Hey guys,

Here's the next installment of Republic Commando: Death Trap, enjoy.

Ciao!

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars and blah blah blah.

Chapter 6

Republic Encampment, Shili

They returned to the med tent and were greeted by the sight of Bloodbath and Arcus playing cards.

"What are you guys doing?" Des asked.

"Playing Sabaac, loser gets dumped in the nearby lake," Bloodbath said, never taking his eyes off Arcus.

Arsenal started snickering and Des just raised an eyebrow. They had been playing for around an hour when Ramik suddenly exited the tent. The card game stopped as Arcus and Bloodbath stood to meet him. Des got up from the bench he had been sitting on, jostling Solus from where she had been sleeping on his shoulder.

"They're going to be alright," Ramik said. "We've repaired as much damage as we could on both of them, Ves is going to finish healing naturally; but Rever still needs extensive care. When we get back to the ship he needs to go into a bacta tank, but even then he'll be stuck with a limp for the rest of his life," he finished.

Everyone was silent as they processed this new information. It was Arsenal that spoke first. "May we see them?" She asked. Ramik nodded and turned to let them through, but stopped her as she was about to walk past.

He held her face and inspected her nose, which was still broken. "You should have had this set sooner," he said. She was about to retort that he wasn't exactly available to help when he suddenly jerked her nose to the right.

The pain was excruciating and tears started to fill her eyes in a reflective action. "Shab! Why couldn't you have warned me first?! She shouted as she cradled her nose.

"Because you would have made it harder than needed to be," he said before heading back inside the med tent. Arsenal glared at his retreating form and muttered a few choice words, but she knew he was right. She took a few moments to collect herself before she went into the tent.

Ves was lying on his left side with his body wrapped in bacta coated bandages. He lifted his head when Arsenal came in and started whimpering. She came over and stroked his head affectionately before going to stand beside Rever.

His right thigh and upper torso was heavily wrapped in bandages and bacta. His eyes were slightly open and he had a breathing mask over his mouth and nose. Unfortunately, his scars were completely exposed.

"How are you feeling?" Des asked.

/I've been better/ he signed and Bloodbath translated for them.

"We lost you in the fortress, but Arsenal and I managed to revive you," Des said, using Solus's nickname because, so far, she had only given Des permission to use her real name.

/I guess that's why my chest hurts like osik/ Rever signed, bringing a round of soft laughter. He glared at them. /That wasn't meant to be funny/ he signed.

"But it was," Bloodbath said. Rever rolled his eyes and then continued glaring, this time at Bloodbath..

/You're lucky I can't move right now, or else I'd beat the osik out of you/ he signed. Bloodbath was about to retort when Ramik's voice came floating over from the opposite side of the tent.

"Bloodbath! Quit aggravating my patient or I'll turn you into one!"

Bloodbath snickered and nudged Arsenal in the ribs. "He doesn't really mean it," he said before yelping as a well aimed scalpel stuck into the pole next to his head. "Wanna bet?" Ramik growled and Bloodbath held up his hands in a placating gesture.

Arcus, who had been standing quietly to one side, finally spoke. "I can assure you all that when we return to Coruscant Rever will receive the best care the Republic can offer," he said and Canon Squad nodded their thanks.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Ramik spoke. "We need to let Rever rest, so it's time to clear out." Everyone nodded in agreement and started to move towards the exit, but Bloodbath was stopped when a hand grabbed his wrist.

He looked down and Rever made some motions. "Arsenal! Wait, Rever wants to talk with you a moment," Bloodbath called out. Arsenal stopped and turned, she hesitated until Des placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him and he nodded, nudging her towards the cot holding Rever.

Rever made some motions and waited until Bloodbath translated them for her. "Rever says that he would like me to translate what he's about to say," Bloodbath said, then Rever began "talking".

/I heard about what you said on the gunship/ he signed. /I'd like to apologize for my previous behavior, do you want to start over?/

"I think I could manage that," Arsenal said. Then she and Bloodbath made their way to the tent opening. Just before she stepped out she turned to look at Rever. "By the way, my friends can call me Solus," she said and left, though out of the corner of her eye she thought she saw the ghost of a smile on his face.

Half a standard hour later,

"I have to say, that's the first time I've seen Rever like that in a long time," Bloodbath said, he frowned down at the cards in his hand. "You almost got him to smile, which would have been an amazing feat."

Arsenal smiled but staying silent, absent mindedly stroking Nolan, who was sitting by her feet. Ramik, who had left Rever under the care of another medic, was reassembling his deece when he spoke. "What I'd like to do is shoot that hut'uun who stabbed Rever," he said, emphasizing his point by brandishing the now complete weapon.

"I can assure you all that this Sladner character will be brought to justice," Arcus said as he shifted through his cards before drawing one from the stack between him and Bloodbath.

Arsenal studied him thoughtfully. "Why do you care so much about your men? From what I've heard most Jedi don't even acknowledge that clones are people, and I also that attachment among Jedi is forbidden," she said.

Arcus sat back, staring in the ground as he thought of his answer. "It is true that most Jedi believe that clones are below everyone else, some even refuse to acknowledge the fact that they are intelligent beings and think of them as nothing more than well trained animals." Ramik growled at that statement. "But I believe otherwise. As a baby I was separated from my family and not allowed to contact them due to the fact that the Order believes that attachment leads to the dark side, but my heart told me otherwise, so I began secretly searching for my family. But I'm getting sidetracked, so I'll finish answering your question," he said.

"When I became a General I felt the need to fill the void left by my family, so I befriended my men and started seeing them as brothers instead of soldiers and they, in turn, saw me as a brother as well."

"Did you find them?" Arsenal asked. Arcus looked puzzled. "Who?" He asked. "Your family," she said. Arcus nodded and took a deep breath before continuing. "I discovered that my father had fallen into debt with a local crime lord, and, when he was unable to pay it back, was murdered along with my mother and two brothers while my fifteen year old sister was sold to a brothel. I rescued her and found her a nice place to stay on Coruscant with an older woman who was a friend of mine."

"Do you have any contact with her?" Bloodbath asked and Arcus nodded. "I call her at least once a week and send her credits on a monthly basis. When we get back to Triple Zero I'm going to go visit her, you're all welcome to come along, though I should warn you, she's nervous around men."

They all nodded and were silent for a few minutes, then Bloodbath suddenly shouted. "Yes!" He said as he showed his cards, his points totaling to 22, the highest score so far. "Get ready to take a swim," he said smugly, leaning back in his chair with his hands behind his head. "I wouldn't start celebrating just yet, Bloodbath, General Arcus hadn't shown his cards yet," Des said. With that opening Arcus laid out his own cards, and silence descended onto the small group.

"No way!" Bloodbath said, his voice filled with disbelief, for staring up at him was a total of 23 points. Arcus smirked at Bloodbath. "Sabaac," he said, then everyone except Bloodbath started laughing. "I guess you're going for a swim, Bloodbath," Arsenal managed to get out between breaths.

"That's impossible! You said you didn't play!" He said to Arcus in an accusatory manner. Arcus just laughed. "I said I didn't, I never said I couldn't."

"That's not fair!" Bloodbath stated.

Arcus got up and started walking towards the lake. "Come along, Bloodbath, you don't want to miss your evening swim," he said.

"There is no way I'm going into that lake," Bloodbath said and tried to retreat, but Des grabbed his torso and Ramik grabbed his legs. Arsenal fell over laughing, startling Nolan, who began running around as Des and Ramik carried a protesting Bloodbath to the edge of the lake.

"Let me go!" Bloodbath shouted. Des and Ramik looked towards Arcus who nodded. "You heard him boys, let him go."

Bloodbath, who realized what Arcus was doing started protesting even louder. "That's not what I meant! You know..." Then Des and Ramik dumped him in the lake.

For a few seconds everything was quiet, then a very wet and very angry Bloodbath appeared above the water's surface, a litany of curse words leaving his mouth.

"ARCUS! I'll get you for this!" He yelled. Arcus just laughed and walked back to camp with Des and Ramik, strings of abuse following them every step of the way.

Dooku's stronghold, Sorreno

"Count Dooku, I regret to inform you that your mining operation on Shili has been destroyed and Lok Durd is back in Republic custody," Driso Sladner said.

Dooku frowned. "This is most disturbing news indeed. Who is responsible?"

"A squad of Republic Commando troops and a Mandalorian bounty hunter that goes by the name Arsenal, they managed to infiltrate the fortress and blow it's power core," Sladner said. "They knew where they were going, so they must of had some kind of map or blueprint of the stronghold."

"That's interesting, I will be keeping you on my payroll, stand by for further instructions," Dooku said before cutting the transmission. He would make sure this Mandalorian bounty hunter paid for her interference.