Prologue

"Are you sure about this?" Lyrus said as they walked through the cold, damp, and dark sewers.

Hane turned to look at her. He held the plasma torch in front of him. The torch's flame, their only light source, shined across his partner's face, illuminating the scar that stretched from her forehead all the way down to her nose, and ended at the bottom of her left jaw. "You sound like a broken record what with the amount of times you've said that." He sighed with annoyance. "Of course I'm sure."

"Vogga's going to be pissed when he hears this. He offered us more credits than usual for a job like this. Whatever this Crucible is, it's obviously important to him. You really think he'll let us get away with this once he finds out we've stolen it?" Lyrus said as she brushed a strand of short blonde hair across her face. "He'll make sure every assassin and bounty hunter in this sector will be gunning for us."

"By the time Vogga finds out, we'll be dirt rich and long gone," said Hane dreamily. "No more jobs from that slimy Hutt." Vogga had always treated Hane like vermin. Years of smuggling Vogga's goods and beating up clients who were late on their payments and nothing. No recognition or a raise. That wouldn't matter now though. Perhaps I'll get an estate on Alderaan or my own yacht. Not many people could afford such a lifestyle these days, even the ones who used to be rich. The Jedi Civil War had sought to that by leaving a broken galaxy in its wake.

"And if we don't?" Lyrus asked, her voice pulling him from his thoughts.

"We'll be able to hire an army with the credits we'll have," said Hane as he adjusted his pack on his shoulders. "Hell, we can put a bounty on Vogga's head that's even higher than the one he'll put on us"

"I still don't like this. Something about this deal reaks more than a rotting corpse. How much did this woman offer?" Lyrus questioned.

Exasperated, Hane spoke loudly, perhaps too loudly, "if you're so doubtful of this why are you still here?"

Lyrus snorted in annoyance. "Whatever. It's just a feeling I have."

"Don't worry, everything will be just fine, and if she plans on screwing us out of our pay, we'll kill her and deliver the package to Vogga," Hane reassured as he brandished his blaster pistol.

The pair continued their trek through the sewer's dark tunnel until they met a large steel door covered in rust. "We're here," said Hane. On the side of the wall near the door was a terminal. He touched screen of the terminal and the machine flickered to life. It bathed the tunnel in a bright blue light. A keyboard slipped out of a thin slot in the terminal. Hane typed in the passcode given to him by the woman. 2-5-6-0-8. With a low hum, the door slid up.

The room beyond them was dark, but as the two stepped through the entrance, the door shut behind them, and the lights came on. The room they came into was spacious and octagonal. Hane felt the breeze of cool air that came from the vents on the grey metal walls, and a low sound rumbled from them. A hooded figure wearing a black cloak stood in the middle of the room. The woman. A creeping doubt had slid into the back of his head. A doubt that said that perhaps Lyrus was right. But he pushed such thoughts out of his mind. Instinctively, he brushed his hand against the handle of his blaster strapped to his hip. He approached the woman in the dark cloak. The woman pulled down her hood. It was the first time Hane had seen her face. His heart almost skipped a beat when he saw how beautiful she was. The woman was tall, only an inch shy of six feet. She had long black hair that flowed past her shoulders and ended near her waist. She had lips that matched the color of her hair and robes. Her skin however, was pale as snow and her eyes were a bright shade of gold- almost as if they were glowing.

"Welcome," said the woman smiling. "I do so hope you have what I've requested?" Her voice was smooth and was colored with the clipped accent of the Core Worlds.

"We do," said Lyrus,"but only if you give us the credits you offered"

"No need to worry," said the woman. She pressed a button on the gauntlet covering her forearm, and the door behind her slid opened. A silver protocol droid carrying a briefcase appeared and walked down the steps. When the droid came down, it fixed its mechanical head at Hane.

In its tinny and mechanical voice it said, " here is the payment that was promised, five billion credits."

Lyrus took the case and opened it. She counted the chips and after awhile, she nodded.

"We've fulfilled our end of the bargain," the woman said. "Now it's time you fulfilled yours. The Crucible."

Hane unslung his pack, unzipped it, and took out the Crucible- a cylinder whose top and bottom parts were made of silver metal and whose middle was made of glass. A bright purple glow emanated from the interior of the cylinder. Hane wasn't sure what it was. He gave the Crucible to the woman. She held the object in her hands examining it. "This will do," she said. Along with the droid she turned around and walked up the steps. The door opened and closed once she and the droid walked through.

It's done, Hane thought. No more smuggling jobs for Vogga that payed less than the cost of his meals. No more having to live in some dingy shack on Nar Shaddaa. His life would be easy from here on out. Hane felt a sadistic satisfaction at the thought of Vogga's surprise when he finds out about his missing package. Serves him right, Hane thought. Hane stirred in his thoughts until Lyrus's voice knocked him out of them.

"Hane!" she said, nervousness creeping into her voice. She was up at the door banging on it.

"The door! It's locked"

What! No! Hane ran to the door. This can't be. Hane smacked his hands against the metal. Nothing happen. "No, no, no, damn it!" Hane kicked the door in frustration. That lying, cheating-

Just then, he heard a mechanical moan as the walls to his sides slid down.

"What the hell are those," Lyrus exclaimed, fear dominant in her voice.

The creatures that emerged from the chambers behind the walls made his heart stop. There were six of them- large lizard like creatures, with dark green scales, blood red eyes, and large, sharp teeth. They crawled out of their kennels and they fixed their hungry gaze on their prey. The beasts slowly closed in on the pair.

Lyrus pulled out her blaster and fired off a couple of shots. The shots hit one of the beasts on the shoulder, but the beast didn't fall, instead it just got angrier. With lightning fast speed the beast closed its distance with Lyrus and tackled her to the ground, the case fell from her grasp. Hane looked on in horror as Lyrus's screams filled the room. Blood poured from her wounds as the beast tore and bit the flesh off her stomach, arms, and legs, and another joined in on the feast. When Hane finally reacted, he pulled the blaster from his holster but it was too late. A beast had jumped onto him and pinned him to the ground, its long claws dug into his shoulders, to the point where blood was beginning to seep out and the last thing he saw was the gaping maw that was the beast's mouth bearing down on him.