Revan found that his mind was endlessly clearer without the adverse effects of the medication. Lights and noises no longer seared into his senses painfully, and he found himself suddenly capable of focusing on the minutia of everything around him. The Force flowed more easily through his body, opening the universe to him in a way that he had nearly forgotten.
Of course, not everything that he was now experiencing was beneficial. Theron, you have to listen to me. There's something coming. Not the Rakata, not yet. You need to stay strong even when the darkness closes in. Don't fall – please.
Theron struggled to shove the voice from his mind. He pushed the hover cart of spice through the streets of the Nal Huttan town, one hand on his blaster and one eye on the lowlives leering at him and his crew. "I don't know if going straight through town was the best idea," he supplied.
Rhen spoke as if Theron did not exist. "Van, you have any last warnings about your mom?"
The pilot chuckled. "Not going to be that easy, twi'lek," he said. "I don't like this story."
The Jedi sighed. "Actually, do you have any final warnings? I'm not in the mood for your juvenility," he snapped. The Jedi sighed again. "Sorry. Please, anything would help."
Van sighed. "Look, I'm pretty sure we're the only ones to steal the Spice, but that probably doesn't matter anymore. Since the building blew, I'm betting anyone who escaped lockup would be able to claim that Spice anywhere from the galaxy is from the Corsec vault," he explained. He grunted as he began to push his hover cart up the ramp to the casino where Mara awaited. "And Mara was serious about that limited space thing. If there's more than just us... I'd bet my blasters she's going to host a free for all. We could be up to our necks in smugglers and bounty hunters looking at this score."
"Great," Revan sighed as he passed Van, who was struggling with pushing the cart up the hill. Revan reached out and began to push the cart for his friend, the Force user's Force-assisted strength making it easy for him. "Well, maybe no one escaped lockup."
Revan groaned and shook his head as he entered the room where Mara Zros waited. "Or I'm completely wrong," he groaned. There were fifteen other smugglers in the room besides the Eagle's crew, and each had the requisite forty kilos of Spice.
Rhen finally spoke to Revan instead of ignoring him. "Wouldn't be the first time," he said.
Revan snarled and fought the powerful urge to beat the twi'lek Jedi into a pulp. "Easy, boys. Wouldn't want the fight to start early," a woman's voice stated from nearby. Revan turned to stare uneasily at Mara Zros. The woman was wearing a brown half-cape that draped over her left shoulder, a black shirt with khaki smuggler's pants and blue boots. "Hey, Vanny. Happy you got in – I would have been worried about my rep if my own son couldn't steal from Corsec."
"Oh, well, I'd be lying if I said it was mostly you who taught me," the pilot retorted, drawing no reaction from his mother's sarcastic grin.
"You wound me, Vanny. You shouldn't be mean to your mother," she said before ruffling the pilot's hair. "Hope you don't die, Vanny. I'd be sad." The woman laughed and walked away from her son.
"Wow. Did your childhood suck that much?" Ana asked, half sarcastically and half pityingly.
"Shut up," Van growled before sitting on the Spice cart.
"Everyone here got the Spice, huh?" Mara asked from the front of the room. The myriad conversations in the room suddenly disappeared. "Well, I thought maybe five would make it. So... Leave the spice and follow me, all of you." The woman turned on her heel and marched into a hallway. Revan and his crew looked between each other warily, then walked after the infamous smuggler.
The woman led the nineteen possible job-mates into a room, and Van's foresight seemed all but confirmed. The room was a huge terrarium filled with exposed wiring, cover, and explosives that all surrounded a large hill in the middle of the arena. "Now, I'm sure that every one of you brought me 40 kilograms of Spice," Mara began as she ascended a flight of stairs. She raised her hand in a 'halt' position to prevent the contestants from following her. When she reached the top, a gate shut behind her and she continued to speak. "But since someone thought blowing Corsec up for their getaway would be a good idea, I can't confirm how much was stolen from Corsec. Sure, you might have all stolen from Corsec. Of course, y'all might have bought the Spice, and I can't have that. There's no skill in paying for things. I'm interested in a team of fighters and thieves who can work together. By getting the Spice here, you've all proven you can smuggle and lie. But I only want the best. You are all going to enter that Terrarium. Only five of you will come out alive. There're weapons on the field, so drop 'em here."
Van narrowed his eyes and pulled his two pistols from his hips, knowing his mother would be watching him closely. The twin miniature pistols that he had tucked into his boots – her teaching – would remain. Despite what she had said, this fight was as much a test of their smuggling skills as their fighting ability. He hoped that his allies would catch on, but he wasn't worried about them otherwise. If worst came to worst, they could break out their lightsabers. Breaking cover would be bad, but any of those three dying would be unfixable damage. Zros could be interrogated, but if the team was one down things could get hairy.
When the entire group of smugglers had dropped their weapons, a gate to the terrarium opened. The nineteen all marched in to what would be the final resting place of fourteen of them. "We're going to have to work with someone else – that could be bad," Ana whispered as the group walked in.
"I agree – someone we don't trust could compromise our entire cover story. Zros probably doesn't trust me already, given how we parted," Van said.
"What, she think you're a lawman still?" Revan asked.
"Or a rival," Van said. He frowned. "I helped plan some of her more dangerous blockade runs, then I left her. If she thinks I betrayed the Triumvirate, I wouldn't be surprised if she's expecting I try to steal the entire pot."
Van shook his head and quieted the others as they entered the terrarium. "Did any of you smuggle in a weapon?" he asked. The different groups of smugglers separated around the arena, taking up defensive positions. Revan's crew huddled together behind two ten-inch thick slabs of duracrete.
"No – why?" Rhen asked.
"Kriff," Van groaned. He shook his head. "I doubt there's weaponry in here. You need to take weapons from the fallen, stay close till then."
"Are you rowdy lowlives ready for a fight?" Mara Zros asked over a loudspeaker, her voice echoing and causing the anticipation and battle tension in the terrarium to grow. "Hope you all smuggled a weapon in, 'cuz there's none in there." Van cursed as his fears were confirmed. "Now... Three... Two -"
Blaster fire rang through the air before the woman even reached one. A Wookiee's bowcaster bolt flew through the chest of a Trandoshan, and the lizard man gurgled. Blood and bile flew from the reptilian maw, and chaos broke loose in the arena. Blaster fire echoed around the entire room as the smugglers and bounty hunters began to murder each other as quickly as possible. Van tossed one of his mini pistols over to Revan then returned his attention to one side of the circular terrarium. Revan wordlessly understood and took watch over the other side of the terrarium's area.
Van fired a blaster bolt into the chest of the Wook that had started the fight, but it only seemed to annoy the giant. The Wookiee roared in rage and rushed towards where the crew was crouching. Van fired another four bolts into the enraged creature's chest and it fell, dead, to the ground about twenty-five meters away. "Ana, go for it... now!" Van hissed. He waved his hand and Ana rolled over the cover to run for the bowcaster. Van watched for danger, and another bolt of energy flew from his pistol to kill an Aqualish aiming a gun at Ana.
The redheaded human rushed back to cover and rolled back into place next to Van. "I don't even want to wonder where he was hiding it when he smuggled it in," Ana said as she aimed over the cover and waited for a clear shot at a Sullustan who was hiding behind cover on her side.
Revan fired his pistol and the bolt tore through the shoulder of an assassin droid on the outer edge of the terrarium. The droid swerved with an angry groan of servos and began firing wildly in the group's direction. Revan reached out with the Force and waited for a gap in the firing program of the droid. Four seconds later, he fired another two shots into the droid and it fell, holding two blaster rifles that had folded out of its thick frame, to the floor. "Going now," Rhen said.
"Wait it's not safe!" Revan hissed as the twi'lek jumped over cover. Revan growled angrily and jumped over cover after Rhen, knowing that he had to drag the man back with him before anything happened to him.
Left, the voice said. Revan couldn't help but turn and fire his pistol. The energy discharged flew through the chest of a Chiss woman who had nearly ambushed Rhen and Revan. Rhen grabbed the two rifles and ran back towards cover. Revan cursed silently as he fired another blaster bolt into the weapon of a Sullustan aiming at Rhen from behind a rock nearby. The blaster in the alien's hand exploded, and Revan was sure one of the other smugglers would try to kill the fallen alien later.
"How many do you think are left?" Revan asked. He tossed the pistol back to Van and grabbed one of the rifles that Rhen had brought back.
"Given the blaster fire coming from the other side of the hill?" Van asked. "Us and maybe two decimated groups."
"Let them fight it out?"
Van smiled. "You're learning," he noted. Half a second later, Van stopped smiling as the blaster fire disappeared. "Well, that was faster than what I hoped for..."
"The Game's over!" Mara screamed over the loudspeaker. "Congratu -"
A screaming battlecry erupted from the other side of the room, and a very pale woman jumped from the top of the hill. Twin proboscises erupted from the woman's cheeks and Revan grit his teeth. "ANZAT!" he screamed before leveling his blaster at the woman. She dodged around the red lights that flew towards her as she landed and knocked Ana over with the stock of her blaster. Ana's head hit the ground with a thud – she was alive, but unconscious. Rhen quickly followed as the woman leaped through the air. She landed on the twi'lek's head and jumped off, forcing his blue form to spin through the air and crash to the ground.
"SUCH SOUP!" the terrifying hunter screamed as she tumbled onto Revan, her proboscises swinging wildly for his nostrils. "GIVE IN, YOU WANT TO!"
Revan snarled and lashed out with his foot. The Anzat took the blow and kept trying to absorb the life-force of the powerful Force User. "Hey, Schutta!" Van shouted before firing two blasts at the Anzat. The creature, its biology still a mystery, took the blows and turned wildly to Van.
"A snack first," it hissed. It landed a hard punch on Revan's head, and the undercover Gray Jedi fell into a stupor from the sheer force of the blow. "Hardly worth it..."
The Anzati smuggler walked slowly towards Van, abandoning her weapon. Her hands extended from her shoulders, reaching for Van. The Pilot felt his senses dull as the Anzat's telepathy began to tell him to stand down. "I – No!"
"It's over, dammit!" Mara screamed at the Anzat. She had run down the stairs and was standing at the edge of the terrarium. The Anzat did not seem to notice, and grabbed onto the weakened Van's head. Her probiscises reached towards Van's nose, ready to tear his brain from his body and devour his life force.
"NO!" Mara screamed. Her hand moved lightning fast to her belt and a single red dart slammed into the Anzat's head. The creature dropped Van and turned to look at its attacker. Mara grinned. "Bye bye." The dart suddenly exploded and the pale monster's head erupted with it, raining blood and the remains of the other smugglers and hunters onto the terrarium.
Van shook his head as the Anzat's telepathy wore off and he looked at the headless corpse near him. He looked towards Zros, who stared at him disinterestedly. "Well, congratulations on winning Vanny. Wake your friends up and meet me at the Hapes palace – you have a heist to learn about."
With that, the smuggler turned, her capelet twirling around her body. On her hip were two other darts, hand thrown. "The client won't wait too long, Vanny, so hurry up," she called over her shoulder. Then she looked down the hall and pulled her shoulder capelet back into place. Her footsteps were completely silent as she walked away from her puzzled son. He remembered a flash, for just a moment. Had she been... concerned for her son, or about the job? He shook off the thoughts and struggled to his feet before going to help his friends to their feet.
SWSWSWSWSW
Hapan Queenmother Tel-Zu Djo was a singularly insufferable personality. None of the crew could stand the woman's demeanor, and Ana had to wonder why her father would ever be seen in the woman's company. She was wearing, for a private meeting, the royal jewels of the Hapan cluster. The gems shined even in the darkness, drawing one's eyes straight to them. However, the woman would glare angrily at anyone who dared glance at a single diamond until they stopped. It was as if she wanted to show off that she was finally the queen of the Hapes cluster, but was terrified that, at any moment, someone would come along and her throne would be stolen, just as it had been stolen by her. Her voice... well, all present wondered how she could have ever orchestrated a coup. "Now," she said, the incredibly nasally and condescending voice clashing terribly with her beautiful – if incredibly overdone – visage, "Mara, you promised me the best, not some rookies who can't shave."
"Now, now, Zu. These kids may be green, but they stole from the Corsec vault," Mara replied. "I doubt very much that there are many smugglers who could even dream up such an accomplishment."
"They blew it up, darling," Zu replied. "They're children. Though the one with gray eyes looks tasty."
Revan twitched fearfully and felt pure fear and disgust run down his spine at the woman's hungry gaze. "No taking the kids. I need them for the heist," Mara replied sternly.
Zu's eyebrows raised interestedly. "Do not presume to command a Hapan royal, peasant," Zu stated.
"Respect us, or I'll leave. And you won't find anyone else crazy enough to try what we're going to," Zros replied.
Zu's eyes widened and a spark of fear flew through them. "I – fine, darling. I suppose they'll do," the Hapan said.
"Would you like to tell these professionals exactly what they are going to do?" Zros asked, her arms crossed. Her capelet ruffled as her left arm came out from beneath it.
"Fine," Tel-Zu replied from behind gritted teeth. She took a deep breath. "Now, I have some parties to whom I owe a favor or two. They... do not like failure. Neither do I – so if you're arrested, expect to die."
The crew looked between each other with fake fear. Revan noted that Rhen barely glanced in his direction, and rolled his eyes. Zu noticed. "Oh, I'm not joking, Sexy," she told him, drawing another shiver of disgust from Revan. "You'll all be killed if you are captured, worse if you turn on me."
"Fine, okay," Revan said, raising his hands defensively. "What are we going? What are we stealing?"
Zu glared at Revan for another moment before answering. She explained, "Now, the Triumvirate in the past few months have been accruing special items from around the galaxy." The woman began to pace, her silk dress flowing and pooling behind her, a whirlpool that seemed to capture her fears and amplify them in her features. Her every step became faster and faster as time went on. "My... allies desire these artifacts."
Revan fought to keep his eyes from widening in surprise. The Sith were after the Artifact vault – Nihlus' mask, the saber crystal... the alien fighter's information. The damage that Nihl could do with those artifacts... Revan suddenly felt a greater fear than Zu. "So... where are we going to steal them from?"
"My allies' contact on the inside says that the artifacts – three of them – are hidden deep within the Triumvirate's hidden offices, deep beneath the Senate tower."
Van scoffed, playing the part of astonished smuggler. "You expect us to break into the most heavily guarded building in the galaxy, then somehow find an entrance to underlevels of said building that aren't supposed to exist?" he asked.
"No, I expect you to help me do that, Vanny," Zros told her son.
"Indeed – I'm paying for her. You four will receive approximately seventy million credits each for your part in this heist. Mara here..."
"I don't like to tell my crew what I'm making," Zros said, holding up her hand to silence the Queenmother. The royal glared at Zros for a few moments then shook her head. Mara turned to the crew. "Meet me in the midlevels. I'll send you the coordinates, Vanny."
"It's Van!" he called after her as she walked away. He furrowed his brow and looked to his friends. They nodded, and they all walked to the ship together, dismissed as they had been.
When they reached the ship, Revan sighed. "You guys know that we actually have to help her, right?" he asked.
"Why the hell would we do that!?" Van asked. "We know who is funding this job. We know who is leading this job. We know what the Sith want to steal. We report to the Triumvirate now, the Hapan loses her throne, and the Sith lose a chance at the artifacts."
Rhen shook his head. "No, Revan's right," he said, stunning everyone in the ship. The twi'lek sighed. "We have a chance to find Nihl, kill him – maybe capture him. He'll be at the transfer for the items."
Revan picked up where Rhen left off. "We've beaten his guys to these things so many times over the past months. He won't trust anyone else to supervise, especially not Tel-Zu," he explained. Revan shrugged and sat down on the couch of the ship. "Getting Nihl, maybe a few of his top lieutenants? We can't pass that opportunity up."
"Even if it gives the Sith exactly what they're looking for?" Ana asked.
"I hate to agree with Revan," Rhen sighed. "So, so badly. But... he's thinking clearly now. I trust him with this, and I think he's right."
"Wow... I guess we'll be stealing form our bosses, then," Ana groaned. "So many military tribunals are in our future."
"Only if we fail," Revan pointed out. "And a heist that Van's mom planned? Easy, compared to the kriff we've pulled."
"I hope you're right, you karking crazy person," Van said. He shook his head and walked to the cockpit. "Really, cause if you aren't, we're dead."