Massacring the Black Vulkers was a cakewalk for Meranda, Carth, Mission, and her battle droids laying down covering fire while she and Zaalbar got up close and personal. Meranda was busy adding yet another mechanical soldier to her little army when the drama started behind her.
"Hey, Big-Z, we gotta do something about your breath. I didn't want to say anything, but it's bad. Worse than usual, which is hard to believe." Misson just blurted out. She was not nearly as tactful with her words as she was with her blaster. "In fact, now that I think about it, your breath has been pretty rancid ever since we rescued you from those Gamorian slavers. What did they feed you, buddy?"
"They didn't. I wasn't their guest Mission. I was a prisoner. I don't think they cared what happened to me."
"Oh, Zaalbar, that's terrible! I know how cranky you get when you don't have you're eight square meals a day. I'm amazed you didn't pass out from hunger."
"I did manage to get a bite out of a guard that got too close to my cage. But it tasted awful, so I spat it back out."
"Ewwww! No wonder your breath smells bad, Big-Z. Gammorians smell like bantha poodoo! We'll have to nick you a toothbrush to clean the stench out of your chompers."
"Wookie's don't brush their teeth, Mission! It... It just isn't done! What humiliation will you inflict on me next? A comb?"
"Ok, relax, no toothbrush. Sheesh. Just try to eat something to cover up that smell, ok? Stay away from anything smart enough to keep you in a cage while your at it."
"If you two are done, I've finished conscripting our new metal friend into my legion of durasteel." Meranda stated as the junk droid she found came to life before her eyes. Gun raised and ready to serve. "So let's get going. The sooner we find that engine, the sooner we can rescue Bastila."
...
Meranda had time to kill before the race started, so she did what she did when she was bored, play the hero. Took out a few Sith patrols in the Undercity, got the Rakgule cure to that doctor who was helping her fellow soldiers, and distributed said cure to everyone in the Outcast village before assisting them to discover the Promis Land. She was bounty hunting when the latest bout of angst erupted in her life.
"Hey, Carth. Your a pilot for the Republic, right? You've been all across the galaxy, I bet, right? So tell me, how would you rate Taris compared to other worlds you've seen?" Meranda hopped beyond hope that Carth would not somehow offend the young woman, but she knew he would. Somehow, she just knew.
"I'll be honest, Mission, Taris would rate pretty low. The prejudice, the rich spoiling themselves while the poor are crushed beneath then - Not a pretty picture."
"Ya, but that was only since the Sith occupation. Before that... Well, I guess it wasn't all that different, really. Hmm... Maybe Taris isn't as great as I thought, you know?"
"Trust me, Mission. There are a lot of worlds better than Taris. There are worse too. But Taris is no kind of place for a kid to live on their own, even one who has a Wookie to look after her." Meranda just face palmed. How could he be so good of a pilot but still fly right into that particular storm?
"Hey, I ain't no kid! I look out for Zaalbar as much as he looks out for me! Big-Z's my friend, not my babysitter! Geez, I come to you with a question, and you give me a lecture!"
"Don't you snap at me, missy! You want a lecture? How's this: only bratty little children fly off the handle because of a simple comment!"
"Settle down, the both of you! Don't think either of you is too big to go over my knee, got it!?"
"I don't have to-"
"NO! You to will apologize to each other, right now! Or so help me, I will personally spank you both right here and now!" Meranda yelled at her companions. Mission was going to yell something back, but the glare she saw in Meranda's eyes told her that if she didn't pick her words carefully, her butt would be purple for a week.
"I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get mad at you. It's just that I'm sick of people treating me like I'm a helpless kid."
"Ya, I know. And I'm sorry about what I said to. I'm just a little one edge lately, not surprising considering all we've been through. But I shouldn't take it out on you."
"Good, now get into position. Our mark is behind this door, so you gotta be ready to gun them down the moment I bash it down." Everyone then got into position, then got to work.
...
Meranda had never felt more alive in her life. The rush of speed, the hum of the swoop bikes accelerator, the thrill of victory, it was enough to make her wish Carth was there to see her glory!
"Ladies and gentlemen, I present you with the winner of this year's swoop race!" The Duros race corodanater said. "Put your hands together for the most daring rider this track has ever seen!" Through your skill and courage you have proven yourself the premier swoop rider on Taris, and brought great glory to the Hidden Beks gange! Now to present the champion's prize; Brejik, leader of the Black Vulkers."
"People - Before I present this so-called champion of the Bek's their prize, there is something you must know: the winning rider cheated!" The hook-nosed human with the galaxies fifth most punchable face said. He was turning Meranda's exhilaration into rage.
"How dare you suggest that me, The Mysterious Stranger, would cheat at anything!" The crowd went wild at hearing that she was not just their planet's greatest swoop rider but dualist as well. But Brejik was not backing down.
"Your swoop bike has a prototype accelerator - Clearly an unfair advantage! Because of this Hidden Bek treachery, I'm withdrawing the Vulkers share of the prize!"
"you can't do this, Brejik! The Duros said in an angry tone. "No one can withdraw a prize after the race has already been won! It goes against all of our most sacred traditions!" The leader of the Vulkers just laughed.
"You old fool! Your tradi-AAAAA!" Meranda threw her vibro-sword into Brjik's back, shoving him into the ground as she pulled her blade from his back, and pressed the tip of it to his head.
"You have gotten in my way for the last time, punk! Now tell your goons to stand down, or I start performing an amateur cranial autopsy! Nothing will stop me from claiming what is mine!"
"I might have something to say about that." Bastila herself said from inside of her cage, using the Force to both open it and take a Vulkers weapon.
"You could have done that the entire time!?" Meranda screamed, already on edge from dealing with the punk under her heel. Brejik then rolled and got up, blasting at Meranda, who activated her shield at just the right time.
"Vulkers - To me! Kill the slave, kill the swoop rider, kill them al-" Brejik's orders were cut off at the last moment by him having to dodge Meranda's vibro-blade. He pulled out his own sword, and the two dueled, a dual that the gangster was not even close to ready for. Meranda was faster, stronger, and way angrier. Only one person in the area knew how connected all three of those were. His eyes were filled with horror as his head fell from his shoulders. She walked over to Bastila as she finished off the last Vulker.
"Well, maybe those bloody Vulkers will think twice before trying to take a Jedi prisoner! And as for you, if you think you can collect me as a prize your... The expression on Bastila's face was hard to read, she was shocked, but there was something else, fear maybe. "What... I don't believe this, your... Your one of the soldiers with the Republic fleet, aren't you? Yes, I'm sure of it. How did you end up racing with these swoop gangs?"
"Came by to rescue you. It seemed like a good first step to get off this planet."
"Save me? Is that what you were trying to accomplish by riding in that swoop race? Well, as far as rescues go, this is a pretty poor example."
"Oh, your one of 'those' people then? Lovely."
"In case you hadn't noticed, I managed to free myself from the neural restraint collar and get out of that cage without your help. In fact, it's more accurate to say I rescued you! Brejik and his followers would have left you for dead if I hadn't stepped into the fight. Your lucky I was here to get you out of this mess!"
"Lie to the bosses to make yourself look good if you like, but don't lie to someone who was here for it. Before you distracted me, I had that twerp at my mercy. All you did was get me out of a mess you created, master Jedi! Honestly, you're worse than Carth!"
"Carth Onasi is alive!? And he sent you here to rescue me? Maybe I misjudged your... abilities. Forgive me. Despite my Jedi training, I have a tendency to behave a bit rashly. Please, take me to Carth right away. Between the three of us, I'm sure we can find a way off the planet before the Sith discover us."
...
When they got back to the apartment, Carth was as happy as a clam. But that was to end shortly.
"Bastila, your alive! Finally, things are looking up. Now we just need to figure out a way off this planet!" Bastila looked to the pilot with a shocked and annoyed expression.
"You mean you haven't figured a way off Taris yet? What have you been doing all this time?"
"Becoming grand champion, fulfilling some hobo prophecy, winning that big swoop race and saving you, a little bounty hunting, and helping to cure a pandemic." Bastila looked at Meranda with a raised eyebrow, looking like she only believed half of that.
"I see. Now, that I'm back in charge of this mission, we can start doing things properly. Hopefully, our escape from Taris will go more smoothly than when you rescued me from Brejik."
"Carth, are you, SURE, that Bastila is necessary for the war effort?"
"Stand down, Meranda, please. Look, Bastila, I know you're new to being a leader, but a good commander doesn't berate her troops just because things aren't going her way."
"That hardly seems like an appropriate way to address your commander, Carth. I am a member of the Jedi Order, and this is my mission. Don't forget that!"
"Well, forgive my bluntness, but you're doing a terrible job!" Meranda said as she got a little too close to Bastila for either of them to be comfortable. "That man has seen more battles than you have fingers, and your Battle Meditation may be tactically valuable, but that does not give you the right to disrespect the people who will really win this war, girl!" The shock on Bastila's face took up every inch of Mernada's vision. She thought it was from her bold choice to get up in a Jedi's face, but in truth, Bastila was disturbed because when she looked into the angry eyes of the soldier before her, they were yellow.
"Y-Yes... You're right, of course." Meranda then backed off, satisfied with her efforts in defending Carth. Allowing Bastila to continue her conversation. "I apologize, Carth. This has all been a difficult time for me. Of course, I'm happy to listen to your advice. What do you suggest?"
"First off, we can't get hung up on who's in charge; we all have to work together to get off this rock. The answers out there, we just have to find it."
"Well said, Carth. And the sooner we find it, the better; I've already been a prisoner of the Vulkers, and I don't plan on being captured by the Sith."
"Don't sweat it, Bastila. I'll watch your back so long as you watch ours..." Meranda wondered what to do about her vision on the way to the apartment, but seeing as it was so much like the dream she had when they crashed. She had to know. "Hey, Bastila... Can I talk to you in private?"