Even over the increasing rain, the air was filled with the sounds of screams. Screams of Rebels crying out in pain or fear, screams calling out for a retreat, screams cursing him before he cut them down. It didn't matter; after all of the battles he had been through, they all sounded the same to him now.

"Commander," said Vader, as he cut down a squad with ease, "has Locus reestablished communications yet?"

"No, my Lord," replied the Commander over the comm. "But we're still attempting to hail him. We will let you know as soon as we make contact with him again."

A Yucari attempted to gun him down with a stolen rotary cannon. Vader reached out with the Force and flung the insect into a crashed Rebel speeder. It exploded and instantly incinerated the bug. Vader grunted; this reminded him all too much of another planet with insectoid aliens, but at least this was nowhere as bad. He didn't have to worry about super tanks, undead abominations, his apprentice—

He stopped dead in his tracks and immediately tried to quell the memory. A blaster bolt hit him in the arm, punishing him for his error. Vader whirled around for the culprit, a Rodian, and pulled him directly into his waiting grip with the Force. The Rodian gasped for breath as Vader's mechanical hand crushed down on his throat. "Before you die," Vader snarled, and delved into the Dark Side, "you will tell me the location of your hidden base."

The Rodian choked out a few words of defiance, but they quickly turned into groans of pain. As Vader pried into his mind, he could see locations blur past him…until finally, he found it. A cave hidden by a waterfall, and its coordinates. He casually crushed the Rodian's neck and dropped him.

Then the Commander's voice sounded over the comm. "My Lord, we have reestablished contact with Locus again. He and his forces had stumbled onto Rebel traps, but the situation is now under control. They're getting ready to go underground as we speak."

"Very well," replied Vader, as he watched the few survivors retreat into the jungle. "But the next time Locus breaks contact with us, I will not be so lenient. I have found the location of the Rebel base on Yuca. Send your men to these coordinates. I will join Locus in the mountains."

The injury in his arm gave a jolt, and once more, Vader was reminded of what had caused it. He mentally berated himself. Ever since he had found out about his son, more memories from the Jedi had begun to cross his mind…one way or another, he would repress them again. The Jedi had been a sentimental fool. Vader would not succumb to the Jedi's weakness.

Locus held up one of the more intact shells left from the probe killers. He grunted in reluctant admiration; whoever had modified this had known what they were doing. He'd have to tell them that before he crushed their head like he had Septimus's.

The heavy thud of the machines getting dropped off brought him back to reality. He grounded the droid into scrap and walked out of the Venator back into the jungle. Despite the dark sky, he could see the Gozanti cruisers thanks to the lights that had been setup throughout the jungle. They had brought drilling machines that doubled as transports for the troops, and were setting them up past the Venator, in order to bypass the door that his troops had found underground. Their explosives proved useless against it, and Locus didn't want to risk anything larger and cause a cave-in.

As he approached the closest of the drills, he saw Brogan, Anax, and Tazah, alongside the officer he put in charge of the strike team, Captain Volk. They all looked miserable and exhausted in the rain, Anax in particular looked on edge. Locus couldn't really blame them; this operation had severely taxed them all…but the end was now in sight.

"Take heart," he told them, and he came to a stop in front of them. "It's almost over. All we have to do is now seize the Emperor's prize, as well as Skywalker, and we should all take a few steps up in the Empire."

That got their attention. "Does this mean the next time we see the Talons," asked Tazah, and ran a hand across her sniper rifle, "we can shoot to kill?"

Locus considered it. "Spare Zaram Atoll, if possible. There's always a chance we could use his expertise. His parents were archaeologists after all. As for the others…" He gave them his best smile. "I only have one condition: make it hurt."

Tor almost regretted diving into the river; he had swum in some nasty conditions before, but this river was particularly strong. Then he saw Zar, tasted the tang of blood in the water even from where he was at, and all of his reservations vanished. He swam towards the surface and grabbed the line. "I'm here, Zar!" he shouted above the roar of the river.

Zar didn't reply and Tor could see why. What he had thought was the tentacle of some terrible creature, wasn't a tentacle at all. It was one of the most vile and unnerving creatures he had ever seen. It resembled a centipede, but had small tentacles along its side instead of legs, and an ugly snake-like head with pale eyes and a pair of pincers. They opened up, and a clawed tongue shot out at Tor.

Big mistake on its part. Tor was quicker; he grabbed it with one hand, and ripped it off. It gave a shrill shriek and darted at him. Once more, Tor's reflexes were superior, and he grabbed it by the neck. But then a sharp pain entered his hand and he roared in pain. He quickly saw why. Along its underside, were several black beaks, and one of them had bitten his hand. Tor bit the creature's head off in retaliation and spat it out at once. He had never tasted such a foul thing before.

Thankfully, the creature's corpse slid off of Zar, and was quickly lost to the river. Zar shakily put his arms around Tor's neck, and then Tor half swam, half pulled his way back to the bridge. Tor smiled at a job well done…until he saw the others frantically point at something behind him. He looked around and saw several white shapes burst in and out of the water.

Tor put on an extra burst of speed. His legs felt like they were on fire, but he didn't care, the only thing on his mind right now was the bridge. And then he was there, and he hurriedly climbed up the rope. The creatures had lunged out of the water, but missed his feet by inches. With a final tug, he and Zar fell onto the bridge.

His friend's hand was still unsteady, but stronger, and Zar patted Tor on the shoulder. "How about I pay for your meals at Kalia's for the rest of our lives?" he asked weakly. "Would that be a good start?"

Tor grinned. "Throw in a generous donation for the Brotherhood and it's a deal."

SN marched over, knelt down, and his eyes glowed as he scanned them. "No signs of poison or infection," he announced, and they sat up. "But I'll have to make sure your wounds are properly treated once we're off this blasted bridge."

Zar took the tooth out and held it in his left hand to calm himself down. "Fine by me," he grunted, and he started to rise—

—just as one of those creatures burst out of the water and latched around his hand.

Tor stiffened. This was bad. This was really bad.

Zar's right hand shot out with blinding speed at the creature's throat and squeezed. The foul thing's eyes whirled around in their sockets in panic and let go of its grip on Zar. Unfortunately for it, Zar couldn't be reasoned with now.

"DIE! DIE! DIE!" he roared repeatedly at the top of his lungs, and he began to bash it into one of the ledges. It took several blows before it shattered.

But Zar still wasn't done. He slammed it into the ground, ground his boot into it, and clenched his right hand into a fist. It glowed a bright deadly green and then fired a short deadly burst. The smoke cleared to reveal the creature's head had been incinerated, and the blast had torn another fist sized hole clean through the bridge. Zar glanced up to look at Tor, who stared at his friend warily.

"Tor," he said weakly. "I…I'm sorry, I…"

Tor and Zar glanced at the others as they approached. They all looked as horrified as Tor, even Nailah had some concern on her face. Zar fell to his knees and held the tooth close to his heart. After a moment, Tor tentatively embraced his friend. "I'm sorry, Tor," Zar choked out. Tor knew he was crying under that helmet. "This…this is one of the only things I have left from her…"

"I know," muttered Tor. "It's okay, Zaram. I understand."

Nailah stared as SN treated to Zar and Tor's wounds inside the city, next to what looked like the gatehouse. While Zar had calmed down, he still wouldn't let go of the tooth. Despite her less than stellar opinion about the bounty hunter, she found herself feeling concern and pity for him. If she had heard right, a woman had given him that small trinket…but it clearly meant the world to him. Nailah wondered who it could have been to make him defend it so passionately?

"There," SN grunted, and finished bandaging Zar's arm. "If it starts showing any signs of infection, let me know. Same goes for you, Tor."

They both nodded and sat against the gatehouse wall. The others began to talk to each other about their next move, but curiosity got the better of her, so Nailah sat in front of Zar. "The woman who gave you that," she said softly. "What was she like?"

Zar glanced slightly up at her. Tor shook his head imperceptibly, but furiously. Nailah sighed. "Come on, I want to know a little more about her. It'll help take your mind off things."

The bounty hunter took his helmet off; his face was caked in sweat and river water, and he glared at Nailah. She stared resolutely back. Then Zar turned away, a far off look on his face. "Fearless," he muttered. "Determined. Fierce. Funny. Selfless. She always threw herself right in to help others…" He broke off and his face tightened in pain.

More pity pricked at her. If what he had said was true, and the Rebels were responsible for what happened to her…she found it hard to blame him for his feelings towards the Alliance. "How did you win her over? Sounds like she was a hard lady to impress."

Tor let out a chuckle and Zar's lip twitched. "It was not easy…my usual approach didn't work, so I had to change for her. A lot. But then she came around…so it was worth it."

"Have…you ever met another woman like her?" Nailah asked hesitantly.

Zar opened his eye. "No," he said bluntly. "And I never will." His eye teared up and he closed it once more.

Nailah bit her lip…she was extremely reluctant to tell him of all people…but it only seemed fair. "I'm not sure you're aware," she began, "but I don't like bounty hunters in general."

"We just happened to be the ones you resent the most," Tor offered, an ironic glint in his eyes.

She shook her head. "No, you're really not. That title belongs to the first ones I ever met…"

Tal Dvaita struck the Imperial officer so hard a tooth flew out. The Imp fell to the ground, but was still able to shriek, "Get him, you fools!"

The Stormtroopers that were supposed to have been restraining him had been thrown off when her father attacked the Imp. But they recovered quickly enough; one bashed Tal in the back of the head, and her father collapsed. The others grabbed his arms and hauled him to his knees. Tal breathed heavily. His skin, blue like the rest of his family, was flushed darkly, but he still managed a smile, and spat, "Tell me the Empire has more to offer. If you can't even handle a Twi'lek in binders without a squad backing you up, you won't hold Ryloth for long."

The officer wiped the blood from his mouth. "Not to worry," he snarled, and drew his pistol. "We only need to hold it long enough to bleed your world and your people dry." He threw a leer towards Nailah and the others. "Starting with your family."

Nailah and the others screamed and pleaded for mercy; even at her young age, the trooper was barely to keep his grip on Nailah as she struggled. She could see the fear and worry in her father's eyes, the same shade of blue as hers, but he steeled himself. "Everyone," he told them, "please, stay strong…FOR RYLOTH!"

He roared and tried to charge the Imp one last time. But he was ready and shot Tal at point blank range. Her father collapsed to the deck, with a hole burned through his chest. Nailah's family shrieked in pain and grief, Nailah screamed and cried so hard she felt her throat would tear.

The Imp smoothed his tunic and turned to the other onlookers. "You could have helped. I thought you were always ready for more credits?"

The bounty hunters smirked at the Imp. "We were paid to bring you Twi'leks, Captain Stahl," said the leader, a hooded Kyuzo, and his yellow eyes glittered maliciously. "Not protect you from cuffed prisoners."

"Change of plans then," snarled Stahl. "You will help us escort these Twi'leks, along with the rest down below, to Kessel. If we have to put down even one more tailhead, you don't get paid. Understand you brainless—?"

The bounty hunters drew their weapons, as did the Stormtroopers. For a long time, the only sound was Nailah and her family crying over Abdi. "Fine," snapped the Kyuzo, and he holstered his bowcaster. "But it'll cost you double at least."

"I'm sure we can manage any price you throw at us," replied Stahl. He gestured at his troops. "Take them to their cell. Throw the body in with them. They can enjoy some time with him before we eject him into space."

It had probably been hours at most, but to Nailah, it felt like decades had passed by. She and her family knelt by her father's side, her mother lay across his chest, sobbing her heart out. Nailah wondered how anyone could be so cruel? And what had happened to the Republic? They had been the ones to save them from the Separatists; she still remembered the ships that had saved her village from being bombed, and how they cheered for those brave heroes as they departed Ryloth. Now they were worse than the Separatists had ever been.

The sound of footsteps on metal brought them back to reality. The Kyuzo and one of his comrades, a lean starry eyed Arconan, walked up to their cell and opened it. "Alright," said the Kyuzo, "the time for mourning is over. Stahl wants some of you to serve him and his cohorts supper."

"Kung!" snarled Aruna Dvaita, Nailah's mother, and she rose to her feet. "I won't let you take any more of my family!"

The Arconan growled a curse and raised his blaster. The Kyuzo grabbed it and shook his head. "If it were up to me," he told her, "I'd drag you there by your pretty lekku, or just shoot you here and now, along with the rest of your spawn. But then we won't get paid. So tell you what; we'll only take you and your eldest. The other two brats can stay here." His yellow eyes narrowed to slits. "But if you decide to test my generosity, I can bring Stahl down right now. He's already plenty drunk and irritable."

Aruna looked at her children, the fight now out of her eyes. She hugged Nailah's sisters, Ekhi and Isha, and murmured tender words to them. They wept bitterly, but let go of their mother, and then Aruna turned to Nailah and took her hand. "Be brave, Nailah," she whispered, and they walked out of the cell together.

Nailah held onto her mother tightly as they walked past the other cells. All of them were filled with Twi'leks; they stared after them, and whispered encouragement to them. Nailah appreciated them, but felt hollow at the same time. Words weren't much good here. And as they got closer to the mess deck, she knew more than ever how true that was.

The door opened and they saw the Imperials enjoying a meal. Nailah's stomach ached as she saw how good it looked and smelled compared to the scraps that they had been given. Several other Twi'leks were already there, serving the scum their dinner, anger, hatred, and helplessness in their eyes. Stahl and the officers had a private table, and many empty bottles littered the floor.

"About time!" shouted Stahl in a slurred voice. "Get them some trays already, we're starving!"

"You heard him," chuckled the Kyuzo, and herded them to the kitchen.

The cook shoved trays into their hands and they brought them to Stahl and his ilk. They quickly snatched the plates off and dug in. Nailah wondered how she and her people who could survive like this when she saw it.

Stahl's pistol.

The officer hadn't latched the holster properly. Nailah kept as calm as possible and glanced around. The hunters were arguing with Stahl over their payment. The other Imps were focused on their food. With great care, she passed Stahl, and slid the blaster out and into her pocket. Nailah heaved a mental sigh of relief. All those days of pickpocketing Imps in Lessu had paid off.

As time passed, most of the the Imps left to resume their post, save for Stahl and the two hunters. The other Twi'leks cleaned up the mess the Imps has left behind, and they helped each other as best they could.

"What do you mean triple?!" shouted Stahl, and he threw his cap to the floor, his bald head red with rage.

"The others are getting fed up with guarding slaves," Kyuzo replied. "We were supposed to be on another job now for the Hutts."

Nailah had been cleaning a spot on the floor, so when Stahl hauled himself up from the table, he knocked her over. "Filthy brat!" he snapped, and raised his fist.

Aruna lunged at him and sank a kitchen knife into his arm. "Don't you dare hurt my daughter, you bastard!" she shrieked at him.

Stahl hurled her away from him, but before she could attack him again, a blaster bolt shot through her leg, and she collapsed. "Idiot!" Stahl snarled at the Kyuzo, and ripped the knife out. "We need to deliver as many slaves as possible to Kessel! Fully fit, uninjured slaves!"

The Kyuzo shrugged. "Don't think this one would serve as a good role model for them. Too wild and protective."

The Imp stared at Aruna as she writhed in pain, then looked at the other Twi'leks, who looked like they wanted to rip him to shreds, but couldn't thanks to the hunters. "Yes," Stahl said softly, and then he raised the knife. "Think we should make an example of her—"

Nailah drew the blaster and fired. Captain Stahl stiffened, and then collapsed on the floor, a hole burnt through his back. The hunters looked shocked and outraged. "You just cost us our credits!" yelled the Kyuzo, and aimed the bowcaster at her. "You wretched—!"

The entire ship shook; the emergency lighting kicked on, and the shaking knocked them all to the ground. Due to a stroke of luck, the hunters banged their skulls together, and that bought the Twi'leks the opportunity they needed. They recovered quicker, and hurled themselves at the duo, the knives in their hands. The Arconan died quickly and pitifully begging for his life. The Kyuzo managed to put up somewhat of a fight, but the enraged Twi'leks were too much for him, and then after a few desperate screams, it was over. The bounty hunters stared at the ceiling through blank eyes and their blood pooled around them.

As Nailah took the entire scene in, she realized what had happened, what she had done, and she dropped the blaster and began to sob. "No, no, it's alright!" murmured a green female Twi'lek, and embraced her. "They can't hurt us anymore! There's no need to cry—!"

The doors opened and they braced for the worst…but thankfully, it wasn't the Imperials. "We're clear!" shouted Haldan Spar, and his squad filed into the room. He stared around, and his unblinking eyes trailed across the Twi'leks helping Aruna, Stahl, and the hunters, and nodded his approval. "Looks like you all had this under control. Excellent work. Feel like putting these skills to work against the Empire?"

The Twi'leks let out a cheer in reply. "Alright," Spar ordered his squad. "Patch up our wounded friend here and get the others to the ship."

Nailah stumbled over to her mother as the Rebels tended to her leg. "No need to worry, Nailah," whispered Aruna, and the Rebels helped her up. "I'll be alright...just make sure your sisters are safe..."

"Rest assured, madam," said Spar, and the Rebels helped her out. "We're not leaving anyone behind." He turned around to Nailah. "Ready to go, Nailah?"

Nailah hesitated, but then went to pick something up. "Yes, sir," Nailah replied, and she tucked the blaster away.

The duo stared at her in shock. "Well," said Zar, who looked at her with a serious expression. "That explains a lot. Why keep the blaster though?"

She drew the blaster, and as she looked at it, she told them, "To never forget. To always remind me of what happened that day." Nailah holstered it and stared at Zar. "Whatever happened to your friend…you don't have to tell me. If it made you that determined not to work for us, so be it. But just so we don't kill each other, what do you say? We complete this mission with no more squabbles?"

Nailah held out a hand. Zar stared at it like it might bite his hand off, but then he grabbed it with his right hand. She could see the protrusions in the prosthetic hand, where the cannon that had been built into it had burned away the synthflesh and glove. "Works for me," Zar answered.

Then they all got up and joined the others. As Kashvi looked at Nailah with curiosity clear on her face, Nailah hoped she wouldn't regret her deal with Zar.

Brogan gingerly fingered the seat's harness and looked around the transport warily. He didn't like this any bit at all. Hunting the Talons was one thing. But going down underground, where a weapon of incredible power lay hidden in a city shrouded in myths and legends that would make any sane person flee in terror…that was quite another.

The interior lights went red. All around him, the Stormtroopers braced themselves, and Brogan followed suit. This was going to be rough.

And then the transport slammed into the ground. Even with the transport's protection, the noise was deafening, and the whole thing vibrated and shook so much Brogan's entire body soon went numb. Eventually, his insides couldn't take it anymore, and he felt his lunch fly into his throat. But then finally, the world went still and quiet once more.

The transport door slid open, and after they shakily lifted their harnesses, they all got out. Brogan stumbled out and threw up. As he wiped his mouth, he looked around, and saw that they were in a tunnel. As his ears stopped vibrating, Brogan realized he could hear a waterfall nearby. "Never again," gasped Anax, as he stumbled out of the transport not far from Brogan's. "That was the worst thing I've ever been through…why didn't they train us for this back at the Academy?"

Tazah came out of her own transport, but she was half carried by one of her own troops. As she wiped her own mouth, Brogan felt gratified that he hadn't been the only one to—

"Hey," said one trooper, and he looked towards the end of the tunnel. "Can you hear that?"

Brogan was about to comment that it was probably a waterfall…but then he heard it too. A high-pitched shrill sound. He had never heard anything like it before. "I don't like this," said another trooper, and he aimed his rifle.

They all made their way to the end of the tunnel, where they saw a waterfall filled with crystals. It seemed the crystals were the source of the noise; even from where they were, they could see the crystals shining brighter and brighter, and unless Brogan's eyes deceived him, he could see them vibrating too.

And then the point of one of the crystals moved; it shot out of the water, latched itself to the cave wall, and stared at them.

Brogan stared back in disbelief. It looked like an old droid, with a crab or spider-like design, a single eye, and a crystal in its back. "Sir," asked a trooper, "can we blast it?"

"Be my guest," growled Anax before Brogan could reply, and he drew his own blaster.

The shrill sound increased so much it was deafening. They all covered their ears and more than one person fell to their knees. Brogan saw more movement in the waterfall and his eyes almost shot out of their sockets. More of those droids came out of the crystals, clambering up the walls, their eyes fixed on the intruders, and they and the crystals began to glow with an ominous light. "Get off the bridge!" he shouted and bolted for the tunnel at the other end.

He had made the right call. The strange rustic droids shot lasers out of their eyes, piercing through several of the others, and they fell off the bridge screaming. Anax, Tazah, and the rest charged after him, firing shots off as they retreated. They joined Brogan, and they didn't stop running, until they made ran straight into more Stormtroopers. As they extracted themselves from the tangle of white armored limbs, Brogan looked up to see Volk's incredulous expression, and Brogan envied his superior's luck of having drilled further ahead.

"About time you got here," snapped Volk. "We were about to enter the city without you. What kept you—?

A laser barely missed his head, but neatly trimmed part of his black sideburn. The droids scuttled along the walls, ceiling, and floor, murder glowing brightly in their eyes. "Retreat!" barked Volk, his eyes bulging with fear. "To the city!"

Brogan noticed the city for the first time, and their supposed target, but he was too busy fearing for his life to care. They all charged down the stairs, desperate to get away from the swarm of murderous droids.