Chapter 4

Beks, and Vulkars, and Swoops

Mission took them back to the sewers. "The Vulkar base is to the northwest. Fortunately, I can take down their force shield. Unfortunately, the back way is guarded by the pet rancor."

"Pet rancor?" Carth shook his head. "Well, this just keeps getting better, doesn't it?"

"A rancor beast on Taris?" Kairi asked.

"Yeah, don't ask me how it got here. I know it used to make its nest in the sewers. Eats anything it can get its claws on - it's HUGE! The good part is that it's really stupid. I've sneaked past it before."

Reaching the first hub, they heard a voice behind them. "D...don't move!"

Turning around, they faced a baby-faced human in light armor - probably another tracker.

"Settle down, you idiot. Don't be wasting your ammo," a gravely voice shouted to him. "The rakghouls have already taken out a half-dozen men and the last thing we need is a foolhardy firefight."

Catching up to his position was Canderous with three other mercenaries. One was limping. Another was holding his side. Canderous himself had a vicious-looking chemical burn on his forearm, but didn't seem to notice it. The Mandalorian regarded them with something akin to amusement. "Well, now...if it isn't the odd pair." He shook his head at Mission. "They hire you on as a guide, street rat?"

"No, sir," she said. "they helped me out, so I'm helping them."

"You're too good-natured. It'll get you killed," he argued, then abruptly turned to Kairi and Carth. "Look, I know you two are obviously from off-world, and I don't know how you got here, but you'd best turn back. This place is dangerous."

"Is that supposed to be a threat?" Kairi asked.

Canderous smiled. "Mandalorians do not make threats, Miss, we make promises. Especially to someone who can fight, as you obviously can. No, all I'm doing is giving a friendly warning."

The mercenary holding his side let out a moan. Kairi took off her pack. "We've medpacks - and rakghoul serum. At least let us help you."

The three of them patched the mercenaries using a couple kits and made sure they were inoculated.

"I told Davik this wasn't a good idea," Canderous complained. "These men aren't trained for this, and I can't baby-sit them!" Flexing his arm experimentally after Kairi finished her bandaging, he nodded approval. "You seem to know how to handle yourselves though."

Kairi explained, "We've business here, as do you."

Canderous snorted. "Let me guess - those Republic escape pods. Well, forget about it. The damn Vulkars already stripped those. Likely, there's nothing worth finding. Just how did you get the vaccine anyway?"

"A doctor in the Upper City."

Canderous dropped his voice, and snatched her arm, his large hand easily encircling her forearm. He exerted not quite enough force to injure her, but enough to let her know he meant business. "Someone had to deliver it to him, which means stealing it from the Sith. Your Republic boyfriend might think I'm stupid, but I'm not. I keep track, Kairi Niko. I know what's luck and what's the real thing."

She raised an eyebrow at the fact he knew her name. "Anything else you'd like to say?"

"Only that I'll continue to watch." He let go of her limb and put an equipment pack at her feet. It was full of fragmentation grenades - inelegant, but certainly effective.

"That's in trade for your services."

Before she was completely aware of it, the words slipped out. "Vor entye."

One iron-colored eyebrow went up, and she half-imagined that he was smiling, even if his outwardly stone face didn't change at all. He called over his shoulder. "We're heading back to the surface, boys. Move out."

They vanished into the darkness of another sewer tunnel before Mission gestured for them to follow her.

****

Sure enough, in the northwest corner of the sewers was a purple, shimmering forcefield. Mission stepped up to the computer panel in front of it like a master musician to her instrument.

"You won't be able to get past that if you don't know the proper codes. Fortunately, I picked the pocket of a Vulkar that had a little too much to drink in the cantina and..."

The shimmering field faded away, allowing them access. It was still a few more kilometers' worth of twisted passages and reeking corridors before they found the rancor beast.

It was in a vast pit, guarding the door on the other side. A rusted ladder was the only way to the bottom. The beast had to be the size of a house! Brown, leathery hide would protect it from blasters or blades, and its squashed-looking face boasted fangs the size of a man. Clearly fighting it was no option.

"How in the hell did you get past it last time?" Carth asked.

"Waited until the Vulkars were feeding it, and snuck past them. I was small, they were large - they were better-looking food."

Carth got an idea. "Well, when we were fighting the Mandalorians, they made booby traps out of people they killed. Planted a bomb in the corpse and waited for us to try and recover it."

"Sounds gross," Mission said. "But the Vulkars have fed a few Beks to it, so I know it'll eat that."

They backtracked through the corridors and hubs of the sewers, back to the place where the Sith patrol had met a bloody end. Mission looked a little green. Kairi and Carth did the better part of the dragging. Loading the dead man's garments with fragment grenades, they threw it down into the pit where the Vulkar's pet rancor was starting to wake up.

The Rancor woke up, smelling food in the pit. Taking the body in its large claws, it gulped it in a single swallow. They were starting to believe their plan had failed when it trudged back to its nest. Halfway there, it halted clutched at its belly howling with pain, letting out a screech that was straight out of a nightmare.

BOOM!

Fire shot out of its gullet as it stumbled backwards, reeling as the succession of grenades set off a chain reaction. They barely missed getting doused in rancor innards when the last massive explosion went off, and the rancor's enormous carcass dropped to the floor of the pit. Mission looked very queasy, and no one blamed her when she brought up the rear after ducking off to a side corridor for a moment.

The back door guard was alone, and as Kairi approached, he pulled out a sword and tried to defend himself. Kairi knocked the sword from his hand and he fell to the floor. She could see now that he was an older Twi'lek man. He fell to his knees and looked up at her, pleading in his dialect.

"I surrender! I surrender! Don't kill me! I'm not like these others - Brejik and these new Vulkars!"

"What are you talking about?" Kairi asked. "You're not a Vulkar?"

"I am Tal. I am a Vulkar, but I was here long before Brejik - back when being a Vulkar had some honor to it. When he took over, the gang became bloodthirsty thugs. They treat us original Vulkars like second-class citizens." Tal grimaced. "I used to be third in charge - now I guard this back door, and will be fed to the rancor if I try to leave the gang."

"Well, you needn't worry about the rancor. It's dead."

"What are you after in the base?"

"The swoop accelerator. We're trying to retrieve it."

Tal laughed. "I can get you there! Take the passkey. It will work the elevator, and you can cause all sorts of trouble if you get to a terminal and slice the security here."

"As for jumping ship, Gadon needs help. Would you consider it?" Mission asked. When he nodded, she took a black ribbon off her head tail. "Tell them Mission sends you."

"Thank you!" The man vanished into the darkness of the base, heading for the lift to the Lower City.

If the Vulkar base had been anything but a chop shop, Kairi would have not believed it. Large industrial engines clattered and whirred, generating both power for the base and a maddening din. The spaces were wide and open, large motors humming and partitions with patrol droids walking with impunity, shooting down any invaders. Fortunately, droids were also very easy to destroy. Down a dusty, mostly unused section converted to storage, they found a neglected computer terminal. Mission went right up to it and fished out a few computer spikes. Spikes were the name commonly given to small devices that could flood a terminal's security program by either infecting it with a virus or overloading it with digital garbage. In some systems, possession of them could land one in jail. Taris, however, was not in one of those systems.

Using the shadows to their advantage, they took advantage of the loud music blaring from the recreation hall, and the engine noises from towards the far end of the base to cover their movements. Droids patrolling the halls didn't last long when they met with Carth's blasters or the women's blades.

Mission plugged her spike into the interface and shook her head. "They spend all their time strutting around the streets and leave their base wide open. Gotta love the brains on these guys." She pulled up the schematic and sent it to Kairi's datapad. "From what I can tell, the accelerator would be in the office of the head mechanic. That's on the far end of the lower floor.

"Lots of Vulkars and only three of us," said Carth. "Mission, can you create some kind of distraction?"

"Give them a few things other than us to worry about? Sure thing!" Her small, blue hands flew over the keys. "I'll shut down the alarm systems and set a timer to put the generators into cold shutdown - that ought to keep them busy. Oh, lookie here. They control their droids from these panels? Talk about dumb! From here, I'll scramble their programming so the guard droids will shoot at anything that moves. And just so it'll take them even longer to clean up the mess…" She looked over her shoulder. "Get away - fast!"

Mission put in her last bit of instructions and started running like her feet were on fire, catching up to Carth and Kairi. No sooner had she escaped to a safe distance then the terminal seemed to melt - sparks shooting out of it, the panel catching ablaze and the stench of fried electronics hitting them.

Already, the generators were grinding to a halt, and cursing echoed through the halls as mechanics and repair droids raced everywhere. The patrol droids were firing wildly; at the Vulkars, at the repair droids, and at each other. Techs staggered out of a spice lab that was venting sweet-smelling fumes into nearby halls, and there may have been some fires starting, judging from the shouts. The Vulkars had their hands full, and the state of chaos was just what they needed, as the foot traffic was heading one direction, and they were headed the other.

Tal's passkey got them to the garage level. Swoop bikes, at least a dozen of them, were in various stages of repair. Carth taking point, they ducked and crept through the garage, using the bikes as cover. No one dared say a word, lest they give their position away. So far, everyone was too busy with the distraction Mission caused.

They got to the Head Mechanic's office undetected, and Mission sliced the lock. Kairi and Carth guarded the door as she searched, wrenching open the lockers in the back and the drawers on the desk. There wasn't going to be the time or reason to go slowly on this one. Finally, Mission broke the lock on a drawer in the bottom of the desk, and pulled out a small black device the size of a blaster. "Found it!"

Carth somehow expected it would be more of a problem. "Y'mean this is it?"

"Yup! We'd better get out of here - fast!"

They opened the door to race back to the elevator, only to find five Vulkars blocking their way out led by a reedy looking Twi'lek.

"Look what we got here. The Bek's little mascot and some mercs the old man hired to steal our accelerator."

Mission bristled at the word "mascot" and fired back. "Brejik stole the engine from Gadon. It was never yours to begin with, Kandon!"

"What's the old man paying you?" Kandon asked. "We could easily double it."

"The Vulkars have done nothing but take shots at us since we arrived here," Kairi said sharply. "You think we'll join you? You must be stupider than you look."

Kandon brought up his blade. "Well, then. Guess you won't be leav -."

He didn't get to finish that sentence, as Kairi ran him through, spun on her heel, and smacked a female Vulkar with the flat of her blade, knocking her unconscious.

As she fought, Kairi could only see panic and fear in her attackers, washing the world in shades of red. The tattoo of her heartbeat seemed to drown out any sounds. It was as though she were outside her own body, watching herself block and counter, strike and parry. It was nothing more than instinct, muscle memory remembering things she could not consciously recall.

It was only after the five Vulkars lay unconscious or dead did her feet become wobbly and she half collapsed, Carth's arms steadying her.

"Easy there. You wounded?"

She shook her head, part to answer him and part to shake off the disconcerting feeling that seemed to cover her.

There were shouts and footsteps coming closer. They'd have to fight their way out.

Blasters and swords clashed as they rushed past towards the elevators. Carth lobbed grenades to clear out any backup. Herding the women ahead, he slammed the lift controls while laying cover fire.

The lift shot upwards to the top level and the Lower City. When they were almost convinced that the worst was past them, the elevator halted abruptly. Mission swore and ripped open the access panel. "They're trying to trap us!"

As she tried to re-wire the lockout, two Vulkars crashed down into the lift. Five people in such tight quarters weren't the best conditions for a fight, but Kairi and Carth made the most of it. Kairi managed to pull the shock stick from the first one's belt and jam it into his throat. Carth was less subtle, the other one knocked out by a left hook and a jab to the abdomen.

Mission looked up. "I can't stop them! They're going to drop this car to the basement! I've jammed it, but I don't know for how long!"

Carth looked through the hole above them. "Come on! Through the ceiling! I'll help you two up."

He boosted them through the hole and they helped pull him up. Three thick cables supported the old lift, and they barely had time to pull Carth out and grab the cables before the car they'd been riding plunged down the shaft, crashing to the bottom as a pile of twisted metal.

They climbed to the next level, Mission taking another small device out of her coat and aiming it for the doors. "This ought to open the doors, but we won't have much time before the generators totally shut down."

The door slid open, with a harsh grinding noise, and the three of them swung into the main hallway - and the business end of several Vulkars who had the drop on them. Behind them, the Vulkar base's main entrance was right behind them, open to the streets of the Lower City and freedom. That was - if they had a chance to reach it.

The Aqualish in charge was laughing as he pointed his blaster at them. "Not too smart are you? We Vulkars smart. We Vulkars tough..."

His toadies laughed with him in a way that made their blood cold. No way out.

And that's when they heard a loud clanking and scraping noise - metal shrieking against metal. The Vulkars were confused and panicked, and that's when everything went dark. The once-swaggering Aqualish had vastly changed his tone as he started shouting orders to his disoriented followers to find the "rest of the intruders."

As the Vulkars were regrouping, they took their chances and rushed the disorganized group, fighting past them in a crazy sprint for the doors. They made it to the maze of the Lower City, losing the rest of the Vulkars in the process.

****

"Gadon!"

"Well, now, Mission. Glad to see things worked out right after all. Where's Zaalbar?"

"Guarding our hideout," she said. "You wouldn't believe what we did!"

Kairi and Carth were grinning broadly as they walked in, striding right up to Gadon's desk and putting the accelerator on it. Zaerdra's jaw just about hit the floor.

"I...I can't believe this! It's the prototype, Gadon. Just like they said."

Gadon sat smugly back in his chair. "You sure you folks don't want to boast Bek colors full time?"

Mission laughed. "Hey, I'd love to, but it's up to them."

"I hope you're still able to come through for us, Ganon," Carth said. "Is the race still on?"

"Like the sun comes up," Gadon said. "It's tomorrow morning. Now, which of you is going to ride under the Bek flag to win your friend back?"

Carth looked over at Gadon. "What's the catch?"

Gadon's silver eyes studied the accelerator with concern. "The accelerator has a few bugs - we've worked out most of them, but it's only good for a few laps. After that..."

"After that, it explodes," Zaerdra said. "That's why Gadon's not putting one of our racers on it, but if you race with this, it's the best chance you have of getting that Republic officer back from the Vulkars. Most likely, it's your only way."

"Then I'll ride it," "I volunteer," "I'll do it." All three of them spoke almost at once.

"Only one of you can," Gadon said. "Those are the rules."

"Kairi, I'm a pilot. I'll take the risk," Carth insisted.

"I'm smaller," argued Mission. "And I'd do it for Gadon as much as you. I won't let you two down."

Kairi shook her head. "No. Mission, if we succeed and get Bastila out of there, your knowledge of Taris and hiding spots is too valuable to waste. Carth, if Bastila is to get off the planet, she'll need a pilot skilled enough to fly through the blockade. The Republic can also afford the loss of a translator more than it can afford the loss of a veteran pilot and officer. If I fail, it will be up to you to free Bastila and have Mission get all of you into hiding."

"Kairi, are you nuts?" Carth gaped at her. "You can't even remember if you know how to ride a swoop!"

"True," she countered. "But Carth, think about this tactically. It makes sense that I go."

Gadon folded his arms. "You don't get to be leader of a swoop gang unless you can work all the angles, and I agree with the lady," he said. "Hell of a thing to decide, but you are too valuable to lose, Mission."

"Gadon!"

"Mission, think for a moment; you know more hiding places than I do, and I used to lead the Beks as a resistance cell when the Mandalorians showed up. If Kairi, Carth, and their Republic friend are to evade capture from the Sith, their fate is in your hands."

She swallowed hard. "Y…Yes, sir."

He stepped out from behind the desk and looked Kairi up and down, his silver eyes unblinking. "As for the two of you, let's do this the old fashioned way. I'll have the mechanics take you both down to our track. Whoever gets the fastest time gets to race for the Beks. Even if you fail, one of my own riders could still come through. Best of luck."

They shook on it.

The practice track was not far, of course. Zaerdra escorted Kairi and Carth down to it and gave the mechanic brusque directions to test them both out on the swoops.

"Tuula," she said to an Ithorian who was rummaging through a toolbox. "We have some riders who are willing to test that accelerator. Gadon wants to use the old-fashioned method to see who'll qualify for the race."

Tuula looked them up and down. "But we don't have that accelerator, and it's too close to the race to rebuild –"

Zaerdra cut him off, tossing the accelerator to him. It was heavy enough for Tuula to stagger back when he caught it.

"How?"

"Ask them," she said before walking back into the lift.

Carth whistled low as he saw the swoops being pulled out of the loading bay. Lovingly polished and immaculately maintained, racing swoops were barely anything more than a powerful engine with a small, uncomfortable seat, most of them having five gears from fast to insane. The paneling was, of course, in Bek colors, and the gang's symbol was proudly displayed on the cowling. He'd been on swoops before, when he was younger and stupider, but never on a racing model like this one. Even though he was old enough to know better, there was still a fighter-jock part of him that itched to hop on and see if they lived up to their wicked reputation.

Kairi's small hand brushed the side of hers, scowling slightly. He knew her well enough by now; she was futilely trying to remember if she had ever ridden one of these.

"Kairi, you don't have to. If you don't think you can…"

She accepted a racing helmet from the Ithorian mechanic and heavily put it on the seat. "I have no way to know. All I can focus on is the next action, the next step we must take, the next bend in the road. Anything at all beyond next, and…" She shuddered, and took the helmet again. Putting it on her head, she swung onto the bike's seat and fastened the harness.

Carth put his own helmet on. It was too easy to forget that Kairi was more lost than he was.

Her hands danced across the controls. What else could she say? Half them time, she felt like she was trapped in a waking dream. Nothing felt real, and she was not in control of her own body or reflexes. The past was a void, the future was a gray nothingness. Only the moment, and the next moment…that's why she willingly surrendered to the trance-like state that came, relinquishing conscious control of her body to some forgotten knowledge.

3…2…1…

If she stopped to think, she would falter. If she faltered, she would die.

Go!

She kicked the foot control on the swoop, weaving through the obstacles. Carth was parallel to her for most of the race, and they barely avoided colliding. He was just about to overtake her when a pop-up wall activated in front of them. They veered opposite directions to evade the obstacle in their path, and Kairi recovered a split second faster to hit an accelerator pad and boost her swoop into a higher gear. Carth was right on her heels, and Kairi had to hunch over and ride harder. She almost jumped when she hit the accelerator pad, trusting the swoop, looking for obstacles ahead.

The swoop wants to go fast. It wants the accelerator pads. It doesn't want the obstacles… She just had to trust it to do so.

She kicked it up into the highest gear. If she were not in such a trance-like state, she would have frozen with fear or shut her eyes. The disconnect put that fear far away as the path of changing obstacles and accelerator pads sped past her. She was aware of going quickly, but could see and anticipate the obstacles just as easily at this speed as she could at the lowest.

She crossed the finish line and the swoop spent another half-lap around the track to slow to a halt. Kairi sat at the controls, not daring to move, and not aware for several seconds that she had stopped.

"Kairi?" Carth's voice. Just as it so often had, it pulled her back to reality. Shakily, she unbuckled the harness and let him and the Bek's Ithorian mechanic help her down.

"I'm surprised I made it through in one piece!" she exclaimed.

"And beat my time by a full second!" Carth said with amazement. "I'm starting to wonder if there's anything you can't do!"

She glanced back at the swoop. "I'm starting to wonder that myself." But there wasn't any amazement in her statement – just fear.

****

The Taris swoop track was in a sector of the Lower City far removed from the main streets that Kairi and Carth had traveled. The track itself was an old transit tunnel, and the audience watched on monitors via cameras attached to the swoop's cockpit, giving a racer's eye view of the action. Another set of cameras focused on the swoop pits where a Duros sat at a desk in the middle, announcing the race. Various computers in the stands translated the announcements to Basic or other common languages.

As to the rules, each player raced a maximum of five heats, and at the end of the night, the winner was the racer with the fastest time. The only others were; dodge the obstacles, hit the accelerator pads and hang on for dear life.

The prizes were plentiful. The Beks had put up a top quality set of Echani-style armor. One of the smaller gangs put in five hundred credits, another minor gang put up a case full of fine Corellian brandy. There was even a prize from Davik - an elegant set of energy shields.

Kairi was only interested in one prize, though. The Vulkar contribution to the pot was rolled out next to the race announcer's desk. Two large men guarded the cage and the woman inside. She'd been put in an outfit fit for a prostitute, and she looked like she'd been weakened by her treatment. Worse, a neural disruptor collar was clamped tight around her neck.

Kairi sneaked up to the rear of the cage. "Bastila?"

From underneath her long, light brown hair, a blue-gray eye cracked open and looked at her. The disruptor collar would make it hard for her to think, much less use any Force powers she may have had.

"Hey!" one of the guards shouted. "No one gets near the merchandise until after the race!"

Kairi backed off, more from a cold feeling of déjà vu than from the Vulkar guard. According to the files, this was her employer. But there was something else...something that made her curse her lost memory.

****

Opening ceremonies were elaborate, a march of gang colors and banners, presentation of the prizes and praise to the gang leaders. Swoop races were a matter of great ceremony to the Lower City.

As Kairi and the Beks' mechanic made last-minute adjustments to the bike, a Rodian racer named Doba came by to watch. He was dressed in the bright yellow of the Demons, a primarily Rodian gang currently allied with the Vulkars. "Hey, look at this; fresh meat on the track. And Bek colors, too. Gadon must be desperate if he is taking first timers off the street!"

Kairi looked up, raising her racing goggles. "Do you know what the time to beat is?"

"Thirty-eight seconds, rookie. And we've already had one rider that has crashed and died on the tracks. Don't get your hopes up. No first timer ever WINS the season opener. Most of them just die in it."

"I've no intentions of dying. Not today," she answered simply.

"Vulkars put in Redros. He's the champion - best there is. When the Vulkars beat you all, then it'll be over for Gadon and his old ways. Vulkars savage and strong. Vulkars better!"

"Savage doesn't necessarily mean strong," Kairi said, picking up her helmet. "And those who know their strength needn't go around trying to prove it."

On the way out, a leather-skinned alien in a flashy speedsuit of Vulkar orange shoved her. He spoke Basic with a thick, growling accent. "What is this tiny human FEMALE in Bek colors? Beks must be scraping the barrel. Give a stupid person a helmet and you think you're a racer."

"Redros, I presume," she said. Digging the knife a little further, she added. "I heard you Vulkars need to work on security."

"Beks hire mercenaries. They were too cowardly to send their members against us. No Bek could stand up to us!"

She buckled on her helmet as her swoop was towed to the track. "Certain about that?"

Buckled in the tight cockpit, Kairi reached down and gave a final test of the controls. Too much was riding on her swoop - literally.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes and chased the void. Disconnect from herself, allow the void within her to take control…

3...2...1...

GO!

Her swoop took off like a cannon shot, and Kairi held on. Narrowly sweeping past an obstacle, she hit one of the pads as she shifted to second.

The kick from it was amazing! Dodge, hit pad, dodge, dodge, shift...Strangely enough, there was no fear this time. It was almost like when she was playing Pazaak against Niklos.

Find the patterns, see the patterns, and then follow the patterns.

At fourth gear, the world turned into one gray blur. Dodge, dodge, hit pad, dodge. She swerved past an obstacle, but the swoop behind her was not so lucky, crashing into it head-on., and practically vaporizing on impact.

She breathed, and the track seemed to slow, picoseconds dilating in her perceptions. She knew which obstacles would rise, could see the timing and the patterns behind the layout of the accelerator pads.

She hit the gravity field at the finish line that slowed her bike to a stop, and halted the wild ride. Kairi was grinning like a fool when she stepped off. Her heart raced, her body tingled. Oh, she wanted to do that again!

"And Kairi Niko of the Hidden Beks beats Redros's time -- thirty-five and a half seconds!" said the announcer.

The Bek riders cheered, jumping up and down and making gestures of approval. An Aqualish named Phirk patted her on the back. "Incredible. It's not just the accelerator! I've never seen a rookie handle a bike like that!"

Anglu, a Twi'lek racer from the Double Blades, a Bek ally, also seemed impressed. "I was sure you would die on the track, but to see you out there was amazing! I hope Redros learned his lesson!"

Tuula rushed up to her. "You did it, Kairi Niko. You have the top time! You beat racers who have been doing this their whole lives! Someone who's never ridden a swoop before..."

Kairi couldn't be certain if she had or not. Either way, the experience was something she'd not soon forget.

The second round of races brought the numbers down to ten - three forfeiting, three crashing (one sustaining fatal injuries), and four in the finals. Redros and Kairi's times became the talk of the track.

"And Redros of the Black Vulkars posts a record-setting thirty-two seconds!" announced the Duros. "We have not had a race like this in twenty years!"

"Even with the accelerator," said Tuula, "You may not beat that. And the swoop is getting unstable. It's risky to try another lap."

"I have to try, Tuula," she said. "Otherwise the Vulkars win it all - including Bastila's life, and destruction of the Beks. I know what's riding on my swoop. If I don't make it...then maybe one of the others can."

"You wear the Bek colors with pride, human. I will pray to the great Gods of flight for you as you go on the tracks."

"Thank you, Tuula."

She was strapped in again, but feeling a bit less of the exhilaration she did last time. She'd make history or die trying. The countdown began, and Kairi forced herself to clear her mind. The race was the only thing in the universe right now, and everything would go into it...

First gear...

She swung wide to hit the first pad, throwing her forward with a sickening lurch of speed. She dodged an obstacle and quickly pulled up to avoid the remains of a less fortunate swoop.

Second gear.

Dodge, dodge, hit pad...

Third gear...

Swerve, hit pad, and swerve.

Fourth gear...

CRASH! She glanced off the side of a debris pile and the swoop started to shake. It was barely controllable, and the gauges were flashing warnings...

In the audience, Mission turned away, unable to look, while Carth couldn't prevent himself from looking. Zaalbar let out a groan of dismay.

In the cage, a surge of willpower from Bastila and the fasteners on the collar started to come loose with a little telekinesis.

On the track, Kairi decided to risk it.

Fifth gear.

Flames and smoke burst from the back, and the track rushed by at a blur. The swoop was shaking, the alarms were blaring. A piece of paneling sheared off and soared backwards. The swoop was falling apart, but the end of the line was so close...

She swerved right, hit the pad and let it push her further. The engines belched fire and the left one let out a tremendous boom. The swoop hit the gravity field at the end of the course, and what was left of it slowed drastically. She pulled one of the cockpit's pins and the other snapped away. The cockpit shot backwards and the engines blasted forward, hitting the wall and bursting into flames. The metal plate underneath her shrieked and threw off sparks before it spun into a wall, severing the safety harness and allowing her to roll away.

In the cage, the clasp had come undone, and Bastila's hand reached up, pulling it off her neck and dropping it to the ground...

Carth put a hand on Mission's shoulder. Zaalbar straightened, closing his eyes and starting to say a prayer to the gods in his native tongue...

And out from the tunnel, walked Kairi Niko, taking off her helmet and smiling to the awestruck crowd. A cheer burst from them, loud and approving.

"Kairi Niko crosses the finish line, so the referees say it counts! Twenty-six seconds! There has never been a time like that - ever! Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the winner of the Taris Lower City swoop race...Kairi Niko of the Hidden Beks!"

Kairi bowed graciously.

Brejik, however, was not very gracious. He shoved the Duros announcer from his seat and threw him aside.

"Hear me, all of you! The Bek's cheated - they used a non-member as their rider, and used a prototype accelerator! Unfair advantages!"

One of the smaller gang leaders, a Twi'lek man, made a gesture of contempt. "Shut up, Brejik. There is nothing against what Gadon did."

"They stole that accelerator from us!"

"You're a liar, Brejik!" Kairi said. "The Beks invented that prototype, and your gang attempted to steal it!"

Mutters abounded. The situation was tense. It was broken by a voice from the back, the words spoken in Twi'lek.

"Kairi Niko speaks the truth! The Black Vulkars have dishonored themselves!"

It was Tal, the old Vulkar gang member Kairi had refused to kill back at the base. He jumped into the swoop pit and charged right up to Brejik.

"Tal...I will not abide this insult!"

"Your insult was killing off the old members, the slaughter in the streets, and your cowardly behavior! I have been a Vulkar for twenty years...when it had honor. You have no honor. Kairi Niko and the Beks not only won the race fairly, they surpassed your theft and dishonor in order to do so!"

Brejik turned to his Vulkars. "We spit on this sham - and withdraw our share of the prize!"

The gathered members gasped. The Duros announcer was stunned. "That...that is just not done. It violates all of our codes and traditions."

"Curse them," Brejik spat. "They mean nothing. Hear me - my way is the way of the future! I'll sell her on the slave market and none of you can stop me!"

"Oh, I think I have something to say about that..." The lock on the cage snapped apart, the door flying and hitting one of the Vulkar guards. Bastila stepped forward. Throwing out a hand, a Vulkar guard flew backwards! The double-bladed staff of the Vulkar guard, meanwhile, sailed into her hand.

"How...how...?" Brejik was stunned enough to quit his ranting. Kairi had already pulled out her sword and run up to Bastila's side.

"You underestimate the strength of a Jedi's mind, Brejik." Bastila's blue-gray eyes narrowed. "And it's going to be your last mistake."

"Vulkars - to me! Kill the woman! Kill the Bek's rider! Kill them all!"

The scene quickly turned to chaos. All-out war broke out in the pits, the audience...everywhere. And most of the attacking was against the Vulkars! The smaller gangs started fighting along with the Beks!

Kairi pulled her sword and guarded Bastila's back as the two plowed their way through the Vulkars in the pit areas, racing for the exits. "Maybe those bloody Vulkars will think twice before trying to keep a Jedi in chains. And as for you, if you think you can collect me as a prize..."

Kairi didn't know what to say - between recognizing Bastila's face from the dream, and this strange attitude of hers...

"Wait..." Bastila looked closely at Kairi's face. "I don't believe this...you..."

"Bastila, right?" Kairi said hesitantly, feeling like an utter fool. "I'm Kairi Niko...your...Well, I was the translator you brought aboard the Spire."

"I know who you are, Kairi, just..." Now it was her turn to seem a little stunned. "However did you wind up racing for some swoop gang?"

"It's a long story, and no time to explain it now."

Brejik and four Vulkars blocked their way to the audience areas, shock-sticks drawn. Brejik had a badly-wounded Tal shoved against the wall.

"I'll show you...humiliating me in public!" Brejik roared, picking up his knife and preparing to run Tal through.

"Brejik!" Kairi shouted. "Let him be."

Brejik turned, hatred twisting his face. "You little shutta! You cost me EVERYTHING!"

"A thief has no right to complain when he's been robbed," quipped Bastila. "Now, Brejik, let the man go."

Three shots from the back felled Brejik's guards. It distracted Brejik long enough for Tal to palm a dagger from his sleeve, and use his last bit of strength to jam it through Brejik's throat.

"Vulkars of old...we've been avenged..."

Tal and Brejk slumped to the floor - dead.

Carth, Mission and Zaalbar came down the steps. "Bastila! You're all right! Finally, things are looking up." Carth rushed to her. "Come on."

"Commander Carth Onasi...you're alive? Well, that's good news. As far as rescues go, this has got to be one of the worst examples."

Mission shrugged. "I didn't see you doing any better."

Bastila gaped at her. "I got out of those restraints without your help, thank you VERY much. And you're lucky I helped with that fight. They would have killed you otherwise - it's more accurate to say I saved you."

"You can argue it to the Sith if we don't get the hell out of here," Carth said. "Mission - the fastest route to the hideout – hurry!"

The End...?

Lightsabers crashed and sizzled as the three Jedi fought. The one known as Bastila was in the forefront, her yellow saber cutting down two Sith apprentices with ease.

A pause in the battle as only one remained. Clad in Sith armor, all features obscured was their leader...Revan. The Dark One pulled out a red saber, powering it on and dropping into a fighting stance.

Two Jedi stood behind Bastila, and the battle raged outside. The Sith were losing, and the ship was doomed.

Her jaw set, her head high, Bastila looked directly into the masked face of the Sith ruler. "You cannot win, Revan!"

No move on Revan's part, and the tension so thick a lightsaber would not be able to cut it...a stalemate as each side waited for the other to make a move.

Fate or treachery intervened.

An explosion rocked the bridge, and the Jedi struggled to keep their footing. A conduit behind Revan exploded, knocking the fallen Jedi to the floor, felled by a lethal combination of electricity and detonating plasma.

Bastila ran up to the lifeless Sith, pulling off the heavy mask, her face registering surprise...and was it anticipation?