Vader could feel the fear and tension before he even walked off his shuttle. As he walked towards Locus, it increased tenfold, and the troopers and officers respectfully but hastily got out of his way. "Has the Voidbreaker been secured?" Vader growled, as he halted in front of Locus. He wasn't in the mood for any more excuses.

Locus met Vader's gaze with effort. "I…I haven't heard back from—"

And then a disturbance in the Force ripped Vader's attention away from Locus. It wasn't his son…this presence was dark and sinister, everything his son currently wasn't. But it didn't feel like a Sith, such as his Master, Maul, or Tyranus. He reached out further into the Force. Now the presence was more defined; it felt like a tangled broken mass, but its edges were curved, sharp, and focused. And the mind it belonged to felt savage, animalistic, yet calculating. Vader had never felt anything like it before.

"Lord Vader?" said Locus. "What's the matter?"

Vader turned his focus back to the Moff. "Contact your men. Now."

Confusion joined Locus's fear, but he took out his comm. "Volk! Brogan! Someone better answer—!"

A voice answered him. "Moff…" panted Brogan's voice. "Some…some sort of monsters…they're-they're everywhere!"

Vader didn't waste time berating Locus, instead he marched towards the nearest hole the transports had created in the earth. "I want more troops down below!" he snarled at the nearest officer. "Now!"

Even though the way was lit by crystals embedded into the walls, Luke couldn't help but shudder as they made their way to the center, and he noticed everyone else did the same. Despite the illumination, the whole temple felt dark and twisted. "Can't say I'll miss this place," Luke muttered.

"How can you say that?" Zar snorted. "It has it all; majestic caverns, sinister subterranean snakes, lethal monsters, doomsday weapons—"

He broke off as they arrived at a massive chamber. They all stared in awed silence at the kyber crystals and ancient machinery that filled the room, the crystals in particular pulsed with light. "So glad you could join us!" snapped a voice, and they all looked up. Bariq, Tor, and SN were all at various consoles, hurriedly handling different buttons, switches, and levers, while placing explosives all over the place at the same time. "If you want to make yourselves useful," SN continued irritably, "follow our host down below, and make sure our ticket out of here is ready."

Before they could pelt him with questions, a segment of one of the walls opened, and a disk floated out, with a hooded being seated cross legged on it. "SN is right," the being said in a sad tired voice. "We have little time before the enemy's reinforcements arrive."

Luke gave a start as he recognized the voice. "You!" he blurted out. "You're that voice who told me where to go!"

The being bowed his head slightly. "Correct. I also gave your…companions, some aid when they were in the valley."

"I hate to interrupt," said Han, in a tone that suggested nothing of the sort, "but the bug bot said something about a way out?"

The being gestured towards the hidden passage. "Indeed. Follow me, SN and the others will join us once preparations are complete."

They followed the being as he floated into the passage. "Leave without us," Bariq shouted after them, "and I'll haunt you for the rest of your days!"

The walls slid shut, and with a shudder, the floor shifted down. After a few moments, a shaft of clear crystal appeared, and beyond it, they could see another large chamber. There wasn't as much light down there, but Luke could still see huge piles of coins, statues, gems, and other valuable items. He glanced at Zar and the other Talons; Zar's face was hidden by the helmet, but the others looked delighted. "Zar! Ru!" bellowed Dendro, as he grabbed both of them with one arm each, and ground a fist against their heads. "First round at Kalia's is on me! I'll get her to bake the best nerf tenderloin that Mahalos has ever seen!"

"Let me breathe!" gasped Ru, who still sounded ecstatic. "I can't make a new lightsaber out of all that gold if I'm dead!"

Even Han eyed the treasure with interest. "I don't suppose I can help myself to a share of the loot? After all, you never would have gotten this far without me."

As soon as Dendro let go, Zar tenderly massaged his neck. "Sure, why not? Only problem is how we're going to get this stuff out of here."

The lift stopped with a jolt and the doors at the bottom opened. The mounds of treasure loomed over them like small hills as they walked out. "There's a transport waiting at the escape tunnel," the being told them. "Its previous owners were thoughtful enough to have it stocked full of valuables, so there should be more than enough to compensate you."

"It'll certainly compensate me, old man," Han assured him. "Might even compensate the Empire. Unless this temple is another Death Star, can't imagine why they'd want it when they could have all this loot instead."

The being sighed. "My name is Zotz, not 'old man.' And no, if you were referring to whatever caused that great calamity that snuffed out so many lives, then the Voidbreaker is capable of such raw destruction. However, at great personal cost, it can vastly enhance the powers of Force users. With it in their possession, the Empire could wreak havoc upon the galaxy."

Han and the bounty hunters instantly sobered up. "Good thing we showed up then," said Dendro. "Don't worry, Zotz, Tor and the others will bring this whole thing crashing down in no time—"

The group halted as a pair of those strange droids skittered past them. "Don't mind them," said Zotz. "The droids were programmed to attack anyone who entered the city by force, so they're the Empire's problem, not yours."

They all looked relieved. But then the earlier ecstatic expressions appeared on the Talons' faces, and they once again reminded Luke all too much of Han before his change of heart, focused on the money and nothing else. "I guess we part ways after this?" he noted surlily. "Unless you feel like accepting some more missions from the Alliance?"

Not to Luke's surprise, the Talons' smiles widened. "Sorry, kid," Zar told him gently, and patted him on the shoulder. "But now that we've got what we came for, there's no reason for us to stick around. With some luck, we'll be enjoying Kalia's best meals on Mahalos in no time."

Hyerox cleaned the human's blood off his claws as he stepped over the body. Alas, he had not been able to get too much information out of him. One thing was now clear to him; if he wanted to survive in this strange new galaxy, he would have to glimpse into the future. And fortunately for him, Hyerox had the perfect means to do just that in front of him.

With a crystal in hand, Hyerox reached out with the Force. He sensed nobody was nearby. To be doubly sure, Hyerox carefully looked outside to see if anyone could see him. Still no one around. He slipped out of the building, quieter than the stealthiest predator on Yuca, and raced for the stairs. Once he reached them, he leapt up several at a time, eager to do his work quickly. If the human had told the truth, he might not have much time.

Finally, Hyerox reached the top of the Voidbreaker. Before him, several pillars had been set up around the summit. A set of now fragile chains had been set up from two of them, and at the center of the roof in a sigil carved into the stone, a figure made of ash knelt in front of him. And circled around it were several more ashen remains of his fellow Zavar. Hyerox sneered. He remembered how the fools had ignored his warning, that this prisoner wasn't strong enough with the Force to properly wield the Voidbreaker. He kicked the figure in the center and it instantly disintegrated, while the chains crumbled away. Hyerox thanked the Force he wasn't cursed with such weakness.

For a single moment, he hesitated. This would either be the moment he took one step closer to his destiny…or the Voidbreaker would destroy his mind, and turn his flesh to ash, like it had done to the prisoner. But then Hyerox steeled himself. He hadn't survived so long only to die here. No. Destiny had a much bigger role for him to play. Hyerox stepped into the sigil, and with a crystal in each of his clawed hands, he raised them towards the pillars, and reached out to the Voidbreaker with the Force.

At first, nothing happened. But then the symbols and letters etched into the temple began to glow an unnatural green, and Hyerox could feel the power stir within the weapon. It started slowly…but all too quickly, it came for him, and he felt his very bones strain under its weight. And with a colossal effort, Hyerox forced himself past the pain, and concentrated on the future.

The world vanished in a tidal wave of light. The sheer power of the Voidbreaker filled his mind until it felt like his head was on fire. Hyerox barely held back a scream and fought on. He wouldn't let something as minor as pain keep him from his destiny…and then, finally, he caught glimpses of the future.

The Voidbreaker destroyed in an explosion. A crowd of Zavar gathered, arguing with each other like scavengers over a corpse. A dark green alien clad in a high tech suit, a Skakoan, was facing down a firing squad of Stormtroopers in the middle of a terrible storm. A massive floating city in the clouds. A Mandalorian escorting a human frozen in carbonite. A figure in bizarre black armor told a young human missing a hand, that he was the boy's father… and the boy screamed in denial and pain, while his father begged for the boy…Luke, to join him. The armored figure watched as a ship escaped his warship. A man in red and white Mandalorian armor was fighting alongside the boy, along with a team of other aliens…the boy called out his name…Zaram. The black armored figure held someone in a black cloak above him, lightning crackling out of the victim's hands, and threw him down a shaft, while his son looked on. The figure, now unmasked to show a pale human, peacefully died in front of his son. A familiar island, covered by a lush jungle, surrounded by water. A city being incinerated by massive tendrils of energy. A woman appeared…she was beautiful, with strong blue eyes and a fierce expression. She fought alongside the boy, and she raised a hand that seemed to be glowing with light over her head—

Hyerox fell to his knees, his strength almost spent. As he took in deep ragged breaths, he desperately wanted to see more, but he knew that if he tried to use the Voidbreaker once more, it would be his end. He wouldn't fall to the same blind ambition that his fellow Zavar died trying to fulfill. He had seen enough. Now he had to leave Yuca, find whatever Zavar were left who still believed in his cause, and finish what they had started all those years ago.

After a few more moments of rest, he raised a crystal, and reached out with the Force. He sensed a dark presence approaching the city. Whoever it was, they were powerful, and clearly hostile. Hyerox quickly connected to the droids and the creatures. "My experiments," he ordered, as he hurried down the steps, "hear your Master's orders. Droids, stand down. I have a mission for you all. Some of you will eliminate any reinforcements the Empire have sent down here, the rest of you, go to the surface and be ready to create more soldiers for my crusade. Droids, protect my experiments as they do their work. Go!"

Bariq tried to run and grab whatever treasure he could at the same time, but quickly tripped and fell over, scattering gold and jewels everywhere. Before he could recover, he felt a hand grip his collar, and was hoisted into the air. "Only you could slow down to get more gold from a soon to be exploding building," Tor chided him, and he placed Bariq on his back. "One of these days your greed is going to bite you in your furry rear end."

"Keep patronizing me," Bariq growled, "and I'll see if Kalia can make us some Karkarodon soup."

"As much as it pains me to say it," SN grunted, as he hurried alongside them, "but the big blue brute is right. If my calculations are correct, we might be about to bring the entire cavern crashing down. Now's not the time for any last-minute scrambles for a few coins."

They soon reached the transport hovering in front of the escape tunnel. It was old, but Zotz had assured them it would be enough to get them out of this dump. Everyone was already inside except for Luke and Zotz. "This would have been a lot easier if you had let us in through this secret exit," Bariq grumbled at Zotz.

"On the contrary," Zotz replied drily. "You would have had to braved an underground river, and the Zavar have booby trapped the exit. Once it opens, it'll collapse the entire tunnel."

Bariq wisely stopped complaining and tried to look as small as possible behind Tor. "Come with us!" Luke pleaded, a desperate look on his face. "We can't just leave you here to die!"

Zotz shook his hooded head. "If I were in any better shape, I might take you up on that offer…but alas, that was not the will of the Force. Forgive me, Luke, but my time is done…no thanks to that faulty stasis chamber…" He broke off and gave another series of hoarse coughs.

Bariq couldn't believe what he was hearing. "What?! Zotz, Luke's right, even if you don't have much longer left, you don't deserve to be blown to bits!"

The Zavar turned to look at Bariq. While his face was mostly hidden, Zotz's blue eyes still shone from under the hood. Bariq had never seen such tired eyes before. "On the contrary," he sighed. "I have a lot to answer for. This seems like a rather tame punishment for all that I've done to Yuca and the rest of the galaxy."

Luke stared at him in bewilderment. "What are you talking about—?"

Zotz raised a hand to his face and covered it. "I helped make the Voidbreaker and many other weapons of war for my faction. I was one of their greatest leaders. You could see the dozens of burning civilizations we left behind even from orbit. And we sacrificed so many beings to operate the Voidbreaker; I lost count of the poor souls who lost their minds trying to wield its power, or were incinerated. But we used the Force to keep them at it anyway, purely for our own gain. It's only fitting I should suffer a similar fate." He dropped his hand and stared at their horrified expressions. "Yes, not so easy to feel pity for me now—?"

He broke off and looked up. "I sense they're coming. Go. You don't have much time. I'll detonate the temple once you're out of range."

Despite the revelation, they still all looked hesitant about leaving Zotz, even SN. But the Zavar jabbed a claw towards the transport. "Go!" he roared, in a voice that was suddenly much stronger and authoritative. "You all still have a part to play! If you truly want to help me, then drive the Empire from Yuca once you escape! Then I may finally have some peace of mind!"

After one final awkward pause, Tor put a hand on Luke's shoulder. "Come on, Luke. If this is truly what he wants, then let us honor his final wish."

Luke stared at them with a devastated look on his face, but then turned away bitterly, and walked with them up the ramp into the transport. "Thank you," said Zotz, and they looked around to look at him one more time. "And bounty hunters, Luke, take heart…"

He lowered his hood.

Bariq had never seen an alien like this before. Zotz had snake-like nostrils, sharp fangs that spilled over his mouth, and strong sharp scales that covered the top of his head. Bariq was glad Zar was in the transport, otherwise he might have freaked out over the Zavar's snake-like appearance…but despite that, Zotz still had a content smile. "The Force will be with you," Zotz told them, and he inclined his head. "Always."

Zotz waved at the cockpit, and with that, the ramp slid up, and the door closed. Then all too soon, the transport gave a lurch, and they sped off down the tunnel.

As soon as the transport was away, the temple began to glow, and Zotz heaved a sigh of relief. He wished he could have told Luke and the others everything, to prepare them for the difficult path that lay ahead…but he knew better. He had to play this out very carefully.

He turned and walked to his disk. With a groan, he sat down on it, and floated past mounds of gold and priceless items that he had plundered back in his prime. Many others would have lost their self-restraint and flung themselves at the treasure, but to Zotz, those items no longer mattered to him.

After what seemed like a small lifetime, and the temple had stopped glowing, he finally settled down in front of a statue carved out of gold, with countless precious metals and gems weaved into it. The statue was in the shape of a beautiful Togruta chieftainess, and a necklace of kyber crystals had been placed on her neck, along with a crown of actual akul teeth. Regret and grief weighed so heavily on Zotz, he felt like his heart would give out before he could do what needed to be done.

"My lady," he murmured, "I hope you can hear me. I can still hear your screams as you cursed me and all of my kind, and rightfully so. But soon, you will finally be able to rest in peace. Once the galaxy is no longer cursed by my presence, I only hope that I can find you…I don't deserve your forgiveness…but please…I hope that my people can begin to make amends for what we did in our greed and arrogance."

Zotz raised the detonator in his hand. There was no going back no. "And of course, let us both hope that once she rejoins them, they can finally end this madness for good." Zotz sighed and closed his eyes for the last time. "May the Force be with us all."

And with that, Zotz pushed the button.

Whether minutes or hours had passed, Brogan didn't know, it all passed by in a blur. The only things that mattered were his weapons and keeping the monsters away from him as he barreled through the city as he frantically tried to get back to the transports. He almost ran straight into the monsters more times than he cared to count, and he barely managed to keep them away with blasterfire. But no matter what he did, they still pursued him, whether down on the streets, or along the rooftops and balconies. Whenever Brogan felt like his legs wouldn't keep moving anymore, all he had to do was look back at their hungry ravenous eyes, or listen to their bloodcurdling shrieks and snarls.

Suddenly, there was a shrill noise, much like the ones the crystals had made, only this was even louder. Brogan chanced a glance back, and saw that the monsters had stopped and were staring at the temple, which had begun to glow with a green light. But before he had taken a few more steps, the shrill noise died and he heard the creatures' snarls again, and he knew they were back on his tail. Then he was aware of others running right next to him, and nearly stumbled over himself. "Brogan!" shouted Tazah, as she and her remaining squad members fired back at the monsters. Her helmet was missing and her green eyes were huge with fear and confusion. "Where's Volk and Anax?! If we don't regroup and secure the weapon—!"

The bridge across the river finally came into view. "Forget the weapon!" Brogan howled. "Focus on not getting eaten!"

Brogan barely noticed Anax and a few other troops charging out of another alley to join them. "Brogan's right!" the big blonde lieutenant wheezed. "We can't get the weapon without backup!"

They stampeded across the bridge, and by the time they reached the steps, Brogan's legs felt like they were ready to burst. But he kept running until he was in front of the group, and he didn't stop, until he ran into what felt like a monolith that had sprung up in the tunnel and collapsed. He looked up and his outraged surprise quailed and died. "What," Vader snarled, with another squad of troops at his back, "is the meaning of this?"

"Lord Vader!" interrupted Tazah, and jabbed a shaky finger down below. "We have creatures right behind us—!"

The hiss of Vader's lightsaber silenced her instantly and she flinched in fear. "Creatures are of no importance to me," he snapped. "You all swore to serve the Empire to your dying breath. If you don't go back down there, I will ensure that moment occurs before the dawn arrives—"

The shrill noise returned, and Brogan saw the entire temple glowing an eerie green. Unless his eyes were playing tricks on him, he could have sworn he saw cracks in the temple as well. "MOVE!" Vader ordered, and they all retreated into the tunnel. A few moments later, a massive explosion echoed through the space, and everything began to shake. Rocks tumbled down from the ceiling, but Brogan ran faster than he ever knew he could. Before he knew it, they crossed the bridge past the waterfall. As he looked back, he saw a huge chunk of the ceiling crash through the bridge, sending a few unlucky troops screaming to their deaths below. But then it was over and all was quiet except for the waterfall…and the increasingly loud breathing.

There was another hiss as Vader reactivated his lightsaber. "What happened?" he demanded, in a quiet deadly voice. "Anyone who lies will share the same fate as the one responsible for this debacle—"

He broke off and turned his head to the side. Nobody dared make a sound. Even the waterfall sounded quieter than before, as if it too feared Vader's wrath. A moment later, Vader turned to a trooper, and said, "Commander, I sense that a threat approaches us. Tell Locus to brace for an attack. As for the officers in charge," he added, and turned his merciless gaze upon Brogan and the others, "send them to the frontlines. They will be the first to meet whatever calamity that they have brought upon Yuca."

By some miracle, Brogan didn't collapse, even though his legs felt like they had finally melted. And judging from Anax and Tazah's expressions, he knew that he wasn't the only one.

The Yucabra lapped water from the river, doing its best to ignore the rain that continued to come down. It had been a long hard day, and thanks to the storm, it hadn't been able to find any prey to enjoy for the night. Once the dawn arrived, it would have to hunt in more dangerous grounds, perhaps even near the mounds of metal where the humans and aliens dwelled. More than once, it had enjoyed the taste of human flesh, when the white armored ones foolishly ventured into the jungle. The mere memory of that flavor soothed the Yucabra.

A head popped out of the water not far away. It smelled and looked like another Yucabra…but it was much smaller. Then it swam to the shore and crawled out on two legs. The Yucabra darted back into the cover of the trees and kept still. More creatures, with the heads of Yucabras and other dangerous animals, rose to the surface of the river, and walked into the jungle. The Yucabra's tongue licked its lipless mouth; it had never seen anything like this before.

And then a new head emerged…even from here, moreso than any other animal the Yucabra had come across, it reeked of blood and death. That was enough for the Yucabra to start slinking away. It wasn't foolish enough to attack such a dangerous being—

As it trudged out of the river, the creature lifted something in its clawed hand, and it pulsed with light. The Yucabra froze, entranced by it. The light morphed and shifted into an infinite variety of colors…it was so beautiful, the Yucabra forgot its misgivings, and began to slither towards the being.

"How fitting," the being chuckled. Its tone would have stopped even the mightiest predator from the valley far away from here, but instead, it calmed the snake even more. "Did you know, my little scaly friend, your kind was the first species I ever met on this primitive world? How I loved you Yucabras. I spent many a night feeding you meals from all across the galaxy." The being smiled, an expression that dripped with malice. "Their screams kept the slaves awake and working for days on end."

The being looked past the Yucabra. It vaguely realized that more of its fellow Yucabras, other animals that they preyed on, and their rival predators, had joined them. Each wore a neutral expression of absolute loyalty. "Good," the being hissed. "I'm sure we'll get more companions along the way. Now come," it ordered, its green eyes gleaming with contempt. "Most of you will die soon, but the ones who survive will soon feed on the flesh of this so-called great Imperial machine."