Chapter 2

No comfort for the prisoners.

Dexter Jettster stumbled out of his sleep, awakening on a dirty metal floor of a dimly lit cell. His vision blurry, he could almost make out two figures outside his cage bars.

"No comfort for the prisoners. Take that water back," repeated the voice.

Jettster slid off his stiff sleeping pad, his thick hands bound behind his muscular back with liquisteel cables. "No…" he whispered painfully through his dry, callused throat. "Please… bring it back…". He painfully repeated his statement. "I… need… a drink."

The human guard took a quick glance at his caged prey. "You'll live," he said in disdain, nearly spitting at the trapped alien. Turning to the other guard, a Twi'lek, he repeated his order. "Take that water back."

"N…no…" the bulky alien slumped painfully to the ground, muttering unconceivable words. He eyelids squinted before falling shut.

"Yes sir," the Twi'lek said. "I'll return it immediately."

The human said nothing and walked briskly down the hall to check on the progress of other slaves.

Despite himself, the Twi'lek felt pity for the prisoner. After taking a quick look down the rock passage his commander had proceeded down, the slim alien knelt and poured a small cup of water through the bars and between the prisoner's lips. Dexter opened one bruised eye, and murmured something.

"What?" the guard said, leaning closer to the thick bars. Jettster lifted his head so he could be heard.

"Thanks… for the water…" he gasped strenuously, panting for breath. "But… could I ask you… for one more… favor?"

The Twi'lek gave a slight twitch with his leppuku. "Sure."

The larger alien gave a grunt of discomfort. "Could you… loosen these bands on my hands?"

"I don't know…" The Twi'lek rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Please… I'm begging you…"

The Twi'lek gave a sigh. "Alright. But no funny business."

The guard loosened the bands with a tool from his belt, then put the tool back as he stood up. "I hope you're thankful for this."

"I am." Dexter said weakly.

The Twi'lek turned on his heel, and like the former guard disappeared down a dark, winding corridor."

Back in the cage, the large alien's wide mouth split into a toothy grin. "I'm very thankful." He said, slipping out of his bonds effortlessly.

Jango and Zam added their fire to the increasing madness in front of them. Again and again, Jango expertly picked off the guards, his blaster fire never missing its target.

"Another bounty hunter," Jango said, remaining calm even while blowing dozens of guards to scrap in front of him.

"Another?" she cried, dodging behind the boulder in front of her. "Where are they coming from?"

"It told you this was big," he said blasting two guards with one shot.

A quick boost from his jetpack brought him to the top of the boulder in front of him. From there, he commenced in blowing more guards to pieces.

"The more the better," she said, shrugging. "I could use some competition…"

Djas Phur stood in the blown open entrance tube, his pistol raised and tilted slightly in a cocky position.

"Don't move and you won't die," he said forcefully, strolling over to the other two bounty hunters.

"If you think we're going to go silently," Craddosk growled through his teeth, "Then you'd be mistaken!"

Craddosk executed a backflip, coming up and landing on the back of Djas Phur's shining, bald head.

Djas Phur landed hard, completely taken off guard.

"Why you…" Djas Phur rolled over and opened fire on Craddosk and his metallic partner.

Craddosk ducked behind a box-like air vent. At the same time, IG- 62 unleashed the power of his furious arm-mounted cannon.

Djas Phur now found himself between the crossfire of his two opponents. Drawing two guns from his belt, he started firing at IG- 62 and Craddosk, each with one gun; then he kicked a small thermal grenade at IG- 62 while jumping towards Craddosk.

The action caught Craddosk off guard. He stumbled back, tripping over an air hose, crashing to the ground.

IG- 62, however, analyzed the situation and responded awesomely. With considerable agility, it dove towards Djas, hitting him square in the chest with his cold, metal fist.

The thermal grenade sent everything, robot and humanoid alike, tumbling towards the ground. When the explosion ceased - which seemed like an eternity to Craddosk – it was seen that a great piece had been taken out of the floor. The walls flanking the grenade had been blown out, and the frigid outside air rushed into the tube.

Craddosk lifted his head; his head was spinning and his ears were filled with a sharp pinging noise. His arms were slightly burned; his legs weren't much better.

An iron arm wrapped around his neck brought him back to reality. Craddosk choked and coughed, gasping for air.

"A smart trick," Craddosk barked. "Better than I would have expected."

"Didn't you know that I'm nearly fireproof, fool?" Djas Phur hissed in his ear. "Explosions and blaster bolts don't affect me."

"How about a partnership?" Craddosk panted, his claws grasping at the arm about his neck. "We'd make a hell of a team team, you know? Besides," he said, gesturing towards IG- 62 lying motionless on the metal floor. "I think my former partner's out of this one."

The ceiling creaked as pieces of glass started falling from above.

"Team up with a coward like you? Never."

The durasteel beams bent and started sliding.

"I would rather kill you."

The walls started moving in.

"I think I will!"

"Actually," Craddosk said through awkward gasps, "I think we'll both be dead."

A look of confusion came over Craddosk's face for a second, and then he, too, looked upward. In a hurried motion that almost broke Craddosk's neck, Djas Phur quickly released his grip on his prisoner's neck and dashed towards the entrance to the prison base.

"I'll kill you!" Craddosk furiously screamed at Djas Phur while picking up his metal partner.

"No, you won't!" Djas Phur yelled back over his shoulder, disappearing into the depths of the tunnel.

Craddosk cursed under his breath, and skidded out the way he had come in.