Mission took off instantly, leading us to an old abandoned-looking set of buildings almost large enough to be a complex. As we strode down the ramp, my nose wrinkled at the smell. The realization came to me as we stepped down a series of ladders and entered a labyrinth of tunnels all with the same peculiar smell.
"Sewers," I groaned, holding my arm over the lower half of my face.
Mission turned her head to regard me from her crouched position a few feet further down the ramp, "Hey it don't get any better from here in. You ever smelled a Black Vulkar?"
"No. That was thankfully not on the Taris Top 10 Tourist Activities list," Carth said wryly.
Mission turned her gaze on Carth, "Yeah I get it, you're an offworlder. No need to keep reminding me about it you grumbly old man."
Carth stuttered from where he was behind me, "That-that's not what I-"
"Settle down, you two," I said quietly, looking down at my comlog and pulling up a map of the area. "Alright. Says there's an energy spike … here." I pointed to a spot in the labyrinthine collection of tunnels we were in.
"Yeah that's the place. Tunnels here-" Mission dragged a blue finger through a section of the map, "-through here are mostly empty. Rakghoul nest here, we gotta detour down this way, and since we have to go up that way we can access the console here to bring down the shield.
We made our way in the direction Mission had suggested, stopping and referring back to the map once we had reached several new closures in the tunnels. Each time we saw or heard even the slightest hint of the creatures ― a stray bone from a too-large animal here, or a clatter there ― we turned instantly and found another route. The young Twi'lek had a knack for spotting Rakghouls and we kept well away from their line of smell. Even though we still hadn't interacted with one directly, I found myself jumping at every stray drip or clattering noise. I had no desire to encounter one of those things on my own.
Our safe route wasn't without consequence though. The route that Mission had claimed would take less than an hour took longer and longer each time the young girl froze and Carth and I tiptoed behind her as she turned away from any huddled shape, certain that the pounding in my ears and heart was audible all those feet away to the creature that would pounce on me in a second. When we had finally reached the last stretch of tunnel between us and the Black Vulkar base, I felt so close to a nervous breakdown. Mission went ahead to scout out the area and returned to reveal that there was a newly built nest situated somewhere in the middle of the tunnel, and that she'd seen at least three rakghouls before she had turned away.
"There's a vent that we can access on the other side of this tunnel, it'll only take a few extra minutes to get to," she whispered to us as we crouched in the hallway, our backs pressed against the wall to allow us to glance both ways down the tunnel. "Only …" she hesitated for a moment before continuing, "it's a little small. I don't really think you guys can go through. No offense."
Carth and I exchanged glances. To come so far only to be stopped here at our last stretch was maddening. "Mission, are you certain you can go through and that the entrance is on the other side?" Carth asked.
"Yeah, I can see the glow from the end of this tunnel. And the vent's right above it, it leads straight there."
"Good," I said. I had unbuttoned my jacket — the tunnels were cold and damp — to pull out my blaster pistol.
"Uh … what are you doing?" Mission laid a hand on my arm and pulled my blaster hand closer to her, her eyes widening when she saw the weapon. "Eva, you can't! Those things are impossible to kill. Z's tried like a bunch of times! Remember I said we had to leave the Undercity for a few days that one time a rakghoul nest got our scent? You can't kill them, and they are way too fast to outrun."
"It can be done, Mission, we've seen someone do it." I said firmly. I laid my other hand over hers and caught her gaze, "I need you to trust me now, just as I trusted you to get us here. Carth and I can't make it through the vents, so we'll just have to clear this tunnel."
Mission shook her head, wide-eyed. "Have you ever killed one yourself? Even an armour-piercing bolt has trouble going through their skin. And the Sith have banned modded weapons around here. No, you know what? If we go back around there's another tunnel that may have opened up recently. It'll only take a few hours more-"
"Mission," Carth had pulled out his blasters as well. He gestured to the route she had mentioned initially. "Even if we did have the time, we're here already. Now, why don't you go through the vent and get that entrance unlocked for us? We'll be behind you in no time."
Mission glanced at the two of us once more before sighing and squeezing my wrist. She nodded sullenly and we all stood up and checked the tunnel hallway. Once we were sure both tunnels were clear we exited the one we were in and walked with Mission to the vent, making sure she was safely inside before doubling back.
Carth and I stood before the tunnel door to the Vulkar hidden entrance. "She's right," I muttered softly, "these rounds are never going to pierce their hides. I don't even think they'll slow them down."
"Well what about their eyes?" Carth asked, "If there's ever a weak spot, it's always the eye."
"You may be able to, but there's no way I can make that kind of a shot. The other two'd be here in seconds and I wouldn't be able to protect you."
"Well, thanks for the offer beautiful," Carth grinned, "but as much as I'd like the thought of that I don't think we have another choice."
I thought for a moment, rummaging through my bag to see what we had that I could use. My hand enclosed around something circular and I pulled it out with a triumphant laugh.
"Keep it down," Carth hissed, and we both glanced up the tunnel to see if anything had heard us. We weren't close enough to the opening of the rakghoul tunnel thankfully, and nothing came out.
"Here," I whispered excitedly, shaking the grenade in front of his face, "we can set up perimeter mines and trick them into following us. When they get to the area we'll blow it and sprint for that end of the tunnel." I appraised my companion, "I hope you're a fast runner."
"I could be the fastest human runner and I don't think that'd make any difference," Carth said, lifting a hand to stop me from waving the grenade, "Where'd you get this anyway?"
"I took it off one of those Sith we found earlier," I muttered, fidgeting. "Look. That'll at least stun them a few seconds. And with the right timing it'll stun all of them to give us a better chance to get across the tunnel. It all comes down to the timing."
Carth stared at the grenade in my hand and mulled it over, finally shrugging and holstering his weapons., "You're right, it's the best we've got. Let's do it," he held out his hand to take the grenade from me.
It took a few more minutes to convince him that I would be the one to set the trap. "Look, you're the Republic captain, Captain Onasi," I finally snapped. "Bastila will need you more than she'll need me. Now if you don't let me do this, so help me I'll throw this in there right now."
Carth stepped back, hands raised. We walked near the mouth of the tunnel and I dropped to a squat, setting a small radius on the perimeter sweep before standing up and moving back carefully. I wasn't too too familiar with mines and was very aware that this could go very badly for us if I made the wrong move.
"Now the noise," I raised my blaster and slammed it against the tunnel wall once, twice, three times. We heard snarls and a shriek from the inside of the tunnel. The clattering of clawed feet sounded, insanely fast, on the other side of the wall. It was like someone had sped up a scene in a holodrama with a dewback and replayed the sounds. Footsteps crashed down the length of the tunnel, growing louder with every second.
"Close your eyes when I say so," we were on the other side of the grenade to ensure that the rakghouls would all gather around in the right area while trying to catch us, which meant we would have to run past them to get to the tunnel entrance once the mine went off.
The first rakghoul came out of the tunnel, and it was all I could do to keep my mind on the plan and not the monster in front of me. The thing was at least two feet taller than both Carth and me, leaning back on its hind legs to assess the situation. It waved it's clawed hands in front of it in the air and tilted its large head back to shriek loudly. Its cavern of a mouth revealed rows on rows of sharp, pointed teeth slicked with drool. The thing began to slowly advance, picking up speed as two more of its kind burst through the door behind it. Its claws screamed against the metal tunnel floor as its arms dragged behind its large body. I stepped back slowly, trying to keep the mine in my vision so I would know when the rakghouls were about to trigger it. The first one advanced a few feet and stopped to snarl at me. Its companion pushed past it to let off a high-pitched shriek that resounded through the air.
"Now!" I shouted. The second rakghoul passed into the perimeter sweep of the mine and it instantly exploded. I ran ahead blindly, holding in a scream as I felt the rush of air after something swiped a few inches above my head. I could only tell that Carth followed me because I could hear his boots slam down on the floor near mine as we stumbled through the blinding light and fog to enter the tunnel.
Our footsteps echoed around us along with the angry shrieks and roars of the confused rakghouls behind us. Once we were past the fog of the explosion radius, the rest of the tunnel faded into view. We bounded past the rakghoul's nest and it was all I could do not to turn and heave at the smell that reeked from it. I tried to breathe through my mouth, hearing Carth's gasps as he did the same. We were so close to the door.
To my surprise, two halves of the circular portal were slowly sliding open, revealing my worried Twi'lek friend behind them. As angry as I was at her for not listening to me and putting herself in harm's way, I was more relieved that the door wasn't going to trap us in with the rakghouls. There was a crash and clatter from behind as the rakghouls followed, swiftly gaining on us. Something swiped at me much too close for comfort and I felt my hair ruffle from the proximity of the contact. I held my blaster behind me and fired blindly, knowing that turning around and slowing down even for the briefest second meant death.
Carth and I both ran through the doors at the same time. I twisted around to the side and slammed my hand down on the panel. Two of the rakghouls were close to the door and I tossed an emergency grenade through the closing opening, hoping the blast would work a second time to buy us the time we needed.
It worked. Well, mostly. One of the rakghouls broke through the door just as it was closing, its body stuck in between the doors. It clawed and snapped at us, snarling as it tried its best to get either tooth or nail close enough to any of us. The door shuddered and let out a slow whine as it tried to close around the rakghoul, but the thing seemed too heavy for it.
Carth placed a few well-aimed slugs into the rakghoul's head but the creature didn't even seen unnerved. I had begun to do the same but the rakghoul reached out and swiped at me with it's claws, catching my outstretched blaster and sending it tumbling to the ground in two pieces.
"Be careful!" Carth and Mission both called out.
I stepped back and looked around the small room, lit by the brilliant glow of a blue forcefield on the other end, trying to find something in the dim light that would help us out. Near the door, a section of the tunnel seemed like it had caved in. The hole was thankfully not big enough that it provided an issue with the rakghouls, but there was a jagged piece of metal sticking out of the wall. I grabbed it and wrenched with all my strength, coming away with a sharp piece of metal and lines of cuts down my hand and arm.
"What are you doing?" Carth shouted, "If we don't get this thing out of the way the doors'll open again and then the rest of them will-"
I ran up to the rakghoul and sunk my impromptu blade into its eye before it could swipe at me. The thing was tall; I had had to stab the shard straight up above me. Its teeth were almost the length of my forearm, and the creature snapped its mouth in its dying throes but I was able to step back before any of its contaminated blood or limbs could touch me. It shuddered and its head began to droop as the manic light died in its remaining good eye. Without the live rakghoul straining to keep the door open, the doors slid closed with a crunch, slicing the creature in half. It's torso slid slowly down the now-closed doors and plopped to the ground with a splat, slowly leaking fluid. The thing's mouth shut with a loud snap.
"You okay?" Carth grabbed my shoulders to hold me in place while he examined my wounds. Outside we heard the scratching of claws on the metal door and shrieks as the rakghouls tried to ram their way in.
"It didn't scratch me," I grumbled, brushing his hands away. I took a look at the broken blaster on the ground, now covered in rakghoul blood. Carth offered me one of his own.
"Always preferred a vibrosword. It kept people away from my cargo same as any old blaster." I muttered, inspecting the blaster he'd given me.
"I recommend using blasters for rakghouls," Carth said lightly, "I don't want to have to explain to Bastila why you turned grey before Zelka neutralised the virus in you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I said as we examined the entrance to what looked like a waste treatment plant. The only clue it was the entry to the Black Vulkar complex was the forcefield that Mission had told us about. The entrance was clearly abandoned; no one had been here for at least a few years.
Once she had made sure I took a medpac to my cuts — I hadn't wanted to waste one for my trivial scratches but Carth and Mission both disagreed — Mission entered the codes without issue. We watched, patting dust from our clothes, as the forcefield shimmered out of existence. The cuts from the sharp metal stick had healed entirely by the time we stepped through the dying forcefield to stand in front of a small dusty rectangular door.
"Nice work, Mission." I said appreciatively. The young Twi'lek beamed at me.
The door opened up to another set of narrow doors and then led into a long hallway. Where the Hidden Beks hideout had been a gigantic mechanical complex with open areas and ceilings, the Vulkar base was filled with winding tunnels, tiny rooms, and more than a few angry swoop gang members.
Once we realised they were not shooting to disarm, we left the remains of a bloodbath in our wake. Poor Mission didn't seem too happy with the thought of dispatching others, but after someone had attempted to use her as bait by grabbing at her lekku, she wasn't actively avoiding the violence either. Luckily we didn't have to kill our way through the entirety of the complex. We entered a large barracks-style room with several Vulkars about half an hour after getting into the base, and once we had taken down most of the members in the room, an older unarmed Twi'lek with creases on his green face waved his hands in the air to stop us from shooting at him.
"You look reasonable," he babbled in Huttese. "I'll tell you whatever you need to know." "I am reasonable," I said, "and you seem like a smart guy. You know where the accelerator is hidden? The prototype they stole from the Hidden Beks?"
"Ah you're with them …" his hands snapped up as I stepped forward, "no, no matter. You want the accelerator? Here." He carefully pulled out a security card with two fingers and gestured to a door two doors to the right of us.
"You go in there, it's an empty hallway that leads to elevators. It will take you to the swoop garage." He finished telling us how to get into the room we needed and crossed his arms once I took the card from him, a sly look coming across his face, "You want to know how to bypass security? Maybe for a price …"
I waggled the blaster in my hand and he shrieked, "Wait! There's a console on the other side of the swoop garage, it'll let you shut down all security systems. Even the ones on the top levels! Please!" his voice grew more grating as he started to grovel, "I'm not really a part of the Vulkars anymore, I used to work here back in the day before Brejik took over. Now his new friends don't even respect me anymore! I'm a nobody, you don't have to kill me."
The Twi'lek sighed in relief as I dropped my arm. "To show you my gratitude, I'll tell you how to get to the slaves. We're waiting on a shipment from Davik in a few days-I have special list here of the expensive ones, you just-?"
The blasterbolt tore through his skull. Mission gasped as the Twi'lek's body drop to the ground. I pocketed my blaster and turned to walk away, ignoring their questioning looks. The others followed me in silence.
The Twi'lek's information led us deeper into the base and down a set of well guarded elevators to the basement where the swoop garage was located. After bypassing elevator security the old-fashioned way, I sliced into a console on the lower level and shut down the droids in the garage. Keeping Mission as a guard by the console to watch the security cam, Carth and I moved into the gym proper.
We had enough time to take the prototype accelerator off of a fancy large swoop bike and rig most of the other bikes to explode before Mission caught the Vulkars heading to the source of the security failure on the last working cam. By the time she had run into the garage, we were just about ready to head out. We caught the look on her face and stood up quickly.
"Time to go," I said, connecting the fuse and starting the countdown. We all began running for the entrance. There was a loud explosion on the other end of the garage doors behind us and we heard screaming metal as the doors were torn open. Blasterfire began to sound in that direction and shots grazed the floor and walls near us.
"Quickly!" I grabbed Mission's arm and pushed her through the open door we were running towards as an alarm began to blare and the doors started to close.
Just as I helped Mission squeeze through, our trap was triggered and the resulting concussion wave and rush of heat brushed us as Carth pushed me through. The shockwave seemed to confuse the security systems; the doors were now jammed and Carth slipped through with only a little difficulty.
We finally made it through the last door and onto the open streets, Carth and I raising our blasters to take out the three guards that stood watch before they had a chance to turn and respond. We didn't stop running until we had turned several corners and the yelling behind us had faded into nothing.
We decided it was better to head back to the surface first before returning to Gadon Thek. No one alive in the Black Vulkars had seen our faces and so if we waited it out a few hours we were certain we could walk through the Lower City without issue again. It also gave us a chance to deal with a few things in the Upper City. Mission headed to our apartment to see how Zaalbar was doing while Carth and I took a small detour.
Zelka, our first stop, had been more than overjoyed to see us return, and if I thought he couldn't be any happier I was proved wrong when I held out the package with the filled vial of rakghoul blood.
The old man grasped both of my hands in his, "You have done the people of Taris a good thing."
I smiled at him. "I am glad that we could help."
My eye caught the closed doors of the bacta room and I shifted uncomfortably, feeling that same itch to get inside and see what was in there. Zelka's assistant called something out from the front of the shop and the old man turned a little to respond. A quick once-over of the shop told me little I didn't already know. But there, in the very back of the room, slightly hidden behind the sign indicating the bacta tanks were not working, I saw the brief glow of light emanating from the room beyond.
I heard the swoosh of the doors as the assistant left the shop and I got Carth's attention, "Look through here and grab what we need," I whispered, "I'll be back. And distract him."
I barely made out Carth's confused face before I turned to casually admire the work laid out on the desks. I heard Zelka attempt to talk to me, but Carth's voice stopped him.
"You look like you've got a lot of interesting projects on the go, here. What does a doctor do normally on Taris, anyway?"
"Well, I'm more of a researcher. Got grounded years ago and fell in love with a local. She's gone now. Kids're off somewhere in the Republic hunting those big banks for a good job with some decent pay. I'm just here. Started this shop with my wife way back. Felt right to keep it until I meet her again."
I put their conversation out of my mind and focused at the task on hand. I knew there would be a console or panel that would open the room, but I didn't want to make the search obvious. After a few minutes of looking around I finally saw a panel on top of a stand a little too close to the closed doors. Surreptitiously glancing over my shoulder showed me Carth had brought Zelka over to the console and was asking him something about his stock. The old man was curved over the glowing screen, his attention off me for a moment.
It was long enough. I crossed the room and turned the panel on. Most panels like these had a security lock but they also had a pretty common reset setting that worked instantly for me when I tried it. The console beeped loudly.
"Hey! What are you doing? Get away from there, you're not supposed to-"
The doors had slid open and I was already through, bathed in the blue glow of lit bacta tanks. My jaw dropped open.
"Carth."
I heard his gasp as he followed me into the room, staring at the filled tanks in wonder.
"The others from the Endar Spire," Carth's voice echoed hollowly in the room.
"You … you aren't supposed to be in here!" Zelka snapped. The old man pushed his way past me and stood before us, arms incorrectly raised against his chest in a feeble attempt to ward off fighters. He was no fighter, but he was willing to put his life on the line for these men and women that he'd never met.
"Zelka," I said softly, slowly raising my arms in a gesture of peace. "We do not mean to harm them."
"They're our friends," Carth cut in. Zelka eyed us both through narrowed eyes.
"I heard … of other escape pods." He said finally.
"Yes," Carth said, his voice eager, walking up beside me. "That's why we're here. We know there are others. We are just … we're relieved to know they're okay."
"Tell you what, Zelka. Those rakghoul samples. Instead of credits I'm going to need you to make sure these guys are alright and healthy to repay us."
"Well I would've done that, regardless," he began in a serious tone.
"We'll have to work on your bargaining skills," I replied, grinning back at him.
"I'll help them in any way I can but I won't lie to you. It's not looking good for some of them." He moved to one of the soldiers in the bacta tanks. A woman floated in the tank, short brown hair curling lazily around her face. There was a large gash in her side that was stitched up but slowly beginning to leak into the bacta tank. I remembered her face from the ship, but in my mind it was a carefree smile full of laughter in a rounded, healthy face surrounded by a halo of wavy hair. Here her eyes were closed, skin stretched tight over her bones like a paper skeleton. I rested my hand against the glass.
"Whatever you can do," Carth said. "We know people die. It's part of the job."
"And what job would that be?" Zelka asked casually. After the rakghoul blood, he didn't seem to distrust us, but there was definitely a part of him that was cautious still.
"It's nature," I responded. My eyes were still glued to the unresponsive woman in the bacta tank. For a moment I fancied myself into thinking that I could feel her heart pulse through the tank. It followed the rhythm of her slow, drawn breaths. I finally pulled away and looked at the two of them.
"Even having a friend nearby when they … when they need it … is more than enough. It's all one can ask for."
"They won't be alone," Zelka said gently, resting a hand on my shoulder. His grip tightened and he turned to steer me out of the room, "You folks standing in here may mean they've got the wrong company though if you catch my meaning. I've got an ambitious assistant and that won't bode well for anyone."
Carth and I both took the hint and we walked out of the bacta room after sparing a last glance at our comrades.
We purchased the supplies we needed and I showed Zelka how to disable the security override on his control panel so no one could open it without his code or a lot of time on their hands. We finally said our goodbyes and left the shop.
Carth and I stopped by our tiny room to make sure Zaalbar had settled in alright. The Wookie had set up a comfortable section in the room for himself and Mission. Once we were sure we had what we needed — and once Mission has convinced us that she needed to come along — Carth, Mission and I made our way back to the Lower City.
Zaerdra and Gadon Thek were poring over a console station and the entire complex was abuzz even before we entered. Our reception was much warmer than when we had first come in yesterday. Several aliens nodded to us as we walked on by. One younger Twi'lek grinned upon seeing us and gave us a thumbs up around a gigantic box he was carrying.
Zaerdra was on us before we'd barely entered the main area, lekku swinging behind her as she hastily made her way toward us. "Do you have it?" She demanded, her eyes flashing with more than just the lighting. Gadon followed two steps back. His eyes glowed at us as he grinned, "I guess there's no point in pretending we hadn't heard the news."
"The Black Vulkar base was hit an hour ago. What took you so long?"
Gadon placed a calming hand on the shoulder of his lieutenant. "Come now Zaerdra. I assume our helpful crew here didn't want to lead any angry Vulkars right to our door, am I right?"
Zaerdra snorted, "Yeah. That or she's already sold the accelerator for a high price." She ran her suspicious gaze up and down my form as if she could x-ray me for the accelerator.
"I didn't sell anything," I cut in, raising my hands to forestall whatever diatribe was going to spill from the Twi'lek's mouth at this point. She glared at me, her mouth half open, still trying to decide if she should say it anyway. Mission stepped out from behind me and Gadon gave a surprised grunt, "Mission! I take it you helped them."
"Helped her? I took her there myself." The younger Twi'lek pointed to herself, "Your accelerator wouldn't be here without me."
"It's true," I added as Mission uncovered the large clunky accelerator. "We would've been lost without her."
"Mission doesn't normally help people she doesn't trust," Zaerdra turned her forever-suspicious gaze back to me. "Where's your wookie friend, girl?" Her voice was still rough but it lost a bit of its edge when she spoke to Mission.
"Z got attacked by those slaving pigs. The Sith." Zaerdra and Gadon both started to express their sympathy — or anger in Zaerdra's case — but Mission shook her head quickly, "No no Z's fine! Honest, Eva and Carth here saved him! So then Z being all extra and noble as he's gotta be, decides to swear a life debt to her!" Zaerdra and Gadon both turned to look at me in awe. I shifted uncomfortably.
"That's, well quite a story," Zaerdra said finally. Gadon laughed and pushed past her to clap me on the shoulder, ignoring Zaerdra's growl. "Any friend of Mission's is a friend of ours."
"Honestly it turned out for the better, I think," I said in response, giving Mission a grin.
"Now we're going to go win that swoop race and save her friend!" Mission held out the accelerator but I placed my hand over it and stopped her.
"Hold on," I said, "I think there are a few things we need to clear up first."
Zaerdra growled and moved to grab her blaster but Gadon grabbed her shoulder and held her back, gesturing for me to continue.
"I know the deal was the accelerator for a bike. But I'm going to need the accelerator as well. You know why I'm here. You know why I have to win."
Gadon nodded slowly, "For your friend." He exchanged a glance with Zaerdra. "In fact, we discussed this already. That's why you're going to have the accelerator attached to your speeder."
My jaw dropped. I hadn't expected him to accept so quickly. I backtracked, trying to make sure I wasn't walking into a trap, "You're okay with a nobody using your accelerator? I'm not affiliated with you."
"Tell that to the Black Vulkars," Zaerdra said, and she shared a private chuckle with Gadon. I didn't even know she was capable of making jokes.
Gadon shrugged, "As far as anyone knows, you're riding for us. And there's the whole matter of you attacking an entire base of Black Vulkars. Seems pretty set in stone. But … there's one thing you should probably know."
"One thing I should probably know," I repeated suspiciously.
"Well you'll find out soon enough, I suppose. The accelerator had one issue our mechanics were attempting to solve before the Vulkars stole her from us. Only now the race is tomorrow and there's no time to fix it. She … runs a little hot. There's no doubt she'll give you the speed you need, but you can only run at most four or five heats around the track before she overheats and melts your bike into the ground. That's if she doesn't ignite the fuel and blow it up."
I took a moment to mull over the options in my head; Carth was already shaking his head and seemed on the verge of giving the Beks a piece of his mind.
"I know why you're doing this," I said at last. I knew regardless of if the damned thing worked or not, we had no other choice. "You can't ask any of your Beks to do this without knowing that they fully accepted the consequences."
Gadon chuckled. "You ever been a leader? Half of 'em would cut their thumbs or equivalent limb off if I asked. The other would pretend to only for me to wake up and find out two of my own have disappeared." He waggled his hands in front of me.
I frowned at that, the memory of a memory came, fleeting though it was. I must have had a sizeable crew of some sort at one time, but the thought was foreign to me as any other memory I had where I couldn't tell if it was real or something I had me up to fill in the holes in my mind.
"But you're right." Gadon continued, "You have a stake in this far greater than any of my riders. And you know the whole story now so if you say no, the bike's all yours and I won't force the accelerator on you, but someone will probably die and they'll win the race before they do."
"Well what's that mean?" Carth, having had enough of staying silently beside me stepped forward, crossing his arms, "So you're saying she will die?"
"I've met a lot of people in my time but this woman is one of the most resourceful women I've met. Almost reminds me of…" his voice trailed off.
"Someone else you sent to their death?" Carth asked shrewdly.
"Carth," I said, "let's drop it. If he thinks I'll die then he doesn't realise what it's taken for us to get here."
"My point is you seem like one of the few with a good enough head and a knack for the race that you could survive it. Like I said. You got four or five heats you can run with her. Best the score in four or five heats and everyone will be happier for it."
He made it sound so easy. Carth turned to me, "I think we need to chat about this first."
Before I could respond, Gadon raised a hand and turned around, pressing something in his ear and growling a response into the comlog wrapped around his wrist. He had more important things to attend to than our interrogation.
Gadon Thek walked away from us, leaving us alone with Zaerdra, who had settled her hands on her hips, pushing her jacket open enough just to show the two blasters hooked into her belt. I glanced between her and Carth and shook my head, "Sorry Carth, this is the only way we're going to save her."
Zaerdra nodded at me, and for the first time on her face I saw the tiniest hint of what I like to think was respect. She gestured to another man standing beside two large hangar doors. "That's Hatim, our Race Master. He'll teach you a few tricks on the bike. He's one of the best, so if you're gonna learn how to ride in a night it may as well be from him."
Maybe Gadon was afraid I wouldn't return if we left, or maybe he didn't want me to be approached by someone else and convinced to sabotage their plans. Whatever the reason, Carth, Mission and I were set up in very comfortable rooms — although I didn't get to see much of mine for a few hours.
After a few hours of training that had started with the Race Master rolling his eyes once he realised I had no idea how to handle a swoop bike, I finally returned to my room. I ran inventory on everything in the room, making sure nothing was missing and began to sit down on the edge of the bed, running a hand along the mattress underneath me. It was firm but I could instantly tell it would give me a much better rest than the bed or chair in the apartment in the Upper City,
I heard a soft knock on the door and Carth's unmistakable voice sounded from the other side. Casting a sad glance at the bed and sighing, I got up to let him in.
"I was worried you weren't going to get any sleep the way that guy glared at you," he said jokingly. He carried three trays heaped with food and balanced two bottles of Juma in between them. I grabbed one of each, my mood clearing up a little.
"Carth, you didn't have to…"
He shut the door with his foot and went to place his tray on the arm of the single chair in the room. I raised a curious eyebrow about the third plate but Carth muttered a quick, "don't ask" and I gathered that Mission hadn't appreciated the gesture.
"That looks like something her parents would've put together. Almost no meat," I said, grinning at him.
"She's a child! And now that she's our responsibility I have to make sure she eats well."
"Carth, not that I doubt you'd be an endearing father figure but the last thing Mission needs right now is to think we've become her parents. I don't need a child thinking she can get back at me by putting rats in my mattress or whatever it is kids do," I joked, doing my best to keep a straight face.
Carth sputtered over his Juma bottle, "Have … have you ever been around a child before?" He asked seriously.
"Well what makes you the child expert, then?"
Even as the words left my lips I knew I had pushed too far. Carth's expression shifted ever so slightly, and he lost his smile. But, before I could apologize, he had swept the look off his face and replaced it with a faked grin. "We live on those military ships you know. I've seen a kid or two before."
"Well," I said slowly, trying to backtrack my thoughts to get me out of this situation, "I bet they would've reacted the same way to someone telling them they needed vegetables."
Carth snorted, "I'll give you that." We both lapsed into a companionable silence and I finally loaded a fork with as much food as I could possibly fit onto it and began to eat. Neither of us wanted to continue the failing conversation.
"I won't pretend to say I wouldn't have done what you did."
I glanced up at him, caught off guard by the vague comment. "That slaving asshole," Carth continued. "He didn't deserve to make it out alive."
"Thanks," I said warily, hearing the blastershot in my mind and remembering how the Twi'lek's body crumpled to the floor after I shot him. I looked back down at my plate, "I was worried you and Mission were thinking I was some kind of a monster. I just … I couldn't let him go after that."
"Too many of those people living in Taris nowadays. The planet won't miss one," my companion growled.
We lapsed back into silence. Carth surprisingly seemed to regain much of his good mood quickly enough and even chuckled to himself as we sat quietly and ate. I wolfed down the food; I was starving. "You're in a damn good mood," I said, focused on the food on my tray.
"How could I not be? We found them! Those men and women … once we get Bastila we just have to find a way off here and we'll have a crew again too!" He took a sip of Juma before continuing, "You've been saying we should search for them from the start, but you're more quiet than that time someone thought Bastila was a janitor on the third floor of the 'Spire."
My reaction — or lack thereof — must have bothered him enough because he frowned at me and set his Juma down carefully on the edge of the chair arm. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," something gnawed at me but I couldn't quite place my finger on it. "Alright, something. I just don't know what. I get the feeling things are moving way too quickly all of a sudden."
"Quick is good. We want things to move quickly. I mean, you aren't planning on spending a few months here are you?" Carth laughed — actually laughed — for the first time I could really remember, "I mean to each their own but I wouldn't consider this a vacation spot." He raised an eyebrow, his voice changing slightly, "You're pretty apprehensive now that everything is going well for us."
"No! No it's just …" I could already tell where Carth's mind was going with this and the last thing I needed was to spend the night convincing him I wasn't going to sabotage the race. At the time I wasn't sure what had happened to him but it was obvious he barely trusted his own fork.
I picked up my bottle of Juma and took a sip before continuing, absent-mindedly examining the label on the bottle. "Maybe I'm just apprehensive about the race." I didn't think so, but it was the easiest way to explain my uneasiness.
"Hey," Carth leaned forward, "say what you will about the Vulkars, Gadon Thek is no fool. I agree with him. As far as trouble goes, we're the two most capable people to deal with it for now. You've gotten us through Taris this far - I can't think of anyone I'd trust more to free Bastila."
I paused for a moment, staring at Carth. "Thanks," I said softly, "I am glad you think that way. I hope I prove you right."
He seemed like he wanted to say something more but thought better of it and grinned, "Aren't I always?"
"I wouldn't go that far." Carth's grin grew and I felt like I knew what was coming before he said it.
"If you say so beautiful." We both laughed.
Despite his words I was having a hard time seeing the good in our situation. I felt something gnaw at the pit of my stomach, and fought off the mild nausea the bad feeling gave me. Once we had both finished eating, Carth waved me off of carrying the trays back to the kitchen with him and told me to get the rest I needed. Standing in the room, staring at the closed door and feeling the weight of tomorrow's race on my shoulders, I struggled to take a deep breath and clear my anxious mind. It wasn't very helpful.
I turned to my bag and pulled out my datapad, opening up my log and keying in the events of the day. Carth was certainly right; between the last few days, there was a lot that had happened today, all setting us in the right direction to free Bastila. I couldn't understand why I was so apprehensive.
Now that I know enough about the world and my place in it, it almost seems silly to try and remember what that confused feeling was like. I couldn't pinpoint what had given me the feeling, but I had the strangest thought that our interaction with Zelka had started some unseen timer.
At the time, I didn't know what this feeling was, so strong in my bones that I could almost taste the certainty, but as I sat there finishing my log for the day I knew that if we didn't find Bastila and get off Taris in the next few days, we would never leave the planet alive.