As Lal spoke, she turned into Carth, pressing herself against his chest. Her lips hovered close to his chin, his mouth. She felt him tense against her body, and she smiled.
"Mmm…you certainly make a lot of sense," Carth admitted. "But…have you ever heard the old Corellian saying? 'Never tell me the odds'…"
"Carth…what are you in this fight for? Do you really love the Republic so much? Is their distant struggle worth your life?"
He narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "If you gotta ask that question, you'd never understand the answer." With a sigh he gently pushed her away from him, and then took a deep breath. "More's the pity. So, is this the part where you offer me a job? Working for you? Intimately? Let me save you the trouble, okay? No."
"I could use a man like you, Carth."
"'Use' being the operative word."
"Everybody uses everybody else. It's the way of the galaxy. Every relationship is built on it. Mutual and comparative value, Carth. Anyone who tells you different is trying to sell you something broken. Listen…you think I like the Sith? I don't. But I've lived under the…dubious benefit of the Republic, and this is the best life I've been able to find. Your fight for freedom? For me…for Mission…for so many others…that's just a fight for more of the same. Best we can hope for is mere survival. But I've always felt that the best way to survive is to live well. Money is a way to do that. And if you throw your lot in with me, you will have money. A lot of it."
"Lal, that 'live well' bit is a nice touch. But even when you live well…you still gotta be able to live with yourself."
Lal chuckled softly and nodded. "There is that, yes. Okay, Carth Onasi. I've made my pitch. I would say that I envy you your freedom to hold such high ideals and morals, but I won't insult a man who saved my life."
Lal smiled at him again and shook her head. She walked over to mission and turned the twi'lek girl to face her squarely. "Mission, another task."
"Cool. So long as I don't have to go back to the Daystar," Mission said with a shudder.
"Don't worry about that anymore. I need you to go to the Bek base and tell Gadon I want to set up a meet."
Carth snorted in disbelief. "You're gonna send a kid like her into the midst of a bunch of gangers?"
"Mission's a local, Carth," Lal said. "And she's a joygirl. She's welcome in places where you wouldn't be able to walk five feet before you got burned down." She turned back to Mission and looked the girl over. Carth was probably right, of course. But having Mission run simple errands was…it was better than making her do the job Davik had purchased her to do. And that was something Carth didn't understand.
Mission smiled brightly and stuck her chin out at Carth. "Hey, no shakes, gramps. This is one Mission that never fails. Alright, Lal. I'm on it."
Carth and Zaalbar walked over to stand beside Lal and the three of them watched as Mission bounced off to do her job.
"How long will we have to wait?" Carth asked.
"An hour maybe," Lal replied. "Gadon always likes to chat with me. But his…second-in-command is a real bitch. She hates me. If it were up to her, I'd never get past their front door. Don't worry, though. It'll be okay."
"I thought you said everything would be okay," Carth growled softly into Lal's ear as they stepped out of the rusted old turbolift.
"Oh…do be silent, Carth," she snapped back. Behind her Zaalbar released a long rumbling moan about the dangers of the Undercity. Mission's normally bright face was also somewhat dimmed by the contagious darkness that ruled the bowels of Taris.
They stepped out onto the broken, sweating pavement of the Undercity, avoiding the cracked slabs of permacrete, the mountains of torn, molten girders and moldering trash. It was a forest of great monolithic pillars, stretching upwards and disappearing into the yawning blackness above. These massive pillars were the very feet of the city above.
The floor of this urban forest was littered with corrugated steel skeletons and rusted iron corpses; broken hulks of ancient machinery long since forgotten and discarded; sheets of shattered plating; crumpled shells and chasses. And among the forlorn metal works, there festered rotting humps of refuse, puddles of muck so long decayed that they were little more than a brown fetid sludge. Scattered here and there were slouching huts, lit from within by tiny firelights. People wrapped in rags huddled within this patchwork village, staring at Lal and the others with fearful, uncertain eyes.
In the darkness soaring above their heads, temperatures warred over miles and miles of space, clashing in battles of hot and cold. From the aftermath, a weather system formed, and gray murky clouds drifted lazily. Occasionally, the clouds ruptured and thin sheets of anemic rain splattered down on the floor of the Undercity. From this rain, life emerged; strange and alien plants peeking through cracks in the pavement. Colonies of fungus, growths of bulging, sickeningly fruiting mold, all manner of life spilled upwards to choke the permacrete.
Again, Carth spoke up, his eyes searching around warily at the people milling about. "This is looking pretty damned far from 'okay.'"
"Well," Lal sighed, feeling every bit the same discontent, "this is just another window into the lives of those who benefit beneath your Republic, Carth. I'm sure they'll be grateful that you're fighting for their freedom."
Carth glanced sharply at her. "That's not fair. Taris did this to these people. Not the Republic. And I might remind you that Taris isn't even a part of the Republic…"
Lal smiled bitterly. "You're right, Carth. It's not fair."
Carth frowned but fell silent. Zaalbar rumbled something about having a bad feeling about this.
Mission playfully poked the Wookie's belly. "That's just your empty stomach, Big Z."
"Mission…" Lal warned.
"What? I was just--"
"Looks like we've got company," Carth cut in, pointing at a cluster of people moving towards them.
"Relax," Lal told him. "It's Gadon."
"Lal Sideen," Gadon Theck smiled, lowering the hood of the heavy brown robe he wore. Beside him, a twi'lek woman also lowered her hood, revealing a scowl of disgust aimed at Lal. With a tiny gesture, she opened her robe just enough for Lal to see the glint of a vibroblade sheathed at her hip. With them were four others, each clad in similar robes, bulging with hidden weapons.
"Hello, Gadon," Lal smiled, letting him step forward to take her in his arms. His gaze floated strangely just beyond her face, and as he embraced her, he used his hands and fingers to feel the smooth planes of her face.
"Lovely," Gadon chuckled, kissing her. Lal had to stretch on the tips of her toes to meet his kiss. As she did, he folded her into his arms and leaned into her. She let him, relaxing against his lips like she had a long time ago.
After they parted, Lal noticed Carth's arched eyebrow. Zaalbar released a tiny whuff of amusement. Lal licked her lips and tossed the Wookie a glare. Carth leaned in close to Lal and whispered, "He's blind?"
"I am indeed, friend," Gadon said, easily detecting the soft whisper. "Lost my sight in a...an occupational hazard." He turned his gleaming white eyes on Carth, and Lal saw the metallic pupils whir and contract. "Oh, I can see. After a fashion. Cyber-eyes. But not like most folks can see. Implants were faulty. Only work in infrared. When they work at all. I still need my hands to truly…see."
"Gadon," the twi'lek woman sighed, "this is--"
"Relax, Zaerdra," Gadon cut her off.
"Yeah, Zaerdra," Lal added saucily. "Relax."
Zaerdra's green eyes narrowed dangerously, but she said nothing more. Gadon did not miss her anger, but merely sighed. "So, Lal," he started, "what's this about? A reunion for old times' sake?"
"Mmm, maybe later, Gadon," Lal smiled. "Surroundings aren't exactly to my tastes for a reunion."
"What?" he chuckled. "No love for the Undercity? The garden spot of Taris?" He fixed Carth with his blind gaze and went on. "This is the legacy of progress, off-worlder. The core from which all that is sleek, all that is new and shining must come. Like a rotting Shii-fruit. Never can tell it's spoiled until you take that first bite. The center cannot hold, and yet, its decay permeates through the whole."
Zaalbar released a groan. He hated sermons. Lal gave the Wookie a nudge to quiet him.
"This is the home of the forgotten and the forlorn," Gadon went on, continuing to aim his words at Carth. "It might not be pretty, but this is truly what Taris is. And, it's the perfect place for a chat."
Carth glanced around and shrugged. "I might have picked somewhere a bit less ripe, but I hear you. I've seen places like this. Where--"
Gadon chuckled and turned away from Carth to face Lal. "Tell me, Lal. What did you want to speak about?"
"Gadon, I need some help."
"Help from the Beks," Gadon smiled, drawing smirks from his companions. "Sounds rich. Every time Lal comes calling, she needs help. Only time she comes calling, as I recall. Well, then. Tell me what the most resourceful woman on this planet could possibly need help with."
"It's for my friend," Lal said, pointing to Carth. "The Vulkars took a friend of his. Someone special to him. A woman."
"A…woman," Gadon mused. Beside him Zaerdra shook her head. "A woman, you say? Well then. I reckon that would make your friend here one of the Republic's soldier boys, since the woman Brejik pulled out of that escape pod was also Republic. Well. And that explains what the Sith are doing here. Lal, are you getting soft? I would have expected you to have sold this friend to the Sith within minutes of their landing."
Lal glanced at Carth and then stepped forward. "He saved my life, Gadon. I owe him. Sort of."
Gadon nodded. "Yeah, sure. I may have a set of after market cyber-eyes, Lal, but I can see well enough. It's more than just owing anything to anybody. You owe lots of people."
"Most of whom sprouted daggers in their backs," Zaerdra hissed.
Lal merely sighed and folded her arms over her breasts. She fixed Zaerdra with a cool glare, and willed the woman to shut her mouth. Zaerdra shrank bit just a bit beneath Lal's gaze. It was enough. "Gadon…" Lal began softly, lowering her eyes, "when have I ever treated you so badly as to justify this? Maybe you're forgetting who whispers what into Davik's ear to make him forget that he wants your blood spilled. Maybe, in focusing too much on the past, you forget exactly what I do in the present so that you can remain unharmed."
Gadon's brown face flushed with shame from her words. He nodded reluctantly. "Maybe…I do focus on the past a bit too much. Alright, Lal. Point taken. So you wish to help a friend." He glanced at Carth once more. "Make sure you understand exactly how high an honor that is, off-worlder." Back to Lal again. "So this girl Brejik holds, this friend of yours is tight with her. Fine. Exactly what is it you think I'll be able to do?"
"I know it will be impossible to get to her physically," Lal said, "but if there's anyone who knows how to put a crimp in Brejik's plans, it's you, Gadon. I need some magic."
"I might be able to work some magic, Lal. And where Brejik is concerned, I might be willing. But it's complicated."
"Of course it's complicated," Carth said. "That doesn't matter to me."
"Well, that's good to hear, but I could hardly care what does or does not matter to you, off-worlder. I have my own concerns. Namely, a race."
"A race?" Carth growled. "We're talking about a woman's life here, and you're concerned about some…some race?"
"Well," Gadon went on, "It's not just some race. This is important. Important to us. To our business. See, every five years, the gangs of LowCity hold a competition. The winner of this competition gets the right to distribute…ah…shall we say…business opportunities among the gangs. It discourages constant and open bloodshed."
"I don't believe this," Carth hissed in disgust.
"A swoop race," Gadon went on without missing a beat. "Every gang that wants a piece of the action for the next five years must race. And every gang that wants to race must ante up."
"Ante up?" Carth scowled. "What are you talking about?"
Lal spoke up and explained. "They have to post an entrance fee. Something expensive. Gadon, I'm not liking the sound of this."
Gadon shrugged. "What you like and dislike has no bearing on the way things are done, Lal. You know that better than any of us. Don't you?"
"Let me guess," Carth said, "these Vulkars as using Bastila as their fee. Great."
"So, the beauty's name is Bastila," Gadon murmured. "I should warn you, Lal; this girl is almost as lovely as you are. Or so I've been told."
"What kind of a planet is this?" Carth snarled. "Is everybody here insane? You people don't even bat an eye about a woman being used as a...a…as some kind of object?"
A cold silence fell over the group and everyone turned a glare of disgust on Carth. Lal shook her head and stepped in close to Carth. He was glaring back at the others in righteous fury. Of course he was. His sensibilities were utterly alien to Taris. The nobility, the morality; the right and wrong to which he was accustomed…it didn't grow on Taris. Nothing did.
"Carth," Lal hissed tightly, pressing a hand into his chest, "shut your mouth right now."
"Don't take it personal, Mr. Carth," Gadon told him. "While running your mouth on a subject about which you know nothing, you've managed to hit a sore spot. Unless you're born to privilege on Taris…and if you're a woman…you're born to property. You think little Mission dresses like that because she likes to? Because she's some sort of whore? Mission is a slave. Davik's slave. Every woman here has known something of the slavemaster's whip-crack." He glanced among his companions. "And some of us men, too. So, don't take it personal just because you shot your mouth off."
"I…" Carth glanced at Lal and Mission, and even Zaalbar. He closed his mouth and nodded. "Alright. I'm stupid. And I'm sorry…"
"Don't worry about it," Lal told him through gritted teeth. It wasn't really his fault that he didn't know. That he couldn't understand. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Gadon. "So Brejik's posting this girl for his fee. What can we do about it?"
"Well…as I said…it's complicated," Gadon said. "See, Brejik, being the unwashed son of a tube grub that he is, he's trying to edge the Beks out of the competition. He knows we've got the best swoop on the blocks. And the best team. He is, in fact, so afraid that he's gone so far as to kidnap our rider, Selli."
"Selli?" Mission cried, "she's the best! That piece of crap!"
"No arguments, Mission," Gadon nodded.
"That bastard kidnapped my little sister right out of our apartment," Zaerdra growled, a tear welling at the corner of her eye. "He's threatened to cut her up if we don't throw the race!"
Gadon laid a hand on Zaerdra's shoulder and hugged her tight to him. The angry twi'lek sucked back her tears and began cursing in her own language.
Lal turned to explain to Carth. "Selli used to belong to Davik. She's only a little older than Mission. The Beks paid for her release."
Zaalbar reminded her of her own part in that bad business a year ago with a quick grunt. Lal's cheeks turned red and she glared back at the Wookie. "Shut up, Carpet," Lal told him.
"Zaalbar's right, Lal," Gadon smiled kindly, stroking Zaerdra's smooth skull. "Davik would have never accepted our payment if you hadn't--"
"Oh please, Gadon!" Zaerdra cried out, tearing free from him. "This pleek'ta whore made sure that Davik crushed every bit of innocence my sister had! Don't you dare show her any sort of gratitude for doing what she should have done years ago! And she's still whoring girls out! Look at Mission! Sideen, you're a monster as far as I'm concerned! That was blood money! If it weren't for Gadon, I would have slit your throat long ago just to watch you gag on your own blood! You witch!"
Lal simply glanced away. Zaalbar roared furiously at Zaerdra, even though everyone there knew Zaerdra's rage was justified. Lal most of all. Lal occasionally sought redemption for the things she had done. Not often, but occasionally. It wasn't enough; she couldn't do enough. And the little she had done, however reluctantly or at her own risk, was ultimately futile on a world like Taris. It was easier not to wash the blood from her hands; easier when she had already bathed in it.
Still, she would never have let Zaerdra walk out of there alive. Her words demanded a swift blade across her jugular. Zaerdra should damn well have known better, no matter her feelings: one did not speak ill of Davik or his people. It was a quick way to get dead. Usually. But since Lal had learned Davik planned to kill her, the old furies no longer caught her up. No…that wasn't true. She'd been acting like this before then. Slipping up; getting misty-eyed and…sentimental. The dreams she'd been having were taking a toll on her. She was getting old and tired. And the plans she had built; the dream of freedom…that was equally futile. Freedom was an illusion, a waste of imagination.
But how she longed for the illusion; yearned to make it real.
She glanced at Carth, with his clear eyes and strong shoulders. His bright ideologies. It was a waste…wasn't it? She realized he was watching her, too. Watching her with eyes that strove to unravel her. To understand what she was. Good luck, she told him silently.
She turned to look at Mission, a child stuffed into the body of a woman, forced into the role no woman ever wanted to play. Mission was given no choice, however. Lal had been given no choice. She had just been told by Davik that this is what she was. And knowing that killed something within Lal. But Mission, with her child's smiles and rebellion…well, Lal simply couldn't kill that. Or allow it to be slain by simply standing by.
Mission hadn't been born into slavery as Zaerdra and Selli had; as most twi'lek girls so often were. Mission Vao had been an acquisition. Of all the humanoid sentients of the galaxy, twi'lek females were one of the most highly prized. Born and bred to please and entertain; to enthrall. It was said that sensuality was genetically engineered into them by nature; that the millennia had embedded desirability deep into their long, lustrous lekku, the sinewy head-tails where they stored their memory.
Any twi'lek slavegirl was valuable. Mission, a child with no one to claim her, had been priceless. Lal hadn't known Mission as a child, but when she was given the Daystar on Davik's whim, she'd been forced to watch the girl step into the first few feet of womanhood. She had watched Mission, still relegated merely to dancing, and had realized the girl was smart. She was brave. She had a knowledge about things that most girls simply didn't. She and Selli were alike in that regard. But Lal hadn't been able to help Selli. When Selli had grown old enough, she been forced into joygirling by the Daystar's last owner.
Lal had intervened before Mission had been forced to make that same…graduation.
She'd slacked up on Mission; Davik would have been furious had he known. But hell, surely that no longer mattered, did it?
Mission smiled at Lal and took her hand in hers. She drifted close to Lal and whispered, "Don't listen to Zaerdra, Lal. She doesn't know. Not like I know. You don't have a choice. But…but…you do what you can…I mean…on this planet, that's all you can really manage, right? I'm so grateful that you didn't make me go back to…to work…y'know?"
For some reason, Lal found herself hugging Mission. Mission clung tightly to her, and gently stroked her back. Lal couldn't stop herself from crushing Mission to her. She only let go when she realized that everyone had fallen silent. Lal released Mission and glanced around. Everyone stared at her in surprise.
Everyone except Zaerdra. "Oh, are you gonna cry now? Because you know I'm right? It's too late for you to grow a conscience, witch!"
Mission charged into Zaerdra then, snarling wildly for the woman to shut up. Mission's tiny fist zipped through the air and bounced clumsily against Zaerdra's temple. Zaerdra stepped backwards, more in surprise than pain. She stared with wide eyes at the tiny twi'lek, now transformed into a ball of fury.
"You don't know!" Mission howled. "last night…I was supposed to…Last night was supposed to be my first client! I was just dancing before that…that's all I had to do! But Davik told me I had to…I had to…and Lal stopped me! She let me off the hook! So you just shut your mouth about her! Or I'll kill you myself!"
"Mission, "Zaerdra hissed, regaining her composure, "you just opened up a big can of bad, little girl…" She closed her fist and swung, but Gadon caught it.
"Enough, Zaerdra. That's enough."
"Gadon," Zaerdra cried, struggling against his grasp. "You let me go! Nobody talks about me like that! Nobody!"
"Yeah, let her go, Gadon!" Mission snapped, waving her fists in front of her. "I'll kick the crap out of you!"
"Mission," Lal said, laying a hand on her shoulder, "she's right. Of course. Everyone knows she's right."
The fight drained away beneath the placid cool of Lal's voice. Zaerdra suddenly lost every ounce of her fury, as did Mission. Lal stepped up to Zaerdra and placed a hand on the woman's shoulder. Zaerdra was shocked into paralysis. She simply stared open mouthed at Lal.
"I'm sorry, Zaerdra. Sorry about your sister. I'm going to get her back from Brejik for you. But know this, Zaerdra. If you ever raise a fist to Mission, you won't live to see it land."
"I…" Zaerdra stammered, her eyes flickering nervously at the touch of Lal's soft voice. "Yes."
"Good," Lal nodded, gently patting Zaerdra's shoulder.
"Now…that's…different…" Gadon muttered. "You wanna…help?"
Lal looked at Carth, who was just as surprised. She nodded.
"If you get Selli back to us," Gadon said, "I'll go to bat for you with this Bastila girl."
"Go to bat?" Carth frowned. "Exactly what is that supposed to mean? Let me get this straight: you want me…us…to rescue this rider of yours, and then you'll go to bat to get Bastila back? Is that about right?"
"My hands are tied, I'm afraid," Gadon said. "If we take her before the race, we could get disqualified. And even if we did, we don't know where she's being held. We have no choice but to wait until after the race. And even then, we have to win. We'll have enough cred to have the right to claim her."
"Gadon," Lal started, "I'm taking a risk. I'm…I'm stepping up. You need to step up too."
"Lal, I…"
"Gadon!" Lal snapped, "we'll get Zaerdra's sister! But there will be absolutely no doubt, no confusion over the fact that you will get Bastila, no matter if you win or lose."
"I…I…alright, Lal. Win or lose…we will get Bastila," he repeated softly, in a distant, tiny voice. "I reckon I owe you that much."
Lal nodded and reached out to squeeze his shoulder. "Do you know where Selli's being held?"
"That's not the problem, actually," Gadon sighed, rubbing a hand across his shaven skull. "We know exactly where she is. They've got a safehouse down here, over in Subsector-12; outlands territory. What the actual problem, however…well…it's rather a big problem. The reason I told Mission to have you meet us down here was one of convenience. We were already here, searching for an alternate route inside their safehouse."
"Are you gonna tell us what the 'big problem' is?" Carth asked, "Or are you gonna keep us in suspense?"
"Rancor," Gadon growled at him. "Biggest I've ever seen."
"A rancor?" Mission cried in amazement. "Whoa! I bet that's the one Tanka the Hutt lost fifty years ago!"
Lal groaned and shook her head. "Mission…"
"No, it's for real!" Mission protested. "I swear. I heard it from…I don't remember…but it's true!"
Carth scowled at Lal and Mission. "Rancor, huh? Wonderful."
"Local thing," Lal tried to explain, glancing doubtfully at Mission. "Kids always talk about it. Supposedly, some idiot of a Hutt bought this baby rancor….I don't know…it got flushed down a commode into the sewers or some nonsense…"
"Yeah!" Mission exclaimed.
"I don't know about a commode," Gadon interjected, "but this Hutt really did lose a Rancor in the Undercity. I've seen the damned thing. It's been getting huge eating Gammoreans and…other things…"
"How do we get around a rancor?" Carth asked no one in particular.
"We were looking for another way in," Gadon told him. "Maybe through the sewers or something. But the Vulkar security is tight. And then, there's the Rakghouls wandering about…"
"Rakghouls?" Carth gasped. "What the hell is a Rakghoul?"
Zaalbar moaned nervously.
Lal groaned softly and looked up at Carth. "Just another bloody obstacle. Do you want to get this woman or not?"
"Well," Carth began, "we don't have a ch--"
As he spoke, the turbolift behind them grated open and spilled forth a cluster of soldier clad in gleaming black armor. Each clutched a blaster rifle to their chests, and their faces were hidden behind full helmets fixed with mirrored visors. They filled out with cold military precision, moving like a single machine. Behind them, a tall woman in a crisp gray uniform marched forth, barking orders. She scanned the area with icy blue eyes and began directing her men.
At her command, the troops began snatching up the Undercity villagers, yanking them from their huts and shoving them into lines against the walls.
"What in the hell?" Gadon hissed.
"Sith," Carth growled, his hand straying towards his weapon belt. Lal drifted close and squeezed his arm to keep him from doing anything foolish. He glanced at her and nodded. "Black Razors. Elite unit. This isn't gonna be pretty."
"Damn," Gadon gasped as one of the soldiers slammed a starving woman to the ground because she was moving too slowly.
"Ever known the Republic to beat someone for moving too slow?" Carth asked him. Gadon could only shake his head.
And then, the officer noticed them.
"Adjutant!" the woman cried. One of the armored soldiers blazed a path towards her and snapped to attention.
"Yes, leftenant!"
"Disarm those individuals and line them up with the others for questioning."
"Leftenant! Aye!" the soldier whirled and fired off orders to several of his men. "Mulla! Kerek! Samna! Secure these indigs!"
"Whoa, whoa!" Carth hissed as Sith troopers surrounded their group, shoving blaster rifles into their faces.
"Give up the blasters!" one of them yelled.
"There's no need for all of that," Lal said, holding her hands up. One of them reached into her belt and yanked her blaster away. Zaalbar roared as another snatched his bowcaster. Still another trooper drew down on Carth. The female officer stalked sharply up to Carth and glared at him. She studied his face for a long time.
"I'll take those blasters," she said.
Carth released a sour chuckle. "You're gonna have to, honey."
The officer's eyes narrowed into frozen slits and she unleashed her blaster. She aimed it at Carth's face. "Would you like to try again?" she asked. "Or perhaps not. Perhaps you'd prefer to assist me with something? Seems I am in need of an example. An abject lesson so to speak. You'll do nicely. Or perhaps…" her aim drifted towards Lal. "perhaps your woman, here?"
Lal groaned inwardly. Why couldn't it have been a man instead of a woman? Men were so much easier to manipulate…
"Or perhaps," the officer smiled, turning the blaster on Mission. "Perhaps this little sweetheart would be better…?"
"Alright!" Carth growled. "Take 'em. Just don't hurt anyone, okay?"
"Wise," the officer grinned harshly. "But I still need to make an example--"
Blaster fire erupted on the far side of the village. The officer's eyes snapped in that direction as several of her troopers fired upon a boy and a girl who were trying their damnedest to run to their mother. They got about ten feet before they were cut down.
Lal acted without much in the way of thought. And at her cue, so did Carth. She chopped the edge of her hand against the officer's throat, stunning the woman. Carth drew both blasters and whirled around, opening up on the soldiers covering them. Zaalbar yanked his bowcaster back with one hand and crushed the skull of the trooper holding it with his other hand.
Lal spun around and grabbed another soldier's rifle. She yanked it up out of the way and jabbed the toe of her boot in the gap between the Sith warrior's helmet and chest plate. The man gurgled, clutching at his crushed throat. As he fell back, Lal couched the rifle and opened up on the others.
Mission shrieked and crouched low to the ground, while Gadon and Zaerdra wrestled a pair of Sith to the ground. One of Gadon's men took a blaster bolt to the face and collapsed without a chance to scream. Gadon rose to one knee with a stolen rifle and shot down the trooper.
Zaerdra snatched a vibrosword from the trooper she'd attacked. She plunged the buzzing weapon into his belly, slicing right through his armor. She stood and tried to yank the blade free, but it stuck fast in the dead man. As Zaerdra struggled and pulled on the vibrosword, the officer recovered from Lal's blow. Coughing, the Sith officer lurched towards Zaerdra's back and shoved her blaster against the twi'lek woman's skull.
Lal stroked the rifle's trigger and stitched a line of fire up the officer's spine. The woman collapsed in a smoking heap.
"Take 'em down!" Gadon cried wildly, tossing a pistol to one of his men. Together, they opened fire on the unprepared Sith troopers. Lal hit the ground, covering Mission with her own body and laid down fire on three hapless Sith.
At this point in time, several of the villagers turned against the troops and fought tooth and nail. Within seconds, half the village had joined them; the remaining troopers were literally torn to bits before it was over.
And they all realized what they had done.
Lal rose slowly, lifting a whimpering Mission with her. She held the sobbing girl in one arm and glanced at Carth. He had brought this war to them. And now, there was going to be blood. "Damn you, Carth Onasi…"
"Is the kid okay?" Carth asked, dashing to Lal's side and examining Mission. "She's fine. She's fine. Listen, it won't be long before they decide to check up on this patrol and get static over their commlinks. We have to go!"
"Fine," Lal hissed, furious at the man for bringing his war to Taris. "Gadon! How do we--"
"I'll be in touch!" Gadon told her. "I've still got your number! I'm going to move these people out of here to another subsector! If they're here when those Sith dogs return, they'll slaughter first and ask questions never!"
Lal nodded mechanically as Carth grabbed her and Mission by their arms. Zaalbar howled out a warning as they approached the turbolift.
"He's right!" Lal said, "the lift is probably compromised!"
As she said that, the turbolift dinged, warning that the car door was about to open. Carth snarled incoherently and reached in his jacket. He came up with a plasma detonator, twisted the arming pin and dropped it in front of the turboshaft doors. "Move!" he cried, pushing Lal and Mission in front of him.
The four of them ran hell for leather as the detonator cracked open and released a storm of blue fire as hot as a sun. The ground shook and hurled them from their feet.
"Come on!" Carth roared, yanking the women upright. "We need to find another way up!"
Lal shook her head weakly. "I don't…I don't…"
"Come on!" Carth yelled once more.
"I don't bloody-well know Undercity!" Lal yelled back at him.
"I know a w-way," Mission murmured, numb from shock. Her voice cleared a bit and she said louder, "I know a way! My brother and me used to hide down here when I was little…I know a way up."
"Mission," Carth sighed. "You're a lifesaver. I take back all that kid-stuff I said earlier!"
"C-c-cool…"
