3 years later
Dathomir
The smell was pungent and burnt his nostrils as Pollisix stood in the elevator. The lift was completely sealed, but still the odor found its way through the microscopic gap between atoms. It was a relatively small elevator, especially when being shared with a husky pair of Gammoreans and a Wookie. The ride was slow as they made their way further down, and felt like it was lasting an eternity considering the fact that the three aliens didn't speak a word of Galactic Basic, and he didn't speak in the animalistic grunts and howls that their voices made. So he put on his best Sabacc face and continued to wait.
For a second he paused to close his eyes and extended his awareness, and was relieved to sense his backup making his way down above the elevator. At least with the elevator moving this slowly it wasn't too difficult for Bi-Pi to keep up. Well, as difficult as it would be for a Jedi to climb his way down an elevator shaft into the belly of a Sarlacc. If the smell seemed bad inside the lift, one could only imagine how unbearable it was on the outside.
When the elevator reached the bottom it opened into a large room. Filled with a dozen large tables and about fifty or sixty workers, mostly Twi'leks. They were busy doing a variety of tasks, some pouring various powders into bags and packages while others where taking completed packages to a second room on the far side. Spice miners. They profited off the suffering of others, developing stronger and more addictive variations of their drugs every year. If you make the crash hard enough, you will have customers hurrying back to you consistently, until they died.
Pollisix and Bi-Pi had been sent in to infiltrate the mine and find out who is behind the operation. As he walked into the chamber, the only other human in the room shouted out to the guards and workers, "Everyone back up! Make Space! Get away from him!"
Alarm suddenly shot down Pollisix's spine. Had he been discovered so quickly? He didn't have his lightsaber on him in case they searched him, convinced that his backup was close enough to be able to help, but he could tell through the force that Bi-Pi was still making his way down and was not in an observing position yet. Then the human addressed him directly.
"I'm very sorry, my good sir, but there's two things I can tell you about these slaves. They can work for days straight without sleep if given the right stims, and they're the ugliest bunch of head tailed bastards I've ever seen," as he spoke he showed a faint smirk and walked over to Pollisix with his right hand extended in greeting.
"This is quite a facility you have, not many people can say 'I've survived a sarlacc pit.'" Pollisix said shaking the mans hand.
The man held his hand firmly and pulled him in close whispering "You haven't gotten out yet," then there was a moment of silence before the two broke out laughing. "Say, your a little young to be working for the Red Krayt aren't you? Shouldn't you be in school or something?"
Pollisix looked the man in the eyes while tilting his head. "Yeah, right after this I have to hurry and get back to the academy."
"Academy? Woah woah woah, I'll have to warn the boss that we are dealing with a regular Fire Freckin' Jedi." The two started laughing again. "Can I get you anything? Spice? Deathstick?"
"Nah, I like to stay sharp when I do business."
"Hahaha, I should tell that one to the boss when he wakes up. How about a stim?" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of blue vials. "This isn't like that poodoo we give the slaves, it's clean. All ride, no crash. Makes you feel like you've got two brains and the strength of a rancor."
"I'm fine... really. Did you say that your boss is asleep?"
"He'll be up in a minute." The man said as he moved to a seat by a datapad "Where did you say you flew in from?"
Pollisix could feel suspicion growing from within the man. "Nar Shadda" His wristband vibrated two quick soft bursts, a subtle signal, but a big relief.
"I use to go out there on runs all the time. Now I'm just stuck here in the belly of the beast. What's the name of that cantina that the Krayts get the slavegirls for?"
Pollisix paused for a moment, unsure how to respond, he had done some backround research for the assignment, but didn't get as much time as he would have liked. "You'd have to be more specific, there are a few."
Now was the time to see if his bluff worked. "Really? I was under the impression that they stopped dealing slave girls after Zen Kesh's men accidently sold Zen's own sister to the Hutts." The jig was up. He had been given more than enough time to assess the situation. There was clearly only one way in or out, there were plenty of slaves, but they seemed to be coming down from working on stims for the last few days and probably won't assist their slavers. He quickly clicked a button on his wristband, and the wall erupted.
Bi-Pi had been following from a distance for the last few hours, using his ear piece to listen in and record every thing Pollisix could hear. The toughest part was following the elevator down into the sarlacc pit. There was no other way down, so he had to make his way down the outside of the elevators shaft using magnetic gloves to help him slowly descend to the bottom. He had to take his time avoid the long drop to the bottom. Every once in a while acid whizzed by, shot from the walls of the belly of the beast.
When he finally made it to the bottom he used his tracker to find where Pollisix was and positioned himself by the far wall. Bi-Pi was still new to explosives so he was unsure as to the effectiveness of the bits of plastic he was applying to the side of the building. Listening to Pollisix try to lie to the man inside was torture. Pollisix was clearly struggling to keep up the act, while the man was merely stalling. He probably didn't seem threatened by the young man and was having too much fun messing with him. Bi-Pi knew there could only be moments before it would be too late, so he quickly finished applying the explosives and sent the signal to Pollisix. They had learned the importance of keeping there cues subtle so that targets wouldn't notice or be tipped off. Any sound could give them away, so a very soft vibration was sent to Pollisix wrist comm unit. So soft that even Pollisix wouldn't notice if he hadn't trained to pay attention to it.
Now it was a matter of waiting, so Bi-Pi pulled his lightsaber from his waist and extended the blade. It was a cold dark blue and though it retained its color, it didn't eminate much light. Bi-Pi and Pollisix had found this kind of Paqi crystal while visiting a dig site with their masters a few months before. Extremely difficult to manipulate, some ancient jedi manuscripts referred to them as Shadow Crystals. Because of their rarity and fragility, most jedi that use them build their lightsabers around the crystal so that it will fit perfectly, causing them to be less regular in size and radius. Pollisix blade was thin and light allowing for swift motion and quick response, while Bi-Pi's crystal was fit for a shorter and thicker blade. Though it was heavier and slower, It was able to burn through some materials that other lightsabers struggled with. It's strength befit its wielder as he fought with such focus and might. While training he found that the combination of his blade and his will created an almost unstoppable force that often caused other students blades to fall from their hands.
He closed his eyes for a second to center himself while he waited for his final cue. With detonator in one hand and his lightsaber in the other, he expanded his awareness and for the first time really took in his surroundings. It was hard to imagine the true size of the sarlacc as it expanded in so many ways under ground that were unseen, but the belly was at least half a kilometer in diameter and it felt hungry.
Then the signal came and Bi-Pi squeezed the button in his left hand and watched as the wall erupt in a shower of flames. The explosion almost was strong enough to force Bi-Pi back, but instead he lunged forward through the flame with his lightsaber held high over his head. Landing on the other side of the fire he took a moment to get a lay of the land. Slaves were screaming and stumbling over each other. He didn't see the Gammoreans before the blade of one of their axes swung towards him. He leaned back as far as he could to avoid the blade and fell to the floor. He rolled backwards over his right shoulder and regained his stance.
"Bi-Pi!" a voice shouted through the smoke that had filled half the room, and Bi-Pi quickly grabbed the second lightsaber that had been hanging from his waist and flung it towards his companion.
The smoke started to clear, revealing Pollisix with his lightsaber now secure in hand and extending. Bi-Pi refocused his attention on the three Gammoreans that were now surrounding him, As the one in front of him began to swing Bi-Pi kicked him in the side of his right knee, it wasn't strong enough to knock him down or break anything, but it did interupt the swing and throw the brute off balance enough for the jedi to jump, spin backwards and hook kick the green beast right in the face, as he swung his lightsaber to cut the handle of another Gammoreans axe. As the first monster dropped face first to the ground the seconds face lit with fear. As he reached for the blade, Bi-Pi used the force to push it away and hit the struggling guard over the head with the handle of his lightsaber rendering him unconscious.
Turning to face the third guard, Bi-Pi saw that the guard had ran to hit a switch on the wall. Suddenly a series of five sentry turrets dropped from the ceiling. They were in a line going down the middle of the room. The four on the outside all looked the same while there was something about the middle one that looked different. As lasers started to pour out, he started to deflect the beams with his blade. Trying to redirect the lasers, first to hit the guard that had activated the guns, then at the guns themselves.
The fat pig-man was an easy target, but the turrets proved to be more difficult, he had deactivated 2 of the outside turrets when he saw something shoot out of the middle turret. It barely missed him as he knocked over a table to use as a shield. Bi-Pi then saw the remains of a cracked weaponized syringe next to him on the floor.
"Watch out for Tranquilizers!" Bi-Pi shouted out to Pollisix, trying to scream over the sound of blaster fire from the turrets. He turned just in time to see his friend drop to the floor. With a very satisfied human standing over his body.
The explosion had been more than Pollisix expected when signalling his friend. He was expecting enough for the wall to blow and maybe a little smoke, but the force of the eruption hurled tables and equipment from the far side of the room all the way over towards him. He tried to find cover for a second as he remained unarmed as the smoke filled the room. It was way too much, Bi-Pi had messed this one up. Choking on smoke and unable to see Pollisix struggled to calm his body. He knew what was going on and what had to be done, but he had to force his body to return to his control. If he was a master he would know how to overcome these things with great ease, but there are only so many things that you can learn by this point that Pollisix was unprepared.
Clearing his mind listed the things he needed to be aware of. Lightsaber, middle man, boss. He cried out to his companion, "Bi-Pi!" and in half a second the familiar shape of his lightsaber rested in his hand. Middle man. If he couldn't see, he needed to find his opponent another way. Closing his eyes he sensed around him, he could feel the fear of the slaves, he could sense his friend on the far side of the room as Pollisix was kicked a Gammorean across the face, then he felt the pressence of the man that had welcomed him. He could sense the man run to the back room and he ran after the man, using the force to augment his speed.
After vanishing into the back room, the man returned revealing an automatic shotgun. The man pulled the trigger releasing a round straight towards. The Jedi quickly re-evaluated his trajectory and hid behind a table, The man blindly shot chunks out of the table with his spread shot, leaving Pollisix with very few option. Then suddenly turrets dropped from the ceiling. One of the guards on Bi-Pi's side must have activated it, unleashing a turret that came out 7 feet above Pollisix' head. Quickly scrambling, Pollisix ran to find a new source of cover, feeling the heat as the turret's fire came closer, then one blast hit Pollisix in the left arm as he was about to reach the next table. It didn't burn though. It was an odd electric sensation. The turrets must be set to stun. A blast like that would usually render a normal man unconscious, but it had barely grazed his arm, and a jedi is normal man. The arm felt oddly numb and heavy, with waves of sensation feeling like pins and needles.
He peeked around the table to see where the man with the shotgun was, and was immediately greeted with another blast from the shotgun. He withdrew into the force again, reassessing the battlefield. Bi-Pi had destroyed the 2 farthest turrets, but not the three close ones. Pollisix visualized a plan in his mind. If he timed it just right, he could dive out throwing his lightsaber at the turrets and reposition himself at the table he had been hiding behind under the turret. A few more rounds punched the shotgun's footprints through the table, and as the gun recharged, Pollisix made his move. Launching himself out, he threw his saber towards the turrets and in one big curve it swung through the first turret, made its way through the turret that he had hidden under, and barely missed the middle one. As he landed on the floor behind the table, he lifted his face towards the man with the shotgun used the force to throw him off balance onto the floor. As he stood and recovered his lightsaber, he heard a shout from Bi-Pi "Watch out for Tranquilizers!"
Then there was softest prick in the back of Pollisix's neck, and things started to go slowly. His vision became fuzzy and distorted. Everything started to go dark, and he willed himself to stay awake. The man he had just blasted was getting back to his feet and walking over with a grin on his face. The man raised his gun, took aim and...
He woke to the sound of an explosion. His head was pounding dealing with the payback of his mid day drinking. He tried to get up and fell off the side of the bed. Gunshots. As he tried to regain full conciousness he reached under the bed and pulled out his twin blaster pistols. The door to his room burst open as his assistant ran in with a very concerned look on his face.
"Rainhamer, we've been busted, come on!" The man shouted as he pulled a shotgun off the wall rack. "Jedi!" The man quickly returned to the main room and Rainhamer quickly activated the monitor for his security cams, just in time to watch one his guards get a swift kick to the face. The picture on the monitor was fuzzy and unfocused, but it was clear enough to witness how flawed all of his security measures had been. He heard one of the Jedi shout something but couldn't quite make it out, and watched the other Jedi collapse to the ground after receiving a dart to the neck. Then something clicked and he recognized the victim.
Just as soon as he recognized Pollisix, he saw his assistant walking up to Poly with his shotgun. Rainhamer quickly ran into the main room shouting "Stop! Friendly! Stop!" but he could tell by the look on the mans face that there was no stopping him. So in the blink of an eye Rainhamer had his gaze fixed and shot the mans hand, dropping the shotgun to the floor. The man let out a scream of agony as Rainhamer shook his head, "I said stop!"
Then he heard his name called out from across the room. "Rainhamer," There was something off about the tone. It wasn't a greeting. It wasn't a question. It was firm disappointment. The Twi'lek turned to see Bi-Pi running towards him with lightsaber still extended.
"Woah woah woah, hold on buddy. Just wait one second," he tried to calm the Jedi, but Bi-Pi responded with a punch to the fat Twi'leks throat. As he fell to the floor struggling to breath he received a swift kick to the chest. He tried to say more but was unable to control his breath long enough to make out a word, let alone a sentence.
"What did you do to Pollisix? What was in that tranq dart?"
He let out a heaving cough before he was able to respond, "Liquid... carbonite... compound. Quick, get one of those stims." Still on his knees the Twi'lek pointed to a pile of stims that had been knocked over. The other man still laid on the floor screaming in pain as he was clutching at his good hand.
"Liquid carbonite?" Bi-Pi questioned while hurrying to the stims. The other man still laid on the floor screaming in pain as he was clutching at his good hand.
"Once it makes its way into your bloodstream, it slows your system down until it finally solidifies, leaving you a standing sculpture."
"Why the hell do you have that?" he asked while carrying a handful of stims to Rainhamer.
"MY HAND!" the man continued to scream.
Rainhamer now clearly annoyed by the mans screams raised his pistol and finished the job. "Gives us time to get some answers out of them first. Find out who sent them." He took the cap off one of the stims and slammed it into Pollisix chest.
Life. The last thing he knew he was fading away staring down the barrel of a shotgun, but now he felt alive. Unbelievably alive. Uncontrollably alive. His eyes opened and time froze. Suddenly he was fully aware, and not only of his own senses, but of everything around him. He could see the entire complex in his mind. Every scratch in every corner. He was aware of Bi-Pi and Rainhamer, the Gammoreans that Bi-Pi had rendered unconscious and the man that Rainhamer had just shot. Then in a quick burst, time continued.
Pollisix jumped to his feet and immediately kicked Rainhamer back to the floor. Then he extended his blade towards his former friend and said in a strong and focused voice. "Rainhamer, you are under arrest for crimes against the Republic."
"Poly, come on kid, don't be like that" the Twi'lek responded.
Bi-Pi, clearly startled by his friends quick recovery asked Rainhamer, "What did you just give him?"
Still staring at the lightsaber an inch from his face, Rainhamer responded, "The good shit."
