Anchorhead, Tatooine

Jay could almost feel the heat of the desert through Void's bulkheads. It was the scenery that surrounded them that was to blame; the swirling sands baked by the planet's twin suns, the shimmering heat waves that broke up the horizon, and especially the empty blue sky, devoid of any clouds offering respite from the blazing twin suns. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, feeling the slightest sheen of sweat beading her skin even from her place in the ship's cockpit.

As Void coasted down over the seemingly endless desert that covered almost all of Tatooine's surface, Vhetin dialed out a hailing code for Mandalore. Brianna's comlink, as a matter of fact.

"So let me get this straight," Jay said as Void breasted a sand dune taller than a skyscraper. "Brianna has a base here?"

On the horizon was a sprawling collection of dirty, haphazard-looking mud brick buildings. It was the first settlement Jay had seen since entering atmosphere that could pass as a "city," but it still looked like nothing but a tiny smuggler's haven. As it drew closer, however, she realized that it was actually a veritable metropolis of life. Transport ships flitted to and from the city like flies, and she could see crowds of people passing below. Caravans trundled along pathways carved through the sand dunes, the outbound merchants riding great shaggy, horned beasts that plodded through the sand with dumb, determined sluggishness. She even saw a few TIE fighters coasting over the buildings, though it looked like the Imperial presence here was almost nonexistent.

She'd read up on Tatooine during their trip through hyperspace. Apparently the majority of the local economy depended on using mechanical engineering to draw water from deep under the ground — a process called moisture farming. A recent Imperial geological survey had found that Anchorhead rested above a vast underground lake that provided the residents with a near-endless supply of life-giving water. Because of this blessing, it was only natural that Anchorhead was one of the largest trading posts and moisture farming stations on the planet, rivaled only by Mos Eisley to the north.

"Brianna used to maintain a safehouse here," Vhetin explained. With careful, measured commands he guided the ship down into a spaceport on the outskirts of the city. "A few years ago, she and I helped start a militia group in Anchorhead to keep the local troublemakers in check."

"You started a militia? I hope you asked for overtime pay."

"It was part of the contract we accepted. Anchorhead used to be major gang turf. Our mission was to break up the gangs."

"And might that have something to do with the fact you're not well-liked here?" she inquired, gripping the back of the pilot's seat. The deck jumped beneath her feet as the ship settled into its landing struts.

"Let's just say that I was... not as helpful as she was." He sighed and powered down the engines. "The point is that these guys owe her. And, to a lesser extent, me. We need to call in a few of those favors."

"I'd ask her permission first to make sure she's comfortable with that. She might want to use those favors herself, you know."

"That's exactly what I'm about to do." He triggered the holoprojector. "Brianna. It's Cin. Come in."

The radio cut out and a blue-white hologram of Brianna flashed to life above the command console. It was a half-sized holo of the woman's head and shoulders that faded into oblivion at her waist.

"Hey you," she said with a small smile at Vhetin. The hologram warped and sputtered, then resolved into a sharper image. "Nice to finally hear from your end. The hunt is going well, I hope?"

"It's holding steady." The Mandalorian sat back in his seat. "The hunt's taken us to Anchorhead, Tatooine of all places. We're closing in on Kassh, but I need some information."

"And you think that I can provide better intel than Tarron?" The Coruscanti woman laughed. "He's been digging through Imperial files like a bloody kolo mole for the past few hours. He won't even stop to eat. I have to admire his dedication."

"He likes to earn his finders' fees," Vhetin said. "But unfortunately this isn't about Kassh. I need help from your contacts in Anchorhead. Need to call in a few old favors."

Brianna's laugh faded, replaced by calmer, wary caution. "Cin, I don't think they'll be in the mood to talk to you. Not after the last time you met up with them."

"I don't doubt it. But I don't have time to play at being their friend. Do you know where the militia set up their new base of operations?"

"You mean after you blew up the old one?"

Jay raised an eyebrow and glanced at Vhetin for an explanation. He shook his head and muttered, "Another time," then turned back to Brianna's holo. "It's important that I find Massano."

"You know him." Brianna shrugged. "He's not one to stay in one place for long. Jabba the Hutt has been gunning for him and the rest of the militia for years now. Ever since we left."

"Are you sure it's a good idea to reach out to this guy?" Jay asked. "Seeing as how we're technically working for Jabba now?"

Brianna's holo turned to her and smiled. "And how're you holding up, Rookie? All this is a bit different from sparring in Rame's backard, I wager."

"Honestly?" Jay shook her head. "I'm barely keeping up with everything here. Vhetin's the only one who seems to actually understand what's going on. The rest moves too fast for me to keep up."

"Just give it your best," Brianna reassured her. "And you'll-"

"I hate to interrupt," Vhetin interrupted, "but we need this information quickly. If Kassh is dug in here, we're not going to be able to take him down with only three people. The sooner we find Massano and the militia, the better."

The holo stuttered as Brianna folded her arms across her chest. Her blue-white face flickered with static as she frowned at him. "Three people? Who else is there?"

"Uh..." Vhetin hesitated, rubbing the back of his neck. "Kalyn Farnmir."

"Kark it all, Cin. You just can't help yourself, can you? You've never been able to just grit your teeth and pull the trigger."

"The situation was… a little more complicated than that."

Brianna shrugged and rested her hands on her hips. "Okay Stripes. I'll give you the info you need. But I won't be held responsible for what Quoren Massano does to you when you show up on his doorstep."

"Let us worry about that," Jay said. "I think we can handle it. I hope we can handle it."

"If you say so," the huntress said. "Transmitting his coordinates now. Oh, and try not to piss him off too badly. You might hate him, but Quoren's still a friend of mine."

The coordinates scrolled across a readout on the control console, zooming in on a crowded urban area of southern Anchorhead. Vhetin checked the coordinates and nodded. "Sounds good. Thanks, Bri, we'll get on it."

"Good. I'll be waiting for your return call. Bellan out."

Her hologram sputtered out and the holotransmitter powered down with a low whine. Vhetin clapped his hands as he stood and headed for the exit ramp. "Okay. Let's pass this info on to Kalyn and take things from there."

Jay followed close behind. "Sounds good to me. But just who is this Massano guy you two mentioned?"

"I'll fill you in on the way."

Together, they stepped out into the blistering heat of Tatooine's desert and Jay was instantly enveloped in a wave of sizzling desert air. She cursed under her breath as her vision went white and she was forced to narrow her eyes to the tiniest slits as her vision adjusted to the blinding light from the planet's twin suns. She could only barely make out the blurry form of Farnmir's ship, the Tough Luck, gliding down next to them and kicking up a roiling cloud of dust and sand as it did. It was only a few moments before Farnmir herself was heading toward them, buckling a tactical datapad over the elbow-length glove on her right arm.

"What's the holdup?" she asked, as if she could read their minds. "You two know something I don't?"

"We're going to see if we can find some help," Jay explained at Vhetin's prompting. "If Kassh has a base here, we're not going to get in there on our own."

Kalyn narrowed her eyes. "Splitting the reward between even more people?"

"I've got an ace up my sleeve," Vhetin said. "The guys I want to talk with won't want the money. If I know them, they'll just want Kassh out of here."

"Good Samaritans? Fine by me." Farnmir nodded, satisfied. "I'm going to scout out Durge's coordinates and see just how prepared our quarry is. I'll contact you as soon as I know anything."

"Wait." Jay stopped her before she could get too far away. "How do we know you won't just try and go after Kassh without us and claim the reward on your own?"

Farnmir let out a short laugh. "I may be good at my job, Rookie, but I'm not stupid. Charging in with no intel against unknown security forces is not my idea of a smart move.

"Besides," she added with a crooked smirk. "I gave you my word."

She turned away without another word and stepped through the archway that led out to the busy street, where large cargo speeders were flashing by. She looked up and down the street, then vanished into the city.

The two remaining hunters set to their task at a more sedate pace, setting off into the city at a walk. As they left the spaceport, Jay glanced over at her partner with a determined glint in her eyes. She cocked her head, a sure sign that her curiosity was once again gnawing at her.

"So…" she began. "What exactly happened between you and the local militia?"

"Ah, well," he fidgeted. "A long time ago I... well, I kind of inconvenienced the local militia leader, Quoren Massano, and blew up one of their safe houses. A cantina, actually. It was only later that I found out that the cantina was also their local headquarters."

"Uh-huh," Jay said, taking in the information and nodding slowly. "And when you say you inconvenienced this militia leader, you mean—"

"My previous partner and I beat him to a pulp and shot him in the chest," Vhetin replied tersely. "He spent a week in a medcenter. We also killed one of the militia's protectees and caused about a hundred thousand credits' worth of damage to the city."

"Ah." Jay nodded, not even looking surprised. "So that's why you said not to expect a warm welcome."

The Mandalorian nodded. "I'll be surprised if he doesn't shoot us on sight."

"Well let's just hope he reserves his righteous indignation for you alone," she said, pulling a face. "I didn't blow up his safe house."

"That kind of thinking doesn't really stick out here. You're guilty by association, I'm afraid."

She rolled her eyes. "Great. I suddenly feel so blessed to be your partner."

They walked on in silence for a few minutes, crossing a street bustling with all manner of human and alien life. Round-topped stone buildings surrounded them, dusty and dirty like everything else in the city. Ragged-looking moisture farmers wandered through the streets, followed by spindly-legged eopies laden with bags of scrap. Decorative flags and drapes – a few surprisingly sporting Mandalorian clan sigils – were draped across the streets.

Jay frowned at the crowd, realizing that Kassh had chosen his hiding place well. Finding a single person in the mess would be a daunting task even for the most skilled of mercenaries. Everything from shabby-looking drifters to heavily-armed thugs crowded the walkways. Jay even spotted a few Mandalorians among the crowd, though they offered Vhetin no greetings or signs of recognition. Here, he was just another hunter — a neutral compatriot at best, a dangerous rival at worst.

But the most notable Anchorhead citizens by far were the little hooded Jawas that scurried back and forth through the alleys and sandy walkways with short, jerky motions. She wasn't familiar with Tatooine, but she'd heard of the creatures during her days as a fighter pilot. Her friend Oppan had seemed to hate them with a passion usually reserved only for pirates and shipboard equipment malfunctions.

"Vermin," he'd said during one of his rare moments of vocalization. "They'd steal a moisture evaporator from a man dying of dehydration. The buggers should be exterminated."

He'd always been quiet, so his short tirade against the Jawas had stuck in her head. She didn't know if he'd been telling the truth, but she did know that something about the little beings gave her the creeps; their hooded faces, glittering eyes, and hushed, jittering speech sent shivers down her spine. Yet she and her partner had barely stepped out onto the streets before the little hooded aliens flocked toward them like hawkbats around carrion, squawking and

ing excitedly.

They weren't interested in Jay. In fact, most barely shot her a second glance. Their attention was focused solely — raptly even — on the Mandalorian at her side. Vhetin was a veritable walking death machine, carrying more mechanical equipment and weapons than most beings knew was possible. The Jawas seemed almost magnetically drawn to his gear, pawing at his belt and chattering excitedly as they pointed at his jetpack.

Jay hid a smile as she thought, if they're mechanical thieves, Vhetin must be something close to a god to them.

"Get away from me." The bounty hunter huffed in irritation and brushed the short aliens aside, nudging their tiny hands away from his kneepads and the expensive rocket dart projectors mounted there. He then nudged another away with the tip of one shoe, sending the creature scampering away from where it had been trying to unlace his hefty combat boots. "Go on. Usen'ye, usen'ye!"

The little beings scampered away to hide behind a nearby waste bin, where they poked their heads out and stared at him from a distance with glittering eyes, whispering to each other. As soon as Vhetin turned his back, they scampered out to follow after him — from a safe distance this time.

"Looks like you've made some friends already," Jay said with a barely-hidden grin.

"Little runts." Vhetin shook his head with an irritated growl as the Jawas continued to chatter and gibber behind them. "The last time I stopped by Tatooine, they stripped Void of almost all her external sensory equipment. They took something close to a thousand credits of mechanical scanners."

She raised an eyebrow. "And you just parked your ship here again?"

"No." He shook his head and she heard a tone of grim amusement in his voice. "Now I have a pressure-triggered electro-repulsor that spans the ship. Once Void is locked down, anyone who tries to break into her gets a three-thousand teratoll surprise."

"A teratoll?" Jay asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"Let's just say any would-be intruder wouldn't be alive long enough for their nerves to feel the the shock."

Jay winced. "Ouch. Remind me never to go anywhere near your ship while you're not there."

He adjusted his belt pouches and tossed a final glare at the Jawa posse still following them. "That would probably be smart."

They took side roads and alleys and tried their best to avoid other civilians — they even managed to lose their Jawa tail. It was easy to understand Vhetin's reasoning for such a stealthy approach; if Kassh had set up a base nearby, it was a good bet that he had contacts in Anchorhead that would open fire on the two bounty hunters on sight. If they stayed away from the main roads, their chances of being gunned down decreased dramatically.

After several minutes of silence, Vhetin spoke. Jay was mildly surprised, as he wasn't usually one who initiated conversation.

"So," he said, his tone calm and casual. But there was a note of tension beneath it that caught Jay's attention and made her instantly worry. "You seem to be getting along with Brianna better than before. I told you that she'd warm up to you eventually."

She frowned. "What?"

"Brianna. I think she likes you. It's nice to see you two getting along."

That tight, tense cadence to his voice was still there. Whatever it was he really wanted to talk about, it obviously wasn't Brianna. She was about to point this out when he suddenly grasped her arm.

"We're being followed," he murmured, his voice low. "Third building behind us. There's a sniper — human male — on the roof trying to be sneaky."

"What-" she craned her neck to see behind her.

"Don't look!" he said, nudging her to face forward again. "Just trust me. He's got a high-powered blaster rifle and he's waiting for us to stop moving so he can get a good shot."

Jay's heart plummeted into her gut and her blood ran cold despite the sweltering heat. "What… what do we do?"

"Just keep walking," he said. "And don't look over your shoulder or he'll open fire."

She nodded and instead focused on her feet, heart racing. Vhetin kept his gaze fixed on the street ahead of him, no doubt consulting his helmet's HUD. He raised his voice to its original, unusually casual tone.

"I was thinking of having Brianna teach you about rifle marksmanship when we got back. Your accuracy back on Coruscant left a little to be desired. Has she mentioned that to you at any point?"

Jay glanced at him, looking for some clue of what to do. When she got none, she replied, "Uh... yeah, she… mentioned something when she picked me up for training at the Oyu'baat the other day. I haven't trained very much with rifles, though. Pistols are my strong suit."

"I noticed."

They emerged out onto a busy street once more. Speeders flashed by so fast they blew Jay's hair to one side as they roared by. A tiny Jawa trader ambled down the side of the road on the back of a colossal bantha mount, accompanied by a retinue of dust-smeared Imperial stormtroopers. The bantha tossed its head and bellowed as it trudged past, effectively blocking them from proceeding.

"Now what?" she muttered to Vhetin. "We can't cross."

He just stared ahead. She got the feeling that he wasn't looking at the street, though. No doubt he was consulting his helmet's 360-degree vision, the "eyes" in the back of his head that came standard with almost all Mandalorian gear. His hand was still on her arm — a surprisingly comforting gesture that Jay knew was meant to keep her from making a move too early.

"Wait for it..." he whispered, pretending to look up and down the street as if waiting for a safe moment to cross. "Wait for it..."

Jay watched her partner intently, sweat breaking out on her forehead as she saw him tense. She needed to be ready to move at a moment's notice. She could almost imagine the sniper getting into position on the rooftop behind her: settling in behind the hefty rifle, sighting in on the back of her head, finger hovering over the firing stud as he let out a long breath and prepared to fire—

When her partner spoke next, his voice was no longer quiet. It was harsh and cold and very unlike his normal quiet drawl. It was the shout of a soldier barking orders or a hardened warrior letting out a battle cry.

"Duck!"

Crack!

A yellow blaster bolt screamed past the space her head had occupied just moments ago, before Vhetin had shoved her hard to the side and out of the way. The bolt hit the street and sent sand and rock chips flying everywhere. Pedestrians all around them ducked and screamed at the sound of blaster fire. They scattered into the street, sending speeders careening off course. The passing stormtrooper patrol turned to deal with the new threat but the bantha had been spooked by the shot and took off down the street, carrying a screaming Jawa passenger with it.

The patrol leader cursed and took off after the great shaggy beast, only to be thrown over the hood of an out-of-control speeder that knocked into him from the side. The rest of the patrol shouted and ordered the driver out of the speeder while the lieutenant crashed into a knot of lanky Trandoshan warriors, who obviously took offense at such an affront and instantly opened fire themselves at the white armored soldiers.

More screams, panic, and mayhem quickly ensued. Within moments, everything had erupted into chaos.

Jay scrambled to her feet, drawing her pistol and sighting in on the sniper. She saw a human male clad in a green-black camouflage vest crouching on top of the building directly behind them. Even as she watched, waiting for a good shot, he tossed the rifle aside and broke into a run for the roof's edge.

"He's trying to run for it!" She fired back at the man twice as he leaped off the edge of the building and landed hard in the sand. The sniper used the pandemonium to his advantage, sprinting into the chaotic crowd and firing back at them as he went.

Jay ducked two of the shots and cursed. Why is he so intent on shooting me? Vhetin's the more dangerous one.

"After him!" Her partner drew his own blaster and took off after the shooter. She followed right on his tail. "Don't let him out of your sight!"

They sprinted after the man, fighting their way through the panicked throng of people. Jay dodged and ducked between screaming civilians while Vhetin, bigger and bulkier in his armor, had to resort to shoving people out of the way.

The sniper glanced back at them with eyes wide with terror and fired again. Vhetin caught a blaster bolt in the chest but didn't slow. He stumbled slightly and kept running, his chest piece smoking. Jay heard a frustrated growl over his helmet's vocoder.

They came to a four-way intersection that the sniper immediately sprinted through, not caring about the indignant shouts of speeder pilots that were forced to swerve and miss him.

"Keep on him!" Vhetin snapped. "I'm going to go to the left to see if I can cut him off!"

"Hurry!" she shouted back, running through the chaos and vaulting over a parked speeder. She slid across the hood and hit the ground running. "I don't know how long I can keep up with him!"

Her partner instantly swerved down a side street, dashing through traffic faster than she thought possible. She watched him jump over the roof of a speeder in a single great leap, landing hard in the sand on the other side. It didn't even slow him down.

She gritted her teeth and dodged a Nemoidian junk dealer who was currently screaming at the sniper to clean up the mess he'd made of his stall as he'd smashed through it. She caught the barest glimpse of the attacker's vest, pulling further and further away down the street. The crowd parted for a half moment and she skidded to a halt, sighting in with her pistol on the sniper's back. After only a moment, however, a bulky Gammorean blocked her view of the sniper and she was forced to take off again.

She sprinted into at another four-way intersection bustling with civilians. This street here was far busier than the last. There had to be at least fifty beings hurrying about, paying no attention to a single runaway sniper or the bounty hunters that followed him. And in this throng, the sniper was nowhere to be seen.

Jay came to a halt, breathing hard while her eyes raked over the crowd. Vhetin quickly appeared from down a side alley, staring around wildly as he searched for his prey. When he spotted her, his shoulders slumped and he headed in her direction.

"Hey," she called, jogging up to her partner and meeting him halfway. She was panting hard and her hair was plastered to her sweaty forehead even from such a short chase. The heat was stifling, and she found it hard to draw a full breath. "I'm sorry… I lost him."

Vhetin nodded, breathing hard as well. "He's… a fast bugger. Come on, let's get after him."

They set off together approaching at a slower and more cautious pace. This man was too important – not to mention too dangerous – to let get away. But there was no sign of his camo vest or his spiky black hair among the sea of beings that crowded the street.

Then another blaster bolt slashed through the crowd. Jay reacted before thought could reach her mind; she dove into the sand and rolled to her knees, scanning the intersection with eyes narrowed and blaster raised. Another bolt screamed through the air she had occupied only moments before.

Vhetin hefted his rifle and stepped forward. "Got him!"

Jay saw her attacker as well. He was some distance down the street, already reloading his pistol for another shot. He was perched on a rickety fire escape mounted on the side of a building, high enough that he had a clear line of sight right to them.

Vhetin knelt in the sand, shifting into a more stable shooting position as he squeezed off three quick shots. People all around them screamed and dove for cover as the red blaster bolts bounced against the scaffolding's durasteel rail and exploded into flashes of light and sparks.

Jay scrambled to her feet and fired twice at the sniper as well. She missed both times. The bolts popped against the building behind his head and he ducked as rock chips pattered against his back. He quickly abandoned his perch, leaping over the edge and taking off again.

"Damn it!" she yelled as she ejected the spent magazine of her blaster and fed in a fresh one.

"We can't let him get away again." Vhetin's gaze snapped toward her. "I'll go high, you go low!"

She nodded and took off into the crowd once more. Behind her, Vhetin blasted into the air on his jetpack, the pack releasing a deafening roar and dual spouts of white-hot flame. He soared up into the air and out of sight as Jay dashed through the throng, shoving people aside and shouting, "Move! Move! Move!"

She caught the barest glimpse of the sniper's camo vest ahead of her, bobbing and weaving as the sniper also struggled through the panicked mob. She glanced to her left and saw her partner land hard on one of the buildings that lined the street. He rolled to his feet and began sprinting along the rooftops, keeping his helmeted gaze fixed on the sniper.

"Move!" Jay shouted again, firing twice into the air to reinforce her point.

It worked, more or less. The crowd parted for her, sprinting for the sides of the street and away from her gun. But they also gave the sniper more room to maneuver. Ahead, he sprinted down a deserted alley and vanished. Jay cursed and forced her legs to pump faster, her boots churning the sand beneath her feet. High above, Vhetin raced across the alley rooftops to keep pace with the sniper. His dark armor stood out against the bright blue sky as he threw himself from one side of a tight, congested alleyway all the way to the other in a single incredibly long leap.

Up ahead, their target raced through an open door and out of sight once more. Jay lowered her head and charged after him as fast as she could, straight through the door and into what looked like a droid repair shop. The room beyond was filled with racks full of old robot parts and sparks showered from the ceiling as repair droids buzzed about the duracrete work floor.

Two Sullustan workers stared at her with their wide black eyes, gibbering at her in a language she barely understood. She leveled her pistol at one of them and fired twice into the wall at the alien's shoulder. Both wrinkly beings screamed and raised their hands in surrender.

"Where'd he go?" she demanded. "The guy in the camouflage?"

The Sullustans both whimpered and pointed down a dark corridor near the front of the building. Jay took off without another word, careful not to slip on a floor slicked with lubricator oil.

Moments later she emerged into another grimy alleyway, the sand turned to mud in patches where the residents had tossed dirty water out their windows. Obviously not the cleanest of places, but maybe the fleeing sniper would slip in the mud.

She saw Vhetin keeping up with her above, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and desperately trying to get in a shot with his rifle.

"Keep it up!" he cried as he front-flipped over a ledge in front of him. He landed on his feet and continued without losing pace. "We're wearing him down!"

He's wearing me down. Jay gasped for breath as she ran. Her legs felt as if they were made of heavy lead and her chest burned with fire that spiked hard between her ribs with every footfall. She sucked in a deep breath and forced the pain from her mind, throwing all her strength and will into the pursuit of the camo-clad sniper. She saw with relief that the man ahead was tiring too, clutching at a stitch in his side as he stumbled along the alley. He was fast, but he was no match for a Mandalorian and a fledgling bounty huntress who'd spent months training for just this kind of occurrence.

And then they finally got their opening; the sniper tripped over a waste can and crashed hard into the dirt, spilling garbage and muck across the alley. Jay fired at the man's feet, making him falter as he tried to scramble back up and continue his flight. She had almost drawn even with him when he fought back to his feet again.

He didn't make it far. Above them, Vhetin grasped a horizontal coolant pipe and swung off of it, using the momentum to launch himself down to the street below. His booted feet stretched out and caught the sniper in the stomach.

"Ooomph!"

The sniper was knocked clean off his feet, flying through the air and slamming hard, head-first, into the mud brick alley wall. His head bounced off the unyielding brick with a crack that made Jay wince despite herself. He bounced off, rolled through the sand for a few feet, and crumpled into a heap. He made a pathetic attempt to rise to his hands and knees, a tortured groan falling from his sand-covered lips. Then he fell again and didn't rise.

Jay skidded to a halt next to her partner, who had also collapsed into the dirt, thrown off-balance by his attack. The sniper could wait, at least for the moment. It was one of the first lessons she'd learned while training: in the field, your partner's well-being came before anything else. Without someone watching your back in situations like this, you were as good as dead.

Vhetin was lying on the sandy ground, gasping for breath as he rolled over onto his stomach with a groan. His armor was smeared with sand and mud and his gray flight suit was torn and dirty from the fall. She hesitated, then put a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you all right?"

He grunted and he sat up, flinching visibly and holding his arm. She saw dark blood leaking from between his fingers; he'd torn open his arm wound again, just when it was starting to heal from the duel on Coruscant.

"I'm… I'm good." When he spoke, his voice came out in a breathless gasp.

"You're bleeding."

"I just skinned my... well, everything with that stunt." He stood with a groan. "I'll be fine. Did we get him?"

"We got him." She helped him up onto his feet then glanced over her shoulder at the sniper, still lying face-down in the sand. "I wonder why he was so intent on taking me out. Did he even shoot at you?"

"No." Vhetin shook his head and stepped away from her. "Not a single bolt."

He knelt next to the sniper and slapped his face. The spiky-haired man groaned and stirred but didn't wake. The Mandalorian slapped him again, harder this time

"Wakey wakey shebs'kovid," Vhetin said. "We've got questions for you."

"Ahh" The man suddenly groaned, reaching down to clutch at his ankle. "My leg! I think it's broken."

"That's the least of your worries right now." Vhetin reached down to his belt and drew a blaster, pressing the barrel up under the man's chin. The man's whimpering stopped — at least temporarily — in favor of quiet gasps of fearful breath.

"We want some answers," the black-armored bounty hunter continued. "Simple ones. Who hired you? Where are they now? And why were you so intent on killing my partner?"

"Kriff... you," the sniper gasped back, though his terrified expression contradicted his defiant words.

"Now you listen here, you little di'kut." Vhetin grasped the man's camo jacket and hauled him up until they were face-to-faceplate. "You're going to tell me exactly what I want to know, or I'll make your life so karking miserable-"

He broke off as the man's jacket fell open to reveal an orange jumpsuit beneath. The hunter stared at it for a moment. Then he let out a disgusted sigh of, "You've got to be kidding me."

He suddenly drove his helmet forward and headbutted their captive hard, square in the face. The sniper slumped to the ground, incapacitated and unconscious once more. Vhetin, meanwhile, rose to his feet and ran a hand across the smooth dome of his helmet in disbelief and indignation.

"What's the problem?" Jay asked, stepping after him.

"This schutta?" Vhetin said, nodding toward the once again unconscious sniper. "He's wearing an orange jumpsuit with local Anchorhead insignias. Only one group wears those around here."

He shook his head and gestured to the limp man. "He's part of Massano's militia."