The Tusken Burial Chambers

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars; this is merely a fanfiction.

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"YOU!" Starkiller had nearly reached his breaking point. Boba Fett leaned casually against Khaji's landspeeder; the young Jedi could feel the bounty hunter's smirk behind his mask. "I should pull your head off!"

"Now really, is that any way to treat an old friend?" Fett sneered.

"After all you've done - how you hunted me aboard the Salvation! How you kidnapped Juno!"

Fett shrugged. "Hey, you guys got out alright. No hard feelings."

Starkiller's eye twitched. "N-no hard feelings? You can't be serious."

"Listen, kid. Your friends are a few hours away from becoming rancor squat. I may not like it either, but you don't hear me complaining."

Khaji was grinning, looking between the both of them. "So I take it there's some history between you guys?"

"No history," Fett replied, checking the casings on his rifle. "It's more like we were exposed to each other." Fett pressed a button on his wrist, and a three-dimensional image appeared between them. "This is a map of the burial grounds and chambers." Fett began pointing out different areas of the map. "Most of these tunnels are designed to lead to dead ends and other traps. But here -" He pointed to the second-largest chamber. "This is the main chamber. It was designed to be as innocuous as possible. That's where this clan's chieftain says his nightly prayers, that's where our egg'll be."

Khaji nodded. "I'll go on ahead, scout out the area."

Fett nodded as he added more enhancements to his rifle. "The kid and I will take the main tunnel network. You keep us updated on whether the coast is clear." He looked over at Starkiller. "Can you handle that, kid?"

"Do you mean can I stomach working alongside you? I suppose I can hold my lunch down long enough."

"Good lad." Fett tossed a comlink to Khaji. "Keep in touch."

Khaji nodded, before glaring over at Starkiller. "Remember the deal, kid. We have 'till sunrise. Then your friends get fed to Vislusk's bull rancor."

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"Oh, I seem to be made to suffer!" Kaden bemoaned his fate. He, Pooja, Wald, Asar and his sister Shay were chained up in a prison cell. Proxy's legs and arms were bound as well.

Kaden couldn't really remember what had happened. They must've been ambushed outside of Watto's shop. He supposed this cell was deep in Vislusk's underground fortress.

"Oh, quit complaining," Pooja snapped. "Starkiller will come through. He always does! Remember that crazy Gungan on Naboo?"

Kaden shuddered. "How can I forget?"

Shay shook her head. "For all our sakes, I hope you're right about your friend. And that krayt dragon egg ..."

Kaden rolled his eyes. "I still don't see what's so important about a blasted egg!"

Asar glared at him. "Nature is a precious - yet delicate - thing. There's an order that's not to be tampered with. The krayt dragons keep the bantha populations in check. But the krayt dragons have become quite rare."

Shay nodded. "Very rare. They're in the danger zone for extinction."

"The egg needs to be returned to its mother," Asar replied. "Think of the universe as one, interconnected, organic being. What happens to the smallest creature, affects the biggest one. You may not see the importance of it, but even one krayt dragon egg could have galactic ramifications."

Wald was shaking his head. "I can't believe I'm friends with you guys ..."

The door to the cell opened, and Vislusk entered, flanked by two Gamorrean guards. "And how are my prisoners this evening? Are your ... accommodations ... satisfactory?"

"Peachy," Kaden replied. "Although a jacuzzi would've been nice. And a complimentary piece of chocolate on our pillows."

Vislusk laughed. "A cheeky one." The Quarren crime boss turned to Shay and Asar. "And you two ... you've both been thorns in my side for long enough. Trying to sabotage my Beast Brawls. Well, if the Jedi is successful, I shall keep my word to release you."

"Your word is as good as dirt," Asar snapped. "You'll have us shot the second the Jedi leaves the planet!"

Vislusk patted him on the head. "How astute." He turned towards the wall opposite the prisoners and nodded. A viewscreen suddenly came to life. "How about some entertainment? This is what awaits all of you, should the Jedi fail."

Everyone watched the viewscreen, which showed them a large, underground arena, surrounded on all sides like a coliseum. Thousands of gamblers sat in the seats, spectating and betting on the battles going on below. An ackley was battling two nexu. The nexu circled the beast, which hissed, and brought its pincer-like claw down on the one. The nexu didn't have a chance. The other one leaped towards the giant creature, it's fangs tearing into the ackley's neck.

The ackley screeched, before whirling around, hurling the nexu across the arena. The nexu staggered to its feet; it leaped for the ackley again. The ackley caught it in its vice, hurling it across the arena yet again. The nexu hit the ground with a sickening crack. It did not stir.

Vislusk watched the look of horror on his prisoners' faces. "Let's make this more interesting." He pressed a button on his wrist. Everyone watched as the viewscreen showed a trap door opening through the floor of the arena.

A rancor - the biggest rancor any of them had ever seen - pulled itself up into the arena floor. The bull rancor caught sight of the ackley, before letting out a guttaral roar. The ackley pinched its claws at the rancor, urging it on.

The rancor charged, swatting at the insect-like creature. The ackley hissed, grabbing the bull rancor by its tusks, dragging it along the floor. The bull rancor used its sheer body weight to crash into the ackley, knocking it over. The ackley brought its pincers up again; the rancor caught them in its own meaty fists, crushing them. The ackley screeched as the rancor moved its slimy, open maw towards the ackley's own head.

The spectators cheered.

The prisoners in the cell, watching the feed, turned away in horror as the bull rancor began devouring the ackley alive.

Vislusk chuckled. "That should tide my pet over ... at least until sunrise."

Laughing, he departed the prison with his two Gamorrean guards, leaving his prisoners sickened, and praying that Starkiller would soon return.

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"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Starkiller was becoming rather impatient. Fett, meanwhile, seemed to enjoy the Jedi's frustration. The two of them had entered the underground network of tunnels, each branching off into several sacred burial sites for the Tuskens. Torches dotted the walls of the tunnel, illuminating cave drawings and other symbols.

"Not to worry, kid. Besides, Khaji's taking the alternative route. Scouting the area ahead of us."

"I hope the Sand People get him," Starkiller grumbled.

Fett chuckled. "You're awfully spiteful for a Jedi."

Starkiller glared at him. "How can you pretend like nothing happened? Like you didn't try to kidnap my friends and kill me?"

"It was a job," the bounty hunter shrugged. "Lord Vader paid me some credits to do a job. That's it."

"And so you moved on from Jedi hunting to egg hunting? If I may say so, this new job seems quite beneath you."

Fett glared back from behind his mask, before looking away. "That's because I'm not after creds for this job."

"Oh? And what exactly are you after?"

"Intel," Fett said simply.

"For what?"

"Look, this ain't any of your business, kid."

"Hey, when an enemy's helping me, I'd like to know why."

Boba sighed. "Fine. If you must know - and seeing as how we have quite a walk through these tunnels - it can't hurt to tell you. Vislusk has some pretty deep contacts with other crime bosses across the galaxy. And several of them have contacts with the Mandalorians."

This caught Starkiller's attention. "Mandalorians?"

"My people. Seems that the Death Watch clans have united again behind some kook that wants to give the Emperor a good ol' run for his money."

"The Master," Starkiller breathed. "But what do you mean 'again'?"

Fett continued staring ahead. "My people are proud; we seek the thrill of battle, the glory of a well-fought victory. Anyone that can offer that - a chance for the Mandalorians to rebuild and grow - they'll take it."

"I've noticed," Starkiller grumbled.

"It happened several times before. But most recently on Mandalore itself - back during the Clone Wars. A Sith Lord murdered the leader of the Death Watch, Pre Vizsla, and stole his darksaber. He then became the de facto leader of the Death Watch before he mysteriously vanished. Now it appears to have happened again, and I intend to find out who and why. I will not have my people's honor tarnished."

Starkiller was deep in thought. "You said a Sith Lord took over the Death Watch during the Clone Wars?"

"That's right."

"And he mysteriously vanished?"

"Yup." The bounty hunter shrugged. "Who knows what became of him? Although, some things are better off not knowing."

The wheels in Starkiller's head were turning. "What if it's the same guy? What if this Sith Lord returned?" Comprehension dawned on him. "What if the Emperor had an apprentice before Vader? An apprentice that became disillusioned with him ... an apprentice that renounced him and is now working against him?"

Fett's expression was unrecognizable. "Possibly. Won't know till we find 'im, will we?"

Starkiller nodded. "And these contacts of Vislusk ... they're connected to the Master?"

Fett chuckled. "I've got some leads. Yeah, Vislusk's got some real connections to this 'Master'. It all runs deeper than you know. Mandalorians, the criminal underworld, this Master's even got connections with the Black Sun."

Starkiller nodded. "Any idea which one of Vislusk's guys is connected to the Master?"

The bounty hunter nodded. "The fella's in these tunnels with us."

Starkiller cocked his head. "Khaji?"

Fett growled behind his helmet. "He's a pretender. Nothing more - no matter how he wishes he were Mandalorian."

Starkiller was putting two and two together. "So then, he doesn't truly work for Vislusk?"

"He's not after some stupid egg for creds. He's doing it because the Master wants the egg. Vislusk is just a useful idiot."

"What does the Master want with a krayt dragon egg?" Starkiller asked.

"An ancient technique ... Beast Control. You were on Onderon. You saw how the Beast Riders handled their animals with little effort. The Master wants a krayt dragon - an infant. One he can raise and control."

"Beast Control," Starkiller repeated. "An ancient Force technique. The one doing it can calm a beast - or enrage it. A krayt dragon would be a fearsome weapon in the wrong hands. But, I don't know if the Master is powerful enough to control a krayt dragon!"

"Who cares?" Fett replied. "I intend to follow Khaji and find the Master - and punish him for what he is doing to my people!"

"So this is a trap - for Khaji," Starkiller guessed.

"They said you Jedi were sharp. But shut up! Khaji's only a few paces ahead of us. And we're nearly at the main burial chamber."

"What's the next step in the plan?"

"The main burial chamber's sure to be guarded. The Tusken Chief'll be there with that egg. It's night, the Tusken's will be settlin' in for their prayers. I'd rather avoid a big brawl. You sneak in, you grab that egg, get out before the Sand People are wise to what's going on. I grab Khaji, and we go our separate ways. We never have to see each other again, if that's your wish."

Starkiller paused thoughtfully. "Not a bad wish."

"You take the egg back to Vislusk, and help your friends. But don't expect the squid-head to honor his promise."

The young Jedi's hands tightened around the cylindrical handles of his weapons. "I don't. But what will you do with Khaji?"

"He'll go in the brig of my ship and tell me where the Master is, who he is, and what he's up to."

"And if Khaji doesn't cooperate?"

Fett patted his wrist. "Then his face will get real friendly with my flamethrower."

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"What time is it?" Kaden had been ticking away the seconds 'till sunrise, but had quite frankly lost track.

"Does it matter?" Asar asked. "In a few hours time, a rancor is going to be picking us out of its teeth."

"I am quite safe," Proxy assured. "After all, according to my databanks, rancors do not eat droids."

"Yeah, but it's going to be worse for you," Asar replied. "These criminal types loooove protocol droids. You'll be assistant to his majordomo."

"Oh, that doesn't sound so bad," Proxy said.

Asar chuckled. "Till Vislusk gets tired of you. I heard Jabba the Hutt had his last couple protocol droids ... disintegrated."

Proxy's mechanical eyes flashed. "Disintegrated?"

"Don't worry, buddy," Kaden assured. "Come sunrise, Starkiller'll be blasting his way in here, lightsabers blazing."

Shay rolled her eyes. "Sure, because the Jedi have done such a wonderful job keeping themselves alive over the years."

Kaden glared at her.

Pooja glanced between Shay and the Twilek. "Kaden ... she may be right."

Kaden glared at her next. "Whose side are you on?"

Pooja rolled her eyes. "Look, I care for Starkiller just as much as you do. I've really grown quite fond of him ... but Shay's right. We can't always rely on Starkiller to bail us out of sticky situations. We have to take the rancor by the tusks, so to speak."

"I'm not following," Kaden replied.

"What I'm saying is, why should we wait for Starkiller to come rescuing us? My Aunt Padme would've single-handedly busted us all out of here by now!"

"It sounds like you have a plan" Wald said.

Pooja's eyes fell on the droid in the corner. "Proxy."

"Me, M'lady?"

"You can transform at will, can't you?"

"Yes. As long as the subject is in my databanks, I can mimic any sentient being."

"How about Vislusk?"

"Fortunately, my servo-drivers took a full body scan of the Quarren."

Pooja's eyes took on a devilish gleam. "I think I know how to get us out of here."

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Outside their cell doors, two Gamorrean guards blinked stupidly. One guard pulled some gunk from his piglike nostrils, wiping it on the furry belt of his comrade. The second guard grunted angrily, squealing and pointing at the first, who shrugged as if he didn't know what his friend was talking about. The second grabbed the first in a headlock and they began wrestling.

"Hey!" The voice echoed from the cell. It sounded all too familiar. The guards stopped, listening and blinking stupidly. "You idiots! You locked me in here! Get me out at once!"

The Gamorreans looked at each other, horror crossing their faces. Had they somehow accidentally locked their boss inside? It seemed impossible, but ... maybe they should check inside, just in case.

The first Gamorrean fumbled with his keys, unlocking the cell door. The duo forced their way through the door, took a look around the room at the prisoners - and began squealing in horror.

Their boss - Vislusk - was bound to the walls with the rest of the prisoners. But how?

Vislusk was not pleased. "Get me out of here, you idiots! You're lucky I don't make you fight in my Beast Battles!"

The Gamorreans squawked in horror as they fumbled with the keys, freeing their boss. Vislusk, rubbed his wrists, glaring at them both.

Then, without warning, he retrieved a blaster from the hip of one of the guards, and blasted them both with a stun ray. Both Gamorreans collapsed in a heap, unconscious. Vislusk reached down and grabbed their keys.

Pooja grinned as "Vislusk" transformed back into Proxy, who now set about to free his comrades.

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"Watch it, kid!"

Fett grabbed Starkiller, shoving him into an alcove in the underground burial chambers. Two Tusken Warriors walked past, gaffi sticks in hand. Starkiller watched them pass.

"Why not just fight them?" he asked.

Fett peered outside the alcove, checking to see if the coast was clear. "First, do you really want to be overrun?"

"Well, no ..."

"Second - we are the invaders here. This is their holy ground, where they bury their dead. We Mandalorians do have a code of honor. I don't want to kill any more Tuskens than is necessary."

Starkiller looked at him in amazement. "Code of Honor? Could've fooled me when you were kidnapping Juno."

Fett waved for him to shut up. "Okay, coast is clear. Come on, kid." They slinked out of the alcove into another burial chamber. Torches flickered along the underground corridors. Fett looked at a device on his wrist. "Khaji is way ahead of us. Nearly at the main burial chambers. Hope he doesn't do anything to alert the Tuskens to our presence."

They reached an arched doorway. "Here's a shortcut to the main chamber." They silently entered. Fett held out his wrist to stop Starkiller in his tracks. He merely pointed.

The only light illuminating the chamber was from the torches flickering from their brackets. The chamber was filled with burial mounds. And there - Starkiller would never have believed it - was an elite Tusken Warrior.

The Tusken was kneeling before one of the burial mounds, his head down, his hands caressing the burial site. Starkiller was amazed. He could feel the pain from this warrior ... a sense of loss.

A feeling all too familiar to Starkiller.

But there was another feeling. Starkiller couldn't explain it, but he was flooded with a sudden impulse to go right over and decapitate the Tusken on the spot. He could feel his fingers inching towards his lightsabers, sudden murderous rage filling him.

Fett nudged him in the shoulder, waking him from what seemed like a trance. "Come on," he whispered. "We'll take another way."

They backed out of this chamber, back into the criscrossing network of tunnels. Boba was rerouting them on the map display generated from his wrist mount. He looked over and saw the look on Starkiller's face.

"Not so different from us, eh?" he asked.

"Hmm?" Starkiller replied. He was only half paying attention.

"Love. Heartbreak. Loneliness. Despair."

"I felt it. I could sense his pain."

Fett nodded. "The inhabitants of this planet dismiss the Sand People. To them, they're savages ready to bash in the heads of anyone unfortunate enough to cross them. But they're more complex than that. They're like us. Take that fella we just saw. He was mourning his lifemate. Killed by local moisture farmers. Been happenin' a lot lately."

"Conflicts between the Sand People and farmers?"

"Correct," Boba affirmed. "The farmers are moving further out, closer to the Dune Sea. The Sand People've been ambushing anyone fool enough to drive a landspeeder out that far."

"Suddenly, I don't feel so bad for that Tusken," Starkiller remarked.

"No? Look at it from his perspective. These humans are broaching what's been Sand People territory for millennia. Their holiest sites. Kinda like what we're doing now. From their perspective, the farmers are desecrating their sacred land, invading, showing utter disregard for their most holy traditions."

Starkiller snorted. "Still no reason to attack and kill people for ignorance."

"Well, we can argue philosophy all night, but it appears Khaji has arrived." There was a beep from his wrist. Fett played on a dial. "He's reached the main chamber. Like I thought ... the chieftain's there. We just gotta find this blasted egg, and get out. Hopefully without having to fight off too many Tuskens."

The murderous rage Starkiller felt earlier twanged in his gut. "Bring it."

"I like your spirit kid, but fighting will take up time we just don't have. It'll be sunrise in a few hours. Come on, Khaji will wait only so long before he grabs that egg for himself."

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Pooja had successfully freed the rest of the group of prisoners from Vislusk's prison cell. They had stuffed both unconscious Gamorrean guards back into the cell (Kaden had made sure that they were snuggled up warmly in each other's arms) and were now filing out into the prison block.

"So what now?" Asar asked. "We're out of the cell, but how do we get out from this compound?"

"Vislusk is going to have his guards everywhere," Shay added.

Pooja turned to Proxy. "Can you transform into one of those Gamorrean guards?"

"I certainly believe so."

Pooja nodded. "Do it. We pretend you're leading us to a different cell, got it?"

"I would be delighted, M'lady." In a flash of light, Proxy had transformed into a Gamorrean guard.

Kaden crossed his arms. "And supposing we cross paths with Vislusk?"

Pooja shrugged. "Then we'll improvise."

"It's a sound plan for now," Asar said.

As the group sorted out Pooja's plan, Wald found himself wandering away from the group, down the cell block.

Shay noticed him. "Wald?"

The Rodian approached the cell. "Well I'll be."

There, inside the cell, his wings limp, was none other than Watto.

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"Finally! Thought I was going to have to grab that egg myself!"

Khaji was kneeling on a rocky outcropping. Fifty feet below, illuminated by torches, was the main Tusken burial chamber. Starkiller and Boba joined the bounty hunter in a kneeling position.

"What's the situation?" Fett asked.

"Got everything scoped out," Khaji replied. "There's a ceremony going on, look."

Below, they watched dozens of Tuskens kneeling as though in prayer, their gaffi sticks held out ceremonially. There were women and children, too. At the far end of the chamber was an altar, behind which was what appeared to be an ancient sarcophagus.

"What are they doing?" Starkiller inquired.

"Few people know it, but banthas are sacred to the Sand People," Fett replied. "But krayt dragons ... Young Tuskens prove themselves as warriors by hunting krayt dragons. They can enter the warrior caste by slaying a dragon in an honor duel and retrieving a krayt dragon pearl. It's almost a religious ceremony for them."

Starkiller looked at him blankly. "And our egg?"

"The Sand People will keep it safe until they can find the mother."

"But when the mother turns up, won't they attempt to slay her?"

"Bah, don't be foolish! They won't slay a mother searching for her baby. Where's the honor and glory in that?"

"Look," Khaji pointed. Starkiller followed his finger, and there ... on the altar in front of the sarcophagus ... was the egg. "So what are we waiting for?" Khaji continued. He loaded his rifle. "Let's get it."

Fett waved him off. "No. We need to be cautious here. I may be a brutal mercenary, but I'll not slay Tuskens during their prayer sessions."

"But we -."

As Khaji and Fett bickered, Starkiller suddenly let out a quiet yelp.

Fett looked at him. "Boy?"

Starkiller pressed his fingers to his eyes ... and then the room around him disappeared.

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A woman was tied to a wooden post inside of a tent, beaten beyond recognition. She was barely alive.

The tent flap opened ... and there - Anakin Skywalker. "Mom?"

The woman's blood-caked eyelids slowly peeled open. She gasped for air as Anakin rushed over to her. "Annie? Annie? Is it you?"

Anakin hurriedly began undoing the bindings slicing into her wrists. "I'm here, Mom. You're safe ... hang on. I'm going to get you out of here ..." Her wrists finally freed, she slumped into her son's arms.

Her eyes focused on her son, and she raised a weakened, bloodstained hand to his cheek. He nuzzled against her fingertips, kissing the blood away from them. Her breathing was shallow, ragged, but she managed to wheeze out the joy to see her son. "Oh, you look so ... handsome. My son ... my grown up son ... I'm so proud of you, Annie ... so proud. Now I am complete."

Anakin drew her closer to his chest. "Stay with me, Mom. I'm going to get you out of here."

She opened her mouth to speak. "I ... love ..."

"Stay with me, Mom. Everything's going to be -."

"I ... love ..." Her voice trailed away, her breathing stopped ... and she was gone.

"Mom?" Raising a shaky hand, Anakin slowly closed her bloodstained eyelids. He pressed his forehead to hers, rocking her back and forth, sobbing into Mother's face.

And suddenly, he stopped. He raised his eyes, anger bubbling through them. He stood up, fists clenching, shaking with rage.

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"Boy?"

Starkiller stood up, trancelike, and began descending down to the main burial chamber below.

"Now that's what I'm talking about," Khaji replied. "A man of action."

Fett hissed at Starkiller to come back. "What in blazes are you doing?!"

Starkiller dropped to the chamber below, at the rear. The Tuskens didn't hear him, as they continued their prayers.

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Anakin made for the tent flap, unhooking his lightsaber from his belt. He peeled the tent flap back, and thumbed his lightsaber on.

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Starkiller unhooked his lightsabers, flicking them on.

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With a downward arc, Anakin beheaded two Tuskens.

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Repeating the motion, Starkiller beheaded the two Tuskens closest to him.

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Reacting to Anakin, the Sand People grabbed their gaffi sticks and charged. Anakin, rage taking over, began a dance of death.

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Around him, the Sand People reacted to the intruder, gathering their weapons. As though hypnotized, Starkiller mimicked Anakin further, his blade finding its mark, warrior after warrior getting cut down.

And the tomb was not filled with warriors alone. The women and children would feel the wrath of his blades too.

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"Whaddya holding me on your back for, eh? I can fly, ya' know!"

"Yes, Mr. Watto. But you're not in any condition after the torture they gave you." Wald was carrying Watto on his shoulders as he and the rest of the group snuck their way through Vislusk's underground base.

"Anyone have any idea where we are?" Shay demanded.

Proxy's eyes closed. "According to my calculations, we are nearing the Beast Brawl Arena."

"And is that a good thing?" inquired Pooja.

"Well ... to access the arena, guests would have to arrive through a hangar proximate to the arena."

"I've seen it," Watto said. "It's how they brought me in here in the first place. But to get to it, we've gotta go straight through the arena itself."

Kaden whirled around. "You're joking!"

"Aaw calm down," Watto retorted. "They ain't using it now, there's no show scheduled 'till tomorrow morning when they were gonna execute 'yas. We'll have a clear cut to a couple o' landspeeders."

"It's a sound plan," Pooja replied. "Come on!"

"There should be a service entrance over there," Watto replied, pointing from Wald's back. And indeed, there was a narrow doorway with a control panel right next to it.

Pooja pointed at the control panel. "Kaden - you're up. And hurry! I don't like that we haven't run into any guards!"

Kaden cracked his knuckles and began slicing into the panel. "And ... viola!" The door opened with a slight pop.

Pooja patted him on the back. "Good job, Kaden. You're not completely useless after all!"

Kaden raised a finger to protest. "I ... aaw, heck, I'll just take the compliment."

They hurried through the service door, Asar being the last, checking their backs to see if they were still slipping by unnoticed. He shut the door behind them.

And they found themselves in the dark arena. "The door leading to the hangar should be on the other side of the arena," Watto exclaimed.

The group moved across the arena, reaching the center. Kaden grimaced as he stepped on several gnawed animal bones which crunched under his boot.

They were almost there ...

The lights to the arena flashed on!

Everyone shielded their eyes from the bright lights to see Vislusk in the stands, surrounded by several Gamorrean Guards, some female Twileks, bounty hunters and several other of his clientele.

"Well, well," Vislusk laughed. "I had expected you to escape sooner."

"Eh, we had to stop and pick up some baggage," Kaden joked, pointing at Watto, who narrowed his eyes dangerously.

"Fools. Hadn't it occurred to you that your escape was too easy?"

"You were counting on it," Pooja replied. "You were never going to uphold your end of the bargain, even if Starkiller returned."

"I lied. Sue me." He stood up, addressing the other crime lords. "And now ... feast your eyes as Pooja Naberrie and all her little friends battle for their lives!"

Down below in the arena, two Gamorreans began turning a wheel. Pooja and company watched in horror as the door to the arena slowly opened, and Vislusk's bull rancor emerged. The black-hided creature roared, flecking them with saliva and bits of animal bone. The two Gamorreans squealed as they hurried out of the way - but one tripped over an ackley carcass. It's squeals became even more pitiful as the bull rancor reached two long claws for his legs. The Gamorrean fought helplessly as it was lifted upside down - and dropped in the rancor's gaping maw, whole.

Pooja looked away in disgust.

But feeding time was not yet over. The bull rancor's beady eyes fell upon the new victims in the pit. With a roar, it began marching towards its next meal.

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"Blazes! I told him to wait!" Fett leaped down into the burial chamber with Khaji, as Starkiller was swarmed by Sand People warriors. "Boy!"

Starkiller either didn't hear him, or didn't care. A demon had taken over him, consumed him; his body was its puppet. His twin blue blades furiously cut a swathe through the warriors.

~0~

I ... I killed them. I killed them all!

~0~

Starkiller found himself encircled. Quickly withdrawing his blades, he leaped into the air, tucking his knees in, concentrating raw Force energy ... and expanded it. The power of the Force Repulse didn't knock the encircling Tuskens back. It disintegrated them on the spot.

Starkiller landed on his feet, reigniting his blades. Cutting through more warriors.

~0~

They're dead! Every. Single. One of them!

~0~

And there he was ... face to face with the chieftain! Fett was waving his arms at him. "Boy! Stop this!"

The chieftain let out a cry of rage, charging. Starkiller got under his defense, bringing his lightsaber up, slicing the chieftain clean in half. As both halves separated, the young Jedi came to the realization that he had slaughtered all of the warriors of the tribe. That just left defenseless females and children.

Starkiller knew better. A voice, deep in the back of his brain, was screaming reason at him. "Galen! Galen!"

But the demon that had now consumed him transcended reason. He moved for his next victims.

~0~

And not just the men. But the women. And the children, too! They're like animals! And I slaughtered them like animals!

~0~

"What are you doing?!" Fett screamed across the chamber. "You killed all the warriors, now STOP this!"

Starkiller either didn't hear him, or didn't care.

~0~

I hate them!

~0~

"Boy! BOY!"

And as Starkiller raised his weapons to begin the slaughter of the females huddling to protect their young, Fett's jetpack went into full gear, propelling him across the chamber, slamming Starkiller clean into the wall.

"That's enough!" the bounty snarled, pointing his rifle at Starkiller's head. Starkiller Force Pushed him off. Fett rolled to his feet. "What is wrong with you?! Boy? Boy?!"

Starkiller charged him. Fett fired his rifle repeatedly, and the Jedi deflected his bolts with ease. The bounty hunter rocketed up into the ceiling, landing between Starkiller and the women and children. He aimed his wrist-mounted flamethrower, and a huge jet of fire ejected out, igniting Starkiller's clothing.

Starkiller quickly patted the flames out as Fett charged, wrist-mounted cortosis vibroblades slid into battle. Fett wielded his two blades with incredible ease, and even Starkiller was taken aback at his ferocity as he turned the bounty hunter's blows aside.

But whatever had possessed Starkiller was not ready to back down. The force inside him ... it wanted revenge on the Sand People, and not even this bounty hunter would stop it. Their weapons crossed, and even the battle-hardened Fett couldn't help but feel uneasy staring into the now blank, soulless eyes that had replaced Starkiller's soft, warm ones.

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Across the burial chamber, Khaji had taken advantage of Starkiller's sudden manic episode by ascending the stairs to the altar where the krayt dragon egg lay. He reached a gauntleted hand out, and lifted the egg off its perch. He chuckled to himself, as he placed the egg inside a pouch on his hip. Patting it in place, Khaji took a final look at Fett and Starkiller dueling, before he slipped away with the egg.

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Vislusk watched in amusement as his victims fought for their lives against his bull rancor. They were faster and harder to catch than his pet's usual prey, but they would grow weary soon. Then they would be easy pickings.

Below, Wald backed up towards a wall, Watto holding onto his shoulders for dear life. "I sure hope one of 'yas has a plan!"

Everyone looked at Pooja. "For once I'm fresh out!"

"Wait a minute!" Kaden's eyes fell upon a control panel on the other side of the arena. "That's it!" He turned to the others. "Distract it!"

Everyone looked at him and said in unison, "WHAT?!"

"Just do it!" And with that, he took off running, sliding between the legs of the rancor, its claws missing him by an inch.

Pooja picked up a rock, throwing it across the arena. It bounced off the rancor's hide. "Hey, dummy!"

The rancor charged for her, and she leaped out of the way, it's claws smashing into the wall. Everyone spread out, trying to confuse the creature. The rancor was growing more frustrated by the minute.

Kaden reached the control panel. Working fast, he sliced through the access code.

Up above, Vislusk saw the Twilek hacking into his computer system. He turned to one of his bounty hunters. "Stop him!"

The bounty hunter stood up, taking aim.

Pooja saw what was happening. "Kaden!"

Choom!

Kaden let out a yelp, as the blast hit him in the leg. Gritting his teeth through the pain, he continued working on the computer.

The bounty hunter took aim again.

Pooja picked up a rock. "I sure hope those days pelting boys with rocks in the Theed gardens payed off!" And with that, she lobbed the rock up into the stands.

Clunk!

She pegged the bounty hunter square in his head, and he slumped forward. Vislusk banged hist fist on the railing, before grabbing the unconscious bounty hunter's rifle himself.

"Done!" Kaden leaped out of the way as Vislusk's blast nearly burned a hole in his head.

Pooja helped him up, as Asar and Shay kept the bull rancor distracted. "What did you just do?" Pooja asked.

Kaden pointed at two more gates which opened up. "Freed some other little critters."

Four nexu charged into the arena.

"You just added more monsters for us to deal with!" Pooja exclaimed.

The gleam never left Kaden's eyes. "Yes ... but I've been to my share of Beast Brawls across the galaxy. Each arena has energy suppressors around the perimeters. A safety feature in case they ever lost control of the animals. It creates an invisible perimeter around the stands, so that the audience would be safe."

"And ...?"

Kaden's grin grew wider. "I deactivated it."

Two of the nexu, as though sensing the truth of Kaden's words, crouched and leaped up into the stands. Vislusk and his guests watched in horror as the nexu went on a rampage.

Below, the other two nexu went for the biggest threat - the rancor. One leaped onto its shoulders, sinking its teeth into the rancor's neck. The larger monster roared.

"That's our cue!" Kaden grabbed Pooja's arm. "Come on!"

Everyone followed Pooja, racing past the rancor as it battled the two nexu, into the hangar.

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Above, Vislusk grabbed one of his guards, shoving it into the way of a nexu, which proceeded to go for the squealing Gammorean's jugular. Vislusk disappeared behind a hidden doorway, making his escape.

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Inside the hangar, Kaden pointed out two landspeeders. "We should be able to fit everybody into those!"

"You can hotwire them, right?" asked Pooja. Kaden glared at her. "You're right, stupid question."

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In a matter of moments, the landspeeders had been hotwired. Kaden leaped into the driver's seat of one, with Pooja, Proxy and Asar in one. Wald was piloting the other, with Shay next to him, and Watto seated in the back.

"We make for Mos Espa," Kaden yelled at Wald, who nodded back.

BOOM!

Behind them, a wall caved in, and the bull rancor staggered into the hangar. It hurled a nexu across the hangar, and the feline creature hit the wall with a snap. The rancor saw its prey in the landspeeders, and let out a horrible roar!

"And that's our cue to leave!" Kaden quipped as he gunned the engines of his landspeeder. The two landspeeders shot out of the hangar, which had been disguised as a sand dune, and headed out for the city of Mos Espa.

Behind them, the rancor charged out of the dune. It sniffed the air and roared. It would follow its prey all the way to Mos Espa.

Nothing had ever escaped it before.

And it wasn't about to have its streak broken.

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On the outskirts of Mos Espa, a local security team was doing its routine check. Two security officers nodded. "All good for the night."

"Let's call it in, then."

They were about to turn in for the night, when a beep on a wrist-mounted device went off. The officer looked at the device. "There's ... something heading our way. Something big."

He raised a pair of macro binoculars to his eyes, and zeroed in on the bogey. "By the Force ..."

"What is it?" his partner asked.

"A krayt dragon."

"A what?"

"It's headed this way!"

The partner was aghast. "No! They don't come this close to civilization! No krayt dragon would ever -!" He was interrupted as his fellow shoved the macro binoculars to his eyes. He saw for himself. The krayt dragon was headed right for Mos Espa.

"Sound the alarm!"

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Khaji entered the Beast Brawl arena. He had come in through the hangar to see that the place had been torn apart. The body of a nexu lay in the hangar, and two more lay in the arena. He casually strode up to Vislusk, who stood in the center of the arena as his guards put down the final nexu.

Vislusk was barking orders. "Have you charted their trajectory?"

A human bounty hunter nodded. "Mos Espa."

"Get a team of mercenaries together. No one forces me to put down my own nexu! And send out another team to restrain my rancor! NOW!"

Khaji cleared his throat. "Sir!"

Vislusk whirled around, squidlike hand rubbing his head. "Khaji! You're back! Where are Fett and the Jedi? If you have more bad news ..."

"No need to fret." Khaji grinned like the cat that got the cream. "I come bearing good tidings."

He opened the pouch on his hip, and held out the egg. Vislusk's eyes practically glowed. "The egg!" He held out his hands.

"Uh-uh. First my payment."

Vislusk pressed a button on his wrist. "There. I've automatically deposited the credits in your account! Now give me what you owe me!"

Khaji grinned. "Very well."

Choom!

Vislusk's eyes widened. He looked down at the hole in his chest, and at the smoking blaster in Khaji's hand. "B-but ... why?"

Khaji shook his head. "Did you honestly think I ever truly worked for you?"

Vislusk, flabbergasted, fell backwards, his tentacles splayed across his face. Dead.

Khaji placed the egg back into his pouch, before he turned back to the other mercenaries. "Now, let's get to Mos Espa. It's time to deliver the egg to my true boss!"

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Starkiller and Fett crossed blades. "Why, boy?! What did you have to gain by killing all of them?!" Fett may have been a despicable man in many ways, but his sense of Mandalorian honor he retained.

Starkiller fought back with equal aggression. He parried Fett's attack. Fett jet-packed up to an alcove near the ceiling, before firing a rocket at the Jedi. Starkiller caught the rocket with the Force, and hurled it back at the bounty hunter. Fett leaped out of the way, the rocket exploding in the ceiling, raining debris down on them.

Fett landed hard. He looked up to see the Tusken women and children huddled together. "What are you still doing here?! Go!" He pointed to the exit. "GO!"

The women and children couldn't speak his language, but they understood him well enough. They hustled out through the exit.

Starkiller casually strode towards Fett, who ignited his jetpack yet again, ramming Starkiller head on.

Starkiller went flying towards the wall - he Force Repulsed himself before he slammed the rocky cavern wall. He recovered and hurled a lightsaber towards Fett. Fett ducked, as Starkiller leaped after him, bringing his other lightsaber down. The Mandalorian blocked it with his vibroblade.

Behind him, the second lightsaber boomeranged back towards him. Fett kickflipped into the air, over the spinning blade. It returned to Starkiller's hand.

And the two stared.

And then, a voice rang through the young Jedi's head. "Galen. Galen!"

Fett watched curiously, as the dark foreboding shadow left the Jedi's face.

Starkiller was no longer looking at Fett. He was looking beyond him.

Behind the Mandalorian, two shimmering figures stood there. The one, he recognized immediately. Qui-Gon Jinn. The other ...

"Father?"

Fett cocked his head. "Father? What are you on about?"

Starkiller dropped his weapons, staggering forward. Both Qui-Gon and his father had disappointed looks in their faces. Starkiller reached out his hand, rushing towards them. "Father!"

Kento turned away from his son. He and Qui-Gon both vanished the second Starkiller reached them. Starkiller turned, looking around at the carnage surrounding him. The tomb floor was littered with gaffi sticks and Tusken corpses. He looked down at his own hands.

"I ... oh, no ..."

He began breathing deeply, guilt, confusion and fear wafting through him. What had he done? Why had he slaughtered all these Tuskens? He couldn't control himself. The vision! The vision of Anakin! He had been trancelike! Oh, what was happening to him?!

Fett came up behind him. So horrified was Starkiller, that he never sensed the blow to the back of his head. Starkiller fell forward onto the tomb floor. Unconscious.

Fett kicked him onto his back, shaking his head. "And you thought I was evil for hunting you and your pals. Look what you'vedone. Slaughtering Tuskens as they prayed in a tomb. I would finish you off now, but I won't even waste my blaster casings. But if I ever see you again, I will kill you. Lord Vader was right to hunt your kind down. I see now, more than ever, that your kind deserve extinction."

Fett looked up at the cave exit. "Besides, now, thanks to you, I have to hunt down Khaji. Goodbye, Jedi." Fett said that last word with contempt as he made his way towards the tomb exit.

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The two landspeeders came to a halt on the outskirts of Mos Espa. Alarms were ringing, there were the sounds of blaster fire, screaming and roaring.

Kaden and co. exited their landspeeder, looking around. Mos Espa looked like a warzone. Buildings crushed, knocked down. Dead bodies everywhere.

"What happened?" Pooja asked in horror.

"My shop!" Watto screeched as Wald picked him up, hoisting him onto his back. "My shop better be okay!"

They turned down a sidestreet, and were met by large crowds of people desperately fleeing. "Run!" people were shouting at them.

Pooja tried to stop several of the fleeing citizens. "Run from what? What's happening?"

The question came in the form of a roar. A krayt dragon mother bore down on a building, flattening it with its tail. The hissing reptile sneered down at them.

"As if things couldn't get any worse," Kaden exclaimed.

A roar came from behind them.

"It got worse," Asar commented.

Behind them, Vislusk's bull rancor had finally caught up with them. But the rancor was not looking at them. It was looking at the krayt dragon. The rancor had never had prey that big before.

It roared at the dragon, and the dragon roared back.

"Guys," Kaden commented. "We need to MOVE!" And they all dove out of the way as the bull rancor and krayt dragon charged each other.

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In the Sand People tomb, Starkiller moaned. Visions swam through his head of himself slaughtering all the Sand People. More visions poured through. Him wearing body armor, and a mask, similar to Vader's, breathing through it, kneeling before the Emperor.

Why had he slaughtered them? What had possesed him?

"Galen. You're needed." The voice of Qui-Gon Jinn bounced around his skull.

"I'm not needed," he whispered. "I ... I'm a monster ... Oh, what have I done?"

"You can start to atone now ... "

"I can't ever atone for this!" He brought his hands to his eyes, screaming in rage at himself.

"They need you. Your friends need you."

"My ... friends ..."

Starkiller tried to get up, but found he had no strength. He flopped onto his belly, and began crawling towards the tomb exit. He reached his hand to pull himself forward along the floor ...

... His hand grazed a Tusken head. He recognized it. The head belonged to the one mourning Tusken he and Fett had seen earlier. Dead eyes stared at him through bandages and goggles.

Starkiller let out a scream, flopping himself onto his back.

There were footsteps. A figure wearing brown robes and a hood was entering the tomb. He squinted his eyes. "Qui ... Qui-Gon?"

The figure stopped, looking at him curiously. "Well, not quite."

The figure kneeled down, placing his hand gently on Starkiller's forehead. Immediately Starkiller felt a sense of warmth radiating down his body. He looked up through bloodstained eyes at the hooded man.

"W-who ... are you?"

The old man helped Starkiller up, sitting him down on rock. Starkiller felt renewed energy flowing through him. He looked up again at the man. "Who are you?"

The man threw back his hood, revealing a kind, but weatherbeaten face. White hair and beard belied the strength of character. The old man placed his hand on Starkiller's shoulder. "Well ... the locals like to call me 'Old Ben'."