When they got to Nar Shadda four days later, they found a reputable docking bay and set up the ship's automatic defenses. They hoped that anyone seeing them would at least think they had a good system, since the shuttle's defenses consisted of a simple klaxon that would sound repeatedly when activated.

Storsek noticed with grim satisfaction a small furry thief hiding in the corner. It seemed to be nursing some burns and obviously didn't want anything to do with the Bollo. Storsek wondered how the creature came by those burns in the first place. Xieb also noticed the small creature and was struck by an idea. He walked towards the huddled mass of cloaks and squatted down a meter away from it. "I'm not going to hurt you. I want to ask you something. What's your name?"

The small specimen lifted its furry snout, "Me not have name. Me a ranat. Me not steal from you. Please not hurt me." The small ranat seemed terrified of the group.

Xieb tried to look as soothing as possible while he pulled out the holographic emitter Gunn had left on the shuttle. During their trip, he had reprogrammed the emitter to display rotating images of Lull and Gunn. "Like I said, I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to know if you've seen this man." Pressing a button on the emitter's side, a small display of Lull hovered in mid air.

"Yes," -the ranat said hesitantly -"me see him two cycles past. He come in on a transport ship. Me stay near bays to help newcomers and provide various services." Then, seeming to bolster his confidence -"Me can find him if you want. He easy to spot. He looking for secure meeting place. Going to meet someone secret. You want me to find him?" The ranat almost looked hopeful at the idea.

"What will it cost us?" Xieb thought to their almost depleted funds. If they didn't finish this job successfully, then they would get stuck on some rock for the rest of their lives. Probably Kessel too, he thought.

"Me just want some food. And to leave Smuggler's Moon." Xieb was taken back. "We're not running a transport service here. We just want to find this person and get out." The ranat didn't give up so easily. "Where you go? Me go anywhere. Just away." Xieb looked back at Leda, who was holding her nose in disgust. "We're going to Nal Hutta. After that, who knows?" The ranat perked up. "Me can go anywhere! Me find the man!" With that he shot off through a door onto the walkways.

"Well," -began Storsek -"we've got a tag along. Great!" Within a few minutes the ranat ran back into the bay and tripped for going so fast. "Me find him! Me find him! He going to meet with Rebels in the Truce Zone." Leda gave the ranat a quizzical look. "What's the Truce Zone?" "It a restaurant owned by Durga the Hutt. He make it a place where smugglers and other criminals can meet without fights. His security there not let blasters or other power weapons in. Somewhat safe place." Storsek wasn't happy with the idea of leaving his blaster behind.

However, Leda had an idea. "Xieb, do you still have that sniper rifle from your military days?" Xieb didn't like to remember those days, but he saw what she had in mind. "Yea, I brought it with me. Hang on." He opened the ship and walked inside. A few moments later, he exited holding the case with the disassembled rifle inside. "I think we can do this." Locating the restaurant wasn't difficult, and the ranat was right about no power weapons allowed. The doorway had power pack detectors on both sides and very gruesome looking Gamoreans to make sure that nothing made it in.

The Truce Zone was located at one of the highest levels on Nar Shadda, well above the seediest places. The roof and walls were made of transparasteel, which meant no personal blasters from outside would make it in. It certainly seemed to be a safe place to meet. The restaurant was very quiet. Xieb assumed that had something to do with the high prices of such a restaurant. Setting up for the capture wasn't that difficult either.

The ranat said that Lull would be there in a few hours to meet with some rebel agent. It only took Storsek a moment to scare off a hover cab owner who had stepped out for a break. Leda hotwired the cab. Leda and Storsek had stashed their blasters in the cab and then went in to the restaurant to find a table. Xieb flew the cab up to another roof not far off with the ranat in tow.

On the roof, Xieb assembled and calibrated his sniper rifle while the ranat complained about his stomach. "Quite griping, would you? You'll get fed." "Ok, ok. What you do with gun anyway?"

"The empire said they wanted this Lull guy alive. They didn't say how many limbs he needed to have. So, I'm just going to remove a leg when he goes to leave the bar. Leda and Storsek will grab him while we fly down to get them. Everybody will pile into the cab and we'll get to the Bollo and lift off. Hopefully this will go off without a hitch."

The ranat looked Xieb in the face. "How often things go without hitch?"

"Not often."

"Great."

"Don't worry." Xieb said as he finished with his blaster and looked through the scope. He startled as he looked down at the entrance to the restaurant. "There's Lull. He's already here. Good thing you got us here so early, ranat. Leda's seen him. Perfect!" Sweeping around the entrance, trying to guess where Lull would go, Xieb saw something that made him jump. He had to check a second time to make sure. "Oh slag!"


Leda had barely sat down at the bar when Storsek tapped her on the shoulder. Turning around she saw Lull entering the bar and heading for a table to sit with another human. This was perfect. She began to stand up and feel for the knife she had hidden in her sleeve when a movement at the door caught her eye. Her eyes widened in horror as her hand formed a vice around Storsek's arm.


Xieb sighted Gunn with his rifle through the transparasteel roof. He knew that he couldn't shoot Gunn from here, but he would be the first one shot after he left the restaurant.


Leda knew that they had to move fast. Storsek stood and moved to intercept Gunn while Leda moved to get Lull. Storsek was fairly certain that he could take the hunter. Leda stepped behind Lull and put her knife to his back. "Nice and easy there, big boy. We're just going to move out of her nice and quick. Any sudden moves and you'll be a paraplegic. Now head for the door." Leda glanced over at Storsek.

He had reached Gunn and without waiting simply punched him in the chest. That's where the punch would have landed at least. Gunn had moved out of the way, letting Storsek's momentum carry him forward and off balance. As Storsek stumbled forward, Gunn landed a left-handed ridge hand on Storsek's neck, temporarily closing his throat. Storsek's vision went hazy for a moment while he stumbled backward. It cleared just in time to see Gunn's armored fist landing straight on his snout.

Leda winced. She knew that was a sensitive spot for him. As Storsek stumbled back, Gunn made a straight line for Leda and Lull. She tripped Lull over a leg to throw him to the floor while she brought her knife to bear. Gunn swiped the knife away and spun into a kick that landed on right underneath Leda's breastbone. She fell to the floor as the air evacuated her lungs. She looked over as Lull stood up to fight off Gunn, only to see him get punched on the side of his head, effectively knocking him out.

As Gunn stooped to pick Lull up, Leda was surprised to see him lift up and fly a few feet. Looking past where Gunn had stood, she saw a human male pulling his booted foot back from a sidekick while loosening something from his left forearm. The human wore black trousers with a blue shirt. His long blond hair was pulled back in a tail. The item he had loosened from his forearm looked like the shifter from a swoop or something. His shifter confused Leda because it glowed. She was certain that no powered weapons were allowed in the restaurant. She was surprised even more when the rod extended into a two-meter staff.

Leda wasn't sure who this human was, and she really didn't care. She watched as the human spun his staff over his head and tucked on end under his right arm with his left hand while his right hand guided the other end of the staff to Gunn's head. The crack could be heard all through the empty restaurant. Sliding to the side, the human spun the staff again over his head doing the reverse of before, this time landing the strike sidelong into Gunn's abdomen, doubling him over.

Leda jumped to her feat and ran over to Storsek. He seemed to be all right as she helped him to his feet. The two of them ran over to Lull's unconscious body. Storsek threw the human over his shoulder and headed for the door. He noticed that the other human who Lull had been sitting with had ducked away and was talking into a comlink. Probably reporting to his superior. They would have to move fast. Leda turned to look at the human standing over Gunn. The human's staff had somehow gained a spearhead. Leda really hoped the human would take Gunn's head off. She was surprised when Gunn pivoted on his left knee and thrust his right foot into the human's stomach, sending him sprawling over a table. Then Gunn stood and ran towards her.


"Emperor's Black Bones!" Xieb couldn't believe what he was seeing through his riflescope. First Gunn batted his teammates around like nothing, and then some lone human almost kills him. It was unreal. Xieb saw that Leda and Storsek had exited the restaurant, dragging Lull with them. They managed to get to the side of the door as Gunn came running out of the door. Xieb had a perfect bead on him. It was the perfect shot. Xieb squeezed the trigger, relishing the thought of taking Gunn out of the permanent picture.

As Xieb fired the rifle, he was surprised to see Gunn's head actually look right at him. Xieb knew he was very well hidden and almost half a kilometer away. There was no way Gunn could know where he was. What surprised Xieb even more was that right as he had fired the rifle, Gunn dodged to the side.

He actually dodged the blaster bolt. It wasn't possible. There wasn't a species alive that could do that. Yet, Gunn was still standing there. Xieb watched as he pressed a button on his wrist computer, then turned towards Leda, Storsek, and Lull. Then Gunn's head turned towards the restaurant, where the human had gotten up and was running towards Gunn holding that weird glowing staff.

Xieb watched in surprise as Gunn jumped off the restaurant's balcony into the open air. As Xieb watched, Gunn landed on a pilotless swoop bike, presumably slaved to his wrist computer. Gunn opened up the throttle and sped off. The human looked from side to side and finally caught sight of an open cockpit air car. He jumped in and seemingly hotwired it in record time. He then took flight after Gunn.

This was really too much, thought Xieb as he threw his rifle into the hover cab and climbed in. The ranat jumped in and they flew down to the restaurant's landing pad where Leda and Storsek unceremoniously dumped Lull's still unconscious body into the back seat and climbed in after him. The flight to the hanger was blissfully uneventful.

After stowing Lull in the cargo compartment, sufficiently bound at the wrists and ankles, Xieb left the moon's gravity field and made to set course for Nal Hutta, the home world of the hutts. Leda looked confused. "Where are you going?"

"Don't you remember that we said we would check in on Seniel's little sister? Durga has a palace on Nal Hutta. We can at least check it out." Storsek entered the cockpit. "Are you out of your little mind? Just because we said we would check it out doesn't mean we have to."

"Yes it does. It's the right thing to do. And you both know it." Both Leda and Storsek had looks of dread on their faces.