Leg sighed in relief as he finished his slicing. Although not much of a fighter, he knew how to work with computers, including how to hack. From his ship, he was able to secure files from the Coruscant Spaceport, where his cargo ship was currently docked at.

Normally, Leg would never risk targeting a high value target like the planet's largest spaceport. Yet, after reuniting with Rosu on Nar Shaddaa, the bounty hunter gave clear instructions to the pirate. First, he hacked into morgue reports, and after finding out Colroc wasn't at a morgue, he checked the local hospitals. At one such hospital, a file on one patient had been pulled hours after the assassination attempt on the Voidhound, per the instructions of SIS.

Leg gulped at the prospect of Colroc being alive. He heard that the Voidhound was a very dangerous man when it came to revenge and he had plenty of reason to get revenge. Rosu remained calm, and after checking with a contact he had in SIS, that there was an operation to protect Colroc, and that his protection came offworld. Leg sliced his way into the spaceport to figure out an idea on who it could be.

Leg left the bridge of his ship and made his way to the cargo hold, where Rosu was at work. For once, he thought that the bounty hunter looked vulnerable. His armor had been stripped, leaving him only with a white tanktop and black pants. The Cathar was short and lean. He had black fur and yellow eyes with his right ear torn off. He was unarmed except for a bottle of white spray paint, which he used to cover up his old paint job on his armor.

Yet, even in his moment of vulnerability, Leg approached nervously. He heard the rumors of Rosu and knew of his reputation as a boxer and a hand-to-hand combatant. Even with the scatter gun he held, aimed down at the floor, he knew that he stood no chance against his peer. It was better to work with him and hope that their plan would work.

"Rosu, I, uh, have what you wanted," Leg reported.

"Send it to my datapad," Rosu instructed, not even looking over his shoulder while he carefully sprayed his helmet with white paint. "I'll take a look at it."

"I'm on it," Leg gulped, pulling out his own datapad. "So, uh, are you scared at all?"

"Scared?"

"The Voidhound doesn't take kindly to betrayal," Leg sent the files to Rosu. "You know, I once heard stories of what he did to Skavac and Darmas Pollaran after they stabbed him in the back."

"Sounds like your problem then. I just did my job. You're the one who he was close to."

Leg wiped a bead of sweat running down his forehead. He started to grow desperate. "And what about our employer? It's just that, well, we know-"

"Don't worry about it," Rosu shrugged and set his helmet down on a crate with the rest of his armor. "I'm going to kill the Voidhound. He won't kill you out of revenge and our employer won't punish us for our failure."

If only it were that easy, Leg thought. Rosu walked over to sit down on another crate and pulled out his own datapad. Despite failing to kill the Voidhound the first time, he remained calm and professional. He believed that even with the SIS providing security, he would be able to kill Voidhound. If only Leg had the confidence of his bounty hunter ally.

"There's security footage on there," Leg pointed out, rubbing the back of his scalp.

"I'm watching it now," Rosu replied. "How's everything going on your end?"

"Uh, well enough, I believe. Once I get back to Port Nowhere, we will vote in a new captain. I, well, Carac and Lunetta are going to vote him in, and after that, our employer's plan will be successful. Yet, if you don't finish Colroc off, he could change everything!"

"And he's gonna die," Rosu acknowledged, looking at the datapad. "Huh. I think I found his security detail."

"So, uh, how secure is he?"

"If my hunch is correct, pretty secure. One Jedi traveling to the spaceport is nothing new. Two probably means they're on a mission."

"We're dealing with two Jedi?!" Leg gasped in fear.

"We're not."

"Good. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"There's four Jedi traveling together. That definitely means they want the job done."

"Four?!" Leg started to take deep breaths to calm himself down. "And you are certain that they are Jedi?"

"Brown robes and hoods seem to indicate that. They're Jedi alright."

"I need to get off this planet."

"You'll get off once I finish preparing," Rosu set the datapad down and looked at his painted armor. "I'm thinking that a nice green trim would be good. What do you think?"

"Why are you so calm about Jedi protecting your target?!"

"The Sith Empire has posted a bounty on any confirmed Jedi kills. I'm not seeing four Jedi. I'm seeing four targets."

"You're going to kill four Jedi?" Leg asked in disbelief.

"I am," Rosu nodded. "You brought the weapons I asked for, right?"

"Uh, yes, that I did," Leg opened one of the crates, revealing an arsenal of blasters of all types. "Take whatever you need. I'm, well, I'm very sorry for my outburst."

"No problem," Rosu approached his armor and grabbed another can of spray paint. "I'll only be another hour, then you can get off to Port Nowhere. You won't be anywhere near the Jedi when the fighting starts."

"Really?"

"The moment I step off your ship, you can blast off and never come back," Rosu told him. "I can find my own ride back to Port Nowhere after the job is done. Take a breather on the bridge. I'll tell you when I'm done."

Leg nodded and walked back up to his solidarity life in his ship. At this point, he definitely accepted that he was way over his head now. However, by now, it was too late to change course. He had to stick with the plan and hoped Rosu could pull through with his part. He didn't envy his partner's position, to take down four Jedi, but thankfully, he would be far off-world when the battle happened.

Colroc was a man who liked a lot of things and hated very few. However, if there was something he hated, it was being out of the loop. After his recovery, he was confined to a high loft apartment in Coruscant and told by Gilliam that he was not allowed to leave. Colroc settled in nicely at first, enjoying the bar and lounge that the SIS sought to provide him with. Overall, witness protection was a very good service to be with.

Then, the SIS agents were swapped out with Jedi Knights. That raised some questions. Colroc thought that he was dealing with some criminal rival or someone out for revenge. Yet, if the Jedi were getting involved in his protection, that certainly meant something was going on. He tried to question Gilliam and the Jedi Knights on how much danger he was in. The Jedi remained silent and on guard while Gilliam only told him the less he knew, the safer he was.

Colroc felt a lot less safer now. He wanted to get in touch with his crew, let them know he was alright, and ask them to drop by to help protect him better. However, SIS removed any communications units in the safehouse he was in. They wouldn't even give him a blaster to defend himself with. At one point, Colroc tried to sneak away and find a way to get in touch with his crew. Gavai Aukruram, a Rattataki Jedi, always managed to find a way to stop him.

Out of the Jedi guards, Colroc felt closest to Gavai (which wasn't saying much). Knight Aukruram was a large and bulky Jedi with pale gray skin and black markings across his face. He was assigned to be the Voidhound's personal bodyguard and remained by his side. Out of his guards, he was the more vocal and friendly. Occasionally, he and the smuggler would trade jokes and play Pazaak together. Yet, just like the others, he remained silent when questioned on his duty.

He had been receiving less luck with the other Jedi. Xekudo Sotos was a Zabrak Jedi in charge of guarding the front door. Colroc never spoke with Knight Sotos, who always remained outside of the safehouse. Then, there was Finueth Wuvceo, a Miraluka in charge of guarding the balcony. At one point, Colroc interrupted her meditation to try to flirt with her. She removed the brown band that covered her eyes and he quickly lost interest. Finally, there was Stedar Binhel, a human like Colroc who spent his time patrolling the apartment. Colroc found him to be a dull man, but at least he spent time handling package deliveries as well.

It was around the afternoon and Colroc was now working on a drink behind the bar. Gavai rested on a couch, hood down to reveal his features. Stedar was patrolling the longue and Finueth meditated outside, watching for any threats. Overall, it had been a quiet day, just like the previous days. At this point, the smuggler was certain that whoever was after him was no longer a threat.

"And finished," Colroc declared, putting a little umbrella in his drink. "You want a drink, Gavai?"

"I'll pass again," Gavai shook his head. "What're you making?"

"Just one of my own special drinks, of course!"

"And that is why I pass," Gavai chuckled.

"It isn't that bad," Colroc defended and chugged down the drink in one gulp. "Hey, Binhel. We need more drinks."

"Agent Keasten will handle that."

"And how about lunch?"

"We did run out of food last night," Gavai pointed out. "You could make a supply run."

"I suppose," Stedar sighed. "I shall return in about an hour or so."

Colroc watched as Stedar left, heading towards the front door to check out with Xekudo. The glass door leading to the balcony was closed, leaving him alone with Gavai. The smuggler set his drink down and walked over to take a seat next to the Jedi. He was the knight he was closest with, and out of them, the more likely to reveal his situation.

"Now that it's just the two of us, you can tell me what's going on with the investigation," Colroc started.

"You know I can't do that, Captain Jericho," Gavai leaned back on the couch.

"First, no need to be that formal, just Captain or Colroc will do. Secondly, you have to tell me or else the suspense will kill me, and you can't let me die like that, can you!"

"You tried that excuse the first day we met," Gavai smirked.

"I did?"

"You did."

"Alright. At least tell me about my crew."

Gavai hesitated, then leaned forward. "Your crew?"

"If I'm in danger, are they in danger?" Colroc asked.

"No, they shouldn't be," Gavai paused, then shrugged. "Agent Keasten has kept me up to date on what's happening with the privateers. Your crew is fine from what I have heard. The captains are meeting today to discuss who to bring in as a leader and Corso now serves as the captain of your old crew and ship."

"That's a relief to hear," Colroc sighed. "Glad to hear that at the very least. I guess whoever's targeting me doesn't care about them."

"Whoever it does seem to have a plan in mind," Gavai nodded in agreement. "They only want you dead."

"You sure do know how to lighten the mood," Colroc chuckled. "What's your story?"

"My story?" Gavai looked confused at the smuggler.

"Your story. I mean, no offense or anything, but you're the first Rattataki Jedi I've seen, and they never seemed to be the Jedi type. How'd you end up with them."

"That's a long story. I don't remember much of my youth, only that I was enslaved by the Hutt Cartel. I never found out why but a SIS operation rescued me and brought me to be trained as a Jedi. I never questioned who I ended up being since then."

"I never really liked doing business with those slugs anyways. Enough about depressing origin stories. Want to play another round of pazaak?"

Gavai smiled warmly. "That would be fun, yes."

"Let's play then."

Rosu never had a problem with changing the colors of his armor. He styled it after what he thought would get the job done fast. Unlike other bounty hunters, who preferred having their own style, he was more flexible. And with his job today, he thought it would be best to disguise himself as a soldier of the Republic. The new paint job made his travel around Coruscant much less of a hindrance. He no longer had to rely on sticking to the shadows. As long as he looked official, no one would question him.

Rosu checked in with his contact with the SIS to get more details on the operation to protect the Voidhound. His contact wasn't able to get much, only a personal list of the SIS agent in charge and the Jedi guarding Colroc. Only names and pictures were provided with no idea where they were at. Moving on, Rosu took on the mannerisms of the soldier he portrayed and asked the citizens of the planet if they have seen any of the Jedi. Finally, he learned that one of the Jedi, Stedar Binhel, has been seen piloting a speeder bike on multiple occasions.

Now, Rosu waited by the speeder depot Stedar frequently checked in at. The Jedi would never realize what he had planned before it was too late. Stedar arrived at the depot, and after checking in with a protocol droid, left to continue his business. When the Jedi was out of sight, the bounty hunter approached his speeder and stealthily tracked a device underneath it.

Afterwards, Rosu left the depot by activating his rocket boots. He blasted away from the scene and landed on a rooftop not too far away. On the rooftop was a smaller lockbox with his weapons waiting for him. The bounty hunter tossed his rifle aside and took up two blaster pistols, a sniper rifle, their respective ammo, and thermal detonators. He pulled out his datapad, which now displayed a map of Coruscant with a red blinking dot moving across it.

The Voidhound would be within his grasp soon enough.

After finishing up his reports in the evening, Gilliam took his speeder towards the apartment he had Colroc stored away. Protecting the Voidhound and finding out who was targeting him wasn't his first job, but it was definitely turning out to be his most dangerous. With what he had found out, he knew that it was possible his days were numbered. Normally, securing Jedi as guards was next to impossible, but with what he had discovered so far, the Jedi Council deployed four Jedi to see his witness safe.

The SIS had also been willing to lend a safehouse in the form of a high-loft apartment. Since the original attack occurred in the lower levels of Coruscant, his superiors reasoned that it would be best to hide Colroc higher in the city. Gilliam thought it made them stand out too much but it was all they were willing to offer for a high value target. The agent took what he could get.

Gilliam docked his speeder next to four speeder bikes that belonged to the Jedi in the garage of the safehouse. Xekudo stood guard over the door with a handprint scanner over it. Gilliam took his glove off, scanned his hand, and went inside. In the longue, he saw Gavai and Stedar around a table, having finished their meals. The agent looked in shock to see Colroc outside on the balcony with Finueth.

"What's he doing outside?" Gilliam questioned. "Doesn't he know that his life could be in danger?"

"He's trying to put the moves on Finueth," Stedar answered. "Said that he could get past her having no eyes."

Gilliam sighed and Gavai chuckled. "Don't worry, Agent Keasten. Finueth is always on guard, much like Xekudo. If any harm were to come upon Jericho, she would stop it before he was killed."

"I wish I could have the same confidence as you do, Master Jedi. I've narrowed down more names on who wants him dead and it isn't good."

"He's been asking questions again," Gavai informed him. "I don't like staying silent, Agent Keasten. When can we tell him?"

"We tell him once I am positive of who is behind the attacks. Until then, I can't risk it. You didn't tell him anything, right?"

Gavai paused, then shook his head. "I told him about his crew."

"Do they even know he's alive?" Stedar asked.

"I only told Risha. She believes one of the pirate captains she's with is behind it."

"But they're not," Gavai noted.

"One may be involved, leaking Jericho's position for power, but a pirate certainly isn't the mastermind," Gilliam confirmed.

Suddenly, Finueth engaged her green lightsaber and deflected a blaster bolt. Colroc rushed inside. "Sniper!"

Gilliam cursed silently. Stedar and Gavai stood up, pulling out their lightsabers but not yet engaging them. Finueth deflected two more blaster bolts before rushing in after Colroc, closing the balcony doors with the Force. A blaster bolt struck the door, but thankfully, the glass was resistant to blasterfire. Courtesy of an SIS safehouse, of course. Gilliam pulled out his communicator, tapping it online.

"Agent Keasten, calling for reinforcements at-" Gilliam paused. "I'm not getting through."

"You're not getting through because this is the same bounty hunter that tried to take me out before!" Colroc snapped. "Who're we dealing with?!"

"According to my files, a Cathar by the name of Rosu Phorgi," Gilliam looked up to the rooftops, trying to find the sniper. "Not 're leaving."

"Where to?" Colroc asked.

"SIS Headquarters. He won't be able to get you there. Master Jedi, you'll escort us there."

"Understood, Agent Keasten," Gavai nodded and Finueth retracted her lightsaber. "We're leaving!"

The Jedi formed a protective formation around Gilliam and Colroc: Stedar leading the way with Gavai and Finueth covering their flanks. They proceeded out to the garage, where they were joined by Xekudo. The four Jedi mounted on their speeder bikes while Colroc and Gilliam got into the speeder the agent drove. There was a brief dispute on who would drive.

"If you're not giving me a blaster, let me get behind the wheel," Colroc demanded. "I'm still the best pilot this side of Coruscant."

"And I memorized eight different paths to get to the SIS Headquarters," Gilliam shot back and got in the driver's seat. "You're riding shotgun. Without a blaster."

Colroc sighed but fell in line, taking his seat in the speeder. Finueth and Stedar blasted away first with Agent Gilliam following after them. Gavai and Xekudo followed afterwards.

When the Jedi were out of sight with his target and the SIS agent, Rosu threw his sniper rifle off the roof. It was an easy way to destroy any evidence he left. He proceeded to pull out his datapad and looked at the same map from before. The red dot was on the move, proceeding into speeder traffic. Before taking off, the bounty hunter scouted out the different escape routes and knew of the different ways to intercept his target.

This time, Rosu was going to put a blaster bolt between Colroc's eyes to make sure he was dead for good. But first, he would show them that no matter what, they could never run from him. A little fear may put the Jedi off their guard and allow him easier access to his target.

Rosu pressed a red button on his datapad before free falling from the tower he was positioned on.

Colroc gasped when Stedar's speeder exploded. He heard Stedar scream out in agony and flew back. The Jedi and pieces of his speeder slammed against Gilliam's speeder before they all fell down towards Coruscant's surface. Gilliam lost control of the vehicle briefly but was able to get back on track. Finueth positioned her speeder directly in front of Gilliam's while Xekudo and Gavai held position.

"Do we have eyes on the bounty hunter?!" Gilliam spoke into a commpiece, panicking.

"One, the Jedi can't hear you since we're being jammed," Colroc pointed out. "Two, I didn't see a blaster bolt!"

"If he was close enough to get to Stedar's speeder, then who knows what else he could have done," Gilliam gulped. "We're compromised. We won't make it to headquarters."

"Give me a blaster already! We're sitting ducks right now!"

"A stray blaster shot might strike a passerby," Gilliam shook his head. "You're going unarmed for now."

"Oh come on!"

Before Gilliam could offer a counter argument, they both gasped in surprise when Rosu landed on the hood of his speeder, shattering the glass window. Gilliam tried to pull out a blaster pistol to fight him off, but Rosu's first blaster bolt struck his shoulder. His gasp turned into a scream when the second bolt struck him in the gut. He slumped over and the bounty hunter turned his blaster towards Colroc.

The smuggler leaned to the side, crashing into Gilliam to avoid the blaster bolt. He quickly grabbed the wheel of the speeder and made a hard right turn. Rosu was flung off the speeder and crashed through a glass window. Colroc sat back up, close to Gilliam, and turned away. Finueth stayed by him while Gavai and Xekudo flew after Rosu.

Colroc sighed in relief to hear Gilliam groan in pain.

"I'm driving," Colroc commanded. "Scoot over here. SIS should have a medical droid for you."

"Don't," Gilliam muttered, working on handing Colroc control. "The only way Rosu could find out about you is if SIS was compromised, even by a bounty hunter contact."

"You're bleeding out, and frankly, we shouldn't risk civilians. We'll stop, then figure out our next plan from there."

Colroc started to pillot the speeder towards the lower levels of Coruscant. He was worried for Gilliam, and even for himself. However, he thought that Rosu was no match for two Jedi, especially after that crash. Maybe he would survive to meet with his crew.

Rosu growled and stood up amongst shattered glass. Thankfully, his armor protected him from any cuts, although he was certain that he was definitely going to have some bruises from the crash itself. He was starting to hate Coruscant. He never had to worry about crashing into any buildings back on Nar Shaddaa. Nor did he have to worry about the Jedi.

Speaking of, two of the Jedi broke off from the escort to engage him. Rosu smirked under his helmet. He was already good to claim one Jedi bounty, but now, two more were coming straight for him. It was going to be a good payday for him. He quickly ran through his suit and his weapons. The rocket boots were still functional and he had a dead man switch for his thermal detonators on the side of his left index finger. He dropped one blaster pistol in freefall but had the other holstered on his belt, loaded and ready for action.

The two Jedi flew their speeders into the building and hopped off. Rosu identified the two as Gavai and Xekudo. The Zabrak pulled out his lightsaber and ignited the blue blade while the Rattakai took a step forward.

"Rosu Phorgi, you are under arrest for conspiracy against the Galactic Republic and the murder of Stedar Binhel!" Gavai announced. "Stand down now."

"Has that line ever worked?" Rosu smirked. "I'm already one to one on Jedi kills, and frankly, I'm feeling lucky today."

"You just ran out of luck," Gavai shot back and ignited his blue blade. "Surrender your blaster and any other weapons or we will use force to detain you."

"Use force, or the Force?" Rosu chuckled. "I'm sorry. You set me up for that."

Gavai advanced on Rosu wearily while Xekudo stood behind him, ensuring that he didn't try to fly away on his rocket boots. While it would have been a difficult fight, the bounty hunter was confident he could hold them off. Killing them was another matter though. However, with the Voidhound getting further and further, he didn't have time for a difficult fight. The Jedi were a bonus objective, something he could live without.

Then again, he could down one without a fight.

"I'll stand down," Rosu announced, reaching for his belt. "I'll slide this over to you."

"No tricks."

"I am giving you all of my weapons."

Gavai stood still, watching Rosu closely. The bounty hunter unclipped his belt, which dropped down onto the ground. He was careful to keep the thermal explosives behind his feet and slid it over to the Jedi. However, he let out a gasp as he overshot the slide, with his belt landing by Xekudo and the speeders. Both Jedi quickly showed shock expressions and sensed the danger they were in.

The blast radius caught Xekudo and the speeders immediately. The Zabrak was blasted against the wall and collapsed silently, unmoving. Gavai was quick enough to leap out of the blast and Rosu turned to face him, his horror faded away and he prepared for action.

"You'll pay for that!"

"And the Empire will pay handsomely for two Jedi kills," Rosu shot back. "Two for two."

Rosu activated his rocket boots and blasted out of the hole he first made, quickly leaving Gavai behind. He may have been able to kill Xekudo but he lost the element of surprise. Even against one Jedi, he would rather not risk losing to an armed Jedi. At least Gavai was out of the fray, leaving the Voidhound with one Jedi left.

His lockbox had more weapons and gear. Yet, even while he was unarmed, he felt alive. Although Rosu took up the way of a bounty hunter, his true passion wasn't with blasters or explosives. Hand-to-hand brought him back to the good old days back in the ring.

Rosu settled on beating the Voidhound with his fists. That way, he would know his target was dead.

Eyes immediately fell on Colroc after he landed his speeder on a public platform, and carried the injured Gilliam on his shoulder. The citizens of the lower levels didn't try to stop him though, and after he fell out of sight, returned to their own business. Colroc knew his way around the lower levels. This was his kind of environment and he recalled a small (and unlicensed) medical outpost. He found the door on the side of a building, and knocked on it. For the right amount of credits, the black market doctors would patch Gilliam up.

It was too bad that Colroc didn't have any credits on it.

When a human man in a lab coat answered the door, Colroc pointed Gilliam's blaster at him. "SIS! Hands up!"

The doctor raised his hands. "I didn't do anything!"

"I don't care!" Colroc forced his way into the building with Gilliam. "You're going to patch my friend up now."

Colroc hated using brute force as a method, but there was no denying that it was effective in a time of crisis. The doctor led Colroc to a backroom, with a medical droid on standby. Colroc set Gilliam down on a table and let the doctor and droid get to work on patching him up. The Voidhound kept watch. Gilliam was fighting against falling unconscious while being treated with stimpacks and coolant spray. Colroc was hopeful that the agent was going to pull through.

When the door opened again, Colroc turned his blaster towards the guest, only to sigh in relief at recognizing Finueth.

"I am sorry for being late," Finueth bowed her head. "You did speed off without telling me where you were going."

"Gilliam needed treatment," Colroc motioned towards the agent. "He took two blaster shots."

"You made the right call," Finueth nodded. "Rosu is more dangerous than we could have anticipated. Already, he has killed two of the four Jedi to guard you."

"He killed another?!"

"Sadly, yes. Just before I found you, Gavai called in to tell me Xekudo was killed. Gavai himself is stran-"

"He called you?" Colroc asked, and received a nod. "We must be out of his jammer's range. It's time to call for backup."

"We're compromised," Gilliam groaned with the medical personnel finished with their treatment. He slowly sits back up. "There's no one we can trust to come for us in time."

"My crew can get here, but I need to be the one to call them," Colroc grinned. "They're good people. Let me call them, and they can make it."

Gilliam closed his eyes, thinking it over. Colroc crossed his arms while waiting for an answer from the SIS agent. Given the danger they were in, there was no denying that they needed help. If Gilliam insisted on remaining paranoid, then Colroc would take charge. He knew that his crew would never betray him. He worked hard to earn their loyalty and trust. They would come to him if he told them.

Finally, Gilliam sighed, opened his eyes, and pulled out his holocommunicator to hand to Colroc. The Voidhound grinned and accepted it. Gilliam relaxed back down on the table for rest, leaving his allies to their own devices. Colroc used the holocommunicator to contact Corso. If his first mate was now in charge of the Whirlwind, then he would be best to rally the crew to the rescue. Thankfully, Corso picked up the call, and his frown turned to shock.

"Captain?!" Corso gasped.

"I'm still up and kicking, Corso," Colroc assured his friend.

"I knew that. I just thought this was Agent Keasten."

"Well, good thing for us that it's me. The Agent and I are in a lot of trouble. That bounty hunter from before is after us, and he killed two Jedi."

"I'll get the others, and we can take the fight to him," Corso said, determined.

"Negative, Corso," Colroc shook his head. "We need evac on Coruscant. Fly the Whirlwind to the usual hanger, and we'll be there."

"Roger that, Captain," Corso smiled. "The crew will be excited to-"

Corso's image flickered out.

"We're being jammed again," Finueth noted.

"Rosu is nearby," Colroc said with a frown. "He's going to find us. We need to move."

"About that," the doctor spoke up, and everyone turned to him. "Your agent friend is badly wounded. I patched him up to the best of my ability, but he needs a hospital."

"Does your ship have medical facilities?" Gilliam asked Colroc.

"We have Guss," Colroc sighed. "I can't stay here, but I can't leave you either."

Gilliam breathed in, closed his eyes, and exhaled. "I have a plan. Listen closely…"

Rosu's prey was near. He recognized the speeder Agent Keasten and Captain Jericho used at its platform, and there was nowhere else left for them to run. Colroc had tarnished his perfect reputation as a bounty hunter. He needed to patch that up with one last kill, and he could return to his normal business. The extra credits from the Jedi kills were useful, but he would be happy to return to doing jobs away from the war.

All eyes were on Rosu. The lower levels of Coruscant were filled with criminal underlings, waiting for a chance to earn an extra credit through any means necessary. Rosu understood their plight. For a long time, he didn't have any hopes outside of the boxing ring. When opportunity presented itself, he took it, and the next thing he knew, Rosu was on his way to becoming one of the galaxy's great bounty hunters. He wouldn't have changed how he came here at all.

Finueth stood several feet away from him, with no robe over her Jedi garb. She clutched her lightsaber but did not activate it.

"Rosu Phorgi, you are under arrest for conspiracy against the Galactic Republic and the murder of Stedar Binhel and Xekudo Sotos!" Finueth declared. "Surrender!"

"The last time someone said that, I killed a Jedi," Rosu shrugged. "Where's Colroc Jericho?"

"Far away from here," Finueth told him. "Your hunt is over."

"No, I don't think he's gotten away so quickly," Rosu reached to his back pocket. "There's more landing platforms not too far from here. You landed at one of them, gave the captain your robes as a disguise, and are stalling me."

Rosu wished he still had a blaster with him to take down one more Jedi, but he would make do with what he did have. He threw several credit chips on the ground between him and Finueth, and the underworld scum scrambled. Soon enough, a fight started over the money on the ground. Rosu blasted off with his rocket boots, and threw more credits on the ground behind Finueth to attract more attention. The Jedi was stuck in a street brawl, unable to escape as the bounty hunter blasted off.

Colroc Jericho no longer had any Jedi Knights to hide behind.

Navigating to the next landing platform was quick and easy work for Rosu. And sure enough, he saw a robed man heading towards an open speeder. Finally, the hunt was coming to an end. Rosu landed down on the bridge connecting the platform to the streets, and cracked his knuckles. He couldn't make out Colroc's face with the cowl covering his head, but it was him.

"End of the line, Captain!" Rosu growled.

In response, Colroc pulled out a blaster and pulled the trigger.

The first blaster shot struck Rosu in the shoulder, but his armor held against the attack. Rosu dodged the next attack as he rolled up to his target. He kicked the blaster up into the air, and assumed his boxing stance. The bounty hunter blocked the first punch, then delivered a quick series of jabs to his chest. Surprisingly enough, his target collapsed from the attack. Rosu expected more from a famed target such as the Voidhound.

Rosu caught the blaster as it fell back down and aimed it at his defeated foe. "There's no faking your death this time, Colroc."

Rosu pulled the brown Jedi robe off. Agent Gilliam Keasten grinned in pain. "You're right about that."

"Where is Colroc?!" Rosu demanded.

"Far away from here," Gilliam chuckled.

"I want answers!" Rosu roared.

Gilliam looked up at the sky, and smiled in relief. Rosu followed his gaze to see the Whirlwind flying through Coruscant's atmosphere, descending towards the direction of the Coruscant Starport. The bounty hunter recognized the ship's design from his briefing and knew of its significance to the privateers. Rosu's grip on the stolen blaster tightened. Even if he used the speeder behind him, Colroc had a head start on him. The Voidhound was going to make it to the ship and leave the planet before he could catch up.

Rosu had been outwitted again.

"I imagine your employer won't be pleased to hear you've failed," Gilliam taunted. "They should have hired someone better, right?"

Rosu shot Gilliam twice in the chest and walked away from the corpse.

There was a short celebration after the Whirlwind picked up Colroc and Finueth to escape Coruscant. Corso returned command of the Whirlwind to its true captain and pilot, and Colroc served drinks for earlier. It went unsaid to his crew, but the Voidhound was drinking to honor the memory of Agent Keasten. Against Colroc and Finueth's protests, he willingly offered to sacrifice his life to give them a chance to escape. Although they had their disagreements, Gilliam was loyal to the end. If he was alive now, Colroc would have offered him a spot on their crew.

The celebration was cut short with a priority call from Rogun.

"You want to answer that, Captain?" Corso asked.

Colroc relaxed in his lounge seat, and shook his head. "No need to scare Rogun now by me answering his call. You let him know."

Corsos nodded and activated the holocommunicator with Colroc watching. Rogun's image flickers on board the ship. "Captain Riggs, we have a problem."

"Actually, I'm the first mate again," Corso corrected. "Captain Jericho is back."

"He's alive?" Rogun asked in shock. "Then maybe he can help take care of the captain we just voted in to take his spot as one of the leaders."

Colroc stood up from his seat and steps into view. "What's wrong with the new guy?"

"At first, it was nothing," Rogun explained. "He was a pirate. There were a few recent years that he didn't have a solid alibi for, but Leg vouched for him. He claimed he was an acquaintance of Trizz'mal before he died. He was voted in just an hour ago."

"And what happened since then?" Colroc asked.

"He just gave an Imperial transport ship clearance to land."

Leg stood nervously next to the newly appointed privateer leader in a docking bay, holding onto his scatter gun. All of his work led up to this moment, and he couldn't be more nervous. It didn't help that Rosu hasn't called in to report his status, but there was no going back now. He made his choice and he was going through with it until the end.

Leg looked towards his side. "So, uh, did I do a good job, Captain Revel?"

Andronikos Revel turned his tattooed face to look at Leg, then nodded. "Yeah. You did alright. You'll get paid your share."

Leg sighed in relief. The docking bay doors opened to reveal two dozen Imperial troopers in their red-and-black armor. Leading them was a Sith, wearing impressive dark robes with a curved lightsaber clipped to his belt. The most noticeable feature was his steel mask, which was mostly gray, but silver around the eyes and mouth.

A/N: For those of you who are wondering, yes, that is the Sith Inquisitor from SWTOR. We'll learn more about him in the upcoming chapter.

I'm back, and I'm focusing my attention solely on this for the time being. I am hoping to finish this over a short period of time. For now, enjoy, and leave a review if you want to.

Until next time.