CHAPTER FORTY SEVEN

THE FOUNDRY

Dukzek and Raknac Bloodmoon walked openly down the hallway within the asteroid base. There was no attempt at stealth, and in fact both had been hoping all along to run into those they sought. Neither was happy about sneaking about. You don't get to be the best by skulking about in shadows, Dukzek thought sourly. No, he knew the way to prove himself was to go toe to toe and come out on top. If he couldn't do that then he knew it was time to quit the job. The big brawler knew his large brother felt much the same.

They had not seen a single person despite wandering level by level working their way upwards. More surprising was that they had not heard anything from Kiren or Reyal. Rounding a corner, Raknac brought them to a sudden stop, tabbing his comm.

"Status report?" The man questioned but did not get an answer.

Waiting a few seconds, Raknac tried again only to find the same answer was nothing but the slight crackle of static and silence. Casting a look to Dukzek, Raknac shook his head. Something was definitely wrong, he knew. It was almost like they were being jammed, but if that was the case then why had an alarm not sounded to signal their presence?

"Interference?" Dukzek questioned, uneasy and unsure himself.

"Maybe." Raknac admitted, though his gut was telling him otherwise. "I don't like it."

The two brothers moved forward once more, only to come to a stop as a door cycled open with a hiss. Both drew their weapons, Dukzek his vibroswords and Raknac his heavy assault cannon. It took both a moment to realize they were not alone, having to look down to find the little jawa that hurried out the door and almost right into them. For a moment all three stared at one another in surprise.

"This place has sand rats!" Dukzek complained.

Raknac lifted up his weapon and instead lashed out at the jawa. His kick connected even as the little creature tried to turn and run, lifting it off its feet to fly back and strike the door frame. I'm not wasting ammo on a little sand rat, Raknac thought. He hated Tatooine, let alone the annoying little creatures that seemed to infest the place. At least sand people made for some sport.

Blizz raced out of the room, excited at having tinkered with the Foundry droids more and believing he had made them faster and more durable. He wanted to show them to Teffa. After all if the boss was happy, then Blizz knew he had done a good thing. Rushing out the door the little jawa stopped in his tracks in confusion seeing two large armoured and armed men. His first thought was trouble, followed by the notion to run and sound the alarm to warn everyone. As he made to rush off, he was kicked by one of the strangers. It hurt, but hitting the door frame hurt all the more. Moaning and looking up at the two men, Blizz couldn't help but think his tinkering days were done.

"Bah, shoot the rodent." Dukzek growled out to his brother.

"You shouldn't have done that."

The voice startled both men, drawing their attention to the dark area that lead off in a side corridor from the hallway they were in. Dukzek rolled his shoulders and flexed, vibroswords hefted up, even as Raknac beside him turned and swung the assault cannon towards the new threat. Lightning flared to life, illuminating the area and peeling back the cover of darkness, revealing the red robed sith with the metal skull-like helmet. Behind her a large rippling muscled creature with a mouth full of teeth snarled and lunged forward at the brothers.

Dukzek groaned and found himself locked in place as the lightning struck him, every fibre of his being suddenly on fire and burning. Pain seared through him, and he could do nothing more than twitch and thrash in spasms.

Raknac snarled as he glanced to his brother, seeing him in trouble. Even as the large creature charged at him, the bounty hunter pressed down on the trigger opening up with the large weapon. He tried to bring the weapon upwards, striking the creature but only minimally as he was set upon. Raknac had only a moment to register he was in fact in trouble, outmatched and outmuscled.

"No mercy, Khem. Suck the marrow from their bones and feast!" Bloodshade cried out, infuriated at having witnessed Blizz being mistreated so. "Nobody kicks my jawa!"

Khem Val stormed towards the intruders, knowing his Mistress was enraged. While Khem could have cared less for the jawa, Bloodshade seemed enamoured of the little fellow. As such, Khem rushed in, eager for a fight. The deshade felt the burning sting sear into his thigh, up his hip and side as the man fired his weapon, but it did not slow him down. Grabbing the man, Khem took hold of his arm, his other clawed hand grasping the man about the neck lifting and driving him back into the wall of the corridor. With a grunt, Khem pulled on the man's arm ripping it from its socket and tearing flesh to pull the arm completely away.

Raknac screamed even as the assault cannon hit the floor, eyes wide in terror as his arm was wrenched from his body and cast aside. Before he could even register the loss of his limb, the giant deshade leaned in, the maw full of teeth tearing into and ripping and rending the flesh of his neck. Khem Val felt the arterial spray of blood flood his mouth, splash over his face as he shredded flesh worrying away at the man's neck. Raknac screamed but it was choked off as blood filled the man's mouth to spill out and run down his chin.

Dukzek felt searing pain and then nothing, for a moment having the sensation of just being almost out of his own body. It was the last thought and feeling he had. Bloodshade pressed harder, drawing further on the force, the lightning going from a pale blue to an almost purple as its intensity grew. Flesh charred and smoked even as the man's features melted away like heated wax. Bloodshade finally pulled back, the attack ending and watching as the lifeless charred form fell to the floor. She could smell the burnt flesh despite her helmet's filters, and she smiled.

"You alright, Blizz?" Bloodshade asked as she moved over to the little jawa who had picked himself up off the floor and was dusting himself off.

The jawa looked up at the sith and nodded his hooded head before turning and walking over to the body of Raknac which Khem Val had dropped to the floor. The deshade had moved away, returning to his all too familiar spot standing behind the smaller sith whom he served. Glancing at them, then down to the man, Blizz then kicked the head twice before clapping his hands.

"Blizz buddy kill stupid man!" Blizz chirped. "Blizz happy. Blizz loves scary lady!"

Teffa Darkstar moved through the hallways, making his way towards the sounds of battle. Beside and following with the bounty hunter were Torian and Scourge, both having heard the explosions and blaster fire and come running. As they turned the bend in the corridor, the alarm sounded to warn of intruders and Teffa almost laughed. Better late than never, he thought.

The bounty hunter looked ahead and could see very little in the smoke filled corridor, save for the illuminated streaks of blaster fire as it flew about. Shoot enough you might get lucky and hit something, Teffa thought as he watched. Hitting his comm, the bounty hunter could only hope the others had turned their own comm devices on.

"Would you jokers stop shooting before you accidently hit me on the other side. You can't see shit anyways."

After a moment, Teffa could breath a sigh of relief as he heard their answer. "We're under attack here!"

"Well no shit!" Teffa fired back. "Just quit shooting and let me handle this."

Teffa looked to both Scourge and Torian, both of whom had weapons in hand and were ready for a fight. Looking back, he noted he could hear the odd blaster shot but nothing was coming towards them at least. With the threat of an errant shot hitting him accidently done, Teffa motioned for both Scourge and Torian to wait and began walking towards the middle.

"This is Teffa Darkstar. Whoever you are, you're good as dead so put up the blasters now. This is your only warning."

"The Great Hunt Champion?" A voice questioned back. "Sorry to say how do I know if we surrender we aren't as good as dead anyways?"

"One and the same, and you have my word." Teffa answered, hoping whoever they were that they had a shred of common sense to not decide to go out in a blaze of glory.

Teffa waited to see what the attackers would do. If they were bounty hunters, which would make sense given their question regarding his status and the Great Hunt, then there might be a chance. If they were mercenaries, then he was unsure what might happen. Good thing Mako isn't here, he thought, knowing she would have been ready to kill him herself for walking into danger like he was. Teffa had seen enough of his brethren die however, and if he could talk them into standing down and giving up the suicide job all the better. Sometimes you just have to try, he thought.

"Alright." Kiren Bloodmoon finally answered out of the smoke, setting his blaster on the ground and then sliding it back towards where he knew the bounty hunter would be. Looking to his sister he motioned for her to do the same.

Sciowen Bloodmoon gave her older brother a questioning glance but complied with what he wanted. Shoving her weapons away, she looked once more to him, eyebrow arched. Kiren shook his head negatively knowing how she felt and why she gave him that wondering look. In the end he was not about to die needlessly when there was a way out. He'd gladly die, it was a given with their line of work and the risks involved, but he had known this job was different. From the outset there were too many credits offered up, too many questions, and it had stunk like week old rancor droppings.

Rising up, and sure his sister would follow, Kiren moved slowly towards the bounty hunter making sure to keep his hands up and clearly visible. He would take no chances, knowing the Great Hunt Champion could more than likely take both of them out before he even blinked. The man's reputation was well known, and well earned.

Teffa watched the two figures emerge from the smoke, studying both a moment, noting they still had weapons on them but were making very sure to keep their hands well away from them. They knew the position they were in, and Teffa could tell the man was the leader and no fool. Good, he thought, this might get resolved before anyone paid with their lives.

"Who are you?" Teffa asked.

"Bloodmoon." Kiren answered, watching as the man nodded in recognition.

Teffa had heard the name, knowing it referred to a group of bounty hunters not just a single person. If he recalled correctly they were all related, but he was not certain of that. It didn't matter in the end anyway. All that mattered now was dealing with them.

"I know of you." Teffa said finally. "The question is what are we going to do with you? You took a bad job here."

"Damn well the last time I take a too good to be true payday from a sith that's for damn sure." Kiren muttered and scowled.

"Teffa." A voice cut over the comm channel to the bounty hunter.

"I'm here." Teffa remarked.

"It's Necrolis. We have two dead thanks to Bloodshade, and two captured and being taken to the airlock they came in through. Asha has them in hand. We should have two more intruders. What's your status?"

"We have them." Teffa replied. "Stand by."

Teffa looked back at the two Bloodmoon bounty hunters and shook his head. If they were family the news was not going to be good for them. Then again it also brought into sharp clarity the precariousness of their present situation. They were outnumbered, outgunned, and certainly would die if they chose to be stupid and persist in fighting.

"Looks like the rest of your crew is either captured, or dead." Teffa informed the two bounty hunters. "Two of them won't be joining you."

"Damn it all." Sciowen growled, unable to help but hope the younger siblings were not the ones that had fallen.

"What did you expect?" Teffa stated coldly to the woman. "Looks like we're prepared to let you walk away from this one, but I'd seriously suggest you make no sudden moves."

Kiren reached a hand out to place it on Sciowen's shoulder. Looking to his sister he shook his head at her, letting her know in no uncertain terms not to push anything. They had no ground to stand on. The mission was a wash, and all they could do now was in fact accept the gift of their lives that was being offered. Kiren knew they were getting very lucky indeed with that.

"We'll behave. You have my word Champion." Kiren stated then nodded to Teffa.

"Then you have mine." Teffa answered back. "You and yours will live to fight another day."

Kamthar Mantell winced as he felt probing fingers moving over his shoulder. Glancing up he studied the features of Elara Dorne. She smiled at him reassuringly even as she looked over the injuries. Kamthar already could see it in her eyes they were not good. Was that concern in those eyes, he wondered, unable to help himself. Turning his head, he intentionally shifted his gaze to the wall.

"You're not going to like this." Elara said softly.

"Like what?" Kamthar asked, her words making him look back at her again.

"These are pretty bad. I can't deal with both at the same time. I need help." Elara explained.

Not waiting for the man to respond to that statement, Elara hit her comm device. She knew Kamthar was going to be his usual stubborn pain in the ass, and given that she would just do as she always did which was to ignore him and get the job done.

" Quinn, do you copy?"

"I'm here." Malavai Quinn answered back. "What is it you need?"

"Kamthar took some bad hits here. I need a hand and I know you're capable." Elara explained.

"I copy." Quinn answered back. "On my way."

Looking over to the door she watched the three other members of Havok Squad milling about the door, none of them happy. They all gave the medic a look even as Kamthar vocalized their feelings on what she was doing.

"I don't trust that sith loving bastard." Kamthar growled.

"I don't much care. I'm doing my job so shut up or I'll stim your ass into submission." Elara finally growled out giving the mirialan a hard look. Glancing to the other three, Elara decided their presence was just another hindrance. "Stop hovering and go make a sweep of the halls. Lets just make sure we have all of them." Elara suggested.

"We're on it. Lets go." Aric growled after seeing Yuun nod in agreement with the medic.

Elara brushed fingers over Kamthar's arm, noting the goose bumps that rose on his green skin. She smiled softly seeing that, then looked at him. There was something in the way he looked, beyond the discomfort and pain. Something was bothering him she could see, noting the tense lines that were about his mouth and eyes and forehead.

"What were you doing out there? I thought you'd be resting?"

"Too noisy to do that." Kamthar grumbled before turning his head so he didn't have to look at her.

Elara arched an eyebrow at the tense response from the man before realization hit her and she blushed. He had heard her and Aric. Frowning, she looked at him and could tell all too clearly there was more there than he was going to let on. She barely could grasp how he could remotely be jealous, especially after he had been the one to put an end to even playful flirting between them.

"I'm sorry." Elara said softly. "It bothers you Aric and I were… well.."

Kamthar closed his eyes and sighed heavily. He knew he was in no shape to have such a discussion and didn't want to. He already regretted saying what he had, but what was done was done. Head turning back once more he looked at her. For a moment he recalled everything he had run over in his head time and time again of what he would say to her, what he wanted to say to her. It was almost like memorizing a speech. Even as he thought of it all, he knew he would never say a thing. All he had was the thought of what might have been, and he was not about to try and change that. He couldn't.

"It doesn't." Kamthar grunted and had to fight the urge to move and shrug. "It's none of my business, so long as it doesn't affect the team or either of you doing the job."

Elara frowned as she heard his words, watching as once again he avoided looking at her to stare at the wall. She was not fooled by his gruff offhanded remarks, she could see right through that ploy. For whatever reason, he was putting up walls and keeping distance between them. Even so, she could tell there was a part of him that hated such. For a moment she wondered if she should not have thought more about it before starting something with Aric. If she had pressed him more, would that have changed things?

"Kamthar…" Elara said his name softly.

"Drop it." Kamthar cut her off refusing to look at her, knowing if he did so he might give in and say things best left unsaid. "That's an order."

"Yes, sir!" Elara snapped back with a frown knowing there was no helping it. The man was just plain out and out stubborn and if he didn't want to talk he was not going to.

Necrolis Darkstar walked with intent and purpose through the Foundry, making straight for the command center. With things in hand, knowing the immediate danger was over the sole focus for him was now on ending things once and for all. He had been thinking on that problem for a long while. After their discovery on Ziost, things had fallen more into place. He knew what needed to be done. Too lost in thought, Necrolis rounded the corner and barely had time to duck as blaster bolts ripped through the space where his head had been.

Tormen Darklight stood before the entry to the command center, and swore aloud even as the blasters in his hands smoked from use. Seeing the red skinned pure blood sith looking at him, all Tormen could think of was the impending sensation of his throat being squeezed tight till his neck snapped.

"Oh shit." Tormen stammered. "Shit… Necrolis… shit… I umm… I didn't expect…"

Necrolis gave the smuggler a hard look before shaking his head and holding up a hand to stop the man from stuttering over his own words like a fool. Despite the initial moment of surprise and anger at being shot at, the truth was Necrolis was glad someone had thought to be there. Had any of the bounty hunters managed to get into the control center and gain control of the base systems, it could have been much worse than it had been.

"I am not mad you shot at me, in fact quite the opposite since you protected my sister-in-law and their unborn child." Necrolis said as he approached Tormen. Reaching him, Necrolis placed a hand on the man's shoulder then gave it a hard squeeze, digging in his fingers to make a point. "Next time however, don't miss!"

"Umm… sure thing." Tormen said despite wincing at the grip. Once Necrolis had let him go and gone inside, the smuggler gave a last look before walking away knowing the threat had passed. "Yeah, I'm just going to go change my shorts now."

Mako could hear the exchange just outside and had to stifle a laugh, smiling to the sith as he walked in. Necrolis as ever looked serious and intent, though this time Mako got a feeling off him there was something going on and it made her feel a bit uneasy. There was a sort of intensity in his gaze, in how he moved. Nothing she could pinpoint, but something there all the same since she had known him for a while.

"Mako I need a secure channel." Necrolis said calmly and pointedly. "I want you to set that up, then walk away. Say nothing to anyone, including Teffa."

Mako cocked her head to the side and looked at the man, wondering what he was up to. She could tell he knew very well what he was asking her to do, knowing what kind of position it was putting her in. She had never kept secrets from Teffa, and expected the same. Asking such of her was no small matter. It was something she knew that Necrolis likewise knew.

"You know I can't do that, Necrolis." Mako said finally. "Please don't ask me to do that."

"I have no choice." Necrolis said, remaining calm and impassive as ever. "You must do this. I know what I am asking, and I am telling you to do it. Not for me, or you, or Teffa."

Necrolis stepped right up to the smaller woman, hand moving to rest on her swollen belly. His eyes found hers and Mako sighed heavily knowing exactly what he was doing. Damn you, she thought, knowing she was being manipulated but also knowing Necrolis too well to know he would not be doing so lightly or without purpose.

"Necrolis…"

"You will do this, because my nephew must be protected." Necrolis said.

Mako looked up eyes watering as she fought back tears. He's going to do something stupid, she knew then. He had a plan, whatever crazy stupid plan it was, but it meant trouble and pain she was sure. Reaching a hand up she gently pressed it to his cheek and she watched as for a fleeting and rare moment, Necrolis actually smiled back at her. The sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach grew all the more. When Necrolis smiled, it really was never a good thing.

"You better know what you are doing." Mako said before turning and going to the control panel and setting things up. It took only a moment and without another word she marched herself to the door before pausing to look back at the sith.

"Do what you have to do." Mako said firmly, nodding to him. "End this, Necrolis."

" I plan to." Necrolis answered back before watching the woman close and lock the door leaving him alone.