"Forget it," SN told him. "No deal."

Zotz chuckled. "Even the droid refuses to give in to darker desires. How things have changed…" He broke off and gave a series of hacking coughs. "Forgive me, my body isn't what it once was. Anyway, you passed my test."

He raised his crystal. It glowed a bright blue and then a map of the temple formed out of it. SN gave a start; he had never seen anyone do something like this before. Zotz pointed at the map, at edge of the temple, near the back. "Once everything is in order, I will bring your reward here. Your comrades can slip it past the Empire through tunnels that this city used for—"

He broke off. "What?" asked SN half irritably, half cautiously. "Not feeling good again? Or...is it the Empire?"

Zotz looked at SN. For the first time, he caught a glimpse of the eyes beneath the hood, blue and sharp despite Zotz's age, eyes that shone with regret and resignation. "No…if only we were so fortunate…the enemy is here."

Locus's comm went off. He ducked under the edge of the Venator, and made sure he was safe from the rain, before he answered it. "What is it?"

"Moff Locus!" exclaimed Volk's panicked voice, and Locus could hear blasterfire in the background. "We've run into unexpected resistance! Some kind of strange droids, but we're almost at the city—!"

He felt his stomach lurch. "Listen to me carefully, Captain!" Locus interrupted. "I will try and send in more reinforcements, but you must try and secure the weapon before the Rebels destroy it. And remember, blasters only, no rockets or detonators! You could bring something even worse than those droids down us all!"

"But sir—!"

There was a burst of static and the signal died. Locus immediately hailed Dromus over the comm. "Dromus, are the droids in position?!"

"Of course, Moff Locus," he replied calmly. "I have several walkers and IASDs stationed around the perimeters of both Slave Town and the Capital, along with the new sentry droids. Rest assured: nothing will get past them."

"I hope so, for your sake," Locus grunted, and turned off his comm. He was about to put it away when it went off again. "Yes?"

"Locus," answered a familiar ominous voice. "I am en route to the mountains. And be aware, I have discovered the location of the Rebel base on Yuca. Once the Voidbreaker is secure, send your troops to aid the 501st in wiping out these traitors."

Locus stifled an oath. Even after all of these years, he still couldn't believe how quick and thorough Vader was. "As you wish, Lord Vader." He put his comm away and turned to the closest officer. "Send any available troops you can underground! And prepare the rest of our forces! Today marks the beginning of the end for the Rebels on Yuca!"

"You hear something?" frowned Han.

Zar didn't just hear it, he saw lasers light up the cave. "Try and contact SN again!" he told his team. "Bariq, try and set up some more traps, you have to buy us as much time as you can—"

A rumbling sound interrupted him. They all turned around, to see some of the stairs split apart to reveal a hidden entrance, and then SN came out on a floating glowing disk, with two more empty ones right beside him. "Tor!" he immediately barked. "Bariq! We need to destroy the weapon now, the Imps are here—!"

"So we noticed," replied Ru, his eyes opened as wide as Zar had ever seen them. "Where did you get that thing?"

"No time! I need Tor and Bariq with me now! The rest of you, stall them!"

Zar nodded and turned to the rest of his team. "You heard the droid, let's move! Take up positions, don't let one Imp make it to the temple!"

Tor and Bariq hurried into the temple after SN, and the stairs sealed shut behind them. The rest of the team and the Rebels hurried down the street, found the best cover they could, and readied their weapons as the blasterfire came closer. Dendro meanwhile disappeared through the doorway of one of the taller crystal studded buildings. "Where's he going?" demanded Luke.

"That's obvious," Han chided him. "Higher ground, he'll tear through these bucketheads no problem from that vantage point."

Zar saluted the smuggler. "Thank you for taking your protégé back, I was growing weary of being the underappreciated mentor."

Chewbacca let out a warbling growl. "You tell him, Chewie," said Nailah, not taking her eyes or pistol off the road.

Zar was about to give an eloquent reply when the Imps came into view…along with some of the strangest droids he had ever seen. And even from here, he could see Brogan charging as fast as he could to safety. "Try not to blast the redhaired officer," Zar told the others, "if possible. He has been an extremely useful mole for us…that said, if he tries to kill you, be my guest and shoot him first."

"Adaptable as always," grunted Han. "Some things never change, huh Zar?"

He didn't get a chance to reply as Dendro opened fire on the Imps from a balcony above them. Several Stormtroopers got cut down instantly, while the rest dove for cover, and fired back at both them and the droids.

"Where did those droids come from?!" asked Kashvi, as the droids skittered along the street and buildings like spiders.

"Beats me!" Ru replied, and he shot a trooper who dodged one of the droids' blasts. "They're making our job easier, so unless they attack us, I'm not going to complain—!"

A blonde officer drew a weapon off his back and fired at the droids. An explosion blew them and a chunk of one of the buildings apart. "Fall back!" Han ordered. "We need to find better cover!"

Ru shot him another wide-eyed look of shock. "But—!"

"Han's right!" Zar interrupted him. "If they have any more of those, they'll tear right through us—!"

As if to prove his point, the officer yelled at some of the other troopers, and they pulled out identical weapons. Metal shrapnel, crystals, and rocks flew everywhere as Zar and the others made their retreat. Dendro didn't bother with the stairs, he leapt off the balcony and onto one of the nearby roofs, just as another explosive turned the balcony to rubble.

And then a strange shrill sound cut through the chaos. Some of the crystals had begun to glow, and then more of those droids popped out of them, and opened fire at the Imps. A reckless pair of Stormtroopers ignored the droids and chased after them. Zar fired a few shots, but the duo dodged them, and continued their pursuit as they made it to the foot of the temple. Dendro jumped down from the one of the buildings he had been running on, and blew a hole through one of the troopers. The remaining trooper whirled around, but Han shot him in the back, and he collapsed.

And then his weapon went off and fired an explosive at one of the buildings at the foot of the temple, and detonated against the door.

Most of the door was still intact, but there was now a decent sized gap in it. Zar glanced at the Imps; much to his dismay, they were making their way past the droids to them. He pointed at the building. "Everyone! Find cover in there, I'll do what I can out here!"

"Are you out of your blasted mind?!" Han demanded. "We'll be like womp-rats in a barrel! How are we supposed to escape when the Imps surround the gate?!"

Zar pointed at Luke and Ru. "Easy. Use their lightsabers and cut through the wall."

Han blinked. "Huh…yeah, forgot about that. Fine. You heard him, let's go!"

Everyone except Luke charged towards the building. He stared anxiously at it. "This is a bad idea, Zar. I still sense—"

"Stay out here," Zar snapped, "and you won't be sensing anything soon enough. Look, with luck, SN and the others will have the weapon destroyed soon, we just have to buy them enough time. So get moving, we'll get you and your team through this!"

Luke still looked unconvinced, but thankfully, he ran off. Zar sighed in relief and activated his jetpack. It was time to put Noctu's lessons to work.

"You fool!" Volk roared at Anax. "Locus ordered us not to use explosives!"

"With all due respect, sir!" Anax snarled, and he blew apart more droids as they ran towards the temple. "We're being overrun! If you want to get killed by the droids, fine, but I plan on making it back to the surface!"

Brogan kept away from the officers. This was one dispute he did not want to get involved in, so he chose a better way to spend his time. He took out his comm and tried to hail Locus. "About time!" snapped the Moff's voice. "What's going on down there?!"

"Sir," Brogan began, "we're trying to get past these droids, but Anax disobeyed your orders and is using explosives—!"

"WHAT?!" Locus shrieked, and Brogan had to hold the comm away for a moment. "Get that arrogant brat to stop now! I just sent another wave down to assist you, all you have to do is stand your ground! In the meantime, wipe out the Rebels, and hold the Voidbreaker until they arrive. And for the love of the Empire, do not have our troops explore too much of the city, or—!"

With a yelp, Brogan barely dodged a laser, and the comm fell from his hand. He looked up in time to see a droid's leg crush it. Terrific. "Brogan!" shouted Tazah, as she fired her blaster. So far, every bolt found its target, but the droids kept coming. "We have to keep moving, we're almost at the temple!"

He didn't even bother trying to fire back at the droids, Brogan just ran. He couldn't believe how bad things had gotten, unless a miracle happened, his life and career could be over soon. Brogan tried to force his way past his comrades, but they were too busy blasting the droids, and he didn't want to get caught in the crossfire. Meanwhile Brogan and his troops kept using explosives at the droids and Brogan felt his guts squirm. How in the galaxy was he supposed to get them to stand down?

As they approached the temple at last, it got even worse. Zaram flew over them and fired his gauntlet's flamethrower at them, quickly warding them away from the temple. They tried firing at him, but he was too fast, and the droids shot some of them while they were distracted. Out of the corner of his eye, Brogan saw one of the nearby buildings had a hole in it. He briefly considered fleeing there, but then he remembered Locus's warning. Unfortunately, Anax saw the hole too. "Over there!" he yelled. "We can get cover in there!"

He and his troops made a dash for it. "Wait!" Brogan shouted, as he chased after them. "Locus warned me about the city! We just have to hold out until reinforcements get here! And stop using explosives, or—!"

"Incoming! More droids!"

Brogan looked around. Sure enough, more droids poured over the tops of the other buildings, including one near them. Then Volk and several of the other troops began to retreat away from Brogan and the others, and fled towards another building, as did Tazah's group. "Blow a hole in one of those buildings!" Volk ordered, and he snatched up one of the weapons from a fallen trooper. "Brogan, you're in charge until we regroup!"

Brogan dodged another laser, and against his better judgement, decided against to go after Anax and the others instead. He reached the hole and scrambled inside.

A few troopers were taking shots at something from behind a pillar, so Brogan dove behind them, and took a look around to get his bearings. They were in a sizable chamber, with a basin of water in the center, and dozens of large crystals suspended from the ceiling like a chandelier along with chains. Several staircases and landings were lined up against the walls, along with smaller crystals that gave off some light. He noticed there were many pillars and small structures all over the place, and he glanced at the one right next to him. An old but still clearly technological terminal had been placed near the edge of the pool.

Before he could look around anymore, one of the troops got flung back, a massive hole in his armor. Brogan saw the Rebels and Talons taking cover behind the other structures as they opened fire at them, and further back, he could see Ru and Skywalker cutting through the wall. And to cap it all, the droids began to sneak in through the hole in the door. "Come on!" snapped Anax, who wasn't far away, and he fired another explosive. "We almost have them!"

"Anax, wait!" Brogan begged him. "Locus said to stop using explosives—!"

"To hell what that blob thinks! I'm finishing this now!"

Anax and several likeminded troopers rushed in after him, and they opened fire on the Talons, Rebels, and crystal droids. Brogan broke cover and ran after him, but for different reasons. "You idiot, Anax!" he shouted, as he was mere feet away from him. "We're supposed to wait for our backup to—!"

A droid leapt right on him, and its legs cut deeply into him. Brogan yelled and flailed about, but he finally was able to fling the droid off—

And then it crashed into Anax, who stumbled and fired his weapon at the ceiling.

The explosive broke several of the crystals off the ceiling, and they plummeted into the basin, sending a great tidal wave over them all. They all spluttered and did their best to get to their feet. "Brogan!" Anax choked out. "You fool! Troops, get rid of them!"

His troops did as they were told and headed towards the enemy—

—and something snatched up one of the troops and darted up the stairs.

The troops immediately opened fire above them in all directions. "Trooper!" shouted Anax, his face full of shock. "Where are you?! What was—?!"

There was a scream and the sound of something sharp piercing flesh. And then, silence. Everyone kept their weapons aimed above, even the enemy had decided to let enmities go for now. With a start, Brogan realized that the droids had vanished.

A hiss sounded right behind them.

They turned around and saw something that looked like it crawled out of a nightmare. It was an unholy blend of human skin and snake scales, some of it seamless, some of it fused together. Claws burst out of its hands and feet, sharp enough to dig deep grooves into the floor. But the face was the worst part; its once normal teeth had burst and lengthened into fangs that dripped with poison, slits had formed in its nose, a Yucabra hood and horns had formed along its head, and its red eyes were filled with bloodlust. Another creature lurched out of the basin, this one with a bestial snout, and too many teeth. And then several more creatures joined them, each as ugly and frightening as the last, and they began to edge towards Brogan and his comrades.

Brogan bolted for the door. He didn't care if the droids were waiting for him, getting shot by droids had to be better than what those things could do to him. And as he heard the shrieks of pain behind him, along with the savage inhuman roars, he knew that he had made the right call.

Luke stared at it all in horror. Even these troopers didn't deserve a fate like this.

As several of the Imperials fled, the creatures pounced on the rest, and sank their teeth through their armor and into their flesh. The troopers struggled for their lives, battering the monsters with their fists, or trying to get a shot off, but it was no use. And then something happened to the troopers; they shuddered violently, and then ripped off their helmets. Their faces cracked, their skin became warped, and in mere moments, they had been turned into monsters like their attackers.

"LUKE! LET'S GO!"

Ru had finished cutting through the wall, and he yanked Luke through it, with the rest of their comrades not far behind. They ran for their lives down another street in the city. "What the hell were those things?!" demanded Nailah. As Luke turned to look at her, that face, which was always so fierce, looked completely terrified, and he couldn't blame her. "How—how did they manage to do that—and so quickly—?!"

"Don't care!" shouted Han, who looked just as horrified. "Keep running! I don't want to get turned into a snake-faced—!"

Soul-piercing howls interrupted him. They saw the monsters tear through the hole after them, some running normally, others on all fours. But all of them had murder carved into their faces, and saliva and blood flew from their stained fangs as they chased after their prey.

And then a wall of fire burst into existence and the beasts slid to a halt. "Follow me back to the temple!" Zar ordered, and he threw a detonator at the creatures. "SN has a way out for us!"

Then Zar narrowly dodged a laser; the creatures had begun to use the Stormtroopers blasters. Thankfully, the detonator went off, and took out several of the creatures, but there were still plenty more of them. Zar took off down the street and they sped off after him. More snarls and growls drew Luke's attention, and he looked up. The creatures had climbed up onto the rooftops, and they ran and leapt across them. The one closest to them lifted up its blaster, but then a droid leapt at it, and they both fell down to the street. With a determined snarl, the creature tried to get up, but the droid's legs crackled with electricity, and the creature went limp. Luke heard more blasterfire and glanced up without breaking stride. More droids were locked in combat with the creatures, but curiously, they were using their electrified legs instead of their lasers.

"Turn here!" shouted Zar, breaking Luke out of his confused thoughts. They vaulted around the corner, where another clear path to the temple lay before them.

"How close are they to destroying the Voidbreaker?!" Luke asked as they made their way to the staircase, which had begun to open up.

"Very close," Zar answered, as he landed in front of the entrance. "After they finish their preparations, we'll make our escape, and then blow this place to hell once we're out of range."

Once they were all inside, the staircase slid shut behind them. "Good," sighed Luke. "And hopefully those creatures were the last twisted thing that this planet throws at us."

"Keep firing!" shouted Volk, his own blaster and the new weapon tearing the droids apart. "Don't stop until they're all a pile of scrap!"

They had been forced to flee into one of the buildings after blowing a hole in it. The droids had followed them inside, but here at least, they had more cover. It still wasn't easy, once the droids got in, they crawled around everywhere from the walls to the crystals embedded into the ceiling. Oddly, the majority of the droids had crawled all over one particular crystal, as if it was precious to them. Volk pointed at it and shouted, "Concentrate your fire on that crystal!"

Luckily it was a target that even a drunk Dug couldn't miss, so every one of the troopers' lasers and explosives found their mark. Then, with a mighty crack, the crystal plunged into the basin of water below, and they hurried out of the way to avoid the waves. The droids still on the ground weren't as fortunate, and the water sent them sprawling against the stairs and walls, which left them easy targets for the Imperials. A few minutes later, it was all over.

The crystal floated up to the surface, along with several broken chunks of it, and every eye began to turn towards it. "Before we regroup with the others," Volk barked, "let's take a look at the crystal, and see why the droids were so eager to protect it."

They stared at the crystal; unlike the others, this one looked like it had much more security devices on it. At least, until their weapons had destroyed most of it. It bobbed up and down in the water in the chamber's basin, and it glittered at them tantalizingly. Then Volk noticed a hole in the side…and judging from the angles of the damage…it hadn't been caused by them. It looked like something had burst out of the crystal. Volk drew his pistol at once. "We may not be alone," he warned his troops, and they all readied their weapons. "Remember, if you see Skywalker, set to stun. Otherwise, everyone else is fair game—"

The chains in the ceiling descended, struck at his troops like snakes, and hoisted several of them into the air. They flailed about screaming while the rest shot up at the rafters. The chains flung the troops back at their comrades, which sent them all sprawling across the ground.

"Come out and fight, coward!" Volk roared as he shot up at random. "If it's you up there, Skywalker—!"

A menacing chuckle answered him...an inhuman, reptilian, hissing chuckle, that raised the hairs on the back of his neck. "Hye…rox…" the voice murmured, in a deep, smooth voice. "Hye…rox…Xira…coz…"

His men scrambled to get back to their feet, their weapons shaking in their hands. "I'll give you one warning, whoever you are!" Volk shouted, his voice filled with a confidence that he didn't feel at all. "Surrender now, and you will be spared—"

Two discs of blazing silver light shot out from the ceiling. They carved through the troops like butter and sent their severed heads and helmets tumbling everywhere. Volk's blaster slipped from his hands as they slowly hovered towards him. "What…" he stammered. "What is this? No, please—!"

There was a gentle hiss and the light disappeared. Hanging in midair, were two clear crystals. Volk stared at them in bewilderment and recognition. They were kyber crystals, the ones formerly used by Jedi, but were being collected by the Empire.

"Hyerox…Xiracoz…"

Volk whirled around and fell backwards, as the crystals shot past him, into the clawed red hands of their owner, who stared down at him from the landing above with poisonous green eyes. Volk felt his voice desert him as he stared at the creature. Desperation filled his every fiber, and Volk scrambled for his pistol. He noticed the creature leap down from the landing like an animal, rushing towards him with a wicked look on its inhuman face. Volk grabbed the pistol, just as a set of razor-sharp claws pierced his hands, and he screamed in agony. He let go of the blaster, and looked up at the creature with tears streaming down his face. "Now," the creature chuckled, "as you can see…I'm not this Skywalker of whom you speak. And now that you've seen a fraction of the might of the kyber…tell me: what has happened in the galaxy? How long has it been since I slumbered?"

"Who," gasped Volk, as the pain pulsed through his hands, "are you?!"

A smile was so wide that it looked unnatural spread across the creature's face. He raised both hands; the crystals flew into his left hand, and they flared once more with silver light. The light then shot across his arm and onto the other arm. He raised his right hand, and the light enveloped it.

And then his hand struck faster than a Yucabra; his claws sank into Volk's face, and it felt like his face was melting. He screamed as the light scorched his eyes.

"You already know my name," answered the creature. "I am Hyerox Xiracoz. Now…tell me what I want to know. The quicker you answer, the faster you die."