, soaking up the blood as it seeped out of the fresh wound. It stung for a few painful seconds before numbing the wound enough for Carth to wrap his friend’s shoulder with some bandages from a medpac. Nik stood up and moved the arm around until the pain went away and his arm soon felt good for another battle. “All right, we helped you so now you help us. Which way to the Vulkar Base?” Nik took a survey of the area: oil stained the floor in more places than not, there were traces of blood on the support columns, and the odor of both filled the air. "So this is the Black Vulkar base? Could use a bit of redecorating." Mission checked a nearby computer terminal and surveyed a layout of the place. "That swoop part you're looking for should be in the garage upstairs." Nik nodded. "Carth and I will go look around. Mission, Zaalbar, go see if you can find a way to distract the guards." It didn't take the two soldiers long to find the turbolift. They informed their two comrades, but received only static as an answer. Nik kept pressing the button on his wrist. "Mission? Mission, are you there?" A low rumbling echoed through the corridors of the base, and soon erupted into an explosive and destructive blast. Alarms screeched throughout the building, and Vulkars poured from every orifice of the base, hollering curses and demanding an explanation. The gang was far too confused and outraged to notice the two armored soldiers who slipped into the secure storage area. "What's this? Looks like we have some visitors. Bek thieves, no less!" Carth and Nik spun around. Two Twi’leks stood in front of them, one male one female. Both were armored and carrying heavy blasters. "Handsome thieves," added the male guard's companion. Nik groaned with repulsion. "What is your business, thief?" asked the first Twi'lek. Carth spoke first. "We’re just curious--what is it that Gadon wants so badly?" The male guard pointed at a safe, which the two soldiers assumed held the swoop part. "Why, the accelerator, of course! Now that the Vulkars have it, Gadon's swooper doesn't stand a chance." The female smiled and rubbed her blaster. "Shall I kill them now, darling?" The male held up a hand. "Not yet, dear. Perhaps this one could be of use to us." Nik charged up his rifle. "Forget it! I'm not here to work for you." Carth aimed his two blasters at the male Vulkar’s gut. "Hand over the accelerator, or we'll blast a hole in you big enough for a star cruiser to fly through. The guard shrugged. "Ah, well. Kill them, my sweet." The two Twi'leks never stood a chance. Carth fired his blaster before the guard had finished speaking, and Nik had shot the Twi’lek’s companion. However, the Black Vulkars’ energy shields absorbed each shot entirely. Blaster fire tore through Nik's shoulder, tearing apart the wound he had mended only minutes earlier. A shot to the chest hurled Carth onto the floor. The energy shields deflected shot after shot, until Nik resorted to beating the guard with the butt of his rifle. Carth used his strangle hold on the other. Nik grabbed the key card from the male guard's corpse and swiped it through the reader. With one hand, he relieved the safe of the swoop part and tossed it to Carth, with the other he signaled Mission on his comlink. "We've got the accelerator. Meet us back at the Bek base."
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