Kadira and Laniff moved carefully, their comms constantly activated as Ran had requested. The jungle made travel slow, especially with all three of them moving warily. The last thing they wanted to do was run into a stormtrooper patrol. Laniff's own stormtrooper gear was far from camouflaged, leaving Kadira glad that he was used to being seen. Red and orange didn't blend into many landscapes.

More than once they had needed to make a detour in order to avoid some large creature Kadira's HUD warned them was close. None of them wanted to be drawn into a battle with the local wildlife if they could avoid it. Zul occasionally offered direction when Kadira's HUD was unable to pick out the best path, leaving both Mandalorians grateful for his apparent experience.

::Kadira, Laniff, we've got a problem,:: Ran's voice came over the comm, sounding worried. Laniff raised one hand in a signal for everyone to stop. Zul looked between them, but didn't question as he saw both Mandalorians place a hand to their helmets.

"What's going on, Ran?" Laniff asked, glancing across at Kadira.

::Coorta has already arrived in the city. It looks like she beat us here by a few days.::

"If she's already here, why hasn't she made a move?" Kadira questioned warily.

::She was about to. I've just gotten word that Coorta planned to move tonight. Zul was placed in the holding cell so that Coorta would have easy access to him.::

"Oh shab," Laniff muttered, gripping his rifle tighter. "We're going to need to move faster. No doubt Coorta knows we're here and that we have Zul. If she was here early, she was probably notified when we landed. But why didn't she try to stop us?"

::My guess is she was aware we were here and that we were planning something. But the only time she's seen us work was on Belsavis, where we were working a much more cautious angle,:: Ran explained.

"So she didn't see this coming. At least not so quickly," Kadira said, picking up her pace to keep up with Laniff and Zul.

::Exactly.::

"Is there another route we can take back to the ship, cityboy?" Kadira asked. "This is the first one we thought of, which means Coorta has probably thought of it also."

::Negative. You're too far in to abandon this way now. If you leave the treeline, you'll be in full sight of both Coorta and any stormtroopers looking for you.::

"I'm not too concerned with the stormtroopers," Laniff said dryly. "Believe me, I wasn't kidding when I said this suit has a blind spot the size of a bantha."

::Unfortunately Coorta doesn't have that handicap,:: Ran responded. ::There's one other thing you should know. Coorta is apparently outfitted in full Mandalorian armor.::

Kadira stumbled in surprise, just barely regaining her footing in time to avoid a fall.

"She's wearing beskar'gam?" she asked incredulously, using the Mandalorian word for armor.

"Ran, how in the word did she manage to get a hold of Mando armor?" Laniff asked urgently. "If she has the firepower to match-"

::Then you're currently evenly matched,:: Ran finished grimly. ::I know. Get Zul back to the ship as fast as you can. The sooner you're both fully outfitted, the better I'll feel.::

"Laniff, we have something large approaching," Kadira warned suddenly, bringing her rifle up fully to her shoulder as her HUD began to flash in warning. Whatever it was, it was moving fast.

"How large?" Laniff asked, drawing to a halt. Zul stopped beside Laniff, placing his tattooed shoulder against the Mandalorian's at an angle. When Kadira reached them and placed herself on Laniff's other side the three made a small ring, each facing outwards warily.

"Very large," Kadira answered grimly.

"Flying or grounded?" Zul spoke up, his voice still as calm as before.

"Flying," Kadira answered as her HUD finally was able to offer a better view of the creature. It was still a fair distance away, but covering ground fast.

"Probably a drexl. Nasty creatures," Zul said raising his pistol.

Kadira's HUD brought up an entry about the drexl, causing Kadira to wince.

"Laniff, we're looking at a scaley flying lizard...thing," she said finally, unable to think of another word to describe the creature.

"They're predators, one of the main reasons Iziz was built. Aim for the eyes, and don't break apart," Zul instructed. Kadira glanced at the image in her HUD before tossing Zul her other pistol.

"That one doesn't have a trigger, just a pressure sensitive grip. I think you're gonna need it."

Zul chuckled, the sound low and calm as he brought the modified scout pistol to bear. "When this is over Mando, you're going to have to connect me to your weapons supplier."

"If you can keep this thing from eating us, I'll be glad to," Kadira responded wryly, eliciting another laugh from Zul.

The drexl crashed through the jungle canopy without warning, letting out a high pitched shriek that seemed to shatter the silence. Laniff and Zul both opened fire with rapid pistol shots, causing the drexl to shriek again as the blaster bolts lit up the nght. Kadira's shots were slower as she used her rifle's magnifying sights to cause as much damage as she could. The drexl crashed to the ground and backpedaled, shrieking in pain and blind fury. It obviously hadn't been expecting its prey to fight back.

"Now we run," Zul instructed, slamming another power cartridge into each pistol.

"Not gonna argue with you there, vod," Laniff replied as Zul spun to race in the other direction, Laniff and Kadira following closely. They could hear the drexl crashing through the jungle behind them in pursuit, still shrieking in fury. The three abandoned all attempts at silence, instead crashing through the underbrush as fast as they could. Stormtroopers were the least of their worries at the moment.

Laniff stumbled slightly, nearly losing his footing as a root caught his foot.

"Keep going!" Kadira urged, steadying him with one hand and firing her rifle with the other. A pained shriek signaled her shot had struck home.

"Does it look like I'm going to stop?" Laniff snapped in reply, firing off more shots behind them as he caught up to Zul.

The zabrak looked like he was enjoying the chase, his yellow eyes shining as he occasionally turned to fire back at the drexl. Somehow he still managed to remain calm and focused, making Kadira wonder what exactly he had done to make the Empire come after him with such a vengeance.

"We're almost to the edge of the treeline," Kadira informed Zul and Laniff, snapping off multiple shots with her rifle. "Once we get there, we'll have to make a dash for Iziz."

The end of the jungle came almost without warning. The drexl seemed to be falling behind, apparently reluctant to continue its pursuit of such difficult prey when the jungle had much easier meals to offer.

Kadira ventured to the edge of the treeline, looking towards the lights of the city. Her HUD picked up no more lifesigns in the bare stretch of ground before the walls, causing Kadira to nod.

"Alright, let's get moving. I'd rather not give Coorta any time to form a secondary plan. Especially since it's not likely to work out in our favor. Laniff, you and Zul go first. I'll cover you from here. When you're across you can cover me. Sound good?"

"Stay safe," Laniff responded before looking over at Zul. The zabrak nodded once, the horns on his head catching the faint moonlight and sending strange shadows dancing over his tattooed face.

"Lead the way, bucket-head," Zul said, flashing a sharp grin.

"Why is it I always get that name?" Laniff muttered before darting out into the open, Zul following close behind.

The two made it to cover without incident. Kadira was just about to follow when her HUD flashed another warning. Dropping to one knee, she pressed her cheek against the stock of her rifle. Taking two breaths, she held the second and waited. With a crash, the drexl burst through the canopy once more, only to be met by a single well placed shot. The creature crumpled the rest of the way to the forest floor, unmoving. Kadira let out the breath she was holding, standing and swinging her rifle over her shoulder.

"Ran? How is it you always manage to stay away from all the nasty critters on these missions?"

Coorta Mashiri crouched in the rubble of Zul Blok's former cell, her gold armor reflecting the light of the glowstick she held. Her HUD was running scans on the rubble and the pieces of explosive she had found mixed in with the chunks of duracrete that had been blown out of the wall. Already she had scanned the security feeds, finding that the alarms had indeed been hacked.

"Well played, Scorlo," she murmured softly. She hadn't been expecting such a bold move from Ran and his pet Mandalorian, at least not yet. Scorlo was usually one to spend more time planning than this. "But the game's not over. Ib'tuur jatne tuur ash'ad kyr'amur. Today is a good day for someone else to die."

She rose smoothly to her feet and slipped out of the cell. Scorlo could have his victory for now. She knew Zul hadn't collected the information he'd gathered, and he'd never leave without it. Coorta would simply follow the womprat back to its nest. Then would she make her move.

A/N: I'd love to hear any thoughts, and reviews really do make me smile like an idiot :)