The upper city was calming down as the sky dipped to low orange colour indicating that the day would soon be ending. There were significantly less civilians wandering around as they were returning to their homes and their families, however the Sith presence had not been reduced, if anything there were even more of them than before. They were running around in squads, chattering on their radios and bringing in heavy weapons setting up checkpoints.
Carth was on edge, the Sith seemed to be mobilizing just as he and Nick had come up from the lower city, beads of sweat formed on his forehead as they dodged a patrol coming right at them. "They're mobilizing." Carth said, stating the obvious.
"I know." Nick replied in a low whisper. "They must be tightening their grip on the citizens to keep them from risin' up." He added keeping an eye out for shady individuals.
"Or they could have been tipped off about some Republic fugitives." An agitated Carth added back a little louder than he intended.
Nick shot him a look of distaste, "Keep your voice down, you don't want them to-"
"ATTENTION ALL CITIZENS!" a loudspeaker quickly interrupted, forcing everyone to stop and acknowledge their Sith dictators. "DUE TO AN INCREASE IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY, THE UPPER CITY IS NOW UNDER MANDATORY CURFEW. ALL CITIZENS ARE TO RETURN TO THEIR HOMES IMMEDIATELY. ANY CITIZEN CAUGHT OUTSIDE DURING CURFEW WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT."
"Increase in criminal activity? I don't buy it." Nick added shortly after the announcement had ended, narrowing his eyes at a nearby Sith officer.
Carth had grown even more nervous at the announcement and the obvious lies. "We can't stay out; we gotta get back to the hideout." Carth turned a corner and started walking speedily towards the block. "We haven't got contact with the others though, if they need help then there's nothing we can do."
Nick followed close behind with a similar sense of urgency but with a far more calm demeanour, they pushed past groups of citizens who were running around trying to gather their things before the Sith forced them back to their apartments. A mother was trying to drag her son back to their apartment but he was being extra stubborn about it. "Mummy, I don't wanna leave! I wanna see the duel!" The child cried as his mother shielded him from the gaze of a Sith soldier. The boy suddenly broke free of his mother's grasp and ran away from her without looking and barged straight into a Sith soldier. The soldier turned around, blaster in hand, towering over the boy who had completely frozen in place. Nick and Carth were watching the whole exchange; suddenly a rather large stocky man rushed into view and confronted the soldier. Spewing insults into the dark void where he should have a face, the man then pushed the soldier away who instantly drew his rifle on the man. The man unflinchingly moved on the soldier again, the soldier readied his weapon...
BLAM
The shot rang through the street causing every soul to look in their direction to see the man lying on the floor with a smoking hole in the centre of his chest; he was still twitching slightly as the life faded from his eyes. The child was crying loudly and the mother was pleading with the soldier to let her son go.
"We have to do something!" Carth said in a loud whisper, reaching for his blaster pistol.
"We can't risk ourselves, it's not worth it. If we start shooting now, the whole damn Sith Army will come down on us!" Nick said, holding Carth's arm back. Carth was filled with rage and was ready to start killing every soldier around him at a moment's notice, however a quick look around revealed a large number of turrets surrounding them; he would be gunned down in seconds even with his energy shield. He let his arm go limp to his side as he accepted that nothing could be done. The child was hauled off screaming while the mother had been blocked off by a number of soldiers.
Carth felt defeated as he and Nick entered the apartment block where the hideout was stationed, Carth buried his face in his hands as he sat down one of the beds in the block. A mix of anger, hatred and sorrow was rushing through his mind.
High above the planet, in an almost serene view, the Sith Fleet orbited with their weapons firmly trained on the world below them. In the distance the sun could be seen dipping to the curvature of Taris, creating a wonderful spectacle. The Leviathan was further from the rest of the fleet with a small vanguard of battleships defending it, deep within the belly of the colossal vessel troops were hurrying around everywhere, Dark Jedi were training and weapons were being prepped.
"Yes." Malak's eager voice echoed through his private communication chamber. "I am tightening our hold on the planet, Bastila will not escape."
"Good." A deep and ominous voice boomed from the hologram, sounding a bit tinny from interference. "She will make a fine addition to my army."
"What of our visitors?" Malak asked, bowing his head in respect.
"They may be a threat, I am giving you leave to do what you will with them." The voice boomed with a frightening quality.
"As you wish…" Malak replied, lowering his whole body and facing up at the hologram. It was a cloaked figure, their face invisible under their hood.
"Once you have captured Bastila… destroy the entire planet." The voice boomed shortly before cutting off communication, Malak simply stood and left the chamber in its own darkness.
On the streets of the upper city the Sith continued their brutal oppression of the citizens, the streets were quiet now and the sun had almost dipped below the horizon leaving a faint orange glow in the sky. The city now lit itself with its impressive array of lights that illuminated all the major public centres. The skyscrapers themselves were adorned with beautiful coloured lights that would make anyone unfamiliar with Taris gush. However the streets were devoid of any crowds, Sith soldiers patrolled the major streets and checkpoints had been set up periodically throughout.
"What do you think they're doin'?" Nick casually asked, looking down through one of the windows at the checkpoint that had been set up.
"They're searching for something." Carth said, still sitting on the bed, Nick shot him a disbelieving look. Carth decided to clarify: "Think about it: they push all the citizens away which gets rid of crowds, darkness gives them cover and this violence makes people scared and submissive which makes them more liable to reveal Republic personnel in hiding." Carth looked up at the mercenary in front of him with a level of distaste.
Nick furrowed his brow before shaking his head "Hmph. You may be right."
Carth bowed his head down again, looking at the floor. "Tali and Mission don't know. If they take one step into the upper city they'll be gunned down."
"Yeah…" Nick said slowly while staring down at one of the checkpoints. There were three guards and two turrets pointed down the platform to stop any incoming traffic. A patrol came in and flashed their identity datapads before being waved through. Nick looked on through the blinders on the window, searching for a weakness in their security. Suddenly, the two turrets were engulfed in blue energy as they were hit by an ion blast, the soldiers on guard turned to be greeted with guns to their heads from the patrol that just passed through. As the turrets deactivated and the guards had been dealt with the three traitors started throwing the bodies off the side and deleting the in-built footage from the turrets. The whole episode lasted less than 5 minutes. "Shit!" Nick shouted while blinking multiple times to register what he was seeing.
"What!? What?!" Carth exclaimed while jumping up from the bed to have a look, he saw the last Sith soldier get flung off the side of the platform and the three traitors casually stroll towards the block that the two fugitives were located in.
"Bounty hunters, it's gotta be bounty hunters!" Nick cried while grabbing his rifle from the work bench. "How did they spot me through all that crap from earlier?" He slung the rifle and activated his energy shield, readying up for the coming battle.
"Wait!" Carth exclaimed, "It's unlikely that they know which apartment we are in! We have a little time."
Nick visibly relaxed a bit but still clutched his weapon tightly; he looked over to Carth "You're right. We have time to set up a defence, any ideas?"
"I have something better in mind." Carth replied, a sly grin developing on his face.