A/N: Sorry for the lack of an update. Was away on a camping trip with my cousins and there wasn't any wifi coverage to use the internet. I should be able to update in a more timely manner now. In this chapter, Zeb will be taken to another planet and set loose to be hunted down. He's in for a rough time!

Chapter 2 The Hunt Begins

Zeb opened his eyes and found that he wasn't aboard the PHANTOM II and there was no sign of his companions or the two Fulcrum agents. His sensitive nose picked up strange scents that he didn't recognize and were rather offensive in nature. He tried to sit up and found out he was strapped down on a slab of sorts and also was naked.

"What the kriff?!" he asked feeling a cool breeze on his bare fur. He tried to raise his arms or bend his legs and they were bound with restraints as well. Suddenly he heard a sound that made the fur on his neck stand on end. It was a trilling and clicking sound that irritated his large ears making him flinch. Zeb moved his head and saw the owners of the sounds. It was two of the alien beings that had captured him on Nar Shaddaa.

"Hey you!" he called out trying to sit up, "Who are you...and where do you come from?"

All he got in an answer was more trilling and clicking with growls added to the sounds. Zeb rolled his eyes knowing he wouldn't get anywhere with the aliens. The Lasat lay quiet on the slab and watched as one of the alien beings ran what Zeb figured was a medical scanner over his nude body. The alien turned to it's companion and trilled a response, then ran the scanner over the Lasat's body again. Zeb's green eyes widened with oncoming fear as he saw them grab what he figured were medical instruments. They took one and pressed it against an arm. It was like a hypodermic needle and to his horror, he saw some of his dark red blood filling the syringe.

"Karabast!" he called out, "What are you doing?!"

More clicks and trills were his answer and he was relieved that they weren't doing anything else to him.

"Can you guys please put my clothes back on? It's a bit cold on your ship."

His answer came in a device that was pressed to his forehead ridges and he passed out.

Zeb opened his eyes and found he was now in a cell of some kind and to his relief, he had his Honor Guard jumpsuit back on and the chest and back armor. He shivered but not from cold and heard loud trills and growls outside of the cell. He knew they might kill him and he hoped to take a few of them with him if they tried. The ship had landed on kriff who knows where and that added to his unease. Suddenly he felt the floor go out from under him.

"KARABAST!" he cried as he fell and hit the ground on his butt. He stood up to see that he had been dropped out from the ship on a world that he didn't recognize. He heard more trills and growls and turned to see that the four alien beings that captured him were standing nearby armed with their strange weaponry. Zeb put two and two together and knew why they had brought him to the planet.

They were hunters and he was the prey...

"Oh...kriff," he whispered and turned towards the thick jungle that covered the planet and began to run. He heard the aliens pursuing him and that made him run faster.

"Wish I had my bo-rifle right about now. Oh...karking hell! "

The Lasat continued to run and found out that the thick vegetation made it hard to run through and he was glad to be a member of a species that could climb just about anything. With a grunt, Zeb grabbed a low-hanging branch of a tree that had large green fruit on it. The Lasat easily swung up into the thick branches and huddled against the rough trunk panting for breath. He closed his eyes praying to the Ashla and hoped that the hunters wouldn't find him. He spotted them moments later and they were below him. He eased his breathing and watched the beings scouting the area for any sign of him. Luckily, they hadn't found him, and Zeb could relax a little. Perking his pointed ears up, he listened to their fading footsteps and quietly climbed down out of the tree.

"Whew!" he gasped and noticed that he had gotten some scratches on his arms from the rough branches. They weren't deep, but stung like crazy, "Great! I get hurt in the first hour and I don't have a first-aid kit!"

He listened to pick up any sign of the hunters but they had disappeared. He breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards where he hoped to find something to eat and some water. First things first, he'd need that to survive. Zeb was thankful for all the survival training he received in the Honor Guard when he first joined. He snickered remembering how hard it was but knew it would save his life someday, and that day had come. The Lasat made his way through the brush and thought about his family aboard the GHOST. About now, they would be sitting around the table in the ship's galley having a meal together. That made him smile and his stomach growl. Space waffles were one of his favorite foods.

"Great!" he grumbled, "Now I'm really hungry!"

Hours went by and he kept walking until fatigue set in and he had to sit down for awhile. Hunger bit at his stomach and he was thirsty as well. He found a secluded place to rest near a large rock and leaned back closing his eyes. A sound woke him up from his light slumber and he heard a trilling that made his fur stand on end. The alien hunters had found him!

"Karabast..." he gasped and got up from the ground. His stomach growled again and the sound carried through the area. Zeb hoped they didn't hear it but they did. Soon he caught sight of the hunters and their weapons. A bright red light appeared near the shoulder cannon weapon and it was aimed at his head! As the weapon readied to fire, Zeb ducked out of the way and watched the bushes behind him burst into flame and burn away. A loud roar sounded from the largest hunter and Zeb took off running. He didn't turn around knowing they could easily catch up with him. He had to keep moving no matter how tired, thirsty and hungry he was. He heard the weapons fire again near his head and suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his left ear. He reached a hand up and to his horror felt that the tip of the pointed ear was gone! Grimacing against the pain, Zeb kept on running, nothing but adrenalin keeping him going. The smell of singed fur and burned skin made him nearly throw up but he kept running.

Several hours later, Zeb stopped running, his breathing in wheezy sobs. He fell to the ground and curled up as the adrenalin left his body. For a few minutes he lay getting his ragged breathing to return to normal and got back up. He staggered for a moment and felt pain in his injured ear. He put a clawed finger up and felt the ragged flesh that was the tip of his left ear. Gritting his teeth, he swallowed hard feeling the nausea set in. Bending over, the Lasat vomited on the ground and kept on until all he was doing was dry heave. Shaking, Zeb stood back up and began to walk hopely away from the hunters so he could rest a bit. Total exhaustion set in awhile later and he fell to the ground unconscious, oblivious to what was going on around him...

He awoke to the sensation of something licking at his injured ear.

"Hey!" he cried out sitting up and saw the culprit behind the licking.

It was a small furry animal that was the size of an aak pup and covered in a thick coat of black fur with streaks of white throughout. It had a face that looked a bit ferocious but the big green eyes with black pupils reflected warmth and intelligence. It's long furry ears stood up and it moved closer to Zeb. The Lasat flinched for a moment and then saw that the animal meant him no harm. Slowly, Zeb reached a hand over to pet the animal on the head getting a purring out of it that made him smile.

"At least you like me. Those hunters sure don't."

The creature jumped into his lap and reached up to lick his injured ear making Zeb flinch for a moment but that faded as the animal's tongue was soothing to the severed tip. He closed his eyes and tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness made him fall over again. The animal let out a whimper and curled up next to his head nuzzling the Lasat's furry cheek. That made Zeb chuckle a bit and he closed his eyes hearing the animal begin to purr again. Soon he fell asleep...

A loud growling woke him up hours later and he saw the animal standing next to him, the fur on it's back standing on end. The big eyes were narrowed with anger and he saw that the creature had a mouthful of fangs that were bigger than his. Zeb's uninjured ear perked up and he heard a familiar trilling and clicking that made all fatigue leave. He got up and turned to run farther into the jungle followed by the furry animal. Zeb looked back and got a glimpse of one of the hunters brandishing a weapon he hadn't seen before; a long staff/spear that was as long as his bo-staff. Swallowing hard he looked up at the trees and saw that a large branch was within reach. With the movements of his native people, Zeb grabbed the branch and hoisted himself up into the highest branches. One of the smaller hunters spotted him in the branches and aimed the spear. Zeb moved out of the way but not in time. The weapon grazed his right side opening up a wound that hurt like the nine Corellian Hells.

"Karabast!" he cried out and fell out of the tree to land on one of the smaller hunters. It uttered a loud roar and pushed Zeb off it but not before activating the wrist knives that made Zeb's eyes widen in shock. They were nearly as long as his arm!

"Oh no you don't!" he grumbled and grabbed the bigger alien's hand before the blades could sever his head from his body. He twisted the limb and the hunter cried out in pain throwing the Lasat off to the side. Snarling with rage, Zeb twisted the alien's arm more and the sound of breaking bones was heard over the snarling. The other three hunters jumped back seeing that Zeb had the upper hand for a moment. Suddenly, Zeb jerked the alien's arm more and it came off at the elbow with a sickening crack. Bright green blood spurted out and Zeb nearly threw up at the sight and smell. The shock wore off and the now disabled alien hunter grabbed Zeb by the scruff of his neck and brought him close to his helmeted face.

"Karabast!" the creature said in a near-perfect imitation of the Lasat's deep accented voice. Zeb's eyes widened in shock and he struggled to free himself from the alien's grip. He managed to squirm free as the alien was weakening from blood loss. The leader let out a loud roar and activated it's wrist knives to plunge into the injured hunter's chest, the weird colored blood spraying all over Zeb's face and upper body. He jerked back and stumbled as he got up.

"Okay...guys," Zeb said as he hoped they'd leave him alone now, "I'm out of here."

The three surviving aliens pushed a button on one of their wrist gauntlets and they disappeared before Zeb's eyes. Heaving a deep sigh, Zeb turned around and began to run farther into the jungle hoping that he'd seen the last of the alien hunters, but he knew that wasn't to be...

Back on Yavin IV:

Zeb's family worried for him and they prepared to begin a search for the lost Lasat. They had contacted other rebel cells throughout the galaxy to see if they could help in the search, but they weren't able to supply them with any info about Zeb's whereabouts. Hera and Kanan worried for their friend's safety not unlike two concerned parents with Ezra and Sabine worrying for their "big brother" just as much. The other rebels including Rex and Kallus worried more than any of them. They felt guilty at not being able to help their friend and wanted to search on their own but were warned not too. The Barrelian female who had taken an interest in Zeb recently was worried about him and fretted.

"Where is Garazeb?" she kept asking of Kanan and Hera.

"We don't know, Ayessa," Hera said to the tall dark-skinned beauty, "We lost track off him after he was...taken."

"We must find him," she said in her sultry sounding voice that shook with emotion, "We have to find him."

"We will," Kanan answered laying a hand on the taller female's shoulder. He reached out through the Force and felt how much affection the Barrelian felt for Zeb. It was bordering on love.

Leka and Ele Pauen were just as worried and contacted some friends that bordered on being criminals to help in the search. They had found out that the aliens that took Zeb were from a faraway planet that Ele's people had encountered before. Leka even used his Force abilities to try and connect with Zeb but didn't sense the older Lasat male. Kanan and Ezra were trying to help the young Lasat with his developing abilities but Leka proved to be a difficult student, due to his Lasat temperment. With Hera's maternal ministrations, the youngster began to relax more and could utilize his abilities.

Back on the jungle world:

Zeb awoke from sleeping for nearly a day when he discovered that he still had his furry companion by his side. His side hurt from the laser blast that lucklily had only grazed the fur and skin.

"Oh...kriff!" he grumbled through gritted teeth, "This really hurts!"

He looked down at the drying blood and shuddered. Zeb knew he had to bandage the wound before it got infected and knowing he had no bacta bandages handy, he looked down at his skin-tight Honor Guard jumpsuit. He reached up and removed his chest and back armor and proceeded to unfasten the top of the jumpsuit slipping it off his chest and back. Smiling he looked down at his still muscular and slim chest covered with the two-tone purple fur. Even at forty-three dust seasons of age, he still had the youthful muscles of a male of his species. Getting back to the matter at hand, Zeb tore the material down the middle and took part of it to make a bandage. Turning to the animal who was now licking at his injured side, Zeb saw that there was a stream nearby. He walked over, bent down and washed the dried blood away from the wound. Zeb frowned seeing how big the wound was and closed his eyes as he wrapped the makeshift bandage around it.

"Good thing I listened in survival training," he said and sat down against a tree stump to rest. The furry animal lay on his lap snoring loudly making Zeb smile, for he snored loudly at times too. He started to fall asleep when a familiar trilling sounded making both ears perk up.

"Oh...karabast, here we go again..."