When the siren went off, Quinlan whipped around to stare at the lift, which remained inactive – for now. "We need to move," he told Hunter, who nodded.
The Force whispered, and Quinlan glanced back at the vault. But Tech had said the vault was empty, so the danger couldn't be coming from –
A huge fist shot through the doorway and slammed into Tech's helmet, knocking it off. The commando staggered back, a hand pressed against his face as he fell to one knee.
"It's Grakkus!" yelled Quinlan, running toward Tech.
Impossibly, Grakkus moved faster. The Hutt squeezed halfway through the door, metal legs clanking unevenly over the fallen door, then grabbed Tech by both arms and lifted him into the air.
Wrecker, who was the closest, threw himself bodily against the Hutt. Grakkus released Tech with one hand and, without visible effort, slammed his weight into Wrecker and knocked him sprawling. As Wrecker scrambled to his feet, the Hutt, still dragging Tech, forced himself back into the vault like some huge krayt dragon returning to its lair. His voice rumbled out into the main chamber. "Kill them if they approach."
Hunter and Quinlan stopped at the same time and stared at the entrance to the vault. Wrecker cracked his knuckles and prepared to charge inside, but Crosshair's rifle across his chest brought him up short.
"Hey!" the big clone shouted, rounding on Crosshair. "He's got Tech!"
"He also has guards," Crosshair said coolly. He turned accusingly to Quinlan. "The vault wasn't empty."
And I didn't sense it, Quinlan thought, finishing Crosshair's implied statement.
Hunter shook his head and gestured them away from the door, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Something must have blocked Tech's scanners."
"So what?" Wrecker demanded. "That doesn't matter right now."
"It does matter." Hunter removed his helmet, tilted his head back for a moment, and glanced at Quinlan. "It's blocking . . . I can't tell if there are any droids in there. How many enemies do you sense?"
"Two biologicals besides Grakkus, and I've got no idea about droids," said Quinlan, still bothered by the fact that he hadn't searched the vault with the Force earlier. "But Wrecker's right. We've got to get Tech out of there before Grakkus decides to eat him or something."
The three commandos swung to face him, projecting various levels of shock, disgust, and worry in the Force.
"I didn't mean that literally, sheesh," Quinlan muttered – rather unreasonably, since he didn't actually know whether Hutts ate humans or not. Probably not. . . hopefully not.
Hunter replaced his helmet. "We might have to wait for Tech to make a move. If he's even conscious."
Wrecker sighed, sounding very put upon. "Yeah. Let me guess. Negotiation first?"
Hunter nodded. "You're up, Wrecker. Vos' voice or mine might be recognized."
Quinlan absently noticed that Hunter, at least, was able to keep his attention on the mission.
Wrecker cleared his throat. "Hey, GRAKKUS!"
"What is it, thief." The Hutt sounded insulted and bored at the same time, and nothing could be heard from Tech.
Wrecker shoved his helmet back on his head like a hat. "We, uh, want to talk."
"Of course you do, now that I have one of you in my grasp." The Hutt chuckled in a deep voice. "But none of you will be leaving here, so . . . go ahead. Talk."
Wrecker looked confused for a moment. "Uh – how 'bout you let him go?"
Hunter shook his head in despair and Wrecker shrugged expansively.
"I think not," Grakkus replied.
The conversation came to an abrupt end.
Quinlan leaned closer to Hunter and whispered, "Shouldn't Crosshair be the one negotiating?"
Hunter simply looked at him.
"Okay, bad idea, I get it. . ." Not really, because how could Crosshair be worse at negotiations than Wrecker, but – whatever.
Quinlan bit his lip thoughtfully. He didn't want to take crazy risks with these guys' lives, but Aurra Sing would, no doubt, be down here soon. He shut his eyes for a moment and concentrated. As far as he could sense, Tech was awake. And the guards –
Quinlan tapped Crosshair's arm with the back of one hand. "Listen. The guards are in front of Grakkus. Get close to the doors and take care of them."
Without so much as an answering nod, Crosshair broke away and ran across the room, getting as far out of the door's range of view as possible before approaching it from the back.
"Hunter," whispered Quinlan. "I'll take care of Tech. You get some of those lightsabers we talked about."
Hunter, without moving an inch, managed to appear dissatisfied.
Wrecker, in the meantime, lost patience. He shoved his helmet back down over his face and yelled in exasperation. "Let him go, Grakkus, or when I get my hands on you, I'll smash you like the slug you are!"
Quinlan raised an eyebrow at the sudden cessation of pretended diplomacy, then turned back to Hunter. "Look, trust me on this. I've got the Force."
"Yeah," Hunter said begrudgingly. "Whatever that means . . . Fine."
Grakkus chuckled thickly, sounding just like Jabba on his worst days. "I am tired of this nonsense. Who are you, and why did you break into my vault?"
Before Wrecker could speak, Tech snapped, "We didn't break into your vault. We were attempting to break in, you –" He cut off suddenly with a gag.
Hunter stepped forward. Quinlan stopped him. Crosshair reached the vault, picked up Tech's helmet, and put his back to the wall beside the door, drawing his pistol with his free hand.
"Tell me what you want from my vault, thief!" Grakkus called. "Before I break your skinny companion's neck."
Tech yelped, his voice a bit higher than normal. "You break my neck and it'll be the last thing you ever do! I'll set off this grenade!"
"Whoa . . ." said Quinlan, uselessly raising a placating hand.
Everyone fell silent to consider their options.
After a few seconds, Crosshair turned sharply and stepped into the doorway, fired two stun rounds, and stepped back out.
There was another ringing period of silence.
"You're next, Grakkus!" hollered Wrecker. "Unless you let him go, now!"
"Hmm." The Hutt, holding Tech by his upper arms, moved slowly into sight, yellow eyes narrowed calculatingly in his wide, complacent face. Tech was still clutching a thermal, but Grakkus jerked his arm back until he dropped it.
Quinlan eyed the explosive suspiciously as it rolled back into the vault. Man, I really hope that wasn't armed. . .
"I see I have underestimated you, bounty hunters," Grakkus said.
Hunter moved forward, apparently forgetting that he was supposed to be remaining silent. "Release him, Grakkus, and we'll let you live."
"You will 'let' me live?" Grakkus' eyes widened in amusement.
"How about this." Hunter took another step, his voice darkening. "Release him, or you'll die now."
Grakkus laughed heavily. "You scum think you can defeat me? Jedi have failed to do so."
"Yeah, well." Hunter moved even closer, signaling for Crosshair to back away. "We haven't been impressed by the Jedi so far."
Quinlan blinked. Ouch.
Tech tried suddenly to reach his pistol, and Grakkus lifted both hands, dangling his prisoner by his wrists. Tech squirmed and kicked backwards, catching Grakkus in the face.
The Hutt threw him to the ground and clanked forward to rest a metallic foot on his chest. Tech lay flat on his back, a bit stunned, but mostly looking silently furious.
Hunter almost seemed to hesitate, then turned to Quinlan. "Okay, we'll do it your way. Wrecker!"
Wrecker charged forward, locked both arms around one of Grakkus', and pulled at it with all his considerable strength.
Hunter dashed past him, ducked beneath Wrecker's elbows, and disappeared into the vault. Grakkus turned to follow, one foot still resting on his prisoner.
Quinlan was already in position. He leaped into the air and landed a hard sideways kick against Grakkus' skin, right near the cybernetic leg. Grakkus jerked back with a bellow of pain, and Quinlan landed beside Tech and shoved him gracelessly out of the way.
The metal foot stomped down where Tech's arm had been moments before, and Tech scrambled up, a bit unsteadily, but with both pistols drawn.
Grakkus jerked himself free of the door and grabbed at Quinlan, who slid aside in the nick of time. Crosshair pulled Tech back and shoved him against the wall before he could get flattened. Grakkus swung around and slammed his long tail into Wrecker, who went reeling.
Quinlan shoved his hair out of his face, took a step back, launched himself into the air, and landed a highly satisfying kick on Grakkus' forehead.
The Hutt clutched at him again, and Quinlan turned and ran. With any luck, he could keep Grakkus off the commandos. . .
CLANK-clank-clank-CLANK-clank-clank.
Quinlan took one look over his shoulder and bolted towards the far wall. Grakkus lunged after him, his entire body rippling like some overgrown tree worm as he moved.
With a rush, Quinlan passed Crosshair, who stated, "You should get to the lift."
The guy had no nerves, seriously.
Quinlan reached the wall, skidded around, put a hand on the rough skin of Grakkus' back, and vaulted over him. Ugh, Hutts felt so gross.
Grakkus gathered himself and charged again, and Quinlan executed a somersault, then a full-length dive, to avoid him.
Hunter ran out of the vault, his arms full of lightsaber hilts, and tossed them onto the lift. "Get on there, now!" he shouted at the others.
Tech stumbled, and Wrecker grabbed him and jumped onto the lift, with Hunter following close behind. Once again, Crosshair was out of sight.
Grakkus let out a fittingly animalistic bellow and sped up. Quinlan saved himself from being run over only by flinging himself sideways and rolling hard on the stone floor.
He got up again just as Tech kicked Wrecker in the knee, freed himself, and activated the lift, which swiftly rose some twelve feet into the air. "Hooray," Quinlan muttered, casting a quick look at his rapidly gaining pursuer. All he had to do was get to the lift . . .
Grakkus swerved again, his body curved so that he trapped Quinlan in the corner between the vault and the wall. One huge hand grasped at his shoulder.
Crosshair appeared out of nowhere, reversed his rifle, and slammed it down, hard, onto Grakkus' wide head.
"You coming?" he asked Quinlan impatiently.
Quinlan didn't have the breath to argue or snark back. He simply vaulted Grakkus again and ran.
They reached the lift, which had only a couple of feet remaining between it and the edge of the ceiling. Hunter, his ankles held firmly by Wrecker, hung down to grab Crosshair's wrists. The sniper got to the lift in less time than Quinlan had thought possible, and then it was his turn.
He was halfway up when Wrecker shouted, "Oh, man! Look OUT!"
Crosshair dropped flat and grabbed Quinlan's elbows, then helped Hunter to drag him unceremoniously to the floor of the lift.
Quinlan rolled to his feet and turned.
Grakkus reared back on six sets of legs and lunged upward. His disproportionately large hands clutched at the lift's railings, while his foremost pair of metal legs slammed into the floor.
Tech hit the controls, sending the lift upward again, but it rose almost unnoticeably, straining against Grakkus' strength.
Quinlan was still catching his breath when he noticed the lightsabers that were now scattered across the floor of the lift. Thank the Force. He grabbed a couple and stared down at Grakkus.
"So anyway. There's this thing about lightsabers you should remember. You don't need to be a Jedi to use one."
He ignited both lightsabers – one green, one blue – and slashed the metal legs in half. Grakkus dropped like a stone, then lunged up once again, but by then the lift was too high for him to reach.
His angry roar followed them into the shaft.
"Everyone okay?" Hunter demanded. "Tech?"
"I am fine," Tech said. "However, we might not be in a moment. There are twelve life forms at the top of the shaft."
"Stun grenade?" suggested Quinlan, powering down the lightsabers.
Wrecker pushed Hunter and Tech backwards into Crosshair and Quinlan, shoving all four of them against one side of the lift.
"Wrecker," the sergeant began.
Wrecker laughed and tossed his gun to Hunter. "Who needs a grenade?"
"Uh." Quinlan thought he should point out that twelve enemies was a pretty large number, but the lift ground to a halt, and Wrecker charged out, roaring like a maniac.
Quinlan ought to know – he'd been acquainted with several maniacs over the years.
He sniffed and waited until the others had exited the lift before slashing both sabers through the controls. It would take the technicians quite a while to fix that, and it was the only lift. Grakkus shouldn't be a problem for at least a day or so.
Crosshair wandered down the hall, stunning any guards that survived Wrecker's charge. Hunter gave the rest of the lightsabers to Tech to carry. "Stay out of the fighting, Tech," he warned.
Tech quirked his mouth to one side, looking very displeased, but obeyed with a short nod.
The last guard had just dropped when a heavy shot rang out. Quinlan jumped to the side, and a red bolt seared into the wall two feet from his head.
At the far end of the hall, Aurra Sing was sauntering towards them, rifle against one shoulder as her other hand rested on her hip. "Going somewhere, boys?"
"Yeah," Hunter said, readying his knife for a throw. "Past you."
"Oh, I don't think so, honey."
Hunter tilted his head in apparent confusion, and Quinlan cleared his throat and stepped in. "I know about you, Aurra. Your skills are impressive, but so are ours. And we kind of outnumber you."
She smirked, the dark circles around her eyes standing out in her pale face. "Any other idiotic things you'd like to say?"
"If you wanted to kill us right off, you'd be shooting, not talking," Quinlan said. "So what's the deal?"
"I see you stole some of Grakkus' precious lightsabers. How much are they worth to you?"
"I suppose we could spare one."
The four commandos turned to Quinlan, looking surprised.
He shrugged and lowered his voice. "You guys want to get by her without fighting?"
"We could take her," said Hunter.
"Oh, I know. But – we'd probably sustain some pretty serious injuries. She's not an ordinary bounty hunter."
He stepped between the others, reaching over to Tech for a lightsaber as he walked by him. "Okay, it's a deal. Long as you promise not to shoot us in the backs."
She scoffed, though her eyes remained sharply focused as they approached. "I wouldn't gain anything by shooting you in the back. It might be more merciful to kill you than to let Grakkus catch you, though."
"You're not wrong . . . Of course, I never heard anything about you being overly concerned with mercy. How do we know we can trust you?"
Aurra tossed her head, her long ponytail swinging, and rolled her eyes. "You don't, idiot. But if you escape now, Grakkus will increase the bounty on you."
Hunter did not look appeased, but Quinlan nodded. "Fair enough. And on that note, better not let Grakkus catch you with that."
Aurra smiled cruelly and turned away. "If he does, it'll be the end of him."
Quinlan kept his eyes straight forward, though the tension from the commandos was palpable as they walked away from Aurra. "Keep it casual," he whispered tensely.
The instant they turned the corner to the long stairway, Quinlan tapped Hunter on the shoulder. "Okay, guys, run."
They obeyed, and no one spoke another word as they dashed to the exit, across the empty plaza, and towards the pipeline entrance on the far side.
Crosshair, who was in front, dropped to one knee and opened the grate. One by one, the others slipped inside and scrambled down a short ladder to the huge, empty, echoing pipeline.
Tech stopped to catch his breath, arms still clasped around the lightsabers. "Why did we have to escape so fast?"
"Because Aurra's got a horrible temper," Quinlan replied.
Hunter swung around to face him. "And why would she be angry?"
"Well." Quinlan tossed a tiny crystal into the air and caught it. "I may possibly have removed the kyber crystal from the lightsaber I gave her."
Crosshair hummed a laugh. "I thought you did."
" . . . Wait, you saw that?"
The sniper inclined his head and set off, leading the way down the tunnel.
