A/N

So I went back and rewrote chapter 7 and the end of chapter 8 to fit the new direction I'm going with this story, so please go back and take a look, otherwise things might get a bit muddled.

Star Wars Book One: Force

Chapter 9: A New Threat

Anchorhead, Tatooine

Mako and Bolin wandered the streets of the bustling settlement, scouting their surroundings. Korra, Asami and Tenzin were back at Tosche Station talking to her new friend, while Lin had stayed with the ship, trying to fix a busted power relay that had blown sometime last night. The town was surprisingly crowded, apparently it was market day for the local moisture farmers, who were carting barrels of condensed water to and from their stalls.

"Cantina will be busy today." Mako noted. "Who knows how far people have to travel around here to get water. They'll want some shade from the suns."

Bolin looked up from his datapad. Lin had given him a list of supplies that they needed, mostly food and spare parts, but some things looked a little more difficult to acquire in a place like this.

"Where are we supposed to find a null quantum field generator around here?" he moaned, squinting at the text on the display. "I don't even know what that is! I don't want to go back there without one! Lin scares me a little."

Mako smiled. "You're not alone bro. nothing gets past her. I swear she was a cop in another life."

"Yeah but cops are supposed to help people, not scare the life out of them."

Mako sighed. "Wish I had your optimism bro. There's not a good cop out there. Never has been and never will be. Not as long as the Empire is still in power."

Bolin pouted,raising his hands. "I'm just saying. She's a scary person." Squinting against the sun, the two brothers continued their search.

Making their way through the town, they eventually came to the cantina in question. Sure enough Mako was right. The place was completely packed out, the crowd spilling out into the street. More than one character was more than a little rowdy. As they watched, a big Weequay was tackled to the ground by an even bigger Trandoshan, all the while being cheered on by a crowd of obviously drunken patrons.

Bolin shifted, obviously unsettled. "Um, maybe we can come back later." He said, starting to turn around. Mako stood, stunned for a second at the brawl that was taking place before them. It made him nervous, an uncomfortable reminder of his time with the Cartel, where he saw much worse, and very nearly took part.

This place was no better than Kurlik.

Shaking his head, he turned and ran after Bolin, trying to tune out the sounds of the struggle. Catching up to his brother, Mako sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"I really thought we'd finally gotten away from all of that, but it just seems to follow us doesn't it?"

Bolin turned, raising an eyebrow." What do you mean?"

"The fighting!" Mako replied, throwing his arm back in the direction of the drunken dispute. "Those guys are probably on the Hutt's payroll as well. Lin said they basically run this planet."

Bolin put his arm around him, shaking him a little. "Come on bro lighten up a little! We're finally off of that dustball, and we can finally start over! No one here knows who we are!"

Mako pondered his brother's words. He was right after all. They were strangers in a world of nobodies. They would fit in just fine. Still, he couldn't shake this feeling, that they wouldn't remain anonymous for long. He would keep up his guard for now, but if he had any suspicion that they were being tailed, he would make sure that they will never bother his friends again.

For now however, it didn't matter. Bolin was right, they were parsecs away from anyone that knew them by name. They really could start over, and they can do so without fear of being dragged back into the past. Grinning from ear to ear, Mako lunged at his brother, getting him in a headlock and rapping his knuckles over his head.

"Mako! Get off!" Bolin yelped, laughing at his brothers sudden good spirits. Mako obliged, the grin still set on his features. Bolin returned the gesture, lightly punching his brother on the arm in return.

"Since the cantina's a no go, we should see about these supplies." Mako started. "Let's head back to the market."

Walking in silence for a while, the two brothers made their way towards their goal.

"I wonder how many people around here do work for the Hutts." Bolin said concerned. "I mean, we know Matha put a bounty on us when we ran from her gang. I hope the guys around here don't know about that."

Mako scanned the crowd ahead, searching for any sign that someone had recognised them. So far they seemed to have blended in completely. That was good. The last thing he wanted was to cause a scene that would put them on everyone's notice.

"I don't think the Cartels on Tatooine and Kurlik much care for each other's affairs bro." Mako said. "We'll be fine, trust me."

Turning their attention back to their search, Bolin caught sight of something. "Hey, maybe that place might have something we could use?"

Mako followed his brother's gaze. It looked like a junk yard of some sort, all manner of scrap and industrial refuse littering the yard out front.

Mako shrugged. "It's worth a shot I guess. You go take a look and I'll get the rest of the supplies."

Bolin smiled. "I'll meet you at the market when I'm done." Waving his brother goodbye, he made his way towards the scrapheap.

He wandered the piles of salvage, searching for anything that looked like the images on his datapad. He wasn't getting anywhere. Everything looked the same to him. Maybe Asami would have better luck. He was about to turn and leave when he heard a loud clang, coming from behind the stack of turbines behind him. Cautiously, he made his way around them, inching towards the source of the noise, his hand ready to draw his blaster. Poking his head around the corner, he saw the source of the racket.

It was a Tooka, hunched over its latest kill, a small frog like creature that Bolin couldn't identify. Coming out from his cover, Bolin inched towards the little mammal. The Tooka froze, its ears picking up at the sound of his approach. Spinning around to face him, the animal growled, backing away from him, its red and white fur standing on end. Bolin stopped, squatting down on his haunches.

"Hey there little guy." He said, offering a hand towards it. The Tooka stopped growling, inching towards him. It sniffed his hand for a moment, before it chirped, and rubbed its face against his hand. Smiling, Bolin petted the Tooka with his other hand, causing the animal to purr softly.

"You're a good little guy aren't you?" Bolin cooed. The Tooka chittered in response, burying its face into his hand, its eyes closed.

Smiling, he kept petting his new friend, which continued to purr at the attention it was receiving.

"Are you all alone here?" he questioned. The poor thing must have been living among the scrap for who knew how long, feeding itself on any pests it could find.

Standing up again, Bolin looked around, his hands on his hips. "Sorry little guy, but my brother's waiting for me. I've got to go."

Turning to leave, Bolin didn't get far before the little Tooka brushed against his leg, its tail raised high. Still smiling, Bolin kneeled again, running his hand down its back.

"Ok, I guess you can come with me."

Standing again, he made his way towards the market, his new friend keeping pace next to him. "You're going to need a name if I'm going to keep you." he began, the Tooka looking up at him, its head cocked to one side. Smiling, Bolin looked down. "What about Pabu? I think that sounds nice, don't you?"

Pabu chirped, causing Bolin to laugh softly. "Ok Pabu, let's go find Mako."

Anchorhead Market

Mako had managed to gather most of what they needed. Apparently moisture farmers always kept a little of their water to use in hydroponic farms. That was why everyone looked so well fed, despite the unforgiving climate. They also seemed pretty willing to share, given the right monetary incentive. Carrying a pile of containers without extra hands or a repulsor sled was proving to be awkward however, so he sat against the wall of what looked like the town hall, waiting for Bolin to return from his search. Gazing out over the bustling market, he kept watch for any sign of his brother.

The sound of a scuffle to his right drew his attention. Looking towards the source of the disturbance, he saw one of the moisture farmers, clearly quite agitated, jabbing a finger into the chest of a short, hooded figure. From what he could make out, the farmer was accusing it of stripping one of his vaporators for parts. The other was trying to defend itself, at least he thought. It was speaking in a language that sounded like pure gibberish to him.

Deciding it had nothing to do with him, he turned his attention back towards the junkyard Bolin was searching. He'd been at it for a while now. In hindsight, maybe he wasn't the best person to send on a scavenger hunt for vital hyperdrive components. With a sigh he pushed himself off the wall. Gathering the supplies, he started to make his way back towards the junkyard. Bolin was taking too long.

He got halfway there when he saw it.

A figure, wrapped in a dirty brown cloak, was making its way towards him. His eyes narrowed, tracking the figure as he adjusted his course. Sure enough, the figure kept pace. Making his way towards an alley, Mako sped up, determined to lose his pursuer in the winding backstreets. Out of sight, he threw the supplies down and drew his blasters, running off through the maze of alleyways. Vaulting low walls and casting his gaze backwards, he saw no sign of the figure, but he knew better to think that he had lost them. Turning his attention forwards, be turned right at a junction.

Right into the figures accomplice.

Rolling to the left, Mako sprang back to his feet, just narrowly avoiding a vicious right hook from the man. Getting a closer look at his assailant, Mako's eyes widened. He was one of the biggest men he had ever seen. Long black hair framed his tanned face, and a magnificent moustache rested on his upper lip, framing the corners of his mouth. He recovered quickly, bringing his blasters up, ready to turn the man in front of him into a smouldering wreck.

The man reacted much faster than what his size seemed to permit, tackling Mako to the ground. He lost his grip on his holdout, sending it skittering across the hard packed earth beneath them. He still had the one Tenzin had given him, trying to aim it down towards his attackers head. Once again, the man reacted, grabbing hold of Mako's wrist, his grip almost crushing it. Mako was forced to release the weapon, which clattered to the ground

Grimacing, Mako gathered his legs beneath him, heaving with all of his might. He managed to push the man off of him, rolling back to his feet. Casting a glance towards his fallen weapon, he faced off against his opponent.

"Who are you?" he demanded. "Why are you after me?"

The man straightened, a confident smirk on his face. "You know why I'm here kid. You made quite the impression with the wrong people."

Mako cringed. Bounty hunters. He'd hoped for a little more time before their type started sniffing around. The Empire must have put quite a pretty price on their heads if they had already tracked them down.

"How did you find us?" he pressed. There was no way they had followed them here from Kurlik.

The man laughed, his deep baritone echoing through the narrow streets. "We got lucky kid. But that's the least of your concerns right now."

Before Mako could retort, he suddenly found himself unable to move. Looking down, his eyes widened. He was bound in fibercord. Unable to keep his balance, he fell forwards into the dirt. Twisting around, he saw the hooded figure from before standing over him, the fibercord attached to a device on its wrist. Pulling down the hood on its cloak, Mako got his first good look at the man's accomplice.

It was a woman, her face gaunt and narrow. Long black hair ran down past her shoulders, her petite frame dwarfed by the man opposite her. She looked at him with a neutral expression, not giving any form of emotion away.

She must be a fantastic sabaac player.

"Nice of you to join us Ming-Hua." The man said.

"Oh shut up Ghazan." She retorted. "At least I actually restrained him."

"Yeah, yeah." Ghazan . "Let's just get him back to the others."

Leaning down towards Mako, Ghazan smirked. "Lights out kid."

Delivering a blow to his temple, he knocked Mako out cold.

"About time you stopped toying with him." Ming-Hua said. "What about his idiot brother?"

Slinging an unconscious Mako over his shoulder, Ghazan turned to his friend. "Oh he's next, don't you worry. The Hutts will pay well for these two."

A/N

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