The trees quickly swallowed up most of the light; what little remained was not the natural yellow-orange, but a deep green light. Dozens of eyes peaked out at them from the shadows of the roots, bushes, and leafy canvases. How many of those eyes belonged to something big with sharp teeth, Zar didn't want to know. Almost as bad was the heat and humidity; Dendro was already drenched in sweat, but he resolutely plowed on. Zar could tell that Tor would need to rest soon, the Karkarodon was panting badly, but still determinedly kept going on. Thankfully Ru and Bariq seemed to be doing reasonably well.

At long last, they entered a hollow, where vines were wrapped over the trees especially thick, and a decent sized hole in the foliage teased them with a glimpse of the sky. That malicious feeling was stronger than ever here; as Zar looked at his companions, he knew they felt it too, and they glanced uneasily all over the place. The Jawa didn't even complain, he just took another look at the device.

"Fusst!" he exclaimed. "Something's happened to it!"

They all gathered around and looked. The rings were no longer spinning, instead they leveled out horizontally, and were visibly vibrating. "Let's take a look around," suggested Zar. "Dendro, you're on watch. The rest of you, tear this place apart for clues, but try not to damage anything."

The Besalisk nodded, primed his guns, and glared at every blade of grass and foliage as if he hated it and suspected it to be a threat. The rest of the team spread out and started inspecting the trees and in the bushes for any clues.

Minutes passed by like days, then hours passed by like months, and so far they had found nothing. The day seemed to become a blur of green to Zar, with all of the vines and bushes blending together, and he wondered if this was what a Geonosian drone felt like. He didn't need to look at his crew to know they were at their wits end, but he checked on them anyway. Tor had taken a break sitting down on the ground. and poured a canteen of water all over his head, his gaping tooth filled mouth taking huge gulps of air and water. Ru was drumming his fingers on his kukri and had taken his blue kepi hat off as he brushed his arm over his brow. Bariq's gaze kept darting from the device to the trees and he muttered curses under his breath nonstop. Only Dendro hadn't changed his behavior, the Besalisk professionally kept marching around the edges of the hollow, his eyes always on the move.

Zar turned away just as Dendro's guns shattered the silence. Swarms of birds and other winged creatures shot up into the air, and Dendro pointed into the treetops shouting, "Up in the branches! Something with scales!"

Ru took off into the jungle, and leapt like an acrobat into the air, using the trees and branches to climb higher and higher. He quickly vanished into the green gloom, leaving his team to wait in torturous silence.

"What do you think it was?" muttered Bariq; the Jawa had thrown the device away, and his ion blaster was fixed in the direction opposite of where Ru had gone, to cover their rear.

"Hopefully it was a snake," Tor replied. "I hear the ones on Yuca are among the biggest in the galaxy. They would provide a rich amount of raw flesh," he added, his huge tongue licking his lips. "We must use some of my Clan's recipes; many of our most sacred dishes have snake in them, and when we have spice, the taste could even make Palps weep in joy."

"Please stop talking about snakes," groaned Zar, his grip on his rifle tightening. "Only good snake is a snake full of bolts or laser burns."

Thankfully, Ru came back into view on the jungle floor, his kukri in one hand, dragging a long snake behind him, minus its head, in the other. Zar was about to relax when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Another snake, a bright poisonous emerald green, was right above him, staring at him with beady red eyes. Zar wanted nothing more than to shoot it, but then he saw more snakes lowering down from the branches above, flicking their forked tongues at them. To make them even more nightmarish, they spread out hoods from their heads, as well as horns. Zar couldn't move anymore, he had trouble even drawing breath, and his rifle started to shake in his hands. Long poisonous fangs rose from the top and bottom of their jaws as they prepared to strike.

An irritated groan snapped Zar out of it and he looked for the source of it. Ru had raised his kukri behind him and then he swung with lightning speed. The blade had detached from the handle, flying through the air much like that thrown lightsaber he had seen so long ago, and it shot straight at the snakes. The snakes only had enough time to look for whatever was making that strange sound, before the kukri decapitated all of them in a row, and they fell to the earth like patrons at Kalia's bar on All You Can Drink night, just as Ru's blade reattached to the handle.

Zar and the rest of the team scrambled away from the snakes as if they'd explode. "Next time," Ru grunted, and he tossed his snake onto the pile of dead reptiles, "we send SN as snake bait. His snide comments would make every snake in the jungle come slithering out to crush that tin can. Easy dinner."

"Thank you again!" praised Bariq, shaking his hand furiously. "That's another one we owe you."

Zar just sat on the ground in a daze, weakly raising a hand in thanks. Ru gave one of his rare smiles and patted Zar on the shoulder. "As for my payment," the amphibian told him, "I accept snake soup made by only the finest and prettiest of Pantoran chefs."

That actually got Zar to laugh and he clapped Ru on the shoulder back. "What the hell just happened though?!" demanded Dendro, stomping one of the decapitated snake heads, and turning it into a red and green splotch on the ground. "I've never seen snakes behave like that before!"

"Reminds me of some of the eels we have back on Karkaris," Tor mused, holding up a snake head at eye level. "A few types of eels hunted together in packs and could devastate entire shoals of fish."

More sunlight had started to pour through the hole in the trees; the sun was now passing over them, and Zar knew that they needed a break after this, so he gave the order to return to the ship. Tor started to gather all of the bodies and heads in a sack. Bariq went over to pick up the device when he gave an excited yell. "The device!" he shouted. "Take a look!"

The group immediately stopped whatever they were doing and gathered around. Strange symbols had started to glow on the rings in the sunlight. "They're instructions!" the Jawa informed them, and started to twist the top and bottom rings according to whatever the symbols told him to do.

After a few turns, sometimes in opposite directions depending on the changing symbols, the device clicked and new symbols shone brighter than ever. There was a cracking sound and they looked up to see part of a tree had exploded. In the middle of the ruined bark was a slot in the exact shape of the device. Bariq hustled over, put it in, and then turned the exposed ring on the device. The device shuddered and the slot swallowed it completely.

For a few long tense moments, nothing happened. And then, something burst out of the ground, sending grass, plants, and debris everywhere. Zar waited for the dust to settle…and waiting for him was the head of an even bigger snake.

Zar gave a strangled yell and opened fire with his rifle. "ZAR!" roared Dendro, who had rushed over and yanked the rifle out of his hands. "It's alright, look!"

He had overreacted. It wasn't a real snake, it was a statue made out of some strange black stone. His rifle hadn't even put a scratch on it. On its exposed tongue were more strange glowing green symbols. Bariq came up to examine it, and warily raising a hand, twisted the stone tongue. Thankfully, the statue didn't bite down on him, but four fangs made out of gold and gems popped out of the top and bottom of its mouth. The Jawa greedily grabbed all four with fiendish glee and then the mouth snapped shut. As he turned them over, they saw that there more symbols carved along the fangs, and on the fangs' 'roots.' Then without any warning, the statue sank below the ground, and the dirt quickly poured in on top of it.

Nobody said anything; everyone had their jaw hanging open, even Ru looked awestruck. "SN to organics," a voice bleeped on their comms. "Checking to see if you're still alive. If not, then I claim the Talon in the name of me, and will use it for the benefit of droids everywhere."

"Do that," Zar replied, "and the Hutts or the Empire will turn you into spare parts by the end of the week."

"Oh, you're alive. It feels like a great weight has been lifted off my chest…that or I need a recharge."

Zar flipped the comm off and the team headed back to the Talon, ready to plan their next move…in a snake free environment.

"I can't translate this," Bariq announced.

They were gathered around the Jawa at his work desk in his room. The room was even worse than the recreation room was the night Nailah had first come aboard; dirty cloaks and rags were stacked in piles everywhere, broken or half-finished gadgets littered the floor and Bariq's bed, and a dissected droideka was laid against the wall. Meanwhile the fangs they discovered were on the desk, held delicately in place by instruments, with magnifying glasses and scanners looking at from various angles.

"Fantastic," said SN, as he worked on his right arm with a fusioncutter. "You almost got eaten by Yucabras just so you could bring back worthless trinkets. There is a Force after all."

Dendro snarled, his teeth bared and his throat inflated, and SN wisely backed off. "Why?" asked Zar, his arms crossed. "Isn't it in the same language as the device?"

Bariq shook his head. "It's in an entirely different one. And there's nothing in the databanks about it. Which leaves us with two choices: get off this mudball, or find someone here who can read this language."

"We're not leaving unless we have no other choice," Ru spoke up, slurping a bowl of Yucabra snake soup. "Tor and I will check to see if anyone we know on this planet can help us, or at least point us in the right direction of someone who can."

"Good plan," Zar told him. "In the meantime though, I think we could all do with some rest until tomorrow."

Everyone walked out of the room to enjoy their time off. Zar went to his room and turned on the lights. It was just the way he liked it; tidy and not a single snake in sight. Pictures of the ocean and tropical land from his homeworld were dotted here and there, along with several other artworks and artifacts they had discovered from different planets over the years. He stashed his weapons in his closet, with a picture of him and Kalia celebrating the opening of her bar on the inside of the door. And then he took his helmet off and placed it on the table next to his bed, before depositing himself onto the mattress. In a matter of moments, he was asleep.

He was flying in the dark, starry sky, and wisps of white clouds blew away when he passed by. Zar looked down and saw he was actually riding on the back of a Shyyyo Bird. Its pale wings kept a slow and steady beat, and its majestic horned head was fixed on something Zar could not see.

"…come…"

Zar whirled around; the clouds had gotten slightly darker and thicker, but there was no one in sight. "Don't suppose that was you talking?" he asked the bird.

"…come to me…Mandalorian of Scarif…"

The clouds continued to grow darker and thicker than ever, and in no time at all, they were flying in the middle of a black abyss. To make it even worse, the wind had gotten even stronger, battering both Shyyyo Bird and passenger. "Who are you?!" shouted Zar, shielding his face from the wind. "Show yourself!"

Suddenly the clouds in front of them shifted, though the wind had now become a hurricane. In front of them was a temple the size of a mountain, made from the same black stone as the snake statue, and a tempest of black shadow brewed at the top, lightning crackling within it. "…we will meet soon enough…" the deep gravelly voice promised. "…but be warned…do not fall to greed and the temptations of power as we once did…"

Hands suddenly lunged at him, barely missing him. They were completely made of clouds. There was a great crashing noise, and as they drew nearer, Zar could see that hands made out of stone were growing longer and larger as they grasped at him with razor sharp fingers. The Shyyyo Bird tried flying away, but it was like a force from the temple was pulling them in. The hands clawed into it and it gave a piercing screech. Zar was thrown off and he fell screaming to the sea of stone hands below, their fingers biting into every inch of his body…

"Zar! Zaram, wake up!"

Zar lunged forward, taking deep gasps of air. He looked around; Dendro was grasping him with all four hands, his brown eyes full of shock and concern. The rest of the team was also there, the same worry in their eyes. "Blast, you're awake," SN noted, disappointment in his voice, and a syringe in his hand. "I wanted to help you sleep better with this, but the giant Momong wouldn't have it."

This time everyone looked at him incredulously and the droid took the hint. "It's alright," Zar muttered, wiping sweat off his face. "Just a really bad dream."

"Zar," said Dendro, his brow furrowed, "we've all had our share of intense nightmares, but I've never seen you act like that before. It was like you were possessed or something. What were you dreaming about?"

The rest of the team stepped forward. Zar sighed, knowing it was pointless to lie or argue. "I dreamt I was flying on a Shyyyo Bird towards a temple as big as a mountain, made out of the same stone as that snake statue. A voice warned me about to avoid greed and temptations of power—"

"Wonder why I didn't get that dream instead?" joked Bariq.

Zar actually chuckled. "Careful what you wish for. After that, hands made out of clouds and stone tried grabbing me and the bird, and eventually they did."

The Jawa made a nervous sound. "Better you than me then."

Tor looked thoughtful and then said, "I've heard of this before. The Elders spoke of rare members of the Clan who had intense visions and dreams, some could use them to even see the future."

Zar fell back on his bed. "Well, you'll be the first to know if I have one of these again. Sorry about that guys, go back to sleep, I'll try not to wake you again."

SN, Tor, and Bariq left, but Dendro and Ru stayed behind. "We'll stick around for a bit," said Ru, his arms folded, and a stubborn look on his face. "Just in case."

Zar smiled and nodded. Before he drifted off, he heard Dendro say, "Ready for another round of Sabacc?"

"I better not catch you with cards up your four sleeves again," muttered Ru in reply.

Zar woke to the telltale thud of the ship landing. Thankfully, there hadn't been any more dreams. Ru and Dendro had pulled up a table and were still playing Sabacc. Dendro held cards with his upper hands, while the lower ones were placed where Ru could see them, and Zar could tell that annoyed Dendro. Ru's face was even more scrunched and intense than usual as he looked at his cards. He made a decision and laid them on the desk. "Pure Sabacc," he grunted, his arms crossed.

Dendro gave a toothy grin and showed his. "Idiot's Array."

Ru scowled and tossed a container on the table. Dendo immediately opened it and tipped the contents into his waiting maw. Ru noticed Zar was awake, and said, "We just arrived at the Paragua Spaceport. Tor made contact with some associates who may be able to help us."

Not long later, they walked out of the hangar they had docked at, and Zar had his helmet, coat, and gear back on. Unlike the city back on Mahalos, this was purely modern, with sleek glass and metal everywhere…well, as sleek as you could get on a humid wild jungle planet. "There's where I'll be meeting them," said Tor, pointing to a sizable building near the center of the city. "The Lazy Rancor."

Zar frowned. "You'll meet them? What about us?"

The Karkarodon shifted uncomfortably. "About that," he noted, a guilty look in his black eyes, "they don't like Mandalorians, or non-humans for that matter. They're only helping me because I helped them out before I joined the crew."

"Not to worry," Bariq assured him, gleefully rubbing his hands together. "I'm sure we can find some decent recreation here."

As they entered the club, Zar noticed two things. The first was the mouthwatering smell coming from the kitchen behind the bar in the back. The second was the stage in the center of the club, where a band called the Star Nymphs were playing and singing, and almost every patron had their eyes on them and were applauding enthusiastically. Unfortunately, the stage got lifted up by the column in the center of it to the upper floors, likely to appease the higher class customers there. Luckily for the customers, there were screens in the walls or on their tables, so they could still see the performance.

"Guess this planet isn't all bad," said Zar. "We'll be around if you need us, Tor."

Tor nodded and walked over to a trio of humans who were waiting by a staircase. Dendro almost charged towards the bar, likely to demand all the food he could afford. "I'll make sure we got an escape route," Ru spoke up, "in case…no, when things get messy."

"We'll be fine," Zar chided him. "No one's going to cause trouble here, otherwise they'll have an army of angry customers beating them senseless for interrupting the band of pretty singers."

He was pretty sure that Ru rolled his eyes as he walked away, though admittedly it was hard to tell with a Drabatan. Zar and Bariq took an open wall booth and a scruffy waiter came over to take their orders. A few minutes later, Zar was sipping a drink to wash down the local dish he had just finished, and Bariq was tearing into a plate of his favorite type of dish. "Ah," the Jawa breathed, some of the dish splattered all over his hands, "sooga. Nothing like it in the galaxy."

"Is it as good as Kalia's?" Zar asked.

"No," Bariq admitted. "But not many people can outcook that Pantoran."

"Don't make a move, di'kut. Same goes for you, Jawa."

Zar didn't need to; he knew that voice. Nailah walked over from behind them and slid into their booth across from them. She was sadly dressed fully in more covering clothes, casual, but practical if there was a fight. She also had a hand in her jacket pocket and Zar could guess what was in it. Surprisingly, an equally attractive red Togruta in similar clothes also joined them. She at least wasn't staring at them like she wanted to use a Death Star on them. "You shot me out in an escape pod," began Nailah in a snarl.

Zar lazily put a boot on the table, put his hands behind his head, and leaned back. "You set us up with a phony job."

The Twi'lek's mouth twisted like she tasted something sour, but quickly recovered. "You stole my supplies."

Bariq snorted as he finished off the rest of his food. "You wanted to use us in your foolish Rebel crusade." He glanced at the Togruta. "But at least you brought a more attractive companion along."

The Togruta covered her mouth, but Zar could tell she was smiling. "If he insulted us," Nailah spoke up, and brought out her blaster, "let me know, and I'll do the galaxy a favor."

Zar shrugged. "If you're that desperate to get your supplies back, we're willing to part with them for 50,000 credits."

"You think I'm a fool?"

"Well it was a piece of sooga to send you flying to Orino," Bariq pointed out.

"I can tell why you hired them, Nailah," the Togruta spoke up, not even hiding her smile anymore. "They may be bounty hunters, but they grow on you fast."

Underneath his helmet, Zar activated one of his trump cards. He felt bad about stunning the Togruta, but there wasn't much other choice. "As much as I hate to cut this short," Zar interrupted, "but I think it's time we get the niceties out of the way. What brings you and your fine Togruta companion here to this loud and expensive cantina? If you want the supplies that badly, I could bump it down to 49,000."

Nailah primed her blaster. "As much as I hate saying it," she spat, "we need your help. We can either pay you, or make you help us. The Empire is tearing Yuca apart and we have to stop it before it's too late."

Zar felt bad about that, as he knew all about having a home destroyed by the Empire, but he could already tell that if Nailah was this desperate to get them to join her, the Rebels were in way over their heads. But he decided to play along. "Why does the Empire have such a big operation out here anyway?" he asked. "What's on this planet that they couldn't get at Felucia or Kashyyyk?"

The Twi'lek's brow furrowed, but for once, it was in thought rather than anger at him. "We don't know," she admitted. "At first, we thought they were just draining the planet's natural resources, like they've done everywhere else. But then they started to looking around at local temples. What's even weirder is that they're being extremely careful; usually when they look for artifacts, they're about as subtle as a pack of Blurrgs in a feeding frenzy."

Zar and Bariq shared a glance. That sounded like something the Imps would do under the supervision of the duo's former 'host,' when he was in charge of such operations…and those rarely ended well for the galaxy. "That does sound strange for the normally impatient Empire," said Zar. "But what does this have to do with those supposed villagers you were going to have us protect?"

"Many of the villagers familiar with the temples and jungle are being forced into service," the Togruta said hurriedly, as Nailah regained her venomous look. "We've managed to evacuate some of them and keep them hidden, but we can't keep it up forever. If we find whatever it is the Empire is looking for, and destroy or get it offworld, they'll have no reason to stick around."

A notification in Zar's helmet told him that it was ready. Zar took his glass, toasted the Togruta, and finished his drink. "As pretty and open as a Scarif sunrise," he complimented her, and he'd bet credits she blushed. "They should have sent you to hire us."

"Don't fall for this buckethead's sweet nothings, Kashvi," Nailah warned her comrade. "Anyway, now you know. So, will you take the job or—"

Unknown to the Rebels, Zar's leg opened up beneath the table, and fired two small stun blasts at them. The two Rebels slumped into their chairs. "Let's just hope we don't get put on the Rebels' hit list at this rate," Bariq noted.

Zar patted him on the shoulder. "Too late for that my fine Jawa friend," he said, as they slid out of the booth and headed towards the exit.

They had barely taken a few steps when a small squad of Stormtroopers and an officer entered the cantina. "Attention everyone!" barked the officer. "We have received reliable intel that a pair of Rebels were sighted at this establishment. Turn them in, and you will receive a sizeable reward, along with your Empire's gratitude. Resistance to this demand…would not be wise."

Zar and Bariq glanced at each other. "I say we charge out of here like a Reek with its rear end on fire," the Jawa whispered.

Zar closed his eyes, barely stifling a groan. "We can't," he said. "Much as I hate to say it, we got to get them out of here too, or the Rebels are going to pin their fate on our heads."

The Jawa's hand went to his hooded face. "Why is it when you make sense, it's usually when there's a good chance of getting shot?"

There was a slight thud as the stage came back to ground level and the band looked at the squad nervously. A Zabrak came out from the kitchen, possibly the owner, and tentatively approached the officer. "Please, sir," he began, "my customers don't like it when someone interrupts the Star Nymphs when they're on Yuca, it's bad for business. If you come with me to the security station, I'm sure we can find your Rebels on the—"

The officer snarled and struck the Zabrak hard across the face, knocking the poor owner to the floor. "Filthy creature! You're in no position to make demands—!"

There was a deafening rush of clicks and hums. In no time at all, almost every customer had aimed a nasty weapon at the Imps. "You dare raise a weapon against us?!" the officer shouted, but the fight had gone out of his eyes. "We'll tear this whole building to—!"

About a dozen laser bolts turned the officer into a rag doll as the Stormtroopers wisely decided to make for the exit, shooting back at the attackers. The band screamed and dove for cover, knocking their instruments over into the crowd, which knocked over customers or food and drink. It was a wonderful domino effect of chaos. "Ru, you got an escape route?" Zar spoke into his helmet's comm, as he dragged Nailah and Kashvi out.

"Yes and no," Ru replied. "We're going to have to thin out the Imps and make our escape at the right moment. It's not going to be easy, there's already a small army outside, and they're probably going to send more."

Zar grunted an affirmative. Thankfully, Dendro rushed over, the crowd of angry customers wisely making way for the massive Besalisk. "You didn't tell us you had a date," he grunted, as he looked down at the duo. "And two this time as well. I don't suppose you could save some for us next time?"

"Help yourself," Zar offered, and gestured to the duo.

Dendro rolled his eyes upward, but scooped the Rebels over his shoulders. Luckily for him, he still had an extra pair of hands, each one holding a blaster. "Don't worry, I've got your back," Zar assured him, and then he turned to Bariq and said, "I assume you heard Ru over your comm? Then get your bag of tricks ready; we're not getting out of here until we thin out some Imps."

Bariq made his way over to the platform with a cackle that sent shivers down Zar's spine. He pitied the poor Stormtrooper who fell into one of the Jawa's traps. They made their way through the patrons who were either foolishly charging out the front door, checking the back doors, or who were staying behind getting the best tactical positions. Thankfully no one asked why they had two unconscious aliens with them. They managed to get up the first staircase, and were about to keep climbing, when a voice called out, "Look boys! It's our lucky day!"

The duo turned around and looked out on the second floor balcony. A sizeable Gran with only two eyes hidden behind goggles and a massive shotgun leered at them. Several of his fellow Grans raised and aimed their own weapons at them. "Zaram Atoll!" grinned the Gran. "I knew I'd catch up to you one day!"

Zar and Dendro saw their ticket out, but knew they had to time it just right. So they glanced bemusedly at each other, then looked blankly at the Gran. "It's me!" snapped the Gran. "Iros! Remember?! The Gran who nearly killed you all back at the casino?!"

"Did you serve us that rotten roast Fathier?" asked Dendro, and gave a shrug. "Otherwise, we've never seen you in our lives."

The other Grans gave outraged cries and readied their weapons. "Oh, who cares?!" roared the Gran. "We'll bring all of your heads back to the Hutts on a—!"

A small metal orb clanged into the group's midst. Some of the quicker ones including Iros leapt for cover, but the rest got electrocuted, and collapsed. Before Iros could fully get up, Zar swiftly kicked him in the chin, sending the Gran flying over the balcony. One Gran managed to get up, but before he got a shot off, Tor swung down from the third floor balcony, and flattened him. The remaining Gran wisely fled under a booth table. "Who was that?" Tor asked in a bewildered tone.

"Useless question for another time," Dendro replied, and they hurried up the stairs. "Preferably never."