The crack and sizzle of lightsabers was clearly audible as the Jedi battled their dark side equivalents. At their head, a young woman, probably early twenties, battled her opponent vigorously, seeking to lay him low. Light flashed from the battle outside in space as Sith cruisers sought to destroy the Republic fleet. With a final slash, the Jedi woman cut her opponent down and turned to face her true target.
Zurth jolted upright and gasped. Carth glanced over from the very simple meal her was preparing. "Finally awake, huh? It's about time. You've been sleeping for a couple days now. At first I thought your head bump might have been fatal but I think there might be something else going on with you. We should see a doctor next time we get the chance. How are you feeling?"
Zurth groaned and stood, heading to the faucet and dousing his face. "My head hurts a bit but other than that, I'm fine. So, what's the next move, Sir?"
Carth snorted. "Buddy, I'm just a pilot and a soldier. You're the special forces guy. I think I'll defer to you."
Zurth chuckled. "Alright. Have you been outside yet? What's our situation here?"
"I've only been down to the vendor to pick up food and drinkable water. We should probably take stock of the situation though. I basically had time to drag you in here. We don't have a ton of credits either so we may need to figure that out too."
Zurth nodded and straightened. "My stuff in there?" he asked, pointing to the footlocker at the foot of his bed. Carth looked hesitant. "Yeah but I'd leave the Republic combat armor in there. I picked up some regular clothes that I hope fit you. As far as weapons, carrying anything larger than a blaster pistol and vibroblade would probably be a bad idea."
"No kidding;" chuckled Zurth as he opened the foot locker and pulled out the clothes. As he dressed, he commented. "So we know that this Bastilla lady is somewhere on planet. Any idea where that might be?"
Carth snorted. "I only know that we landed in the same general area but the truth is, we crashed on a city that spans a planet. She could be anywhere at the moment. Unfortunately, we're just going to have to ask around."
Zurth nodded as he finished getting dressed. The clothes fit pretty well considering. Strapping on his blaster and vibroblade, he said, "Alright, after we eat, we're heading out and taking a look at our situation."
Carth nodded and they were quiet as he dished out whatever ground meat and crummy vegetable mixture he had concocted. "It is good to see you up instead of thrashing around in your sleep;" commented Carth. "You must have been having one hell of a nightmare. How much do you remember exactly?"
Zurth shrugged as he swallowed the food. "Slipping in and out of consciousness. Had some messed up dreams too about Jedi fighting each other. Figures. It's been a long war."
"No surprise, your head took a hell of a blow and you've been slipping in and out for three days. A couple times, I thought you were dead. I managed to drag you from the pod to these abandoned apartments. I'm not sure how many beings know about us - certainly a couple of vendors who have set up shop but not too many people I think."
"Well that's good, I guess;" muttered Zurth around a mouthful of food. "So, what's going on with the planet? I seem to remember it being held by the Sith."
"Yes, it is and now, they've declared martial law and seem determined to catch all the fugitives. I'm guessing their after Bastila. Apparently she's important."
"Jedi;" muttered Zurth as if it were a nasty word.
Carth chuckled and they finished their meal and tossed the disposable dishes. Turning very serious, Carth said, "Alright here's the really bad news: there is no way any Republic aid is getting through the blockade and that means-"
"We're on our own getting out of here;" sighed Zurth, rubbing his still aching head.
"Yup;" agreed Carth.
They headed out and Zurth said, "Okay so what is so damned special about this Jedi? Why is she so important and why are the Sith gunning after her so hard?"
"She has this weird gift called battle meditation. Apparently it's supposed to be able to influence entire armies, making them better and fight harder. I would call shavit on it if I hadn't seen some crazy stuff during the Mandalorian Wars."
Zurth nodded and was about to reply when they saw a Sith ahead with a pair of war droids, shaking down a pair of Duros. "Alright, you alien scum;" snapped the officer in charge, "this is a raid! Up against the walls."
One of them complained loudly, "There was a patrol down here yesterday and they found nothing! Why do you Sith keep bothering us?"
Without a word, the officer pulled his side arm and blasted him. Before the smoke even cleared, the officer was bellowing, "That's how we deal with smart mouthed alien scum. Now, the rest of you, up against the wall before I lose my temper again."
The officer turned and saw Carth and Zurth. His beady eyes widened and he said, "Those are Republic fugitives! Attack!"
Zurth drew his blaster and there were three reports - one from his and two from the pair of blasters that Carth had. The Sith was dead and his war droids were sparking on the 'crete.
The other Duros looked scared for just a moment before but then just looked depressed. "Damned Sith;" he muttered. "Thank you for stepping in. I just wish you could have saved my brother."
"Sorry about that;" said Zurth earnestly.
The Duros shrugged. "It's how things have been under Sith rule to be honest. Look, I'll move the bodies, you two just scram and we'll make this look like none of us were involved."
"We'd appreciate that;" said Carth but the Duros waved it aside. "It's the best for all of us at the moment. Take care, humans."
They nodded and headed for the lift that took them up to the sky-street level.
The planet outside looked gloomy and depressing. Sith troopers were paroling here and there but up here, Carth and Zurth weren't even noticed. Off on the very edge of the platform was the pod. "Wow;" muttered Zurth. "That was too close."
"No kidding;" said Carth. "I had no idea we nearly fell to the levels below. It really could be worse, couldn't it?"
Zurth nodded and they began their exploration.
The day was fairly productive. They found the upper levels vendors, the cantina, a droid repair shop and a doctor's office where Zurth was checked out. "You probably just had the nightmares because of the concussion. I'd be careful though. If you start having gaps in your memory, come on back here and I'll take a second look."
Zurth thanked him and they continued about. The most promising place thus far was the cantina. It was noisy and dark so staying unnoticed would be easy. It had pazaak tables and a pit fighting ring that caught the soldiers' attention. "If we need to make money, this may not be a bad idea;" murmured Zurth to Carth as they sat in the shadows.
Carth nodded. "At least the pazaak tables anyway. I'd be careful about the fighting ring."
"Don't sweat it;" said Zurth. "I could wear a mask. The thing about pazaak is, after you win too much, no one wants to come to you to lose their credits."
"Too true, I'm afraid;" said Carth dryly.
They began to fall into a routine. Zurth would win some pazaak and pick up a couple hundred credits here and there while Carth asked around about the escape pods. They quickly learned that six pods had landed in the area. A dozen or so arrests had been made but, this far, they were all Republic soldiers. Not even the hint of a rumor that it might be a Jedi was forthcoming. They bought more clothes and some other equipment, not to mention better food but for the most part, they had no idea what to do but keep asking questions. Eventually, on the fifth day after Zurth had regained consciousness, Carth learned something. "Apparently two of the pods - the only two that haven't been recovered are in the Undercity."
"The Undercity?" asked Zurth casually as he sipped his drink.
"Yup and when the guy told me this, he shuddered pretty violently. Apparently no one goes down there if they can help it. It's pretty bad, as the lowest levels of a planet-wide city tends to get."
Zurth chuckled. "Sounds like we need to get down there."
"Problem is that we need to get to the Lower City first. From what I understand, no turbo lifts go all the way down. To complicate things even more, we need authorization from the authorities to go down there. You know what that means?"
"We would need to be Sith;" muttered Zurth.
"Uh-huh."
"Lovely."
"Yup."
They kept a lookout for an opportunity and it came in a rather unexpected form. One day, during a visit to the cantina, a young woman came in. "Ale, please;" she said in a crisp accent.
Zurth looked at her and looked at Carth, arching an eyebrow. The bar tender sourly handed her the drink and ignored her, "Thank you;" studiously.
"Wow;" said Zurth. "That was pretty unfriendly."
"You haven't been on planet long, have you;" said the young woman. "We Sith soldiers aren't very popular around here."
Zurth shrugged. "Why? It's war and you're just doing your job. Can't imagine you want to be on this back-rocket planet any more than the locals want you here."
She looked at him with mild surprise. "Exactly! I'd even prefer a cruiser to this place! You know, I'm glad to meet someone who understands. I'm Sarna, by the way."
"Call me Zeek, Sarna. Pleasure to meet you. Why don't I buy you another drink and we can blow off a little steam?"
Sarna smiled. "I think I'd like that very much."
For three hours, they both talked and got to know each other. 'Zeek' complained and vented about how he was a bounty hunter delivering a bounty to the local boss Davik Kang but that the Sith's blockade was keeping him pinned on planet. Sarna bemoaned her assignment on this planet and the unfriendliness of the people and how boring it was. "Boring?" asked 'Zeek' with a cocked eyebrow; "with the pit fighting and pazaak and the illegal swoop racing and what not?"
Sarna rolled her eyes. "I don't play pazaak. The pit fighting isn't bad but the same fighters always win. As for the swoop racing, the Sith base has very restricted holo-net access and watching illegal sports is not permitted. Damned if I know why. There's a bloody brothel in the lower city that is technically illegal but the boys visit it all the time - can't get enough of the Twi'lek girls or something."
Zurth had to resist chuckling, electing instead to say, "A brothel, huh? I can't even get to the lower city. Need special papers or a uniform or something they tell me."
"We restrict access do to the gang violence. Without the proper authorization, no one goes down and no one comes up."
"Ah;" said Zurth. "Makes sense."
After a short pause, 'Zeek' sighed and said, "I just wish that I could get to my ship. There are a few things that would be useful."
"I wish I could help you, but I don't have the clearance for that. You would need a company level officer to escort you plus at least two troopers to make sure you weren't up to anything fishy. A request would have to be made and processed and that would take a couple weeks."
Zeek sighed again. "I know and I'd hate to get you in trouble."
Sarna smiled seductively. She had become more and more flirtatious throughout the conversation. "Well that's quite thoughtful but I'm a big girl."
Zurth looked at her brazenly. "Really? You don't look all that big."
The young woman exploded with giggles, blushing just a little. "That's kind of you to say. You, on the other hand look like quite the big boy. Do you work out?"
He chuckled and shrugged. "Little bit. You're not about to challenge me to an arm wrestling match or something, are you?"
"Oh no! That would be ridiculous. But listen, there's a party going on tomorrow night when we get off our shift at 1800. Most of us aren't even going to be changing before hand. We'll just change after we get there. It's going to be in the abandoned apartments at these coordinates. I would really love for you to be there. I fresh, handsome face would be welcome."
She casually brushed a hand up and down Zurth's thigh, causing him to shiver just slightly. "A party with a group of young, repressed Sith soldiers - sounds like a blast. Mind if I bring a friend along? My associate would probably murder me if I left him to fend for himself."
Sarna smiled and brushed his thigh again. "Is he as handsome as you?"
'Zeek' chuckled. "Not quite but he's still pretty good - at least as far as I can judge. I'd prefer to look at women and make determinations about their looks than those of men."
"Really?" she all but purred. Leaning back, she gave him a full view of her. "On a scale of one to a Corusca gem, what would you rate me."
"Corusca gem, hands down, no contest;" said Zurth, causing her to giggle and blush again.
"You, sir, are full of it, but I like you. I hope to see you at the party."
"Oh you will;" assured Zurth as he stood with her. With a smile of pleasure, Sarna surprised him by standing on her tip toes and giving him a kiss on the lips.
"See you tomorrow night, big boy;" and with a drunken stagger, she sashayed away.
After just a few moments, Carth came up and sat down beside Zurth. "So..." he said conversationally. "After three hours of flirting with a Sith trooper, you have anything interesting?"
Zurth nodded as he sipped his drink. "They're having a party tomorrow night and, from what she told me, they'll change out of their uniforms once they get there."
"Okay;" said Carth quietly, "so that's progress but how are we going to get the uniforms."
"You're a soldier, Carth. When you were a younger man who wasn't as smart, what did you and your buddies do on weekend liberty?"
Carth actually blushed at remembering some of his antics. "Okay, point taken. So, what, we go there, wait 'til they're all passed out drunk and then steal a couple uniforms?"
"That's exactly what we do;" replied Zurth. They both finished their drinks and, one at a time and with about four and a half minutes between them, they left the cantina and headed back to the apartment they were squatting in.
"Alright;" said Zurth as he shaved the stubble off his face. "This is our story, Carth. You and I are bounty hunters who got caught up in the blockade. When martial law was declared, the Sith refused to even let us back to our ship. We sent all proper requests to go there, under escort, about three days ago but, clearly, it hasn't gone through so now we're just stuck here, waiting for everything to blow over."
Carth nodded in understanding as he cleaned his blasters. After wiping his face, Zurth continued, "Also, I introduced myself as Zeek. You should probably pick out a name for yourself too."
"No need. Carth is a really common name in the Outer Rim. I grew up with seven other Carths and we all just went by our last name. If anyone asks, I'm Carth Ridell or something like that."
Hesitantly, Zurth said, "There is one last thing."
"Oh..."
"Apparently Sarna has a female friend who is going to be looking forward to meet you so just prepare yourself for being pawed over and flirted with and danced on and all that stuff."
Carth glared at him. "There is no way in hell that I'm going."
"Come on, Carth, I need you there. I'm not going to be able to carry two sets of Sith trooper armor on my own."
"Then contact me wen everyone is drunk;" muttered Carth in reply.
Zurth was adamant. "Look I no that this is going to be rough. Believe me, going to a party with a bunch of Sith soldiers, most of whom I doubt are out of their late teens, isn't high on my list of things to do before I die but we need to if we're going to rescue Bastila and get off planet. It's for the Republic."
Carth glared balefully at him before growling and saying, "You know what? Sometimes, I really, REALLY hate you."
Zurth smiled and said, "But you'll go."
"Blast is, yes I'll go."
Zurth sighed with relief. "Thank you. The idea of being mauled by two female Sith soldiers scared the life out of me."
That got a laugh out of the other soldier.
They had decided to by some nicer, though rougher looking, clothes in order to reinforce the bounty hunter story. When they arrived at the party the next day, it was already in full swing. Zurth had been right when he assumed the Sith soldiers' age range. Most of them had to be barely out of recruit training. Along the wall were neatly stacked all their armor and blasters.
As soon as she saw him, Sarna hurried over to Zeek. Behind her was another female soldier - a much younger one who looked shy and demur. "You came! I so glad you made it;" said Sarna, a drink in her hand. "You have got to try this Tarisian ale. I'm telling you, it's to die for."
"Easy, Sarna. This stuff packs quite a punch. Drink too much, too fast and you'll be passed out before the suns completely down."
"Who cares;" countered Sarna jubilantly. "We aren't on duty tomorrow. Let's have some fun."
She thrust a can of the stuff into Zurth's hands and yanked him deeper into the room before starting to dance enthusiastically. Looking over at Carth, Zurth was satisfied to see that his fellow 'bounty hunter' was leaning against the wall, smiling and chatting with the other young Sith soldier. She seemed so very shy but was smiling and chuckling with him. Satisfied that his friend was looking the part, Zurth focused on his own partner.
The rest of the night slowly became hazy and unclear. Sarna continued to ply him with the strong Tarisian ale and, despite his attempts to limit his alcohol, Zurth found himself slipping into drunkenness pretty quickly. It was only a matter of time before he was totally blasted.
It was several hours later when he woke with a groan. Carth was standing over him, one bushy brow cocked and a smirk barely perceptible on his face. With a groan, Zurth managed to pull himself to his feet. It took him nearly thirty seconds to realize that he was stark naked. "What the hell?" he groaned, half hungover, half still drunk.
Carth just pointed at the bed next to where he had been lying. There, in all her naked feminine glory lay Sarna, snoring peacefully with a smile on her face. Zurth looked down at himself and groaned again. "I didn't."
"Oh yeah. You did;" said Carth, clearly fighting back laughter. "You did a job worthy of the best intelligence agent. Way to really commit to the part, 'Zeek'."
"Oh shut up. Where are my clothes?"
It took him a second but he finally located them and struggled into them. He was very glad to see that they were in the abandoned apartment adjacent to the one that the main party was in. Carefully yet quickly, they looked through the armor and picked out the suits that looked as though they would fit best. It was only a guess though, since they didn't have time to try it on. It was a struggle to avoid stepping on the passed out Sith soldiers, some of them contorted into the oddest positions. On the bed, another couple lay, covered with a blanket but, if the clothes that were scattered everywhere was any evidence, they were both naked as well.
After Carth and Zurth collected weapons that went with the uniforms, Assault guns, disruptor pistols and the dreaded Sith Tremor swords that Sith Trooper marines utilized, they packed it all into a foot locker and hauled it away.
With a groan, Zurth collapsed onto his bunk. His head pounded, his mouth tasted like something had died in it and his stomach was gurgling and lurching with every move. Carth cocked an eyebrow. "What are you doing? Get up! We need to get down to the lower city."
Zurth groaned and pulled the rough blanket over his head. "Are you kidding? We need to lie low for a couple days until the mystery of the disappearing Sith armor blows over and everyone moves on. They're going to be ID checking every patrol for at least a day or two, if not longer. In fact, the best thing we can do is see if we can find someone to rig us up some fake Sith ID cards."
Carth chuckled. "You know, for an idea you came up with while you're half drunk and half hung over, that wasn't bad."
"It means I get to lie here and recover from my really, REALLY stupid decisions."
Carth laughed and said, "You may want to shower and get that essence of Sith off of you."
"Later. Go away. I want to sleep."
When Zurth woke again later, his head and stomach felt better and there was a bottle of water and some electrolyte and pain killer tablets next to him. He took them and then ate some food. Carth was gone, probably still trying to secure fake IDs. Zurth took his friends advice and showered. The hot water felt amazing and as his head began to clear, the memories began to come back to him in flashes. There was dancing and lots of drinking. At one point, Sarna was almost literally pouring the ale down his throat but by then, he was so far gone, he didn't care. At one point, they were snogging so hard that the other drunken party goers yelled for them to go to the other room. They had done so and, in bleary flashes and hazy images, Zurth remembered only fragments of the sloppiest sex he had ever had. Sarna had enjoyed herself if his memory served him and that cause just a hint of masculine satisfaction but for the most part, he just leaned his head against the wall and groaned. He had never pulled anything like that before - at least not that he could remember.
After he had showered, he began making a proper meal. He was almost finished when Carth came back. "How are you feeling, Zeek?"
Zurth glared at him. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?"
"What, getting so plastered drunk that you slept with a random female Sith soldier and I had to wake you from your stupor a hour later? Nope, never. We will both be retired with our wives, our grand kids and our great grand kids and I'll still tell the story about how you got in bed with the enemy in order to save the Republic. Of course, there are a few details I exaggerate or change, just so that the story is funnier and more embarrassing."
Zurth just ignored him as he dished out the food. After they had eaten, Carth cleared his throat and said, "Alright so I found this slicer who can get us fake Sith ID cards by tomorrow. We'll meet him in the cantina but the problem is going to be payment. He's charging a thousand for the two of them."
Zurth nodded. "I'll head down to the cantina and start playing pazaak as soon as we're done eating. Hopefully we can make it that way."
Carth nodded. "Alright, let's go. If not, I guess I can toss you into the pit fighting ring."
Zurth chuckled. "Nice. Come on, L.T.; let's go."
