Chapter 25

Despite the lack of funding provided the Imperial garrison situated in the ruins of Kway Teow, the small bunker that served as the command center for the Galactic Empire's interests in this untamed, wartorn wilderness was delightfully neat and orderly. It was not a large complex, but was sufficiently sizable to house the handful of squads of stormtroopers, both noncommission and specialized units, and their commanding officers. Additionally, there was enough room for small power generators, a cramped but well-stocked armory, and a hangar that could have housed well over a dozen repulsorcraft, though it was sparsely occupied now. Standing in the bunker's command center, poring over files and data meticulously compiled on the terminal before her, the Devaronian representative of the Inquisitorius cultivated the impression that this had once been an outpost, a single node in an entire network comprising a strong Imperial presence on Felucia. Her eyes skimmed over lines of Aurebesh text detailing the results of surveys and reconnaissance into the unexplored parts of the jungle, the daily activities of personnel who were long gone, most of whom had been reassigned to other, more vital operations across the galaxy. In fact, Felucia had once been of great concern to certain proponents within the Empire, the subject of extensive attempts to utilize the unique physiology and natural Force abilities of the native population, resulting in a battery of failed experiments led by one Captain Vischera, who had been assigned command of a secret internment facility established on the world shortly after the emergence of the New Order. Apparently, he had decided to spend his spare time studying captured Felucians and subjecting the specimens to barely-controlled genetic mutations, though the results of his unsanctioned activities and the data he must have collected had been fouled by an unknown group of assailants, who were not only responsible for infiltrating and destroying the old prison facility, but were also suspected of having been sympathizers to early attempts at organization of the Rebel Alliance that grew as a threat to the Empire daily. Vischera's projects and the prison he commanded had eventually been abandoned, and whatever information was left regarding them had been buried under the overpowering weight of planetary surveys, sensor data, and records of meaningless minutiae of those who were stationed on Felucia over the course of the years that followed.

Only in the last few years had Felucia become interesting again to someone with her particular mandates. The records she found regarding the incidents over two years ago were incomplete, due to the lack of information and understanding of those who had compiled it, though there were numerous mentions of Jedi who had escaped the Purge and Palpatine's notice having taken refuge upon this world. Scrutinizing these records with more intensity than she had those already viewed, the Inquisitor was sorely disappointed by what she read, for little was actually said regarding the events that led to the demise of these renegade Jedi and no small number of Imperial troops, settlers, and natives who had happened to fall within the crossfire between the Jedi and an unknown individual who had displayed remarkable abilities, well beyond any recorded amongst the Jedi or any Force-using tradition the Inquisitor had studied or personally assisted in decimating. From what she could glean from the half-finished reports and scattered, unclear sightings, whomever this individual had been, they had been present on Felucia more than once, and seemed to be at the epicenter of whatever had caused such a dramatic shift in the planet's ecosystems, the delicious quagmire of the Dark Side that the entirety of the world appeared to have mired itself in. Though she was without details or specifics, the Imperial presence on the world had been reduced and weakened, and when funding for the erstwhile garrison, research projects, and failed experiments had been rerouted to other Imperial efforts to combat the threat of the Rebel scum and their ilk rising from every slagheap and mynock den in the galaxy, those left had been unable to do little more than conduct token efforts on behalf of the Empire they so loyally served. What little artillery, forces, and weaponry specially assigned to the planet for the garrison's use had been further diminished when they had become involved in a short but heated skirmish between proponents of two criminal syndicates, the Zann Consortium and the Hutt Cartel. The results of this battle had been inconclusive, though in her estimation, the Empire had received the raw end of the deal, left with the cleanup and the destruction afterward. Though the infamous Tyber Zann had been captured, the symbolic recompense for the Empire that this had garnered had been short-lived, as Zann's compatriots had liberated him from imprisonment in the spice mines of Kessel.

Thus, Imperial interests in the troublesome Felucia had waned, for little had been gained by establishing a well-equipped garrison upon the world, or previous efforts to study, and then eradicate, the natives of the Felucian jungles. Thus was she faced with the sorry state of affairs at the bunker, though even she had to admit—personally, if not publicly—that the lieutenant in command had done his best with the situation presented him. He was also well-accustomed to following orders, for as of yet, he had not been hovering about in order to pounce upon any opportunity to impress her in an attempt to curry favor, that he might be transferred off this backwater and to a post with more excitement and greater probability of vertical career movement. Yet he had remained within easy access, never far enough away that he could not be summoned to her side at a moment's notice.

Despite all of these qualities, the lieutenant still had an annoying habit on intruding upon her sanctity of thought and research, as he decided to do at that very moment. The thin man, who seemed to be perpetually perspiring, despite the climate controls within the bunker, was suddenly at her side. The Inquisitor silently berated herself for being too focused upon the screen in front of her to keep an extrasensory "eye" on her immediate surroundings. He opened his mouth to speak, but the glare she leveled his way, cold and full of menace, made him snap his jaw shut and adopt a smart, attentive stance. The Devaronian gave a sigh. "What is it, Lieutenant?"

"Inquisitor," he began, his voice shuddering slightly before he mastered it again. "We have finished repairs with what was on hand. The A5 is not truly restored, but it should function properly in a combat scenario, as you requested. We merely await your inspection."

The Devaronian stepped back from the console, straightening the hems of her zeyd-cloth robes and absentmindedly touching the Taozin amulet that hung at her throat. "Lead the way." She followed the officer's quick, determined steps through the cramped halls and chambers of the bunker, and down a short flight of stairs where no one had bothered to spend the time nor credits to install a turbolift. The stairs ended in a door that slid upward at their approach, issuing the pair into the small hangar that predominantly housed parts and pieces of repulsorcraft the garrison no longer had access to, several small refueling pumps, and the old but imposing piece of machinery that dominated the majority of the hangar's space. It was a HAVw A5 Juggernaut, a relic of the Clone Wars that had become a powerful and versatile mobile artillery platform for the Empire in the wake of the Old Republic's dissolution, though the widespread use of these vehicles had diminished over the intervening period, particularly after the introduction of the more advanced AT-AT and AT-ST walkers that saw greater use in modern times, while requiring a fraction of the routine maintenance that an A5 Juggernaut commanded. Walkers had been deployed multiple times when Imperial forces were prevalent on Felucia, but the Juggernaut was the only form of heavy artillery left available to the paltry garrison. But if the terrain to which the Inquisitor was directing them was as treacherous and tangled as the lieutenant claimed it to be, then she preferred the machinery available to walkers, for despite its idiosyncracies and age, a Juggernaut tank possessed greater stability than the tall, gangly legs of Imperial walkers. The vehicle before her was almost twenty-two meters in length and ten in height, with an observation tower that increased that by another five. Its bulky, heavily-armored body squatted upon five sets of enormous wheels, and a fully-functional cockpit graced both ends of the vehicle to allow it to be driven in either direction with little trouble, as the vessel was hardly maneuverable when forced to make a turn. This close to its pitted, scarred, and carbon-scored hull, the Inquisitor could see similar design elements that eventually gave birth to the look and construction of the AT-AT walker. Its impressive array of armaments consisted of turrets mounted above the forward cockpit and along the center of the dorsal spine, while heavy laser cannons emerged from both the starboard and port sides, facing toward the rear of the vehicle, but able to cover the fir arcs to either side of the Juggernaut. As she approached beside the lieutenant's side, the technicians who had been working doggedly at repairs in order to make the vehicle useful for her scouting missions she intended to pierce deep into the heart of the jungles snapped to attention. She gave a dispassionate wave of her hand, and the tech specialists returned to their assigned tasks at a nod from the lieutenant.

The pair of them walked around the Juggernaut's perimeter, while the lieutenant explained the combat readiness and effectiveness of the artillery vessel in clipped, encyclopedic tones. "This is the last of the heavy artillery we have available to us, and though the A5 has given us routine issues regarding its maintenance and replacement parts, we have been able to make do with what we have available to scavenge and jury-rig as need be." He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial tone. "As you might imagine, requisitions for supplies are often met with long delays or simple silence from Command this far from Imperial Center, so we get by how we can. Our Juggernaut was actually damaged in one of our last forays into the jungles, and my men have been repairing it ever since. Your arrival was most prodigious, for with the Rimfire's command crew, my technicians were granted the right amount of help, extra supplies, and technical knowledge to restore the Juggernaut to combat effectiveness." He gestured up at one of the side-mounted laser cannons, and the lights surrounding his form shifted toward a muddy gray with frustration and sadness. "All the laser batteries are operational, though at lesser capacity than is recommended, due to poor power regulation in the A5's core, and the lack of sufficient tibanna gas canisters. We can fire the cannons, Inquisitor, but do not expect full barrages, or many shots. The gunners will have to be accurate and conservative."

"As I expect them to be," the Inquisitor replied with a barely-perceptible undertone of hostility.

"Of course, Inquisitor," the lieutenant replied, new beads of sweat emerging around his collar, which was already grimy with perspiration. "I'm happy to inform you though that the pair of Mk 2/W Concussion Grenade Launchers are fully-operational, with a full complement of anti-personnel and anti-armor concussion grenades. The anti-personnel explosives are sonic-based, so we may use them to stun and capture large groups of the natives...if that is truly still your wish, Inquisitor?"

The Devaronian gave a brief nod. "I believe I warned you against asking unwarranted questions, Lieutenant." She waited for him to cringe, for his presence in the Force to exude delicious waves of black fear upon which she was momentarily sustained and strengthened. "Though your intuition serves you well...the Inquisitorius has read your reports of the Jungle Felucians' supernatural abilities, and we agree with you: you are overmatched, and incapable of accomplishing the Empire's goals here without help. Hence, my presence." She gestured up at the ports where the retracted grenade launchers were hidden. "Your attention to detail and ability to anticipate the needs of your betters shall serve you well."

Now the officer's aura was streaked with blue waves of hope, born of the thought that he might have gained her approval, and therefore an opportunity to advance within the Imperial Army's hierarchy, and finally be assigned to a post where he most certainly considered his talents fully utilized and appreciated. These splashes of hope, like wet pigment splattered across the canvas of his simmering fear, were something the Inquisitor cherished even more than the wavelengths of unadulterated fear. For hope would build in this mind and his spirit, until he realized, either by her direct actions or her lack of actions for his benefit, that his hope was false, and would shatter into true despair, which was even more savory to the Devaronian than the lieutenant's fear.

The blue stripes of hope colored slightly yellow with eagerness, and the lieutenant hurried his pace, completing the circuit of the impressive vessel and striding toward the opposite wall of the hangar. There was an alcove there, wide enough to accommodate two humanoids abreast and tall enough to house another pair of sentients stacked upon each other; ensconced in this alcove was a hefty, nightmarish version of a stormtrooper, modeled in a style akin to the Inquisitorium Dark Troopers that had accompanied her, though the severe scarring and grime upon the figure revealed its age and experience in combat. The Inquisitor recognized it as a Purge Trooper, an early product of the Dark Trooper Project that had been designed specifically to combat Force-users who had escaped the initial violence of the Jedi rebellion and the subsequent Purge and corruption of Force-sensitives across the galaxy. Multiple Purge Troopers had been deployed in the days of greater Imperial presence on Felucia, and had shown great prowess in dealing with the Jungle Felucians and their primitive and powerful connections with the Force. Though as with most of the problems experienced by Imperial interests on the planet, the majority of the Purge Troopers assigned here had been destroyed by the same Force-wielder who had ripped through much of the jungle like a supernatural tempest. Seeing a Purge Trooper that, albeit having suffered damage in the past, was still in one piece, was a genuine surprise for her. She gave the lieutenant a curious glance. "Is it functional?"

The lieutenant only barely kept the grin of triumph off his face. "Indeed, Inquisitor; we have your command crew's expertise and spare parts to thank once again." He walked up to the towering droid and triggered its activation sequence. There was a throaty, digitized sound as the droid became aware of its surroundings, and with ponderous steps, walked from the deep alcove, keeping its arms stiff at its sides as it came to attention before the two of them. The Inquisitor examined the equipment on its left forearm that would project an energy blade meant for both cutting and stunning, as well as a localized shield that would deflect most attacks from energy weapons. A shoulder-mounted rocket launcher with a trio of tubes protruded from its hulking right shoulder, able to swivel enough to target most enemies up to medium range arrayed before it; the main disadvantage of the Purge Trooper models were their extreme weight and the lax speed with which they moved, but these were resultant of the heavy armor of thick duranium and refined cortosis, which was nearly impervious to blasters and highly resilient against lightsabers, the favored weapon of the long-dead Jedi.

As the Purge Trooper stood still, awaiting new orders, the Inquisitor faced the lieutenant again. "This will do splendidly, Lieutenant. Have the droid loaded onto the Juggernaut, and ready as many men as you are able. I wish to penetrate the darkest parts of the jungle you have thus far feared to enter by the morning...and there had best be as many powerful natives as you claim there for capture and study."

The lieutenant was unable to hide his terror at the thought of proceeding so deep into the jungles he loathed. He waved at the Purge Trooper, which began striding toward the Juggernaut, making not a sound save for the echoing, immense clomping of its footsteps. "What are our rules of engagement, Inquisitor?"

"We are going to capture any Felucians we are able to," she explained. "I only need three or so, or just one or two if we can incapacitate one of their Shamans; from all your reports, they appear to be the strongest in the Force. All others who dare to get in our way are to be cut down on sight. This will be a simple smash and grab, Lieutenant. I didn't come here to embroil either of our forces and resources in a ground war or a battle of attrition. And our mandate is no longer the eradication of this species; we acquire a specimen, and then we leave. If our enemies try to stop us, you have full license to use any and every asset at our disposal, but I want at least one alive. Do I make myself clear, Lieutenant?"

"Perfectly, ma—Inquisitor."

"Excellent," came her response. "Make preparations for departure. I will retrieve my troops and meet you here, and then...we shall go hunting."

The Felucian war party poured over the uppermost cliff edge like a tide of pure rage, hatred, and bloodlust, howling, barking, and hurling sickly waves and spheres of Force energy down the muddy slopes. The Dark Side powers they wielded splashed and spattered the mud all around their prey, Foyi, Rayf, and Vaevi gasping as they continued to leap, slide, tumble, and sprint down the mud-slicked slopes and the alternating ledges. They were dodging and weaving through a veritable forest of the sarlacc's teeth, its wounded, wrathful presence growing so strong about them, it was nearly suffocating in its proximity. Foyi was finding it difficult to breathe, through the spores, humidity, and rising heat of the day, as well as the tempestuous presence of the Dark Side itself, which only seemed to be growing the closer they came to the mouth of the sarlacc. She had the impression that this was not just another place negatively affected and twisted by the Dark Side, but rather a location where much death, destruction, fear, and hatred had existed for a long time, perhaps even before the wound that had inevitably corrupted the entirety of the planet. She could see that the immense object that emerged from the sarlacc's maw was indeed a tower of sorts, and judging by the dark and spartan architecture, the way gargantuan, jointed legs curved up from the tower's sides like the curled appendages of a deceased Nadir spider, she guessed it had been Imperial in origin. Who else would go to so much trouble for an unknown reason at the expense of the creature before her?

The deeper they ran into the depression and the closer they came to the sarlacc's maw, the more remnants of native architecture and abodes became present. In fact, some of them appeared to have been fashioned recently, and continued to be utilized, judging by the number of twisted, wrathful Felucians that continued to erupt from their dark doorways. The three of them, already possessing considerable momentum from their previous sprint and the gravitational pull of Felucia on the slippery slopes, managed to stay ahead of those who joined the pursuit. Foyi did her best to slow them down, flicking her fingers at nearby boulders and crumbled shards of ruins to hurtle behind them, guided by the Force to trip up the thick, churning legs of the warriors or smash unceremoniously into their chests. But such tactics only delayed the inevitable, and failed to deter the main war party from their intended violence.

They finally came to the bottom of the depression, a wide, flat area of mud and heaving, organic matter, interspersed with bubbling boils and ulcers indicating the sarlacc's poor state of health. The sarlacc seemed to respond to their approach, for it gave a strangled squeal that reverberated through the ground and echoed amongst the mushrooms. Foyi wanted to cover her ears at the sound of its pathetic, high-pitched wails, but she instead occupied her hands with her discblade, turning about to face the oncoming rush of the hoard of Darksiders bearing down upon them. "There's nowhere else to run! We either fight, or we die!"

Vaevi pulled her ACP Scatter Gun, a look somewhere between excitement and blood-chilling fear crossing her face. "Fight with a sarlacc at my back is not my idea of a defensible position!"

As if to accentuate her worries, the sarlacc gave another shriek as one of it tentacles, nearly a kilometer long, writhed from its maw and slammed the fleshy ground within meters of where they stood. The three of them jumped, and scurried to the side, taking cover amongst a cluster of tumbled and ruined edifices built by the Jungle Felucians and long since abandoned. The tentacle sliced the air in a great rush that seemed to bisect the atmosphere itself, but it was long belated, and did not come close to sweeping them aside, or grasping them in its horrid grip. Foyi could feel its agitation at the number of creatures rushing across its expanse and gathering within reach of its maw. It wished to strike out at anyone and anything that dared to come too close to its mouth, to exact primal vengeance upon the small creatures that it believed had hurt it so in the past, and was the source of its continual suffering due to the cruel, metal structure shoved down its esophagus. And upon feeling that, Foyi had an idea; one that was insane and likely to end in their deaths, but if they did not react swiftly and in tandem, the Felucians would overwhelm them and rend them limb from limb.

The Zeison Sha emerged from the doorway she had commandeered as cover, and renewed her sprint out of the collection of ruins, heading directly for the sarlacc's waving tendrils. Rayf shouted after her, but blindly followed her charge, even if he did not fully understand the reasoning behind it. Vaevi, not wishing to be overrun by staying in one spot alone, joined them, shouting angrily, "What are you spiceheads doing?!"

The tentacles ahead of them began rising into the air, the sarlacc sensing their approach via the vibrations their frantic footfalls produced. Foyi did not look back at the bounty hunter, but shouted, "That thing's trying to grab anything that gets too close to its mouth! If we stay within reach of its tentacles, the Felucians will be forced to get close too, and maybe the sarlacc will do some of the fighting for us!"

"That sarlacc's going to eat us in the process!" Vaevi gasped back.

"It's worth a shot!" Rayf added as he scrambled to his hands and knees for a moment, the tip of a tentacle sweeping toward where his face had been a nanosecond before. He sprang to his feet again, running as fast as he was able without directly calling on the Force, and still appearing to possess enough stamina to run in such a way for the rest of the day. His wan-shen flashed by his arm, cutting a deep groove in another tentacle that darted within centimeters of him. The sarlacc bellowed in response.

"Get closer!" Foyi encouraged, dodging past the same wounded tentacle, which was waving about uncontrollably and spraying gobs of viscous ichor.

Vaevi leapt over a tentacle that lay across her path, triggering a burst from the ACP as she did so; the tentacle slid away sharply, and the sarlacc bellowed again. "I've got a bad feeling about this!"

"Save it for your logs!" Rayf snapped.

Even as the three of them drew closer to the sarlacc's mouth, the tentacles began thrashing and slamming the ground all around them, splashing gouts of mud and bursting caustic boils in its rage. The first of the Felucians entered the depression and sprinted toward their quarry, so ravenously focused upon their foes most of them ignored the tentacles suddenly waving and spiraling down upon them. Foyi watched in a mixture of glee and horror as one of those tentacles swept in from the side like a starfighter on a bombing run, flinging almost half a dozen Felucians bodily in the air. One Felucian called upon the Force to cling to that tentacle and ride the savage wave through the air, only for the tentacle to suddenly wrap about the warrior and crush him. Foyi heard the crack of bones and squelch of ruptured organs, and turned away in time to avoid the thick, hoary base of one of those tentacles nearly falling atop her with the force of a comet. She danced in between three appendages striking and slithering across the slimy ground, then heard an ear-shattering roar of pain and fear as one of the largest of the tentacles snaked forward and seized a rancor around its waist, the end of the tendril snugging closely about the predator's throat. The yellow-plumed Chieftain astride the rancor was knocked from his perch and plummeted to the ground with a roar of rage, while the rancor was dragged bodily across the ground. The unfortunate beast squealed pitifully, as though pleading for help, its claws trying to find purchase on the frictionless ground. With a final, keening roar, the rancor was yanked out of sight by the immense sarlacc, mashing its body against the half-digested structure rammed down its throat as it greedily shoved the rancor into its gullet. It must have succeeded, for the sarlacc gave a tremendous belch like thunder, and began thrashing anew, seeking new prey and continual food.

Rayf stabbed the blunt end of his wan-shen in the ground and used it to vault over one tentacle lashing toward him, then set himself in a horizontal spin midair that kept him mere centimeters beneath the anticipated swing of a second tendril. Vaevi ducked beneath the sweep of that tentacle, dropping to one knee and bracing the ACP Scatter Gun against her shoulder, triggering two bursts into a pair of Felucian Warriors who approached her. One caught the blast on a shield of Force energy, but the second instinctively tried to block with his skullblade, only for the perimeter of the spreading shots of energy to bypass his blade and burn through his face and abdomen. The first Felucian gave a war whoop and leaped into the air to bring its club-like weapon of bone upon the Iktotchi's head, but one of the tentacles snatched the Felucian deftly from the midst of his leap and just as swiftly plopped his form into the waiting maw. Running low on ammunition, and with no time to reload due to constant dodging and sidestepping of both sarlacc and Felucians, the bounty hunter slung the weapon over her back and whipped her C-10 Heavy Blaster Pistol from its sheathe. She had only time enough to draw the weapon, though, when one of the tentacles whizzed past her head, its bulk barely grazing her left horn, but the momentary contact was enough to flip her over. And as she fell, she began sliding down the mucus-covered slope, flailing and shrieking in denial as she inexorably tumbled toward the sarlacc's maw.

Foyi leapt over another tendril, and while in air, struck out with a Force-augmented kick to connect with a Felucian Scout and send him flipping webbed feet over head. She landed on the same slope, breathing hard but calling upon the Force for strength. She threw a current of intent toward Rayf at the same time she whipped her discblade over her shoulder, where it curved midair and descended toward his head. He registered her intention with mental acknowledgment, trusting in the Force as he similarly threw his wan-shen to her with one hand, the other reaching up to snatch the discblade out of the air and bear down upon a pair of Felucians.

Foyi, still sliding toward the sarlacc's maw, focused on the rolling bounty hunter, who had nearly reached the inner lips of the enormous creature. She could feel the wan-shen in her hand before it ever drew close to her, and so she was ready when it slapped into her palm. She flipped it over, reversing the blade to point downward, whereupon she jabbed it deep into the sarlacc's flesh and arrested her own tumble. No longer in danger of sliding into the sarlacc, she braced her body against the upright wan-shen, then stabbed her hand forward, palm facing toward the bounty hunter as she willed the arrest of the Iktotchi's momentum.

And Vaevi did; caught in the Twi'lek's Force Grip, she stopped mere centimeters from the teeth that marked the innermost edge of the sarlacc's maw, giving a small yelp as she realized she had lost full control over her own motions. Foyi anchored her feet upon the mucus-lined slope and pulled her arm sharply back, and with another surprised shriek, Vaevi went soaring up and over the lip of the pit, back onto the mud and flesh that surrounded the sarlacc's central mouth. Foyi, not allowing herself to rest or become a stationary target for the sarlacc's hunger, pushed off with her feet and propelled herself skyward as well. She caught a glimpse of Vaevi landing and tumbling about, narrowly avoiding a cluster of tentacles that slammed all about her. One of those tentacles rose to meet the Twi'lek as gravity pulled her downward, and her foot caught the edge of one of those tendrils, where she pushed off again in a Force-enhance leap that carried her to Vaevi's side. She had barely landed when her eyes found Rayf, who was a whirlwind of fists and feet, using her discblade as a melee weapon encircling his right fist as he struck one Felucian warrior after the other, shattering bones and slashing deep lacerations into their bodies before moving on to the next in an unstoppable, furious train of controlled and precise violence. His flurry of Force-augmented martial arts was carrying him inexorably toward one of the larger Felucians with red stripes, who was guarded by a quartet of Scouts and waved his arms in dramatic and arcane gestures, calling upon the Force to make it boil and twist around his person, as well as bolster the Felucians adhering close to him. Foyi sent another splash of mental intent toward Rayf as she reared back and hurled the wan-shen like a spear; the polearm flew almost completely straight, passing Rayf's shoulder close enough to draw his notice, before whipping between two Felucian Scouts and burying its bladed end into the Shaman's sternum. The Shaman gave a surprised grunt, then fell backward in the mud, the air around him no longer shivering as his life left his dying body. The Scouts who had surrounded him were suddenly bereft of the rage and power through the Force that they had relied upon in the past few moments, and abruptly scattered as the sarlacc's tentacles began converging on their position.

"We can't stay here!" Vaevi shouted, ducking back and forth as she made wild pot shots with her Heavy Blaster Pistol. The sarlacc was in a frenzy now, and there were so many tentacles and Felucians whipping about in the immediate vicinity, it was becoming difficult for Foyi to anticipate any attacks or dodges, for her danger sense was screaming in her consciousness almost incessantly. She sidestepped a slash from a Felucian skullblade, and since she did not have any weapons in her hands at the moment, she thrust her palm forward and gave the Warrior a Force shove that sent him tumbling backward down the mucus-covered slope, whereupon he rolled over the lip of the sarlacc and into the depths of its gullet. She turned at the sound of a blaster shot, and saw another Felucian crumpling, his limp form flung to the side languidly by the flailing of a sarlacc tentacle. Vaevi, obviously still shaken by coming within centimeters of being eaten, was nevertheless keeping her cool as she stuck close to Foyi's side, her heavy blaster pistol in hand. She was doing her best to keep moving, to anticipate the Force-based and melee attacks of the Felucians, and the striking tentacles of the sarlacc, but she was well out of her element now, and she knew it.

Foyi was not certain she was not about to be overwhelmed herself. She whirled around, aiming a kick for another Felucian who approached too close. The Felucian sprawled in the mud, whereupon Vaevi shot him in the face. The Twi'lek turned to Rayf, who had reached the body of the speared Shaman and was yanking his wan-shen from the corpse in his free hand all in one smooth motion, whipping about and bringing both wan-shen and discblade to bear on a pair of Felucians who rushed him with their skullblades held aloft, shrieking their rage. In his left hand, the wan-shen stabbed three times and ended with a slash to one Felucian's throat, flipping him end over end, dead before he hit the ground. At the same moment, he let the Felucian Warrior on his right side charge within arms reach, at which point his right hand, still gripping Foyi's discblade, swept in from the side, then upward in a wide, slashing motion, opening a dark, gushing wound from the Felucian's sternum to throat. Both bodies were still falling to the ground when he pirouetted away, landing on the ball of his left foot as he swung around and caught another Felucian Shaman with the exaggerated reach of his polearm. Or rather, he tried to, but the red-striped Shaman gave a bellow as he unleashed a blast of Force energy that impacted Rayf and sent him spinning bodily through the air. The human slammed against one of the airborne tentacles with a grunt, then tumbled to the ground, where he struggled to get up, even as the Shaman raised his shield and hefty, wickedly-jagged skullblade, putting on a burst of Force speed to close the distance between himself and Rayf. His weapon stabbed down at the Matukai Adept, but centimeters from stabbing deep into his ribs, the skullblade was halted by Foyi's Force Grip. The Shaman turned to the Zeison Sha Warrior with a dark gleam in his eyes and the Dark Side wreathing his form, only for Rayf to find his feet again and stab him up and under the primary arm with his wan-shen. The Shaman gave a gasping, wheezing cough and slid off the polearm as Rayf yanked it free of his flesh, spinning the weapon around him as his right hand released the discblade, the momentum and spin he put on it whipping it through the air toward its true owner.

Foyi snatched the discblade from the air, then took a grip of Vaevi's shoulder and urged her to run, keeping her hand in contact with the bounty hunter so that she might direct her ally's movements in time to avoid the sarlacc's tentacles and Force Blasts of the Felucians. The noise of the frenetic melee, the roars of rancors and squeals of the hungry sarlacc, were deafening and bewildering, Tentacles slapped and slipped across the ground before them, forcing both Twi'lek and Iktotchi to sidestep, leap, and roll as they closed the distance between themselves and Rayf. A Felucian rose before them, blocking their path, but was swept away by the enraged sarlacc before he could act. A tentacle struck the ground a few meters away, and began slashing the mud toward them, but it was deterred when Rayf approached its other side and gave it several, lightning-fast chops as means of discouragement. Within moments, the trio were by each other once more, trying to move as one as they retreated from the sarlacc's proximity, allowing what was left of the dozens of Felucians to contend with the tentacles assaulting and grabbing at them.

"We need to get out of this hellhole!" Vaevi exclaimed. "Get to higher ground, and try to lose any that escape the sarlacc's reach in the jungles!"

Rayf pushed the bounty hunter aside as the tip of a tendril whipped past her head; a brief stab from his wan-shen dissuaded it from further assaults. He pointed up several ledges and tiered slopes surrounding the depression they were in on the opposite side of the valley from whence they had descended, where slopes that were gradual enough to serve as useful ramps were thick with fungal vegetation, and therefore cover they could take from the Felucians. "Up there!" he indicated with an accompanying shout to his pointing finger.

Without another word, they sprinted for the opposite side of the valley, skirting the upper rows of the sarlacc's teeth and narrowly avoiding the slashing, pounding tentacles that swept in at them from all sides, or hurtled down upon them from above. There were still several Felucians pursuing them, but most of them were having a great deal of trouble navigating the deadly strikes of the sarlacc's appendages. One Felucian gave a barking cry as it was caught beneath one of those tendrils, mashing it to a pulp that spattered across the muddy, mucus-slicked ground. Another was caught within the coils of a tentacle, and pulled shrieking within the sarlacc's maw. Foyi could feel the shiver of primal pleasure in her very bones as the sarlacc consumed its meal, and she was certain that if she was not sickened by pure exhaustion from all the running and fighting, she would be by the sarlacc's intense and wrathful presence in the Force.

Their run took them further from the sarlacc as they gained more distance from what few Felucians were not so preoccupied with the sarlacc's feeding frenzy they continued to chase down their offworlder prey. Projectiles of dark Force energy skittered across the ground beside their feet or rocketed over their heads, the debris the Force Blasts inevitably picked up in their wakes buffeting them but inflicting nothing more serious than bruises and minor cuts. The sarlacc's tentacles took some of these blows, which caused severe burns and grievous wounds upon the rough and slimy hide of the sarlacc's appendages, and elicited groans and wails from the creature that only prompted frantic attacks upon the sentients that dared to disturb and abuse it.

Despite the zigzagging path they took, backtracking, leaping, and ducking as necessary, Foyi, Vaevi, and Rayf finally drew to the terminus of the sarlacc's reach, where the base of the muddy slopes began to climb up to the tiered cliffs, eventually leading to the upper portions of the jungle and cliff walls above. The handful of Felucians that had been pursuing them had either been destroyed by the sarlacc's appendages, or were actively in battle with the monstrosity, calling upon the Force furiously to defend themselves and inflict attacks born of the Dark Side upon the raging creature. Rayf made it to the first slope, his long legs pumping and carrying him in swift, smooth motions as he maintained full, metaphysical control of his body. Vaevi came right behind, gasping for air but refusing to stop, still clutching her heavy blaster pistol as though her life depended upon it. Foyi brought up the rear, keeping her discblade in hand and ready to throw at any threats that may emerge from the jungle ahead and above them.

The bounty hunter glanced back over her shoulder as she ran, checking to make certain Foyi was still behind her, as well as the position of the Felucians in regards to their small group. "I think that worked! They're being kept busy by that sarlacc!"

"Son of a Hutt!" Rayf exclaimed up ahead, immediately after cresting the lip of a ledge several meters above and ahead of both Iktotchi and Twi'lek. His curse demanded their attention, and they slowed as their eyes found the same sight that had halted Rayf in his tracks. For they were not alone on the slopes that they wished to use for escape and concealment, as another threat had appeared, trundling down the slope they were presently climbing with a roar of engines and the machinery of war. A monstrosity of armored duranium and ominous laser cannons was charging down the slope toward them, crashing through and over thick strands of mushrooms, cutting them down in slabs of fungal meat and sprays of adhesive spores. Foyi had not the slightest idea what she was looking at, but it reminded her of one of the immense All Terrain Armored Transports, the Imperial walkers that were so feared on any world unlucky enough to suffer the wrath of the Galactic Empire. But this machine had some sort of turret atop its cockpit, a sensors tower rising high above its dorsal plating, and enormous wheels of durasteel that would turn anyone unfortunate enough to be run down by them into a bloody smear across the landscape. The vehicle was barreling down the slope at an alarming speed, growing larger and louder as it hurtled toward the fleeing trio.

"The Empire's found us," Vaevi lamented as they realized how entrapped they had become. "I told you I had a bad feeling about this."

The three of them dodged to the side, scrambling along the edges of the slope as the vehicle came hurtling past, heading toward the depression in the center of the valley and the battle being waged between the sarlacc's tentacles and the Felucians below. The trio continued running, skirting the edge of the devastation wrought by the Imperial tank as it carved a course down the slope through the treacherous mud and ruined stalks of fungi, hoping that the Imperial patrol, if that was all it was, would be more intrigued by the frenzied Felucian war party and the immense sarlacc than the trio of offworlders simply trying to stay out of the way. But Foyi glanced back over her shoulder as her frenetic flight continued to carry her up the slope, and she was dismayed to see that the tank was slowing to a sudden halt, an impressive feat for a vessel of its size on such a steep and slippery grade. For a moment, she hoped that the vehicle's forward momentum and gravity would prevent it from stopping so abruptly, but the weight of the vehicle was in its favor, grinding its wheels into the soft mud to catch upon the durable flesh of the sarlacc below, bringing its rapid descent to a halt with loud protests of the servos and engines driving its humongous wheels. A pair of Felucian Warriors, several meters below, took notice of the Imperial tank and hurled Force blasts at it, which had little effect on its thick hull plating save for deep scars and carbon scoring, though it did draw the attention of the Imperial gunners within; the laser cannon affixed to the front cockpit swiveled to take aim and opened fire with a short salvo of laserfire that lit up the entire valley with its lurid, crimson glow. The blasts struck the ground directly at the Felucians' feet and practically disintegrated them, reducing them to little more than tangled limbs and flesh burned and melted into the ground beneath them. Meanwhile, the Imperial vehicle began moving again, backing up the slope it had just bounced down, though upon realizing it had a cockpit at both ends, Foyi had to wonder if it truly had a front and rear end. From hatches arrayed around the enormous turret atop the vessel's spine emerged new turrets, only these had been configured with wider barrels for launching large projectiles. Foyi was about to call out a warning, but with the cacophony that echoed through the valley, it was unlikely she would be heard anyway, and not in time for her companions to be made aware of the projectiles suddenly speeding toward them. Foyi reached out in the Force to try to redirect them, but she could not muster enough focus to catch all of them in her metaphysical regard, and one of the grenades exploded a few meters away, impacting the ridge they had been clambering atop of and hurling mud and spores everywhere. What the explosive produced was not the expected fire and shrapnel, but rather an expanding radius of the most high-pitched and overwhelming sounds she had ever heard, forming a wall of sonic waves that seemed to strike every cell of her being simultaneously. Foyi's coherent thoughts shattered, her hold on the Force suddenly relinquished as, for an agonizing moment, she forgot entirely who she was, where she was, and what she was doing.

The Twi'lek, human, and Iktotchi all fell to the concussive blasts of the sonic grenade, which hurled them from their feet and sent them sprawling. Foyi lost control over her limbs and went tumbling back down the slope, sliding through mud and rolling over fallen mushroom stalks before coming to a halt when she caught against one of the sarlacc's teeth protruding from the soft ground. Rayf fell into her, his spine impacting her abdomen painfully, knocking the wind from her lungs, though she barely noticed as she tried to regain her bearings, only to find that it was as though a veil had been cast upon her entire existence. It was worse than the stun blast she had taken back on Point Nadir, for she was awake for the discombobulating effects of this most recent assault, though she might as well have been unconscious for all the good it did.

Foyi was just beginning to clear her senses, her vision sharpening even as the inane ringing in her ears continued to fluctuate with each ragged breath she took, when she finally caught sight of Vaevi again. The bounty hunter had apparently been the least affected by the concussion grenade's blast, for she was further up the ridge, closer to where they had been, and had scrambled to what little cover could be provided by a thick cluster of tangled fungal vegetation, fumbling with her E-11s and attempting to line up a shot on any vulnerabilities the tank might possess. Another concussion grenade arced out toward her position, and Vaevi was forced to scurry back down the slope, drawing closer to her companions as she did so.

Rayf, despite having been well within the concussive blast of the tank, recovered quickly, extricating himself from Foyi and taking a grip on her arm, hauling her to her feet, despite the dazed state in which she remained. He was shouting something at her, but she could not look at his face, or anything, too long without her vision swimming and her eyes watering, and the incomprehensible static that formed the entirety of her ability to hear continued to bewilder her and prevented her from understanding his words. But she allowed him to drag her stumbling to her feet, pulling her back up the slope with Vaevi supporting her other side as they angled up and away from the Imperial tank, which was still churning mud as it slid back up the slope in an attempt to crest the ridge ahead and above them, thus cutting them off. If the Imperials came to this region for the sarlacc or the Felucians present, they were now more concerned with the trio of offworlders, and were determined to stop them from evading capture.

"At least they're not trying to kill us!" Vaevi shouted as she and Rayf drug Foyi to the side, backtracking down the slope for several meters in order to reach another ridge.

"They'll get around to it!" Rayf replied. Foyi blinked rapidly in surprise; she had actually hear their words, though not clearly, as though the insulation she felt had been stuffed into her ears was finally falling out. She reached out to the Force once more and found it tentatively answering her call, the waves that normally suffused her very being languid eddies at best as the effects of the concussion grenade continued to linger in her mind and physical form. But it was not debilitating enough that she continued to require assistance, and her legs began to carry her past the support of her compatriots. As one, the trio fled back up the slope, skipping past the blast radii of concussion grenades that fell amongst them. They could hear the gargantuan wheels of the tank grinding for purchase as it pursued them up the slope, the thunderous retort of grenade launchers as its turrets unleashed their payload in an attempt to fully incapacitate the three of them and undoubtedly allow the Imperials within the vehicle to take them prisoner. Foyi, her vision still swimming and her other senses only marginally useful, nevertheless trusted in the Force to guide her scrambling ascension, while gaining some assistance from Rayf, who helped her up and over the lip of a ledge above her. She glanced back down and over her shoulder as she did so, to see the Imperial tank rushing up the slope and turning slightly to the side, attempting to navigate the ledge upon which they stood, for unlike a walker, the vehicle's wheels and Felucia's gravity prevented it from simply climbing over the lip of the ledge. Even so, they would not be able to run very far in order to reach the next set of ridges that climbed above them like gigantic stairs to the uppermost reaches of the walls that encircled the valley and the sarlacc pit before the Imperial tank made it to a more manageable section of the slope that would doggedly place them upon the trio's tail almost immediately. Rayf and Vaevi paused for only a moment to make certain Foyi would remain upright on her own, then resumed their flight toward the next ridge above them. But the Twi'lek felt the solidity of the ledge beneath her feet, and stepped back to get a better look at a large boulder that had been ensconced in the mud forming the majority of the ledge at her feet. She jumped away from the boulder's relatively level upper surface, then stretched out with her palm as a means of focusing the waves and splashes of the Force around the boulder, straining through her body's exhaustion and the bewildering effects of the concussive blast on her senses as she seized the boulder in a powerful, telekinetic Force Grip and willed it to extract itself from the ledge's contours. With a groan of shifting stone and the rush of air as suction was broken by the mud losing its hold on the boulder, which emerged from the ridge and was hurled through the air like a meterorite falling through the atmosphere. The boulder, which was well over twice the size of the Twi'lek, hurtled through the air and slammed into the closest drive assembly of the heavy assault vehicle, mashing itself into the servos connecting the closest pair of wheels and eliciting a spray of sparks, chunks of stone, and bits of shrapnel across the slopes. The wheels made a horrific shrieking noise that echoed across the valley as they seized on the enormous boulder that had been lodged against the straining drive engines; the tank's struggle was inevitably pressing the boulder into the mud of the slope, acrid smoke billowing from the affected wheels, and the tank seemed to have lost much of its forward momentum, its weight beginning to draw it back down the slope meter by meter as its smoking pair of wheels infrequently locked up.

Rayf grabbed Foyi's shoulder, prompting her from the slight daze that had settled upon her by the strain of running, fighting, recent wounds, and continually calling upon the Force. "Nice one!" he remarked encouragingly. "Now move your ass, or lose it!"

His words were practically prophetic, for the Imperials in the tank slowly sliding back down into the depression seemed to have been disillusioned with the notion of capturing their chosen quarry live, for now the turrets arrayed on top and the sides of the vehicle's hull opened fire, lancing the intervening space with catastrophic crimson bursts of fire. Foyi, Rayf, and Vaevi threw themselves up the ridge barely in time to avoid those impacts as the laser cannons reduced the ledge predominantly made of mud and tangled fungi to superheated splatters of sticky, fungal matter and steamy globs of mud and shards of stone. They did not look back as those cannons tracked their movements, punching steaming craters in the slope's sides directly around them, splattering them with detritus and debris. Rayf lost his balance and almost slid into one of the smoldering craters, but both Vaevi and Foyi took one of his arms and hauled him to his feet, not even slowing down to do so as they clambered up the next lip. They had barely crested that ridge when another blast of laserfire practically disintegrated the ledge from beneath their feet, but the gunners' shots were a nanosecond behind the fleeing trio, and so they stumbled only slightly as the slope heaved beneath their feet. Chased by the gunners' ire, the three of them crested the next ridge, and then the next, before they finally made it to the uppermost heights of the walls enclosing the valley, and paused there to catch their collective breath.

Foyi had the courage to peer back over the edge, confident that they had now put enough distance and obstacles between themselves and the Imperial heavy assault vehicle below to make their aim less than accurate. She could see the tank below, having slid down the rest of the slope and into the depression; most of its wheels continued to function, but the pair on the rear end had completely seized up, and were actively pouring huge, billowing cumulonimbi of inky smoke. The tank could still move, but not quickly, as it would be forced to drag one of its pair of wheels along, and the vehicle actually looked to be in danger of catching fire. With her precise, Force-enhanced vision, she could see a geometric shape of darkness had emerged on the tank's dorsal area, an indication of a hatch having been opened to allow the passage of several beings. These were hulking beings in black stormtrooper armor in configurations she did not recognize, wielding heavy repeating blasters to cut down several Felucians who had broken away from the sarlacc's reach to greet the newly-arrived Imperial contingent with Force blasts and skullblades. But her gaze was drawn to a solitary figure who was standing atop the tank, a slender, hooded woman in maroon robes and shining, silvered armor. She seemed to be directing the Imperials' efforts in the depression, gesturing at targets at which the gunners still within the tank fired devastating blasts of energy. A sarlacc tentacle curled above the tank and slashed down toward the woman atop it, but she raised a hand, seemingly in defiance, and to Foyi's shock, her fingers shone with indigo light as a bolt of lightning crossed the intervening space, searing a deep, boiling scar down the length of the sarlacc's tentacle. If Foyi had thought she had heard the sarlacc scream in pain before, she had been mistaken, for the creature gave a shrill, keening wail that threatened to shatter her already bedazzled hearing. The robed woman continued pouring lightning born of the dark, virulent currents of the Force into the sarlacc until the creature withdrew its tentacles, finally relenting from the attack that Foyi, Rayf, Vaevi, and the Felucians had provoked, allowing the stormtroopers she commanded to approach the remaining Felucians and continue their assault.

Rayf was at her side again, catching hold of her shoulder to urge her onward and force her to move from her enraptured state, but he stopped suddenly as he caught sight of the woman below, lightning arcing from her fingertips. Foyi caught an uncharacteristic stream of fear from him as he hissed in a hoarse voice, "An Inquisitor..."

Vaevi scurried to the Twi'lek's other side, her frantic motions belying her desire to move as far from the ridge and the valley as possible while they still had the chance. But even she was struck momentarily dumb by the spectacle of a powerful Force-user cowing such an indomitable creature.

Before any of them could peel their gazes from the sight, however, the Inquisitor below must have sensed their regard, for she let the lightning playing about her fingertips dissipate, then turned about to look up at them from beneath the folds of her hood. She stood like that for a moment as all three Force-sensitives stared at each other from the great distance separating them, connecting on more than a simple visual level. Foyi felt the Force raging about the woman below, as though she represented the eye of a dark and terrible storm swirling and building upon the horizon of the endless sea. But looking into it, Foyi only drew back with fear and surprise, for no matter how much she stretched, how deeply she dived into the Force and sent its currents forth, she could not sense the individual below them. The Dark Side of the Force was undulating and twisting her senses all around the Inquisitor, but where the woman stood, there was a hole, as though she were cut off from the Force, or the Force refused to recognize her as a living being. If Foyi could not physically see the Inquisitor below, she would have assumed her presence to be imagined; even now, she wondered if the concussion grenade had defiled their senses more than she had at first assumed. At this distance, she could not see much of the Inquisitor's alien face, but what she did see was the flash of teeth as the woman bared them in a smile, or perhaps even a predatory snarl.

Foyi pushed herself away from the ridge and the jungle beyond, intending merely to get as far from the chaos below as possible. "I believe it's time to leave."

Vaevi gave an irritated sigh of relief. "Finally! Let's jet! I didn't sign onto this to deal with Imp Juggernauts and Inquisitors."

"None of us did," Foyi muttered in reply, feeling less sure of her chances of being reunited with Tama than ever before.