Nedeser Thul opened his eyes and looked at his two companions. Dren gave a wry grin. "He lives indeed. You alright, Des?"

Des stood and stretched with a yawn. "I'm much better than I was, yes."

Alias blinked his eyes open and yawned. "Much better. Alright, gang, let's keep moving. We have a Jedi Master to rescue."

Moira pulled out her hand help holo-projector again. "Alright, my darlings, here's where we're at. From here, we need to make our way to this turbo lift cluster here. Good news is that it isn't that far. Bad news is that they could still cram a ton of Imperials in that small area. Worse news that the lifts don't go all the way down to the main prison level, which is right here. So we'll have to go down to this level, fight our way across to this lift cluster here and take it the rest of the way down to the prison level."

"Lovely;" drawled Alias, jabbing a finger at the mid level they would have to traverse across. "And that's all catwalks surrounding power cores and energy regulators too. Outstanding!"

Des snorted at his friends sarcasm before pointing at another series of what appeared to be storage rooms. "Do we know what these are, Moira?"

Moira consulted her datapad, which had a topical view map of all levels of the station. "It says paddocks. That's it. Oh, and some of them are biology labs of some kind."

Both Alias and Des groaned. "Oh lovely. Twenty thousand credits says that a bunch of Sith Sorcerers practicing Sith Alchemy on some poor creatures and turning them into monsters that will help guard their prison;" muttered the latter.

Unable to help herself, Moira grinned. "I'll take that bet. My money says that it's just a bunch of friendly Ithorian scientists studying cute, cuddly animals. Anyone else want in on this?"

Despite the seriousness of the situation, the others couldn't help but laugh at her upbeat attitude. "Honey;" said Alias, "if there is even one Ithorian and one cuddly creature, I'll be beyond shocked."

"Well;" Moira said, "we'll never know 'til we get there! Let's get moving."

After another quick glance, they headed towards the corridors. Immediately, Des frowned. "What are we dealing with, Big guy?" murmured Moira.

"That's just it;" said the Jedi Master. "I was expecting war droids, Imperial soldiers, Sith and anything else they could throw at us. But I don't sense anything. There is nothing there! No one."

Alias shrugged, ignited his lightsaber and hit the door panel. There was nothing there. They could see the turbo lift cluster down the corridor. "Well damn!" muttered Dren.

Slowly, they advanced but Alias murmured, "They probably pulled them all to a position of strength down in the levels below. This ought to be good."

They piled into a lift car and slowly road it down. "You know;" murmured Moira, "the one's in Carrack Station and the government buildings on Coruscant have music. Is that too much to ask for?"

"Apparently it is;" snorted Dren.

"Uh-oh;" murmured Alias, mildly.

"Yup, get ready;" agreed Dren.

Blasters were prepped and lightsabers, ignited. As soon as the doors opened, Des lifted his hand and absorbed the storm of blaster fire that came at them by projecting an energy barrier outwards, giving them a chance to egress the lift car. Dren and Moira found pylons and columns to take cover behind. With a wave of his hand, Des send the energy barrier at them. Many of the Imperials took cover but those who didn't were flung back against the walls or their companions. The Jedi dashed forward, engaging the enemy and their companions followed, applying precise blaster fire around their companions. It was an easy fight. For whatever reason, there were no Sith in the defending groups. "All good?" asked Des as the last droids and soldiers fell.

They all checked and, finding everyone and everything whole, nodded and continued. Up ahead appeared an intersection and, beyond that, a large set of double blast doors. "Ambush;" muttered Des.

"Yup;" agreed all three of the others.

"Ideas?"

Alias chewed a lip and cast out with the force. "Well the good news is that they are only on one side, which makes sense since they don't want to shoot each other. They're on the right. Des, you got it?"

"Of course;" said the large Jedi Master before vanishing. The other three waited patiently for several minutes as they heard a pair of lightsaber blades igniting, startled cries, the sizzling and crack of the blade striking objects and panicked blaster fire. When the last woosh, crack, thud was heard, they went around the corner and saw Des approaching, the hallway strewn with dead Imperials behind him.

"Glad that's not a problem anymore;" muttered Dren.

"Yeah well, it's going to get worse up ahead. Right beyond those double blast doors, the dark side is thick and strong. I'm guessing that we're going to be facing Sith and monsters and force knows only what else;" muttered Des.

"Well aren't you just sunny and cheerful;" drawled Moira as she changed out the powercells on her blasters, putting the two partially expended ones on a charger.

Des was proved to be correct just moments later when the blast doors opened. In the distance were a large number of power regulators and the energy snapped and hissed in the air. On the platforms were numerous Imperials and Sith. With them were the ugliest, angriest looking creatures. As they stepped onto one of the wide catwalks, the creatures began to snarl and roar. "Well," said Dren conversationally, "so far, no Ithorians or cuddly animals, Moira. Where's my twenty thousand?"

Moira pouted. "We aren't done yet. Besides, you don't think any of those death hounds are cute and cuddly?"

Again, they were all forced to grin tightly even as the first group of dark side altered monsters charged. They were many and diverse - dark side hounds, winged terrors and who knew what else, many of them almost unrecognizable from that their ancestor possible had been. Behind them, driving them forward were a series a beast keepers and Sith using force pikes and force techniques that whipped the creatures into a frenzy. The first several rows fell to blaster fire but the flying creatures were successful at avoiding the majority of it. They, however, met the blades of the Jedi lightsabers. Des and Alias scythed through them. With blasts of telekinetic and even forks of lightning, they cut the creatures down. Side by side, the Jedi thrust out their hands, thrusting out with the force and a powerful wave caused the creatures to tumble back, yelping and crying in surprise and pain.

Right behind them, the Sith and Imperials threw themselves into combat with reckless abandon. There was no coordination. There was not even the most basic level of teamwork. The rage of the beast keepers gave them stamina and strength, especially in the Sith. By contrast, Des and Alias were side by side, back to back, rolling around and over one another, often tossing and moving one another with telekinesis to the perfect place at the perfect time. Dren and Moira were picking off the remaining monsters and beasts as they tried to attack the Jedi but, due to the Sith and the Imperials near-biological hate of the Jedi Order, they two force blind fighters were all but ignored.

As it seemed the fight was beginning to end, there was a loud clang. At one side where the catwalk widened to nearly thirty meters and connected to a massive door, now open, was an energy shield. One of the tempos of humming died as the energy shield fell and out stepped a massive creature. It looked like it was a nasty, mutated and evolved version of a rancor but it had fangs and tusks and massive spines that stuck out the back of its head. A sharp intake of breath caused the other three operatives to look at Des. To their shock, he was pale. "Terentatek!" he gasped.

Alias hissed too and said, "Okay so what do we do about it? How do we kill it?"

Des shook off his fear and said, "Force attacks are all but useless against it. It has some sort of natural defense that no one quite understands."

"Okay so how do we kill it?" asked Dren impatiently.

Des chewed his lip before saying, "Last I heard, the only force ability that these things are susceptible to is beast speak - the use of the force to communicate with them. I think I can hack it but while I do, it's up to you three to actually kill it."

"And that's our only hope?" asked Alias.

Des turned to him and smiled. "I'm afraid so. You're going to be the one up close and personal with this monster while the others fire everything they've got at it." He turned to Dren and Moira and said, "You two be careful. I'm going to be pissed if you accidentally kill my brother."

Taking a deep breath, Des turned to lumbering, roaring beast and stretched out with his senses. The Jedi was expecting anger, hatred and a dozen other dark emotions. But the sheer level of pain, fear, sorrow and hurt nearly incapacitated him. Gazing at the creatures, Des felt a sudden, massive urge to heal this creatures hurts, to calm its fears and to comfort it for its sorrows but they were literally grafted into its genetic make up. Gritting his teeth, Des spoke directly to the creature. I can help you, I can suppress your pain and calm you. Look at me. Focus on me and remain calm down.

And he did. Using the force, he dulled the creature's pain at least minimally and soothed its fears. It almost felt like a betrayal, even though the creatures intent to slaughter and feed upon the for Republic operatives had not even slightly abated. The hunger there was something that Des could not suppress. "Alias, get going;" he snapped before focusing back on the monster.

I'm right here, my friend. I can help you. Keep all of your focus on me. Come to me.

The first salvos of laser fire slammed into the monster, leaving burns that looked tiny against the terentatek's body. Alias moved in and rolled between its legs and slashed into one of its calves. When the Jedi Knight was clear, a mortar shell slammed into the side of the terentatek's head, causing it to stagger just a little. Even so, the creature was barely slowed down. Lie down, my friend, urged Des. We can end your suffering and misery and hunger.

To his surprise, Des sensed understanding and intelligence in the creature. It was not sentient but it still understood his meaning. As Moira and Dren reloaded their weapons and Alias circled, looking for an opening, the terentatek staggered toward Des and seemed to crouch down. It whimpered and Des lifted a hand. You were born to hate me and to hunt my kind but is that what you want? Wouldn't you rather live and die in peace? There is much more to you than instinct and primal need. Open your mind fully to me.

When the creature's barriers lowered, Des braced himself and emerged himself.

There was a tank of nutrient fluid with what appeared to be the tiniest embryo. A Sith lord was muttering in a strange language and tendrils of dark side energy snaked and lashed throughout the room. It infused into the embryo and though there was no visible change, Des could feel, even through the memory, what was happening to it.

The world around him changed and the terentatek had taken its newborn form. It was already wracked with pain, hungry and scared out of its mind. From that moment on, it was starved, given only what little would keep it alive. It was tortured and trained to hate and fear and destroy and taught to hunt Jedi and renegade Sith. Finally, only half grown, it was brought to the Maelstrom Prison from Dromund Kaas and caged there where the cycle of fear, pain, torment and hunger continued until this moment.

When Des pulled back, he was staring into the bright red eyes of the monster. It still hated him and hungered for him but more than all that, it wanted its own suffering to end. Des had promised that. "Alias;" he said calmly. "Can you see its weak spot?"

Alias, using his rare ability to see the weaknesses and strengths in his enemies, whether it be their armor, their technique or their bodies, found a small area beneath the crest of the monster's head. A single thrust would instantly end its life. "I got. Stay back, you two."

With a single leap, Alias landed on its shoulders and thrust his brilliant blue blade.

Des felt the relief of the creature for the couple seconds that it could comprehend it before it died. To his own surprise, Des felt a thick lump in his throat and tears in his eyes. Clearing his throat, he said in a thick voice, "We need to take a break and eat some food. Drink water too. I need-" but the lump in his throat was growing too thick to speak.

His three companions were nonplussed. Moira went over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Des, are you alright, love?"

The Jedi laughed through his tears. "I will be. I'll explain in a second when I'm not blubbering like a child."

In the mean time, they followed his advice, eating rations bars and nutripaste and drinking electrolyte juices. After five minutes or so, Des cleared his throat and said in an only slightly husky voice, "I'm sorry about that."

Moira sat by him and said, "It's okay; just tell us what happened."

Des nodded and sighed. "I have never felt so much pain and suffering from any living creature. What those Sith Sorcerers do is terrible. I saw clearly into its mind and it has been in pain and in fear and in hunger its entire life. It never had a mother or father and the only interactions it had were with its creators and its handlers. They tortured it and starved it and made it hate its own life."

"Are those things sentient?" asked Dren quietly.

Des was tearing up again. "They are semi-sentient."

There was another lengthy silence before Alias asked, "What do you know about terentateks, Vod?"

Des wiped his face again and said, "Well let me think here. They were originally created by the Dark Lord of the Sith Exar Kun for war. However, he was just a little too good and even he couldn't control. So instead of unleashing them on the battle field where they would kill as many of his troops as his enemies', he dropped them on worlds where there were Jedi enclaves and temples or on worlds that were almost completely out of the war so that Jedi were required to go way out of the way of the battle plains to protect innocent people. According to a lot of xeno-zoologists among the Jedi, he starting with rancors and so completely morphed them that they are what we deal with today. Anyhow, after the end of the Great Sith War, there were still a lot of these creatures left. The Jedi Order sent out teams of hunters to kill them and the other monsters that Exar Kun had made."

"That's right;" said Alias, his interest peaked. "Shaela Nuur, Duron Qel-Droma and Guun Han Saresh were the three most notable Jedi Hunters."

"Yup. They had a long and successful career that ended in tragedy."

"Oh I just love dramas that end in tragedy;" said Moira. "Tell me more!"

"Well Shaela was apparently a beautiful woman and Duron Qel-Droma was a good looking man. They had formed a bond during the course of their hunts and fallen in love. That led to animosity between them and Guun Han Saresh. The animosity became worse when he walked in on them-"

"Oooohh! Scandalous! I like it!" said Moira gleefully. "Jedi getting caught in the act by another Jedi! I want details!"

Des frowned at her. "Details? What do you mean?"

"Details, Des, details! I want to know exactly what they were doing when this Saresh guy caught them!"

The big Jedi's face turned bright red and he spluttered, "I'm fairly certain that the historians and the like didn't give details of what sex position they were in when Saresh strolled on in, Moira."

"That's no fun. You have a vivid imagination. What do you think they were doing?"

Des sputtered, blushing even more deeply. "I have no idea! I'm not a sex guru! Why don't you use your imagination and get back to me later? Anyhow, the affair lead to Saresh splitting with them, going to Kashyyyk and dying there taking on a terentatek. Shaela and Duron went to the tombs of Korriban and found, not one, but two of the Sith spawn waiting for them. Duron was killed and Shaela fell to the dark side before she died too."

"That's just depressing;" muttered Moira. "Let's go back to the part where Shaela and Duron were lovers!"

Dren and Alias burst into laughter as Des shook his head. "You have a one track mind, Moira. Right, let's go."

They all stood, checked their weapons and headed towards the exit to the power regulation chamber. "What can I say? I've hit a dry spell and this idea really gets me excited. Come on, Jedi, you've never wondered at all or daydreamed about the sordid history of your order. Weren't there several Jedi who had affairs?"

"Yes;" said Des with a chuckle. "Revan was married to Bastila Shan. Ulic Qel-Droma and Nomi Sunrider had an affair before he fell to the dark side. Nomi was married to Andor Sunrider before he died. Apparently Meetra Surik had an affair with her companion Atton Rand, called 'Jaq' during his time as a Republic special force soldier. I could keep going."

"And you never wondered how Revan cared for Bastila's needs in private? Or what Nomi and Ulic did behind closed doors? You never wondered what Meetra Surik did to-"

"Okay!" said Des, shaking his head and blushing again. "that's enough. I don't deal in smut, thank you."

"Not completely true;" said Alias as he cast about. "When we were padawans on Dantooine, you used to write those little short stories. Jaesa loved them. Wait a second;" and he stopped and pointed directly at his friend. "Didn't you write one specifically about Shaela Nuur and Duron Qel-Droma?"

Des glared at his friend as Moira squealed with glee and said, "Are you serious? That is awesome! I need those stories! I need them because, until things are more stable between me and Corso, they are the closest things to sex I am going to get."

Still glaring at Alias, Des pulled a datacard from one of his pockets and handed it to her. Again, Moira squealed and was about to pop it into her datapad when Alias said, "Moira, I don't think the center of an enemy fortress is the place to read Des's excellent and highly secretive smut."

Moira pouted. "Fine. I'll look into it later."

Directly ahead of them was a set of double blast doors. Des had finally stopped glaring at Alias for revealing his secret hobby and was not looking forward towards the door. "Feel that, Alias?"

"Oh yeah;" he chuckled. "I feel it. You two should wait here."

"Yeah, that's gonna happen;" chuckled Dren. Moira pulled her scatter gun and checked its powercell, not even bothering to answer.

"Fine but be smart about this;" said Des. "No charging Sith Lords unarmed."

Dren just grinned. "No promises."

The doors hissed open and there, in the center of a strange control room/laboratory stood a male Zabrak. He was big and a lightsaber unlit in his meaty hands. All around him, war hounds circled and snarled, waiting for their next meal. "We'll take the animals;" muttered Moira.

"Sounds good;" said Alias.

"Get them;" said the Sith Lord, his voice every bit as savage as the snarls of his hounds. As they charged forward, a hail of blaster fire cut them down. The Jedi swatted the hounds aside and charged for the Sith Lord.

The Sith Lord was surprisingly skilled. Not only was he skilled, he was savage. Every defense was an offense and he drove the Jedi back. With a wild, force-powered shriek, he sent both Jedi crashing into a set of birthing pods. The Sith was about to charge them again when a massive torrent of blaster fire came in.

"Back off;" snapped Moira as she blazed away at him.

The Jedi leaped to their feet and redoubled their efforts. Des led with a telekinetic blast and Alias followed it up with a savage combination of lightsaber attacks that the Sith couldn't seem to keep up with. Another scream drove Alias back but Des was right there, renewing his own attack with the cool, calm he was known for. When the Sith tried the scream on him, Des simply absorbed the shock and slammed the Sith into his own birthing tubes with it. Even so, he was up and fighting back before the Jedi could finish him.

Moira and Dren watched as the savage combat escalated further. "Any ideas, soldier boy?"

"They'll take care of it;" said Dren. "Let's look ahead and see- woah!"

The Sith crashed to the ground between them. Fast and cool as could be, Moira drew and fired, burning a hole in the Sith Lord's head.

"Very nice;" said Alias.

Des closed down his weapon and said, "Alright so let's get to the lifts. We're more than halfway there."