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| - Nik stirred himself out of pure necessity, too frightened to stay asleep, afraid to face the wrath of his fantasy woman. “Good to see you up, instead of thrashing about in your sleep,” called a rough voice. Nik turned to face his captain, straining his eyes to adjust to the room’s intense lighting and the god-awful color of his C.O.’s jacket. “You looked like you were having one hell of a nightmare.” Nik confirmed this with a nod. “I’m Carth, captain of the Endar Spire...may she rest in peace. I was with you in the escape pod, do you remember “A little bit, I--ow!” He jerked his hand to his head, wincing from a hellish headache and an even worse swelling. “That’s gonna leave a mark.” Carth’s chuckle was as raspy as his voice, and Nik grinned at his own joke. “I’m Nik...Nik Starfall. Where are we? How did we get here?” “You’ve been slipping in and out of consciousness for a few days, so I imagine you’re pretty confused, but try not to worry; we’re safe, at least for the moment. We’re in an abandoned apartment on the planet of Taris.” Nik recognized the name, but it was lost among the thousands of planets and systems that he knew in passing. “You were banged up pretty bad when the escape pod crashed, but luckily I wasn’t seriously hurt. I was able to drag you away from the crash site in all the confusion. By the time the Sith arrived, we were long gone.” “I guess I owe you my life...thanks,” Nik said, holding out his hand. Carth pushed it away. “You don’t have to thank me. I’ve never abandoned anyone on a mission, and I’m not about to start now. Besides, I’m gonna need your help.” Nik eyed his captain curiously. “Taris is under Stih control, the fleet is orbiting the planet, they’ve declared martial law, and they’ve established a planet-wide quarantine, but I’ve been in worse spots. It’s Bastila I’m worried about.” That was a name Nik didn’t take pleasure in hearing. She had caused him enough trouble as it was. However, Nik tried to remain diplomatic about the situation. “Bastila’s a Jedi. She can handle herself.” He could see Carth wasn’t buying it. “What’s so special about her anyway?” “She’s not just any Jedi,” Carth attempted to explain, “She was with the strike team that killed Darth Revan. Bastila’s the key to the whole Republic war effort, some kind of Jedi hocus pocus called “Battle Meditation.” Nik laughed aloud at the phrase, but Carth continued, “For the sake of the Republic war effort, we have to find her. Nobody will be looking for a couple of common soldiers like us--a luxury Bastila won’t have.” Nik wasn’t about to argue politics with the captain. “Good, then let’s get off of this rock before they do start looking.” Carth sighed, “Unfortunately, the whole planet is under quarantine; no ships can land or take off, so if we’re going to escape Taris, we’re gonna need her help.” Nik jumped off his bed and grabbed his blaster rifle. “Then we’d better get started.” Patting his twin blaster pistols, Carth nodded. “All right, soldier, let’s move out!” The duo strolled through the Upper City of Taris, trying their best to blend in, while Carth gave a brief history lesson of the planet, “The whole planet is one big city, but its golden years have passed.” Nik wasn’t in the mood for a history lesson, but nodded politely. “Taris used to be as important as Coruscant, but ever since the Sith occupation, there’s been a limit on trade, and now this quarantine--“ “I got it,” Nik snapped. He turned around in time to see the armored soldier just seconds before they collided. “Out of our way, citizen!” the Sith yelled, the tone in his voice making it obvious that he was not happy on being on patrol. “We’re on official Sith business. Just stand aside if you know what’s good for you!” Carth gave Nik a stern look as the group of Sith troopers passed. Nik shrugged his shoulders and answered, a little too loudly, “And I thought my superior officer was rude!” Carth retained his expression and gestured for them to continue. “Davik says you missed your last payment,” beckoned a shrilly voice, audible even during the rush hour traffic. Nik looked to see a Human and an Aqualish with blasters pestering an old man. “Davik doesn’t like you missing payments,” added the lower-pitched voice in his alien language, one of many that every Republic soldier was required to understand. The old man drew out a credit chip and tried to give it the Human bounty hunter. “Here, I’ve got fifty credits--a down payment! That should buy me some time, right?” “Sorry,” the man replied, “you’re out of time. All, or nothing.” “But I don’t have that much!” “That’s too bad,” the alien said as he and his companion drew out their blasters. “Please, somebody help! They’re going to kill me!” the old man yelled as the two bounty hunters grabbed him by his shirt. As Nik was about to walk past the group without notice, Carth grabbed him by the shoulder. “I know we have to be careful about drawing attention to ourselves, but are we gonna let them just drag this guy off?” Before Nik could answer, the Human thug took notice of their presence. “Looks like we got ourselves a couple of witnesses.” “Davik doesn’t like witnesses,” the alien muttered “Well, I don’t like your tone,” Nik shot back. “Let that man go.” “Looks like we have to teach you to mind your own business.” Before the alien and his partner could draw their weapons, two blaster shots burst over Nik’s shoulder, one of them striking the shrimp in the head. Nik trained his own rifle on the other, slaying the alien with one clean shot to the chest. Nik turned to see Carth holster his two blasters, and then faced the nervous man. “Thank you! I owe you my life!” the old man said, whipping sweat off his brow. “It was no trouble, really,” Nik said as he put his rifle on his back. “We were just in the right place at the right time.” “I’m getting out of here before more of Davik’s goons show up. You should do the same!” As the man raced off, Nik took notice of the two bounty hunters lying dead on the pavement. “Sure, as soon as I take a look-see in his wallet.” While the alien only had a few breath mints, inside the shrimp’s pockets he found several hundred credits, no doubt bounties from the other innocent citizens he had beaten down. The only other item was a round metal object. “Looks like a holodisc.” Nik turned the device over in his hand. “Then let’s play it,” Carth said. The image crackled and sputtered to life. The hologram Rodian identified himself as Twitch. “Davik says to forget the bounties. There’s a bigger job down below, something to do with all these Sith patrols.” Carth’s eyebrows danced with interest. “Meet me at Ajuur’s Cantina at eighteen-hundred.” “Knowing Rodians you’ll probably smell him before you see him.” Nik barely heard Carth over the club’s music and the shatter of glass as a clumsy waitress dropped her tray of drinks. “Come on, let’s look around.” Nik glided past a group of patrons playing pazaak, mingled at the bar, and eyed the Twi’lek dancers for a little too long, before spotting two green tentacles among the crowd by the duelists’ lounge. “You Twitch?” Nik asked, though he already knew the answer. “Yup, that’s me,” the Rodian said, looking at the two men curiously. “What you want?” “What are the Sith guarding?” “The Undercity.” “Why?” Carth stepped in Twitch shrugged his shoulders. “Why do the Sith do anything?” The Rodian was obviously trying their patience. Luckily, Nik had studied a few methods of interrogation. Grabbing the alien by his jumpsuit, Nik slammed Twitch into the wall and yelled, “I’m not playing, bug-eye!” Patrons who were watching the scene backed off. Twitch tried to put on a brave face. “I’m with the Exchange! Nobody messes with Davik’s men. Not anyone who wants to live!” Nik smiled. He had this Rodian in the palm of his hand. He pointed behind him to Carth. “Oh, yeah? My friend Carth here fought in the Mandalorian Wars. He’s killed men three times your size...with his bare hands.” The Rodian gulped and, appropriately, twitched. Nik smiled, this alien was gonna crack soon. “Do your worst. There’s over a dozen witnesses.” Perfect, Nik thought. He turned to Carth. “And Davik doesn’t like witnesses, right?” Carth saw what Nik was playing at. “Hold on, soldier, maybe the Rodian’s right. We can all sort things out when the Sith arrive.” Nik let go of Twitch. “I’m sure they’d like to know that there’s an illegal alien in the heart of the Upper City, wouldn’t they, Carth? “I don’t know, Nik. I’ve heard grim stories about Dark Jedi interrogations.” Carth was playing along, but Nik could still hear the gravity in his voice. “They say the Force can do terrible things to a mind. It can wipe away your memories, destroy your very identity.” “All right, all right!” the Rodian squealed at last. He shifted his gaze around the room in suspicion and with two fingers beckoned for Nik to come closer. “Escape pods,” the insect whispered. “The Sith are guarding the escape pods.” This guy must’ve rehearsed this speech, Nik thought as he talked to the Sith soldier guarding the turbolift. “This elevator is off-limits, civilian. Only Sith patrols and those with proper authorization are allowed into the Lower City.” “Well, how do I get proper authorization?” Nik asked for the tenth time. “If you were qualified for authorization you wouldn’t need to ask. Now move along!” exclaimed the Sith soldier. Nik surrendered with a nod and the two soldiers continued on their way. “We’re going to need some kind of disguise to get past this guy,” Carth whispered as they walked away. “Either that, or find someone with the right papers.” Nik sighed. “You’d think a Sith this thick-headed would be easy to persuade. If only we had a Jedi on hand...” Carth rolled his eyes. “Funny. Come on, soldier, it’s getting late. We should head back to the apartment.” Nik let out a huge yawn as he arrived the door of the apartment. As he reached out to punch in the code, he heard a loud voice. “Start talking, I want answers!” About ten feet from their door, Carth stopped short. “Did you hear something?” Nik looked over and saw a Sith solider standing in front of another apartment. “Probably came from where that Sith is standing guard. Let’s take a look.” As Nik approached, the Sith raised his rifle. “There’s nothing to see here. Move along.” Nik ignored the soldier and peeked into the apartment behind him. Inside, the Sith’s commanding officer was harassing an Ithorian. “Where did you hide those Sith uniforms? Did you sell them to the Tarisian Underground?” The Ithorian backed away from the officer’s rifle. “What uniforms? You’re crazy!” The officer pressed the muzzle into the alien’s forehead. “Start talking before I splatter your brains all over the room!” The Sith holding Nik back peered behind and gulped, “Uh-oh. I think the commander is losing his temper again.” Carth leaned over so the Sith couldn’t hear, “I know all about Sith interrogation tactics...this isn’t going to end well.” Nik returned his attention to the guard. “Maybe that alien doesn’t know anything.” The Sith raised his rifle threateningly. “You’ll stay out of this if you know what’s good for you.” Nik felt Carth discreetly press one of his pistols into his hand. Nik eyed the guard. “I’m not going to let you kill a defenseless prisoner!” The commander’s voice called out from inside the apartment, obviously now alert to the commotion outside. “What was that? Did I hear you right? ‘Let us kill him’? You can’t stop us!” The Sith guard cocked back his rifle. “I think it’s time to teach this civilian the penalty for defying the Sith!” But the guard felt something pressed into his gut. Looking down, he saw the sneaked blaster pistol pointed at him. The Sith froze with fear as Nik grinned and pulled the trigger. The other guard in the room aimed his rifle as he saw his companion blasted. Nik rolled across the sticky floor and kicked at the next guard’s feet. As the Sith tripped, Nik wrapped his arms around the guard’s neck, twisting until he could hear a loud, satisfying crack. He looked up to see that Carth had already taken care of the commander. “Thank you!” cried the Ithorian. This one spoke Galactic Basic. Nik handed Carth back his pistol and turned his attention to the alien. “What were those Sith talking about? Uniforms?” The alien shrugged. “Why would I need uniforms? It’s not like I’m running an illegal salvage operation.” “That Sith was right!” Nik exclaimed as he started to reach for his rifle. The alien waved his hands. “Please, no more trouble! The Sith are idiots. They wouldn’t know the Undercity if a rakghoul bit them in the--“ Carth raise his eyebrows. “Undercity? What’s going on down there?” “Many hate the Sith, and some of the Lower City gangs are planning to fight back,” the Ithorian explained. “You should speak with Gadon Thek. He’s the leader of the Hidden Bek gang.” Carth nodded. “Thanks for the info. You should get out of here before the Sith find this mess.” “Good idea. And if you’re ever looking for discount merchandise...” The alien whipped out a datapad. “Uh...we’re not interested,” Nik said waving his hand away. “Thanks again!” The device went back in its pouch as quick as it had appeared, and the Ithorian ran out of the room. Looking at the dead soldiers, and idea popped into Nik’s head. He and Carth quickly removed the armor off two of the soldiers and smuggled them back to their apartment. The next morning, Nik struggled to get the bulky helmet over his head, and again to make up for his lack of sight once it was on. Stumbling out into the hallway, he still easily spotted Carth’s hideous orange coat. “How do I look?” Carth frowned. “Like someone I wanna shoot.” Nik laughed, “Now that is funny. Your turn.” Soon, Carth came out, dressed in his own Sith uniform. He struggled with the armor to make it more comfortable, and then grumbled, “This suit stinks.” Nik shrugged. “Well, it’s been on a dead man. Come on.” Their arrival stirred the elevator guard from his mid-morning nap. “Another patrol headed down to the Lower City, eh? Well good luck. There’s a big swoop gang war going on, not to mention the rakghouls.” Nik didn’t bother to respond; even though he couldn’t see the Sith’s face, he was certain the guard had fallen back asleep. Nik glanced around at the Lower City. It reminded him much of the one above, but more gray, dull, and depressing. “So this is the Lower City? Not as bloodstained as I expected.” Turning around the corner, he saw a Human and two aliens facing off against three other aliens. “You Beks must have taken a wrong turn!” one of the aliens in the group of three yelled. “This is Black Vulkar territory!” “You own these streets?” said one of the other aliens on the opposite side. “Then we’ll be sure to bury you here!” After exchanging their weak remarks, the two alien gangs lunged at each other. Nik and Carth stayed out of the way, but when the skirmish settled, the first alien took attention. “Sith aren’t welcome here either!” Nik sighed, “Guess I spoke too soon!” The Vulkars were only carrying shock sticks and vibroblades. Nik ran up to a charging Vulkar and smashed his face with the butt of his rifle. Nik could feel the alien’s nose break and the alien staggered back. Nik whipped his rifle around and blasted several holes into the alien’s gut. Carth ducked underneath another Vulkar’s vibroblade and responded by kicking his opponent in the groin. The alien fell, exposing his ally, and Carth blasted him. Throwing his pistols into their holsters, Carth ran up the wall, kicked off, and knocked the remaining alien hard in the head. The alien’s neck snapped, and his body went limp. Carth landed on his feet “Hey, Nik? I think it might be a good idea if we change.” Nik, mesmerized by Carth’s stunt, shook out of his daze. “Good idea. But I want you to teach me that!” Out of their uniforms, the two soldiers wandered the Lower City until they found a tiny cantina. As he entered, Nik could see all kinds of scum hanging here. Smugglers, bounty hunters, weapons merchants, and drug dealers walked around the place, drinking, dealing, or playing pazaak. Nik and Carth continued to the main bar, but stopped as a trio of aliens confronted a small man. He wore a blue jacket, goggles on his eyes, and carried two heavy blasters on his hips. “Go away.” The little man’s voice was low, yet tough. Nik could tell he didn’t want to be disturbed. The aliens could not. One of them, a Rodian, took on a tough-guy pose. “Come on, we just want to talk to big, bad Calo Nord!” Another alien, a Twi’lek, smirked. “Nah, this can’t be him, this one’s just a little runt!” Calo stared at them, his eyes somewhat glinting behind the dark goggles. “One.” The third alien, another Rodian, cocked his head to the side. “One? One what? Trying to be funny?” “Two.” The tone in Calo’s voice was a little harder. The Twi’lek growled, “One, two...keep counting, Calo Nord!” The other Rodian shrugged. “Maybe he’s trying to count the number of us against him!” The small bounty hunter sighed. “Three.” Before the aliens could respond, Calo whipped out a flash grenade. His thick goggles shielded him from the blast that blinded his three opponents, and in seconds each dropped to the floor. Holstering his two blasters, the bounty hunter headed to the door. Nik gawked at this short menace, and didn’t realize he was blocking the door. “Go away.” Nik looked down at Nord, and quickly moved out his path. “Just passing through.” The little bounty hunter nodded slightly. “Smart.” As Calo walked out of the cantina, Carth looked back at Nik. “Not someone I wanna meet in a dark alley.” As they continued looking around, the heard the voice of young girl shouting, “Give me some space, bug-eye! Your breath smells like bantha poodoo.” Two Rodians hassled a young, blue Twi’lek. One of them got in her face. “Little girl has big mouth. Maybe we should teach her how to use it.” She shoved the Rodian away. “Who you callin’ little girl, chuba-face?” The young Twi-lek sighed and looked over the shoulders of the two Rodians that crowded her. “Zaalbar, a little help here? I need you to rip the legs off some insects.” A huge, furry, light brown Wookie looked up from a tray of food he was holding. “Now? But they just served my food!” The Twi’lek shook her head. “Quit complaining. You can finish eating later.” The Wookie put his tray and towered over the Rodians. One of them squealed, “Hey! We got no problem with big Wookiee!” The Twi’lek girl grinned. “If you got a problem with me, then you got a problem with Big Z. So unless you want to take on my furry friend, I suggest you greenies just ‘hop’ on outta here.” As the two bugs left, she noticed the two men had entered the bar. “What do you want?” Carth spoke first. “You showed lot of guts dealing with those Vulkars, kid. You got a name?” The Twi’lek held out her hand. “My name is Mission Vao, and this big Wookiee is my best friend Zaalbar.” “A Twi’lek and a Wookiee?” said Nik as he and Carth shook her hand. Mission chuckled; she had heard this observation before. “We just kinda fell in together. It ain’t easy on your own here in the Lower City. Everyone’s always looking to push you around.” “Well, my name is Carth Onasi, and this is Nik Starfall. We’re offworlders.” “Do you know anything about Davik, Mission? We’ve been hearing a lot about him here.” “Davik’s part of the Exchange, but I guess everybody knows that.” Carth shuddered. “I’ve heard of the Exchange. Smuggling, slavery, extortion--we don’t want to mess with them.” “You got that right. I heard Davik stole his new ship--the Ebon Hawk. I don’t know much about space travel, but I hear that thing’s fast enough to break the Sith blockade. Of course, this is all just second-hand rumor.” Carth ordered a round of drinks while Mission filled them in. “There’s only two gangs worth worrying about here: the Black Vulkars and the Hidden Beks. The Beks are led by Gadon Thek--he’s a good guy. Lost his sight in a swoop bike accident, but even blind, he’s a great leader. Not like that traitor Brejik. Before he took over the Vulkars, Gadon considered him his adopted son!” Nik gulped the hot liquid in one quick draught. “What made him defect?” “When Gadon went blind, everyone figured he’d step down and appoint Brejik in his place, but Gadon figured Brejik wasn’t ready yet.” Mission sipped at her Tarisian ale. “But Brejik was too impatient. And ever since, the Vulkars have been hunting the Beks like tach monkeys. This whole swoop war is totally Brejik’s fault!” Zaalbar, who stood behind the Twi’lek, gripped her chair. “Mission, I’m hungry!” Mission whirled around and looked at the Wookiee straight in the eye. “Big Z, can’t you think about something other than your stomach for five minutes?” She swallowed the last of her drink. “Maybe we’ll see you guys around. Come on, you walking carpet, let’s get something to eat.” Nik met Carth’s eyes. “You thinking what I’m thinking?” Carth downed his drink, and two men got up. “Let’s have a talk with this Gadon Thek.” The Hidden Bek base was a bona fide army bunker. Piled supplies and weapons littered the floor, computers were busy decoding messages, and everyone seemed on edge, as if expecting a surprise attack. Gang members rushed about, no doubt preparing for their constant war with Brejik and the Vulkars. Most of the Beks were alien, but there were one or two Humans in the mix. Near the back, Nik saw a dark man sitting at a desk. He was bald, wore light battle armor, and had white ocular implants. The way the other Beks saluted him, it had to be Gadon Thek. As the two Republic soldiers walked up to the man, they almost bumped into a tall, female Twi’lek in silver armor, gripping a heavy blaster. “Hold it right there!” she shouted, drawing attention from some of the Beks, “Who are you and what is your business with Gadon?” Gadon stood from his desk. “Calm down, Zaedra. Let them pass.” Zaedra reluctantly let the two men pass. “You’ll have to forgive Zaerdra. Sometimes she forgets that even though I’m blind, I can still look after myself.” Nik glanced back at the strong woman. “So it seems. My name is Nik Starfall.” “Carth Onasi,” the C.O. added. “We were wondering if you knew anything about the escape pods that crashed into the Undercity.” Gadon raised his dark eyebrows. “You know, I heard some Sith asking about those pods around the Upper City. They came from the Republic ship in that space battle a few days ago.” Zaerdra gripped her blaster in her hand again and stood close to her leader. “Don’t tell them anything, Gadon. They could be spies! They could be working with the Sith!” “Calm down, Zaerdra!” Gadon yelled again, nudging his bodyguard aside. “If the Sith wanted anything there’d be a battalion of troops kicking down our door. No, I think these offworlders have their own agenda. Nik leaned in close and confessed. “We’re with the Republic. The only survivors from that ship.” Gadon smiled at the younger man. “This might cause problems for the Vulkars...and that’s all right in my book! The Vulkars stripped the pods clean an hour after they landed. It’s too bad we didn’t get there first, considering what my spies reported what the Vulkars found.” Gadon sat down in his chair and pressed a button on his desk. A hologram of a young woman popped up. She was dressed in clothes that revealed too much of her lifeless body. “Got this hologram as a taunt from Brejik. A female Republic officer survived the crash. We Beks don’t believe in slavery, but the Vulkars aren’t so picky.” Nik stared at the image of the young woman. “Bastila...somehow I’m not surprised.” Carth placed a hand on the lieutenant’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, soldier. They still think Bastila’s just a Republic officer. That could work to our advantage.” Gadon sighed and leaned back. “I’m afraid your Republic friend has become a pawn in Brejik’s game to take over the Lower City. He’s offered her up as the Vulkars’ share of the prize in the annual swoop gang race. By putting up such a valuable prize he hopes to win the loyalty of some of the smaller gangs. Their numbers will allow him to finally destroy me and my followers.” Gadon clutched the arms of his chair at the thought. “How the hell are we going to rescue Bastila, then? We can’t fight all the gangs.” “The only hope you have of rescuing Bastila is to somehow win the big swoop race. I might be able to help you with this...if you’d be willing to help us. We both have something to gain here...and much to lose.” Carth stared into Gadon’s milky-white eyes. “I don’t make it a habit to deal with gang leaders.” Gadon’s face twisted in insult. “I’m not some common thug. You don’t understand these streets. Being in a gang is the only way of staying alive.” “But if there weren’t any gangs, there wouldn’t be any gang wars,” Carth argued back. Nik gulped. Carth was pushing it; Gadon was probably their only hope, and Carth was blowing the opportunity “Man never has trouble finding ways to kill.” Gadon showed no signs of holding back. “Gangs or no gangs, the Lower City is a battlefield. And we are its soldiers. You of all people should understand, Captain Onasi, given your history.” Carth clutched his fists, and Nik saw his face pinch in anger and pain. “That’s none of your damn business.” What happened to you, Captain? Nik thought. He quickly put his hand to calm and hold back his C.O. “Calm down, Carth. I’ve dealt with gang leaders myself, and Gadon is the most honorable I’ve met.” He placed his hands on Gadon’s desk. “We’re in. What’s the plan?” Gadon leaned in and spoke softly, as if Vulkar spies could overhear. “The race is for swoop gang members only. I could sponsor you as a rider for the Hidden Beks; if you win the race, then you’ll win your friend’s freedom. But first you have to do something for me...”
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