Stormseeker: Balance of the Force

by Keolah

Lexen Skywalker is more than he appears to be. Images of other times and places appear in his dreams, and he can't seem to stay dead. It would have been much simpler if he only had one dark past to wonder about.

3. Lower City

Chapter 3: Lower City

My red lightsaber flies through the air out of my hands. I tumble away from my opponent's next swing with his blue lightsaber. I use the Force to draw my lightsaber back into my hand, just in time to parry the next attack.

He's keeping me from my goal. I must not let him stop me. That's all that matters right now. It doesn't matter that I've forgotten why I came here in the first place.

I shoot Force lightning from my fingertips, but he blocks it with his lightsaber. But wait, is he retreating now? The glow from his lightsaber is moving away in the dark, but then it suddenly slashes at one of the support pillars holding up this room. I hear an ominous crack from overhead.

"I can't let you have the terrible secrets that have been buried here," he says. "I can't let anyone have that. But since you're so obsessed with them and refusing to turn from the Dark Side, you can be buried with them here."

I move quickly, but not fast enough. He slashes another pillar and darts away as the ceiling collapses behind him. Tons of old stone come rumbling down upon me. I'm broken and crushed amidst the darkness.

I wake, blinking slowly. Another nightmare? It seems that's all I can remember these days. Never any happy or peaceful memories. Just myself dying in many horrible ways. Perhaps that's the story of my life.

Was that supposed to be a warning of some sort? Well, I'll make note that if I'm ever in an ancient ruin looking for unspecified dark secrets, to not let any Jedi bury me alive. Or maybe it's a warning to avoid the Dark Side. Twice now I've dreamed I was wielding a red lightsaber and fighting against Jedi. Does this mean that I'm destined to be a Dark Jedi or something? Or is the Force warning me to avoid that path, or something? I don't know. I wish I could remember more of my past rather than these strange warnings of the future.

I get up and stretch. I have a death match to prepare for in a couple hours. But that leaves me plenty of time for important things, like breakfast.

"You looked like you were having nightmares again," Carth says as we eat.

"Do you always watch people sleep?" I wonder.

"I was keeping watch, in case someone decided to barge into the apartment and try to kill us, or at least to try to steal our stuff."

"So when did you sleep?" I ask.

"Well, I haven't yet," he admits. "I figured it was important for you to be well-rested before you go into the dueling ring and put your life on the line for the sake of credits or bloodlust, whichever it is. I might not agree with your motivations, but it would be troublesome for you to die."

I sigh heavily. "Fine, but you are so taking a nap as soon as possible. I'm not going down into the Undercity with a sleep-deprived blaster-slinger."

He nods, not bothering to argue the point. I take a shower, get dressed, and gather up my weapons, then head back out to the cantina. Carth follows behind me silently, but I can feel his looks of disapproval practically boring into my back.

"There you are, Stormseeker," Ajuur says, greeting me. Bendak is already there with him. "Are you ready for your death match?"

"I'm ready," I say. "Let's do this."

"That's what I like to hear!" Ajuur exclaims. "The crowds will go wild over this one. Step into the ring and let's begin."

I bring out my vibroblade and face off against the armored Mandalorian in the dueling ring. He pulls out his blaster, and we fight. Damn, I'm dodging his shots as well as I can, but I can't actually block them with a vibroblade. And they're not being suppressed, so they're much more powerful than Twitch's attacks. They don't just sting when they hit, they burn.

One blast strikes me dead in the face, and I know it's over. My vision is gone before I lose consciousness. I collapse.

---

I wake, rubbing my eyes. Another nightmare? Am I just worried about today's death match, or is this another premonition? Well, considering it's my life on the line, I can't discount the possibility that it's the latter.

"Bad dreams again?" Carth says.

"Were you watching me sleep?" I say, raising an eyebrow.

"No, I was guarding the door in case anyone broke in to try to kill or steal from us."

I frown faintly. A premonition then, for sure. "Take a nap, Carth," I mutter as I go off to take a shower.

As I head out to the main room to eat breakfast, I notice that Carth actually took my advice. Well, that's refreshing. After eating and getting dressed, I make sure anything valuable that we have is on me, except for Carth's blasters. If someone does break in and kill him, which I find unlikely, at least they won't have much to steal.

As I head out toward the cantina, I think about my latest dream. I can't block blaster bolts with a vibroblade. Perhaps I should invest in some equipment that might help me survive the match. I turn to stop in at a shop on the way to the cantina.

"Good morning!" says the shopkeeper brightly. "I'm Kebla Yurt, and welcome to my shop. Say, aren't you Stormseeker? I hear you have an illegal death match scheduled today against Bendak Starkiller! You need to take a look at my stock, if you don't want to die."

"That was the plan," I say dryly. "Considering it's illegal, it seems like a lot of people know about it."

"I'd say a lot of people know about it because it's illegal," Kebla replies. "Everyone's all excited about it and can't stop talking about it, and the Sith have been bribed enough to ignore it."

I chuckle softly. "Well, I'll not complain. I'd rather be killed than arrested... wait, that doesn't sound right. Never mind. What have you got that could protect me from blasters?"

"Check out this fine energy shield," Kebla says. "State of the art. That'll keep Bendak from blasting your head off."

"I'll take it," I say, not even bothering to ask how much it costs.

"Here you go," Kebla says, handing it over to me and ringing up the bill. It's pricey, but I'm more concerned now with survival than credits. "Just remember, it'll only stop so many shots before it collapses, so you'd better be sure to get in and finish off Bendak quick while you can!"

"I'll keep that in mind."

I head into the cantina and over to the dueling ring. Bendak is already there waiting near Ajuur.

"So you're here, Stormseeker," Ajuur says. "Are you ready for your death match?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," I say. "Let's do this."

I pull out my vibroblade and put on my energy shield, and step into the ring to face off against Bendak. I hope this protection will work as well as Kebla claims, or this is going to suck.

Sure enough, Bendak's blaster shots are ineffectual against me. I take advantage of the opportunity to close in and attack him with my vibroblade. But it's hard to find a weakness against that armor. I slice and stab at him, perhaps scratching the armor a bit, and I get in one good strike that might make his elbow ache when it rains for the rest of his life.

Damn my ineffectual weaponry! Rage builds up in me and I attack with renewed force. I strike toward his neck and head, trying to get a clean shot. I think I might be making progress, but my time's up. My energy shield flickers away, and Bendak blasts my unprotected face at point-blank range.

---

I wake with a soft groan and rub my eyes. Another nightmare? No. A warning.

"Carth, take a nap," I tell him without even bothering to let him say anything.

Shower. Breakfast. Stumbling out of the apartment with my mind on the upcoming death match. I don't even bother to stop in at Kebla Yurt's shop. It won't help.

The problem is my weaponry. I'm going to need to use my lightsaber if I want to win this one. And I don't think they're liable to let me back out now, not that I'm really inclined to unless there's no other option.

I go into the cantina and up to where Ajuur and Bendak are waiting for me. "Ah, Stormseeker, you've arrived!" Ajuur says. "Are you ready for your death match?"

"Ajuur, am I allowed to use a lightsaber in the dueling ring?" I ask.

"A lightsaber?" Ajuur says in surprise.

"I don't care what you wield," Bendak says. "I'll kill you either way."

"Hah," Ajuur says. "I didn't realize you could use a lightsaber, Stormseeker. You're just full of surprises! You should have mentioned this sooner so we could play it up, but we can work with this! We'll say you're two war veterans come to settle your final score in the ring!"

"Whatever," Bendak says, obviously disinterested in the theatrics.

I pull out my lightsaber. "Alright. Let's dance."

I step into the arena and activate my lightsaber. I ignore the announcer's grandiose words and focus on my enemy. That's what's important right now. No show, nothing dramatic. This isn't entertainment anymore. This is death.

The crowd vanishes from my mind. Everything but the fight fades away. I'm one with my weapon. Blaster shots are coming in, but I neatly block them with my lightsaber. It's always there before they can strike me.

I close in on my enemy. I will kill him. I will spill his blood. I will take his life. He hurt me. He killed me. He caused me pain. He deserves to die.

Rage gives strength to my strikes as I cut into his armor. It still protects against my attacks, but here I'm actually making progress. This time my enemy will die. His armor is weakening. He can't hold out forever.

One final swipe removes my enemy's head. "Bendak Starkiller is dead!" the announcer is saying, and my mind still clouded by slowly cooling blood rage is only half hearing it.

I stumble out of the ring to collect my winnings, although they hardly seem important to my mind now.

"Stormseeker, that was incredible!" Ajuur exclaims. "Here's your twenty percent, plus a little bonus. That was the greatest fight ever seen in the Taris dueling ring! They'll be talking about that one for years to come! Everyone on Taris will know who you are now!"

His words hit me through my mental haze. There's no hiding anymore. Everyone on Taris is going to think I'm a Dark Jedi. And I'm not entirely sure that they'd be wrong to think that. So I may as well keep the lightsaber and play up the image, I suppose.

"I didn't realize you were a Dark Jedi," says a woman's voice.

I turn to see a face I think I should recognize. A Sith officer. What's her name? It started with an S. Stella? Sharra? No, it was Sarna.

"Sarna," I say. "I didn't know you were here."

"I wanted to see you fight again," Sarna says. "Don't worry, I'm not here to arrest you or anything. Not that I'd dare to try, after seeing what I just saw, the way you handled that lightsaber."

"Would it be a problem if I am a Dark Jedi?" I ask.

"No, of course not," Sarna says. "It's just a surprise, is all."

"Heh. How can you be sure that I'm not just secretly a Jedi in disguise?"

Sarna smirks. "I've seen Jedi fight. They're calm and calculating, even when their life is on the line. You fought like a Dark Jedi, full of rage and bloodthirst. There was murder in your eyes."

"I see." Is that what I looked like?

It seems Sarna wasn't the only one watching my fight. Carth comes over to grab my arm, and tells Sarna, "Excuse us." He pulls me aside and barely waits until out of immediate earshot before hissing at me, "What were you thinking, pulling out that lightsaber in public like that? Now everyone on the planet will know-"

"Will know what?" I interject. "That I'm a Dark Jedi?"

Carth pauses. "This will still draw unwanted attention."

"Nobody's going to think anything but that I'm a mercenary Dark Jedi who is working for the Sith. Now shut up before I Force-choke you."

"You-" Carth begins angrily, then looks around realizing he's hardly in a private place.

I smirk faintly, and then return to Sarna. "Sorry about that. My partner here seems to be overly concerned about the Jedi on a Sith-controlled planet." I roll my eyes dramatically. Well, it is strictly true, but not in the way that I imply.

Sarna chuckles softly. "Quite alright. I understand. It must be tough being a fugitive from such a powerful organization. But you have nothing to fear with the Sith."

"I didn't think so," I say with a grin. "So I wasn't afraid to dramatically reveal myself in front of everyone."

"Heh," Sarna says. "Bold as well as handsome and skilled. I like that."

"I'm off for lunch now," I say. "Killing people really works up an appetite. I'll see you around."

She appears to be a little disappointed, but I ignore it and wave to her as I head off. Carth seems to relax a bit as we leave the Sith woman behind.

"At least you had the good sense to brush off her advances," Carth comments quietly.

"What?" I say, casting him a blank expression.

Carth looks at me incredulously. "Don't tell me you didn't notice she was flirting with you. I think she was hoping you'd invite her to lunch."

"I didn't notice," I say, shrugging.

"You know, for all your intelligence, you can be really dumb sometimes."

I laugh lightly.

After lunch, we head over to the Sith offices to see if the paperwork has gone through yet or not. The same receptionist boredly glances up at us and asks if we have an appointment again.

"We were in here yesterday," I say. "You had us fill out some forms."

"Oh, it's you," she says. "You're right on time. Approval just came through for a Dark Jedi named Lexen Chelseer, also known as 'Stormseeker', and his associates."

"Ah, good," I say, taking the papers she passes me and glancing over them. A free pass to travel almost anywhere on Taris I might want to go.

"Take a look at this list for the bounties on any Republic soldiers and equipment you might recover," she says.

I absently glance over the list, trying to keep my expression neutral. They're offering a lot of money for this.

"I'll certainly keep that in mind," I say. "Looks like I'd best get to work, then."

I head out onto the streets again, followed by Carth. "You're not seriously considering turning in anyone you find, are you?"

I snort softly. "Have some faith in me, will you?"

"That's a little hard to do considering your recent behavior," Carth says. "I don't trust easily, and you're making that even harder than usual."

"I haven't turned you in yet," I point out. "Considering the way you've treated me since we arrived on Taris, you'd think if I were inclined to do so, that I'd start with you."

Carth considers that, making a face. "You might have a point there."

"Let's take our new pass into the Lower City and see what we can find, shall we?"

"Right behind you," Carth says.

There's a uniformed Sith guarding the lift leading down from the Upper City. "Do you have authorization to come down here?"

"Here's my authorization," I say, showing him my papers.

He glances over them disinterestedly. "More mercenaries hired to scour the Undercity? Well, good luck down there. There's swoop gangs causing trouble all throughout the Lower City, and watch out for rakghouls in the Undercity. But it says here you're a Dark Jedi, so you should be able to handle that sort of thing without a problem."

We head into the lift and go down to the Lower City. As the Sith warned, it isn't long before we run into two groups of gangs facing off in the streets. Judging by the insults flying back and forth, they appear to be called the Black Vulkars and the Hidden Beks.

After dispatching a few unruly groups of thugs with my lightsaber and Carth's blasters, we find a cantina in the Lower City and head inside. Perhaps a good place to find information or pick up some quick credits. According to a sign, the bounty office appears to be inside as well.

I approach a Hutt by the name of Zax. "I'm here to collect the bounty on Bendak Starkiller."

"Ah, yes," he says. "I've heard about that. That bounty's been posted for years, and I was wondering if anyone was ever going to collect it. Here's your reward. Take a look at the other bounties we have listed while you're here and see if any of them interest you."

"Alright," I say, glancing over the information. For the most part, they seem to be petty things. I have to snort softly at them. "Your boss seems eager to offer money to kill people who owe him money. That seems to be counterproductive, isn't it?"

"Not at all," Zax replies. "It discourages anyone else from thinking they can hold back money from Davik Kang."

I shrug. "Well, it's hardly any business of mine what Davik Kang wants to do with his money. I'll keep these in mind if I should run across the individuals in question."

As we head out of Zax's office, Carth says to me quietly, "I don't know about these bounties. While taking out that assassin sounds like a good idea, the others seem... questionable. You aren't really considering doing them, are you?"

"What, do you think I'm going to kill anyone I think I might get away with?" I say, raising an eyebrow at him.

"The thought had crossed my mind," Carth replies.

I snort softly. "You really don't trust me, do you."

"I thought I'd made that clear already."

I sigh softly and roll my eyes, but don't bother replying, as we've come back to the main part of the cantina and I spot a group of thugs threatening a young Twi'lek girl. They're Black Vulkars, apparently.

I walk up behind the girl and tell the thugs, "You know, I'm very impressed with the strength and might of the Black Vulkars, if they feel so threatened by little girls."

"Yeah!" she says. "Why don't you just leave me alone?"

"Little girl has a mouth on her," says one of the thugs. "We should teach her a lesson."

"Wait," says the thug next to him. "Isn't that Stormseeker?"

"No way," says the third.

It's funny how word of me has already spread so quickly throughout Taris, despite the lift being guarded and only authorized people being allowed to go through.

"Look, he has a lightsaber on his belt," says the second thug. "I'm not fighting a Dark Jedi." He runs off.

"You should listen to your friend," I say. "This isn't worth the trouble."

Before they can think it through any more, a Wookiee appears behind them. "Mission? Are you alright?" he says.

"Hey, Big Z," says the Twi'lek. "These guys want a fight."

"Little girl is lucky she has strong friends," says the first thug. "We leave you be, for now." The remaining two thugs leave again.

I snort softly in amusement. "I'm surprised he managed to get two brain cells rubbing together to realize this was a bad idea."

"Thanks for sticking up for me. I'm Mission Vao, and this is my best friend, Zaalbar." She glances at the lightsaber on my belt. "Is it true what they said? Are you a Dark Jedi?"

"I am Stormseeker," I reply. "But you can call me Lexen. I just came out of Zax's office to collect the bounty on Bendak Starkiller."

"Wow," Mission says. "So you really are, then... But you seem awfully nice for a Dark Jedi."

"What, do you expect that every Dark Jedi spends all their spare time kicking gizka?"

"Well, I suppose not," she says. "But aren't you working for the Sith, then?"

"Yeah," I say. "As a freelance mercenary. I'm not actually a Sith."

"Oh, I see."

"And at the moment, my opinion of the Black Vulkars is steadily growing lower. They're nothing but common thugs with over-inflated opinions of their own importance."

"Yeah, no kidding," Mission says. "The Hidden Beks are much better." She hesitates for a moment.

"Are you nervous because I'm working for the Sith?" I ask gently.

"Well... kind of, yeah," Mission admits.

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you. In fact, I'll kick the asses of anyone that tries to do so, provided Zaalbar doesn't get there first, at least."

"Really?" Mission says in surprise.

"Really," I say. "I promise."

I'm leery about keeping an oath I may or may not have made to a Jedi I may or may not have ever actually known, but here I am making promises to a Twi'lek that I just met. I really don't understand myself a times. It's a whim, but it feels like it's just the right thing to do.

"Wow, thanks. I do appreciate it," Mission says. "If you ever need a place to hole up, stop by the Hidden Beks base, and tell them I sent you!"

"Will do," I say, then wave to Mission and Zaalbar as they leave the cantina.

"Why were you so nice to that Twi'lek girl?" Carth says.

"What, are you complaining that I'm not acting evil enough now?" I say.

"No," he replies. "I'm just wondering just what you're intending on manipulating that innocent girl into."

"Oh, for fuck's sake," I say, putting my face in my hands. "Can't I do anything without you thinking I have some ulterior motive for it?"

"Probably not, no," Carth replies.

I sigh in frustration and stride out of the cantina again. I find myself growing angry at Carth, but I push it aside. I'm not a bad person, and I will prove that to him, somehow. I will choose not to be angry at him for being suspicious of my suspicious behavior.

The bounty posted on the assassin, Selven, mentions that she was suspected of hiding out in an apartment complex in the Lower City. This appears to be the one mentioned. Is every other bounty hunter on the planet afraid of coming here? I should be cautious. She might have put up traps or the like to discourage people from bothering her.

As I approach, I spot one group of thugs shaking down another. The Black Vulkars apparently owe David Kang money and are feeling too self-important to pay. Does everyone on this rock owe Davik Kang money?

The Vulkars appear to have the upper hand until Davik's man casually calls in someone named Canderous Ordo. He's a well-built man with tattoos on his arms, wielding a rather large Mandalorian blaster. Well, more like medium-sized so far as Mandalorian weaponry goes. It's strange seeing a Mandalorian without his armor on, but I imagine that's a much more common sight nowadays. The Mandalorians as a group are a pale shadow of what they used to be. But the individual before me is no pale shadow. He's six feet of muscle as solid as a brick wall, and I have no doubt that he has the skill and strength of mind to use it.

After a brief exchange with the thugs, Canderous notices me and approaches. "You look like you've never seen a Mandalorian without armor on before."

I blink for a moment, snapping from my trance. "Perhaps I have," I say with a shrug.

"I recognize you," Canderous says. "You're that Dark Jedi duelist who beat Bendak Starkiller in a death match this morning."

"That's right," I say. "Is that a problem?" My lightsaber could be in my hand, ready for a fight on an instant's notice.

"Not at all," he replies. "You both fought well, and you gave him the best death a Mandalorian could hope for these days."

I give a short nod. "It's kind of sad to see what your people have been reduced to in this day and age. And what are you doing, running around glaring threateningly at people who owe Davik Kang money? You deserve better than that."

Canderous shrugs, but looks at me with a touch of respect. "Maybe I'll find another line of work, once this blockade is over with. But for the moment, Davik's money is as good as anything else. There was a time when this job actually had respectable fights, but now things have been going downhill."

"Would you try to shoot me if I said I'd love to kill Davik Kang, and I haven't even met him?"

Canderous chuckles softly. "Not an uncommon sentiment, but coming from you, you might actually be able to pull it off. Right now, though, I've chatted long enough. I have work to do."

I watch him leave. Once he's out of sight, I notice Carth is looking at me strangely. "What?" I ask.

"Lexen, are you... interested in men?"

I blink at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, the way you were staring at that Mandalorian... never mind. Forget I said anything."

I snort softly and shrug, and head into the apartment complex. I look around warily, keeping my eyes sharp for any signs of traps or the like, or any indication that Selven is present and where precisely she might be hiding.

Everything looks ordinary here. I don't see any indication that there might be traps set up, which makes me even more uneasy. If I'm not seeing anything, chances are something is well-hidden, and I don't want any surprises at the wrong moment.

"I'm not going to start just breaking into random apartments to see which is the right one," I mutter.

After doing a full circle of the floor and seeing nothing peculiar, I let out a sigh of frustration. I was expecting the location would be obvious as the correct apartment would likely be the only one which was trapped. Of course, a particularly clever villain might trap one apartment and then hide in a different one, but that's attributing more cleverness to Selven than most people would possess. As it is, however, there's no defenses that are visible from outside. Perhaps she's relying entirely on interior defenses instead. In which case, breaking into random apartments would be an even worse idea, as they might all be trapped for all I know.

No. I'm just being paranoid. This is an apartment complex, and normal people live here. I see them walking about to and fro, ignoring me and Carth pointedly. I flag down a human child and squat down to talk to him.

"Hey there, kid," I say. "I'm looking for someone. A human woman named Selven. Do you happen to know where she is?"

"Uh-huh!" the boy says, nodding eagerly. He points out the correct apartment. "She's a scary lady. I don't like her."

"Don't worry, she won't hurt anyone else ever again," I assure him. "Here's a credit, kid. Buy yourself some candy or something."

"Wow, thanks! You're nice!" He runs off happily.

I nod to Carth. "We've got our mark. Take position to the side of the door just out of sight and be ready."

Carth nods and stands where I tell him. I hack the lock on the door, cautious for anything suspicious, and growing increasingly wary when I see it's just a simple lock with no additional safeguards.

The door opens to reveal a small apartment, much like the one we've taken refuge in ourselves. A human woman is inside, eating lunch. There don't appear to be any sort of traps or defenses. Now I have to wonder if we have the wrong target.

"Well, how rude," she says. "What do you think you're doing, barging into my apartment like that?"

"Pardon me," I say. "I was looking for someone, and I was told that this was the right place."

"Did someone finally bother coming to try to collect that bounty? Well, I'll show you why Selven is the most feared assassin on Taris!"

I stare at her, positively stunned, both at her audacity and her stupidity. I realize suddenly that this is it. There are no traps here, no ambushes, no clever plots. Just one woman sitting around boasting.

I whip out my lightsaber in one swift motion and block a shot from her blaster. "I can't believe that you are this stupid. Why hasn't someone killed you by now?"

A neat shot from Carth's blaster strikes her in the arm, causing her to drop her own weapon. "Gah," she says, reaching for the fallen gun, but I kick it out of the way and pointedly hold my lightsaber to her throat.

"Greatest assassin on Taris?" I say. "I find it hard to believe that you've managed to kill anyone."

"It's true! I've killed hundreds of people! I murdered the entire Ulgo family!"

"What did you do, poison them?" I ask.

"Yes!" Selven says. "A little poison in the food, and they're all dead. Men, women, children, servants. Even the kath hound."

"Poison is a coward's weapon," I snarl. "And you don't deserve to live."

With one angry swipe, I take off the woman's head in disgust. I glance over at Carth, who has been watching the entire exchange appraisingly.

"What is it, Carth?" I ask. "Am I disturbing you again?"

"No," Carth replies. "Just the way you became so upset about the idea of her poisoning children. You seemed almost normal for a moment there."

"I don't like poison, and I don't like killing children," I say, shaking my head and looking down at the body, and then start to search the apartment for valuables. "Anyone that murders a child deserves to die. And the way she was bragging about it, as if she were insulted by the idea that she couldn't possibly have managed to kill anyone with how stupid she was being. The door was barely even locked!"

"We're not exactly hiding out in a more secure location ourselves," Carth points out.

"Yeah, well, neither of us has a bounty on our heads yet, either."

"That 'yet' disturbs me," Carth says. "Also, you told me to take a nap and then left me alone in the apartment. The sound of the door opening woke me up, so I followed you out to the arena."

"Sorry about that," I say, apologizing sincerely. "I didn't seriously think there'd be any trouble, though. After we turn in this bounty, how about we go over to the Hidden Bek base and crash there for a bit?"

"Do you really think we can trust the Hidden Beks?" Carth wonders.

"The Black Vulkars don't like them. I don't like the Black Vulkars," I say. "Also, a child who had no reason to deceive me recommended them. That's good enough for me."

After collecting anything of value from the apartment, I grab Selven's head by the hair and turn to head back to the cantina.

"Do you have to take that gruesome trophy back with us?" Carth says.

"What?" I say. "The Hutt is going to want proof, I'm sure, and I'd like to make sure I've killed the right person. Besides, the lightsaber cauterized the wound, so it's not like it's dripping blood all over the place or anything."

Carth starts to say something, thinks better of it, and just follows along after me in silence. We return to the cantina and I drop the head in front of Zax.

"This human female claimed to be Selven and bragged about her kills," I say. "This is Selven, right?"

The Hutt takes a look at the face and compares it to his records. "Yes, this is Selven. I'll have your bounty transfered to you now."

"Seriously?" I say. "After seeing how stupid she was, I was kind of hoping that was a decoy or something. If that's the most dangerous assassin on Taris, it doesn't speak well for this planet."

Shaking my head, I turn to leave the cantina again. Down the street, I come upon a door being guarded by a woman wearing Hidden Bek colors.

"This is the Hidden Bek base!" she tells me. "Sith sycophants aren't welcome in here."

"You know, for a group calling itself the Hidden Beks, you guys aren't exactly very well hidden," I comment.

"It's just a name," she replies.

"Anyway, Mission sent me. I helped her out with some Black Vulkars who were harrassing her. Can we go in? I'd like to speak with your leader. You seem to be the sorts of people I might like to ally myself with."

"Mission Vao?" she says. "But I've heard you're a Dark Jedi working for the Sith."

"I'm a freelance mercenary who signed on with the Sith just to be able to move about Taris freely," I reply. "I have no sympathies toward them."

"Well, alright, I suppose. But you better not cause any trouble. We'll be watching you."

We head inside, and quickly find the Hidden Bek leader, Gadon Thek. A Twi'lek woman at his side tries to stop us. "What's this? A Dark Jedi in our base? Have the Sith finally come to shake us down?"

"Relax," I tell them, holding up my palms. "My intentions are peaceful. I'm not here to cause trouble."

"So you say," the Twi'lek says. "Did the Sith send you? What do you want from us?"

"No. A girl by the name of Mission Vao sent us," I say. "And perhaps I might be able to help you out with the Black Vulkars? I've grown none too fond of them and their behavior in my short time in the Lower City."

"So you say-"

"Stand down, Zaerdra," Gadon Thek says. "If he really intended hostility, he'd be swinging around that lightsaber of his by now."

"Gadon, how can we trust him?" Zaerdra says. "He's with the Sith!"

"No I'm not," I reply. "I signed on with them as a freelance mercenary. I'm not a Sith. I just wanted to be able to get around their guardposts more easily."

"That's understandable," Gadon says. "You are Stormseeker, aren't you? The Dark Jedi who killed Bendak Starkiller?"

"Although," I comment. "For all that the Sith have the lifts locked down, it seems like everyone I talk to already knows everything that happened a few hours ago in the Upper City." I smirk.

Gadon chuckles softly. "Oh, yes. You're the news on everyone's tongues today. And I have no desire to go up against your lightsaber myself. But you offer to help with the Black Vulkars? Why?"

"I'll be honest with you," I say, lowering my voice. "We're actually secretly Republic soldiers, hoping to find any surviving crewmates that we can."

"That's preposterous," Zaerdra says. "Why would a Dark Jedi be working for the Republic? You have a red lightsaber and everything!"

"Did it ever occur to you that I might be a Light Jedi working undercover to avoid attention from the Sith?"

"I... well.. I suppose that could be true," Zaerdra says uncertainly.

"I would not see the Black Vulkars slaughtered needlessly," Gadon says. "Their leader, Brejik, is like a son to me, but I fear that this conflict will not be able to be solved peacefully. Furthermore, it would seem that you have a stake in this as well. The Black Vulkars have apparently captured a Republic officer and are holding her as a prize for the winner of the big swoop race in a few days."

I narrow my eyes, "What do you mean, a prize?"

"As a slave," Gadon explains, shaking his head sadly.

I clench my fists angrily. "I'll kill them."

"That won't help," Gadon says. "They're probably hiding her in some secure, secret location, not at their main base."

"I don't care," I say. "I don't like slavers. Anyone that would trade in intelligent beings deserves to die."

"I can't really argue with that sentiment," Gadon says. "Unfortunately, Brejik seems intent on having one of his own win the race. We had a prototype accelerator that we were going to use in the season opener, but the Black Vulkars stole it from us."

"What's so important about this swoop race, anyway?" I wonder.

Gadon gives me a look as though I've just said something absurd. "Well, you might not understand, but it's very important to us swoop gangs."

"Somehow I get the feeling that the outcome of this race isn't actually going to matter much, anyway," I comment. "If he's gone to this much trouble to make sure the race is rigged, do you really think that he'll hand her off to someone else?"

"What?" Gadon says. "That would violate our most sacred traditions! He already agreed to put her up as a prize. He can't withdraw her now."

"How much do you trust in Brejik's respect for your 'sacred traditions'?"

Gadon thinks about that for a few moments. "You might have a point there. Still, I doubt you will find an opportunity to rescue her before he brings her out on the day of the race."

"Alright, fine," I say, sighing. "I'll see what I can do, either finding where they're holding her or getting back this accelerator for you. For the moment, however, we could use a place to rest. Our place topside isn't very safe or secure, and we'd feel better if we could stay among friends."

"Of course," Gadon says. "Our friends and allies are welcome to stay here as much as they like. You'll be safe here."

"Thank you."