Ran and Zul crashed through the underbrush, no longer bothering to try to stay silent. The whole jungle seemed to have come awake thanks to Coorta's explosions. They had run across more than one hostile creature, giving Zul a chance to prove his worth to the mission once again. The Zabrak was an excellent shot with a pistol, falling most enemies before Ran even had a chance to raise his own weapon.

Ran could feel his breath burning in his chest as he ran, reminding him that he'd been getting lazy now that he had Kadira to do the heavy lifting when it came to rescues. He was finding he preferred the position of Advisor to that of field agent. Fewer things tried to eat him when he was inside a ship.

The jungle canopy rustled, alerting Ran to the presence of a small ship flying directly overhead. A ship that was certainly not the Vanguard. He cursed, veering to the side and knocking Zul to the ground in the faint hope that the ship would pass over them. Instead it hovered in place, leaving Ran with no doubt that the ship's lifescanners had already pinpointed him and Zul.

"Kadira, Laniff!" he shouted into his comm, looking around frantically for some sort of shelter. The jungle offered none sufficient to withstand an attack from Coorta's ship. "It looks like Coorta has managed to track us down. I need you two to shoot her ship down before she takes us out."

::No can do, Ran,:: Laniff replied cheerfully. ::I don't really wanna shoot myself out of the sky… I think Kadira agrees, though she's laughing too hard for me to really be sure.::

::Ran, we stole Coorta's ship,:: Kadira explained, her calm voice debunking Laniff's statement. ::She's unconscious back by the bunker where we lost contact with you. We're covering you from the air. I suggest you get moving Cityboy, you've got a pretty nasty group of crits chasing you.::

It took a moment for the information to process before Ran scrambled to his feet. He reached out a hand to Zul, still looking up at the ship in disbelief. Zul took the outstretched hand and pulled himself to his feet, chuckling at Ran's expression.

"I take it that was unexpected?" Zul asked dryly, brushing the dirt off his tattooed arms before breaking back into a run.

"Unexpected is an understatement," Ran muttered, a wry smile pulling at his mouth as he started after Zul. He could hear the sound of bombardment as Kadira and Laniff opened fire on the jungle behind him, apparently trying to turn back the closest of Ran and Zul's pursuers. By the time the two reached the Vanguard most of Dxun's wildlife had turned their mad stampede in another direction.

Coorta's ship set down next to the Vanguard, the landing not nearly as smooth as Ran would have expected. As Kadira exited the ship, she pointed back at Laniff accusingly.

"He was the one flying, not me," she said, removing her helmet and lifting one brow at Ran. "So no comments on my piloting skills."

Ran chuckled and gestured to Coorta's ship. "You just stole a ship out from under Coorta's nose. I think I can afford to cut you some slack."

Kadira's smile was tight, causing Ran to frown.

"Problem?"

"Let's get on board the Vanguard. I'll explain there. Don't look so crushed, there's no way I'm letting you fly my ship. Do you have any idea how much it cost me?" Kadira asked, lifting one brow at him pointedly. "Laniff is going to hold on to what he's now calling the Revenge. Said he needs a new ship anyway, and he is the one who managed to steal it."

Laniff waved from the ramp of the Revenge giving Ran an elaborate bow. Ran rolled his eyes skyward before he ducked inside the Vanguard, following Kadira.

"And Death Watch is…?" Ran asked slowly, leaning backwards in his seat after listening to Kadira's news. His dark eyes were troubled as they followed Kadira's pacing form around the navigational room aboard the Vanguard. She hadn't been able to sit down ever since making the jump into hyperspace. He was considering trying her method of throwing a hydrospanner, but wasn't sure what her reaction would be.

"Death Watch is a group who believes Mandalorians should go back to what they see as our glory days. The days when we were conquerors. But they're more than that. They've been responsible for the deaths of countless Mandalorians, as well as aruetii," Kadira saw the question in Ran's face. "They believe that outsiders are killing Mandalorian society." She rubbed her hands over her face, looking worn. "They're murderers. Have you heard of the Battle of Galidraan?"

Ran frowned, trying to draw the slightly familiar name from his memory with no success. Finally he shook his head.

"It was a battle between Mandalorians and Jedi before the Clone Wars," Kadira explained. "It was part of the Mandalorian Civil War. A group of Jedi attacked an army of True Mandalorians led by Jango Fett. The Mandos were hired to combat a group of rebels by the planet's governor, but the Jedi were informed that we were killing 'political activists'. Long story made short, most of the Mandos were wiped out. Some stories even went so far as to say Jango was the only Mandalorian left in the galaxy, that's how bad it was," Kadira sat down finally, running one hand through her hair. "To get to the point, Death Watch arranged all of it in order to get rid of the Mandalorians who opposed them. And now it's happening again. Death Watch is rising, and the Mandalorian Protectors are firmly in their sights. All this is just the start," Kadira gestured vaguely around the ship. "Coorta isn't interested in you, not personally. You're just a job to her, exactly like Zul is… But me, and now Laniff? We're personal."

"And what is she to you?" Ran asked softly, watching as Kadira's head snapped up at the question. Her gray eyes narrowed in thought, their expression hard.

"…She's my enemy," Kadira said finally, her rasping voice soft and more dangerous than Ran had ever heard it. "She chose this path and Dxun was her last chance to turn back. I'm not going to stand by and wait for Death Watch to destroy my vod."

Ran was silent for a moment, leaning forward to look into Kadira's face more closely. He found himself slightly surprised by the intensity he found there.

"You're serious about this," Ran murmured, frowning slightly.

"Yes," Kadira responded simply.

"And what happens if she catches you?" Ran asked. "If she chooses not to kill you right off, you know she won't just turn you over to the Empire. Laniff was serious when he said she had some nasty fate planned for you."

Kadira's face became grim once more. "So I make sure she doesn't take me alive."

The beeping of the ship's navicomputer interrupted any response Ran might have made, leaving Kadira to rise and make her way to the cockpit. Ran felt the change in the ship's movement as they dropped out of hyperspace. He rose to his feet, looking out the small viewport window. He could make out the round orb of Dantooine, looking incredibly peaceful from this height. No one would guess it was the site of a Rebel base.

Ran glanced towards the cockpit, his gaze troubled. Things were moving too quickly. He had placed Kadira in a position to draw the attention of a Death Watch member, as well as drawn the Empire's notice to her.

"It wasn't meant to be this way," Ran murmured, looking back out at the planet before him. "You were supposed to be faceless, unknown. You were meant to stay the wildcard, Kadira." But things had gone wrong starting with Belsavis. Ran's face tightened and he clenched his face. Alaida Dain was the root of all of this. Somehow, she knew Ran's moves before he did. She knew how he would act, where he would go… And she was always ready with a counter-attack. Ran slammed one fist into the wall of the Vanguard, not noticing the sharp pain it left in his hand.

Kadira stood quietly in the doorway, watching Ran. Finally she spoke up.

"I'm still the wildcard, Cityboy," she said softly. When he looked at her, he saw the quiet confidence in her eyes. "Coorta and the Empire might think they know me well enough to predict what I'll do, but they're wrong." A small smile tilted her lips, something like mischief lighting her eyes. "I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Alaida Dain landed her ship on Dxun, scowling out the cockpit window at the gold armored Mandalorian lounging casually against one of the planet's massive trees. Lowering the ramp, Alaida waited with arms crossed and eyes narrowed. As soon as Coorta entered the ship Alaida rose slowly to her feet, anger evident in every movement.

"You said you could take care of this," the words were low and poisonous.

"And you said Scorlo was cautious," Coorta retorted, removing her helmet to glare at Alaida. "Instead, I walk into a base with a wall that's been blown to bits with his partners already in Onderon's jungle escorting the Zabrak to Sal's ship. Not only that, but apparently he has two Mandalorians at his beck and call, not one."

"Then we try again. But this time, we strike first," Alaida said, her voice cold. She glanced up and saw the expression on Coorta's face. "You'll get to hunt down Kadira and her companion, Coorta. You'd best not fail this time."

"And what of Scorlo?"

Alaida smiled, turning back to the ship's sophisticated controls. "I'll take care of Ran… He's had this coming for a long time," she murmured as the ship lifted slowly off the ground, guided by Alaida's expert hands.

A/N: Thoughts, anyone? I'm not above begging for reviews :)