Chapter 12: Vosa's Lair


Nightshroud: Ok for everyone sitting there saying, "I knew he couldn't update in time!" take that opinion and shove it up your ass. At least it was only a week and a half this time instead of a few weeks. Consider yourselves fortunate. But anyway, you know I love you guys! That's why I'm working so hard to get this thing done. Well, enough babbling. Read on!


Jango continued down the path toward Vosa's lair. The air was silent except for the occasional breeze, but even that seemed to carry a sinister presence. The path wound around some large boulders until he reached an impassable wall. He looked around and saw a hole carved into the side of the cliff on the left side just as a group of Bando jumped out of the cliffside. Out came the flamethrower and down went the cultists in a chorus of eerie wails. Jango used his jetpack to reach the opening and found himself in a series of dark tunnels leading through the mountain.

"I need to hurry," he thought and took off down the dimly lit tunnel.


Zam was arriving late to the party. She parked her starship by Slave I and looked around inside.

"Of course he would be gone already," she chided herself. She wouldn't be surprised if he had made it to Vosa already. She looked at the controls and silently contemplated what to do.

"I could pilot Slave I closer to Vosa's lair. We might need to get out of here fast if worst comes to worst."

Making up her mind quickly, Zam sat down in Slave I's pilot seat and ignited the engines.


Jango followed the tunnel until it lead him into a small room with relief carvings of Bando Gora generals on the walls. Suddenly, Bango Gora jumped out of the shadows from all directions. Jango quickly ignited his jetpack and flew to a ledge on the side of the wall.

"There seem to be more of them them the closer I get to Vosa's citadel. Better keep my guard up."

He unstrapped a grenade from his belt and hurled it down, hearing a satisfying series of shrieks and wails. Spying the exit, the last Mandalorian leaped down from the ledge and found his way out of the maze. He now found himself at the foot of large, dilapidated bridge spanning a significant expanse of gorge. And there, standing out like a finish line, was the entrance to the Bango Gora leader's headquarters. Jango hurried across the bridge toward the ominous lair. A pair of Bando Gora snipers suddenly shot a volley of poison darts at him, but Jango dived forward and brought himself out of the roll with both Westars blazing, taking down the two snipers with ease.

"I've got to keep going," he thought and hurried forward.


Zam landed Slave I as close to the citadel as she could without attracting attention. The high crags behind the citadel were the perfect place. After making sure that the ship was safe, Zam crept up to the edge of the crag and looked down at the Bando Gora's lair.

"Hmm...none of the creeps around. They must be preoccupied with something else....or someone else...."

She thought she saw a glimmer down below, moving across the bridge.

"Jango...?"

She hurried down the slope, desperate to catch him in time.


Jango reached the end of the bridge and found himself looking up at the massive doorway into Vosa's lair. He was going to ponder how to get the door open when it slowly opened of its owen accord, as if Vosa was inviting him in. He walked slowly in, the deathly quiet unnerving him. He passed through the doorway and into a small, crumbling room. As soon as he'd taken three steps in Bando Gora rushed at him from all sides. Jango barely had enough time to activate his flamethrower before they were on top of him. He swept the flame in a circle around him, incinerating those foolish enough to get close and chasing back the ones behind. He thought he'd managed a close scrape with that one, when suddenly an animalistic wail sounded from above him. He looked up in time to see a Bando Gora drop from the ceiling and land on him, dropping him to the ground. His helmet smacked into the ground, and everything went black.


Jango let out a cry of pain as energy surged through his body. The two Bando Gora torturers lowered the torture device, for a moment, inspecting the energy crystals to make sure they were inflicting maximum pain. Jango panted, relieved for the momentary lull in pain. He couldn't struggle against the cuffs holding him to the cross-shaped table, inclined forward toward the floor, and was forced to pant silently as he stared numbly at the wicked torture device. Suddenly the Bando Gora looked up, startled by something. The silhouette of a woman appeared down the dimly lit hallway as a sinister laughing echoed into the room. She entered the room with another laugh and walked over to the table where Jango's confiscated equipment lay. She picked up the Mandalorian helmet and traced the top of the T-shaped visor with her finger tips.

"Ah, the last helmet of a Mandalore warrior. Something I've not seen since i was a Jedi. I must have cut down twenty of your kind myself."

She grinned wickedly, then turned and strode toward Jango, her long black boots clicking on the floor.

Congratulations, bounty hunter. You found me."

She force pushed the table backward, smacking it into the wall so that Jango was now facing upward at an angle. Now he got his first real look at her. She had high black boots and gloves, and a long black cloth coming down the front and back. Her shirt was sleeveless and black, with her back exposed, and had a high collar with black spikes coming out the back. Her facial features, which still had their natural beauty, were rather shocking. Her white hair was short and flat topped, and her eyes were a venomous yellow, highlighted by the large ring of red eyeshadow around her eyes. Her chin had a few scars, likely the result of her torture before usurping the insidious cult.

She approached Jango and strattled him, bringing her face close to his. As she did, she hissed the words at him.

"Now tell me, who hired you?"

She brought her hand up to caress his face, but Jango gasped as he jerked his head to escape her grasp. She continued to rub his face with her hands, but he wouldn't breathe a word. She smirked as she eyed him with new interest and attraction.

"Oh, the strong, silent type. I like that: more of a challenge."

Jango had his lips sealed shut, eyeing the deranged Jedi with disdain. He couldn't tell if she was trying to seduce him or psychologically torture him, perhaps both, but it wasn't going to work either way.

"I once tried to resist," she said, placing her hands on his chest and turning her head a bit to the side, as if recalling the events fondly. She turned back to look at him with those mesmerizing yellow eyes, smiling as she said, "But the Bando Gora have ways of weakening your mind and breaking your will."

Vosa leaned forward, her lips brushing his right ear, as she whispered harshly, "Soon, you will be my slave, bounty hunter."

No. He hadn't come this far, lost the only two people he cared about, and destroyed his rival just to lose here to this mindblown witch. He growled and struggled, desperate to get her hands off of him and escape his bindings.

"Oh, touched a nerve." She laughed and said, "Perhaps this won't last as long as I thought."

Zam peeked around the corner of the pillar, blaster in hand, as she watched Vosa play with Jango.

"That slut better get her hands off him!" she thought with a frown. She slid back behind the pillar to think of what her move would be, but her suit brushed against the stone of the pillar, making the slightest noise. In a quiet room with a force-sensitive she might as well have rung a gong.

"Care to join us?" Vosa said turning her head back slightly to wear Zam was hiding.

"Shoot!" Zam screamed in her head. She didn't see any point in pretending though, and turned the corner quickly, aiming her blaster at Vosa. The two Bango Gora torturers, who had been waiting silently, turned to assault this intruder. The dark Jedi, unstraddling Jango and turning to survey this new player to the game, held up her right hand as her eyes flashed red for an instant. The Bando Gora halted instantly, their own eyes flashing red momentarily, and backed away as Komari Vosa stepped forward to take a closer look. Zam grinned over at the surprised Jango, then at Vosa.

"Dumb move."

She quickly shot the two Bando Gora in the heads while they were restrained by Vosa's mind control, then turned her gun back toward Vosa, who frowned at this unwelcome surprise. Zam looked over at Jango, who was struggling with his restraints, then back over to Vosa. Vosa slowly unstrapped her two curved lightsabers, activating the thrumming ruby blades. Zam smirked, ready for the challenge.

Vosa suddenly growled insanely and began to stalk forward as Zam let of a series of blasts from her gun. The deranged Jedi flashed her two blades around, deflecting the blaster shots to the side. As she got closer, she tipped her one blade forward and directed a blast back at Zam, grazing her blaster hand. Zam dropped to the ground, clutching her hand, as Vosa approached her fallen prey to finish Zam off. Zam's mind almost went into an instinctive panic as Vosa stopped in front of her, the crimson blades bathing the area around her in blood red. Zam, in a futile effort, aimed her blaster up at Vosa, but suddenly realized she was the only person who had the power to help Jango now.

Zam whipped her blaster around and fired off two quick shots, nailing both arm restraints on the torture table. Vosa gave a sharp cry of surprise and whirled around in time to see Jango spring forward and snatch his blasters from the side table. The bounty hunter let loose a rapid stream of well-aimed shots that Vosa had only enough time to block. Realizing that this wasn't the place for such a confrontation, Vosa laughed and backflipped down the hallway, deflecting the few shots that managed to pursue her down the way.

Satisfied for the time being with Vosa's temporary retreat, Jango quickly went over to Zam and placed his arm around her back to hold her steady. She lifted her arm and held his elbow with her hand as she smiled up weakly at him.

"Looks like she's all yours, Jango. We're even now."

This was it. One way or another this situation between them would be resolved. She hoped desperately that he wouldn't hold a grudge against her. A faint smile flickered on his lips, and Zam felt her heart quicken as she took in his features.

"I certainly got the whole package with this one," she thought contentedly to herself.

"Save your strength. Stay here," he said gently, resting her against the wall. He turned back to the side table and grabbed his jetpack, strapping it to his back. Next he placed his Westar blasters back in their holsters next to his legs. Finally. he grabbed his Mandalorian helmet and slowly placed it over his head as he focused his steely gaze ahead.

"Back in a minute."


Nightshroud: So what did you guys think? Zam and Jango are reconciled, and Jango and Vosa are about to end this thing, one way or the other. I'm definitely going to get the next one done by some time next week. Only two chapters left! So review and show the love!

Next chapter: The Final Confrontation