"Hurry!" the sound of a panicked woman's shout broke the melancholic peace that blanketed the Outcast village, "Hendar! Hurry! I can hear them coming!" Her cries were full of terror, and Ariv bolted towards the source of the sound, leaving behind the leader who had spoken of a lush and safe refuge, Carth following quickly behind, both wondering if it the Sith.
They soon came before a massive pair of thick durasteel gates where a woman stood, wringing her hands worriedly, anxiously seeing the land beyond. "He'll never make it," the stocky gate guard informed the woman, "He's doomed! I told him he was a fool to leave the village."
She shook her head, "No! He will make it, he must! Run, Hendar! Run!" she called out again and Ariv looked at where her gaze was directed.
Surely enough he could make out the figure of a terrified man running towards the gates, his fearful gaze turning back every few seconds to see the creatures that followed him.
"Open the gate!" the man called, desperate, "Quickly! There isn't much time!"
The guard shook his head, "I can't," he said, sad, "I'm sorry, but the rakghouls are too close."
The woman grabbed the guard's arm, "Please," she begged, "The rakghouls will kill him if you don't."
"And they'll kill us all if I do, I'm sorry, this is for the sake of the entire village!" The guard answered.
The woman finally noticed them and turned, pleading, "Please, make him open the gate. Hendar will die if he doesn't!" Tears were streaming down her face now, and Ariv looked between her and the approaching mutants, realising that he'd already made his decision.
"Open the gate," he told the guard and the man stood staring at him, "I already told her, up-worlder, I cannot do that."
Ariv stepped further, closer to the guard, and insisted, "You have to open the gate! Someone will die if you don't."
The guard looked at him, blinking, "I…I have to open the gate, someone will die if I don't." He then shook his head as if coming out of a stupor, and Carth gasped loudly from somewhere behind him, "You have to be quick," he warned, "In a few seconds I must close and lock it again."
"Alright," Ariv answered and dashed outside the gates, Carth following closely on his heels, "Wait!" the Captain said, "What the hell did you do–" But before he could complete the sentence an angry hoard of the rakhgouls fell upon them, and Ariv fought them to the best of his abilities. Carth had already begun firing and managed to kill quite a few. Ariv did not think, he acted only on instinct, dodging the creature's sharp claws, without hesitation and snapping back, using his twin vibroswords to decapitate the rakghouls. It took him and Carth a few more minutes to deal with the remaining undead, and finally, they stood over the now still creatures.
"I can't thank you enough for saving me, up-worlder. If I had anything but these rags on my back it would be yours. But we have nothing." the man said and Ariv shook his head, "I do not need nor desire a reward."
The man thanked him again, and the woman, slowly walked out as well, "Thank you," she said, earnestly and the two made their way back to the village.
?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ?
Ariv shouldn't have been surprised by the stench around him, after all, this place was a sewer, so he paused, wrapping a cloth around the bottom of his face, lessening the assault on his senses. Carth had done the same and the pair walked side by side in silence, but Ariv could tell that something was bothering the Captain.
He sighed, "Spit it out, Onasi," he said at last.
Carth turned to him, surprised that Ariv had spoken, "Excuse me?" he asked.
Ariv rolled his eyes, "I know you've been wanting to tell me something since we saved the Outcast villager. Go on, say it."
It was the Captain's turn to sigh, "You've got the skills of an elite commando, and you've saved my butt more than once. Between that and your facility with languages, I'm lucky you're here. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop watching you or being wary. I'm just not built that way. Period."
"What the fuck does that even mean?" he asked angry and incredulous, "What, exactly, are you watching me for?"
"You, uh… haven't done anything yet. But there's no guarantee that you won't do anything in the future. I've been betrayed before by people and I… well, it won't happen again." he answered.
"What? You want some guarantee that I won't betray you? What have I done to make you think this way?"
"I don't know that you'll betray me. But there are no guarantees… not for you, not for me. You don't have to take it personally."
Ariv ground his teeth, "Fine," he said at last, knowing that winning the Captain's trust would take time and patience, and well...it didn't matter anyway. Once they had returned with Bastila to the fleet, he would be assigned to another ship and this whole series of unfortunate events would be left behind as they all continued to do their duty.
Ariv turned his attention to his surroundings as a sudden gust of wind slammed into him, bringing with it a putrid stench of decay and death. He tried to focus better in the low light, knowing that the rakghouls were most certainly nearby, he could practically sense the dark aura that shrouded the creatures. He heard the soft rustle of footsteps and tried to gauge where they came from, assessing the long winding corridors. The smell and walkways made him think of the veins of a cadaver.
The screeching of a rusted metal door opening beside them revealed a group of what looked like mercenaries. They were all armed to the teeth with blasters, vibroswords, and grenades. One of them raised a blaster and yelled, "Don't…don't move!" he said, trying and failing to sound intimidating, "I'm... I'm not afraid to use this blaster if I have to!"
Ariv raised an eyebrow, the mercenary was obviously terrified, either of the Rakghouls or of him and Carth, seeing the number of rakghoul corpses that surrounded them. A man came forward, tall and well-built – clearly a battle–hardened warrior and Ariv presumed he was their leader. He then spoke up, placating the rest of the group, "Settle down, kid. We've already lost enough men to those damn rakghouls! The last thing we need now is more casualties from a needless firefight." He was also right. The man was in his fifties with short grey hair. A large black tattoo adorned his sleeve, and Ariv thought it might be from one of the Mandalorian Clans but he wasn't certain.
The man in question turned to Ariv, considering, "Hm... by the looks of you I'd say you're down here for the same reason we are: to salvage something from those downed Republic space pods. Let me give you some advice: forget about it. Do yourself a favour and just head back the way you came."
Ariv stiffened at his tone, "Are you threatening me?" he asked.
"Mandalorians don't make threats, we make promises. But I'm just trying to give you a friendly warning." The other man responded without missing a beat.
So he was a Mandalorian, Ariv thought, surprised. From what he knew the Mandalorians were a proud culture, it was odd that one would be here in the Undercity – scavenging the remnants of Republic pods. Perhaps things had become difficult for them after losing the war and the near destruction of their armies at Revan's orders over Malachor V. He'd heard that the remaining clans had scattered, with many becoming outlaws and taking up jobs like bounty hunting.
"Who even are you?" Ariv asked, curious.
"He's Canderous Ordo!" One of the mercenaries exclaimed, "He's the most famous Mandalorian mercenary in this sector of the galaxy!"
"This isn't a good place to stand around chatting." Canderous interrupted, annoyed, "The Undercity is crawling with rakghouls. I've already lost half a dozen men to those monsters. I don't want to lose anymore."
"Over here!" Called one of the mercenaries who was far from the group, "I heard something in the shadows! Sounded like a rakghoul!"
The eerie sound of clicking and growling became all too clear then, and a whole pack of the walking dead creatures emerged from the darkness, their large claws drawn.
Ariv drew out his sword and blaster as the group advanced, he shot down and slashed as many rakghouls as he could. He ducked, dodging the monster's sharp claws from cutting into his skin, but in the momentary confusion he did not realise that too many had gotten close to him, instinctively, he raised his hand to defend himself, and the clique got blasted back the same time that Canderous unleashed repeated fire from his heavy rifle.
Guess I got lucky again, Ariv thinks, remembering how he'd managed to break free of the Dark Jedi's choking grip back on the Endar Spire. His attention was called back to the battle around him where most of Davik's men had fallen to the deadly plague.
?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ?
Ariv bent down, reaching for the satchel that the Sith soldiers carried while Carth did the same. He was looking for the vials of serum that the Dr. Forn in the Upper City had spoken of, and much to his relief, he and Captain had found many. Quite a few Sith Patrols had fallen prey to the Gammoreans or the rakghouls. He placed the precious fluid in his own bag, along with the journals that would lead the Outcast villagers to a better place and life. Canderous of Clan Ordo had left soon after their encounter, and Ariv would admit that he was most curious about the Mandalorian. He had a feeling that they would cross paths yet again.
The sound of rapid footsteps against the metal of the sewer walkways snapped Ariv out of his thoughts and he turned, raising his swords and expecting to see another group of rakghouls, but instead, a young Twi'lek was running towards him – it was Mission! She stopped only a few feet away, breathless, "Please!" She began, "You have to help me! Nobody else is going to help me. Even the Beks won't help me. But I can't just leave him there – he's my friend! You'll help me, won't you?"
"Woah!" Carth answered, "Breath kid–tell me, what happened?"
"It's Zaalbar – my Wookie friend from Jayvar's–remember him?" They nodded, and Mission continued, "He's in trouble - big trouble! We have to help him. If we don't they'll sell him into slavery! You have to help me! Please!"
Ariv answered immediately, "Of course, lead us to where you think he was taken, and tell us what happened on the way."
?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ?
Making his way deeper into the lower sewers, Ariv grimaced as the smell of rotten food and flesh permeated the air. They were found by a group of Gamorreans, probably the same who had taken Zaalbar. Ariv was surprised at the ferocity at which Mission fought the slavers; she truly did care deeply about Zaalbar. They dealt with the lot and went deeper in, looking for the Wookie. She had told him about how the duo had been exploring the region, only to be found by slavers, and Zaalbar had fought them so that Mission would be able to escape, but she cared about her friend too much to leave him stranded. She had also promised to help him break into the Vulkar's base if he helped her, so here they were watching the young Twi'lek as she sliced into the room where Zaalbar was held.
Ariv broke him out of his binders and the Wookie expressed his gratitude that Mission had come to rescue him. Ariv understood Zaalbar and the Wookie was surprised at this. Carth looked at him, raising a sceptical brow and Ariv rolled his eyes. "I was recruited because of my knowledge of many languages, Carth," he answered pointedly.
Zaalbar interrupted the impending argument by saying, "You have saved me from a life of servitude and slavery. There is only one way I can ever repay such an act: I will swear a lifedebt to you."
Mission's jaw dropped open in shock and she nearly shouted, "A lifedebt? Are you sure about that, Big Z? Think about it carefully. You better be sure about this."
Zaalbar nodded, entirely serious, and confirmed, "I am sure, Mission. This is an issue of great importance to me. Because of our great physical strength, Wookiees are being used as slave labour on our own homeworld. They see us as brutes and animals to be exploited. Over the years slavers have taken many of my people; we must always be on guard against raids against our villages. When the Gamorreans captured me, I thought I was doomed to a life of servitude. I have been saved from such a fate, and the only way I can repay that is through a lifedebt."
Mission was still in shock, she turned to Ariv and said, "Big Z swearing a Wookiee lifedebt to you. Wow – this is major. Do you realise what this means?"
It seemed like a big deal, and Ariv had heard little about it, so he asked her just to be sure, "It's some kind of loyalty vow, isn't it?"
"A lifedebt is the most solemn vow a Wookiee can make. It means he'll stay by your side for the rest of your life – wherever you go, whatever you do, Zaalbar will be with you." She responded and Ariv was truly floored that someone would follow him – even in dangerous conditions.
"In the presence of you all, I swear my lifedebt. Forever after I will be by your side, Ariv Drayen. May my vow be as strong as the roots of the great Wroshyr trees of Kashyyyk." Zaalbar declared and Ariv stared at the Wookie before saying, "I'm honoured to accept your vow."
He truly did mean it, clearly, a lifedebt was an important part of Wookie culture and Ariv was honoured that Zaalbar had trusted him with something that meant so much.
"I guess this means you're stuck with me too. Wherever Big Z goes, I'm going. I almost lost him once – it's not going to happen again." Mission said, entirely serious.
"I'm glad to have you on board, Mission," Ariv responded, Mission's skills with computers were extraordinary and she seemed like a kind soul. He did not mind her joining their little party.
"So… I guess I still owe you one secret path into the Vulkar base. That was the deal, wasn't it? Don't worry, I know a backdoor into that scum den!" Mission said, cheerful once again.
Right, Ariv had not forgotten the main reason for coming all the way down here – he had a prototype accelerator to steal and a Jedi to win.