Previously…

As they walked the streets however, the same woman that had played Raaj and Riff in cards began to follow them. What neither knew however, was that the woman who followed them was not just a mere flirt. Her name was not Morella Blai. And she was only Corellian for this mission. In actuality, this woman was Major Ansa Roshim, Republic Intelligence agent and spy. Investigating the same slave ring that the Terrorlys have been paid to take down, she recognized both Raaj and Riff as wanted men. After following them long enough to know where they were staying, Roshim headed back to her own place. Later that night, a message would be sent to Rudarius Platoon's headquarters, confirming the presence of the Terrorly guild on Taris. Roshim's operator responded with a single coded phrase: "Let the games…begin."

Chapter Three

Snakes Tongue

The group of five was currently sitting in various places around their room. They were staying in an unnamed motel, in the heart of the city. All of them were picking at various foods, all of which had been bought by Luna. Riff was on the sofa eating his horrible chips, Luna, V, and Retch were all having balanced meals, and Raaj, ever the health junky, was having mainly fruit. None of them had talked much, mainly because they were all thinking about how the day was going to play out. They still had at least two days before the contractor contacted them again, and they were all trying to think of ways to spend that time. The silence was finally broken by Riff.

"I want to go check out the swoop circuit," he exclaimed. "From what I've heard, it's one of the most fun things to do here."

Raaj let out a bark of laughter and replied, "And watch you get steamrolled like you did on Tatooine? No thank you."

The others, excluding Riff, burst out laughing. Riff glared at all of them, and then grumbled, "It's better than sitting around doing nothing."

Retch was the first to reel in his laughter, replying with, "We could always go back to the cantina. You seemed to have fun there."

"Look, I'm going to check it out either way, and I don't really care if any of you go with me," Riff said with finality.

"Okay, okay calm down John. We're just teasing you," Raaj said soothingly. He then grinned devilishly and said, "Though, I may join in to show you who the real swoop racer here is. Again."

The rest of the group chuckled at this comment, then began to clean up their meals. As the group moved to put their utensils and plates away, Riff grabbed his jacket and blaster, his lightsaber already on his belt. As the others grabbed their few materials, Riff stormed out the door, still upset about the others' comments. As the rest of the group followed him out of the door, Raaj slid his blaster into the shoulder holster he commonly wore, tugging on his jacket to cover it. The five bounty hunters walked through the streets to the nearest lift to take them to the Lower City, and rode it down deeper into the heart of Taris…

The group stepped off of the lift into the streets of the Lower City. The group looked around, noting the slightly dingy look that the area had. Though still in good condition, the Lower City was undeniably not on the same level of importance as the Upper City. The group toured around the area for a while, asking passerby about the swoop circuit. They got directions to an area that local sponsors could typically be found in, and went to investigate. When they arrived they saw about eight different people, of different species and gender, yelling to passerby and holding up flyers. The different people all had on different colored outfits, and all seemed to look at each other with extreme dislike. These were the sponsors of all of the different swoop gangs in the area. And one of them had noticed Riflesso.

"Hey you! Yeah you in the leather coat! Come here, I've got an offer for ya!" the sponsor, a light green skinned Rodian yelled towards him. The Rodian wore a black outfit, with a detailed yellow snake stenciled on the back.

"Oh really? And what offer would that be sir?" Riff replied with a slight smile.

As Riflesso talked with the Rodian, a human female approached Raaj, wearing a beige jumpsuit with a yellow trim. He nodded to his friends, then smiled politely to the woman and listened to what she had to say. The other three members of their party stood awkwardly in place as Riff and Raaj talked with the sponsors that had approached them. Riff returned first, a big grin on his face.

"I just got recruited to race for the Tunnel Snakes, one of the top swoop gangs around," he stated smugly. "Not only that, but they want me to race in the qualifying round of the Taris Circuit. He said he recognized me from my runs on Malastare and Tatooine."

Shortly after he finished speaking, Raaj walked back over to the group, a slight smile on his face.

"I just got asked to race by the Hidden Beks. The woman said she's seen me before on the HoloNet at the Tatooine, Manaan, Mandolore, and Coruscant Circuits, and she wants me to race in the qualifier for the Taris Circuit."

The others, including Riff, stood there stunned by this. Even if you are new to Taris, you know who the Beks are. One of the original gangs of Taris, dating back to the Old Republic era, the Hidden Beks were a big part in the rebuilding of Taris. They were heroes to the locals, and legends to the rest of the galaxy. And they were also known for being one of the best swoop racing gangs in the galaxy. Finally, Riff regained his ability to speak, and when he did, he did so venomously.

"Oh really? And why should I believe that? I bet you just came up with that story to show me up didn't you!" he shouted.

Raaj looked surprise, and rather hurt, at the way Riflesso was responding. He then regained his composure and replied calmly, "Well, you'll be happy to know that I declined. You're the one who wanted to race not me. And I don't have my swoop bike with me anyway."

Riff stood there for a minute staring at Raaj, his face slowly reddening from embarrassment. He then apologized. Raaj waved it off with a grin, then said, "You've certainly got enough venom in your words to be a Tunnel Snake."

The other three members of their party chuckled at this, then turned towards Riff. He stood there for another minute, then walked back over towards the Rodian to accept his offer. After talking to him for a few minutes, he turned towards his friends and jerked his head down the street, then began following the Rodian. The others looked at each other and shrugged and followed suit.

As the group walked away, several people in different nearby areas began to move. Two of these were men wearing orange armor and helmets, the visor of which was tinted a strange green color. Across the walkway, one of the sponsors, who was really a Terrorly mercenary known as T'zek recognized the group, and moved away to avoid detection. And finally, in a spot that would be passed within a few minutes, was Ansa Roshim, whose new orders were to tail the group of bounty hunters and learn about their whereabouts on Taris. But unknown to any of these pawns, there was a lone man watching V and Luna both with a hunger his eyes. This man was Ofik Calhoun, and Terrorly party would soon be making his acquaintance...