Chapter 13: Twitching to Get Off
Calak and the others awoke the next day to a knock on the door. He looked around and saw everyone was here with him. Carth, Mission, Zalbaar, and Bastila. Who could be at the door right now? Dia again? Calak got up from his bed.
"Just a minute!" he said putting on his raggedy jungle clothes from Deralia. He then made his way to the door and saw a Twi'lek he didn't know outside.
"Pardon the early wake up, human," the Twilek said with a bow. Calak noticed he had a shock collar on, a sign that he was a slave. Such a thing was not legal in the Republic, but they were in the Outer Rim, closer to Sith Territory. "I bring a message to you on behalf of Canderous Ordo."
"Canderous?" Calak repeated. "Isn't he that Mandalorian that works with Davak?"
"Yes, he asked me to come and ask you to meet him at the cantina here on this platform nearby. He's there already," the Twilek said.
"Very well," Calak nodded. "I guess I'll have to see what this about."
"Hopefully Davak's not got it out for us now," Carth said.
"We did give someone else the Rakghoul serum," Mission said. "Maybe he found out and wants to make us pay for costing him a chance at a heavy profit?"
"I don't know, but I think if that were the case they would have come with blasters," Bastila said. "I wouldn't trust a Mandalorian though."
They all got dressed and headed out onto the platform outside. To their surprise though once they emerged from the complex they found a squad of Sith Troopers outside the doors as if about to head in.
"Stop right there, civilians!" the lead trooper said as they saw the group emerge. "We're under orders to investigate what happened to one of our men and two droids! If you know anything you must say so!"
Calak felt Bastila take a step behind him and Carth. Zalbaar stepped forward, growling softly.
"Watch that Wookie!" a trooper said pointing his blaster at Zalbaar.
"Don't make any foolish moves!" another trooper said. "Just tell us if you know anything. You will be rewarded with credits and your life."
That might have worked on some one else, but the ones standing in front of them were their staunch opponents. Calak just had to hope they could get out of this somehow and not d
"We don't know anything please!" Calak said trying to sound desperate and afraid.
A Sith circled him and took a look at Calak. "That's an interesting outfit, jungle survival. You from a jungle planet?"
"Yes," Calak answered honestly since a good deal of Deralia was jungle and the rest was coasts.
"What's in here?" the trooper asked gesturing to Calak's pack.
"Open it!" another trooper said.
Calak gritted his teeth. His Republic Mod armor that he'd gotten from the Lower City was in there. Even though it wasn't a regularly used armor model there was still a chance the Sith might recognize it. He slowly pulled the pack off his back and the Sith opened it.
"Armor, and of decent quality," the first trooper said.
"Its not just an armor," the second said. "This is Republic Mod armor, I've seen it once before. Very expensive."
The Troopers looked at Calak.
"You a Republic sympathizer?" the leader asked.
"So what if I am?" Calak asked.
"You better watch yourself, this planet is under the control of the Sith now," another said.
"Don't you know who this man is?" Mission stepped forward defiantly. "He's the latest swoop racing champion! And the new second best duelist on Taris in the dueling ring right across from here! He might even be the greatest today once he takes on Twitch! Which we're on our way for! You know Twitch? He's borderline psychotic! And I'm sure he'd be mad if you killed his next opponent!"
The Sith Troopers looked Mission who stood her ground.
"You have a big mouth, but if what you say is true we don't want to cause you any trouble. If this were anyone else we'd keep them for interrogation. But fine, be on your way," the Stih said. "Just make sure that even if you sympathize with the Republic you don't join their army. We are winning the war, and we WILL conquer the galaxy soon. Maybe in a year or two, but victory is guaranteed."
They continued on into the complex, not looking closely at anyone else.
"Phew that was close," Bastila said. "If they'd spotted my lightsaber they probably would have let other Sith know of our location. Good work Mission."
"No problem Bastila," Mission said.
They headed off to the cantina. As they entered they saw a Mandalorian in the front room, but not the one they were looking for. He was covered from head to toe in yellow armor. He looked at them.
"Well, well, the Mysterious Stranger returns once again," the Mandalorian said. "I've seen you in the Dueling Ring, not bad. Just one more match away from becoming Champion I see. You know who I am?"
"Can't say I do," Calak said.
"I'm Bendak Starkiller, I was the Champion back in the days when the ring was nice and bloody! No enhanced safety features installed."
Calak recognized the name. "You're the last bounty I heard about!"
"Ah so you're the one doing Zax's dirty work," Bendak said. "I heard someone's just about cleared out all the bounties in that office. Well, if you want to collect my bounty I might have a way to help you. I've been wanting to come out of retirement for a battle, but I only fight in death matches. But I'm sure Ajuur would be willing to accommodate me if I find an opponent willing to do it. You game?"
Calak normally wouldn't dream of doing an illegal death match, at least not with an innocent person. But this man was a known killer, he'd done more then a few murders according to what Calak heard, he'd killed a nobles daughter. This man needed to be brought down. It might have been doing the wrong thing, but it was for the right reason.
"You're on Bendak," Calak said.
"Good, but you'll have to defeat Twitch if you want to earn the right to face me," Bendak said.
Calak nodded. He and the others walked further into the cantina and soon found the man they were looking for. Canderous stood in the circular area. He spotted them and walked over.
"Ah, Calak Star is it?" he said. "I recall we ran into each other a couple times in the lower levels."
"Yes, I got your message, what do you want?" Calak asked.
"I saw you in the swoop race," Canderous started. "Very impressive. I think you might be just what I need."
"Uh excuse me!" Another customer said as he found his way blocked by the large crowd.
"Arr!" Zalbaar groaned as he moved aside.
"A few too many here," Carth said. "Mission, why don't you and Zalbaar get a table and we'll join you in a bit."
"Alright," Mission said.
She and Zalbaar walked off to find a table, leaving the three human members of their group with the Mandalorian.
"So you said you needed me?" Calak asked.
"Yes, I have a plan to get off Taris," Canderous said. "And I need your help to do it."
"Careful, mercs like this only serve themselves," Carth whispered to Calak.
"I'm a man of my word!" Canderous said hotly, hearing the whisper.
Calak narrowed his eyes slightly. Canderous and Bendak were both Mandalorians, both cold hearted killers. The Mandalorians had laid waste to the galaxy just a few years ago, Calak's homeworld had not fallen victim to their 'Crusades' but he'd heard of the many battles that occurred over countless worlds like Erson III, Kathar, Dxun, Duros, and worst of all, Malachor V. Though that had actually been Revan's doing when the Jedi General activated a prototype weapon called the Mass Shadow Generator that ended up destroying much of the planet. Still the Mandalorians had been the ones to start the war and create the cycle of destruction in the first place.
Still, if Canderous was sincerely willing to help them, Calak would take it. He didn't know much about Mandalorian ways, aside from the fact they loved war. He couldn't approve of what they'd done, but he'd work with them or hunt them down depending on the scenario. Canderous would help him get off the planet, and if he killed Bendak he'd avenge the people that Mandalorian had killed and get a reward for doing so. It was also what Bendak apparently wanted, at least the chance to fight a worthy foe in a death match. Though a part of Calak felt this was close to crossing a line. Better Bendak then Dia or Largo though.
"What's your plan?" Calak asked.
"I work for Davak, it's a good job, but lately he hasn't been paying what he promised. I've come up with a plan to get off this planet, and he's gonna unknowingly help me and he isn't gonna like it!" Canderous chuckled. "He has a ship… the Ebon Hawk."
"Mission mentioned that!" Carth said.
"It's the fasted ship in this part of the outer rim!" Canderous continued. "I can get you inside Davak's estate and then we can steal the ship! There's just one catch. We need the Sith Launch codes to get off this planet! That's where you come in. I want you to break into the Sith Base nearby and steal the codes."
Calak grit his teeth.
"I was hoping NOT to do that!" he yelled a little loudly.
Fortunately, no one inquired what he meant.
"I know this will be difficult," Canderous said. "But I have a plan."
Calak looked at him.
"Davak ordered a droid, a special droid that he hasn't picked up yet. It's in a shop nearby called Droids by Janice."
Calak looked at Carth, they'd both been there a few days ago when they'd tried to buy a droid. Janice had had only two droids ready, and only one of those two were available for purchase while the other was a special order. Could that special order droid be the one Canderous referred to?
"It should be able to get into the Sith Base no problem, and once it manages to hack the main computer you can cause all sorts of chaos!" Canderous said.
Calak's eyes widened as he thought of the damage an advanced droid could do. Set off traps, hijack other droids, trap Sith in certain areas of the base. With that, some well-equipped soldiers like himself, Carth and the other two, as well as Bastila being a Jedi, they might actually have a chance to pull this off.
"That could work," Calak said.
"You bet it will," Canderous said.
"But why don't you break into the Sith base if you get the droid?" Calak asked.
"Everyone knows I work for Davak, if they find out I broke in they'll track me back to him.
Somehow, Calak had a feeling the Mandalorian could be trusted.
Bastila looked at their new… ally. She whispered in Calak's ear. "I don't sense any deception from him which is strange. This could be just what we need."
Carth heard but frowned. "I never thought I'd be desperate enough to accept help from a Mandalorian! But I guess we don't have any other choice! Alright lets do it!" He then looked at Canderous. "But you double cross us in any way I'll shoot you myself!"
"Fair enough," Canderous said casually. "I'm gonna head down to Javyars Cantina, you can find me there when you have the codes. Don't take too long! Be there by nightfall."
"You got it," Calak said.
Canderous left, and that left them to have breakfast.
"Well, guess I have to clear up any work I have left on Taris before we leave," Calak said. "Might as well have another duel or two."
"You sure you want to break the law though?" Carth said.
"We'll be off this planet soon, and the guy I'm gonna kill is a known murderer," Calak stated.
"True, but I fear this maybe a road to the dark side," Bastila said.
"Eh, you guys worry too much," Mission said. "This planet is full of corruption and xenophobes. They're not gonna put a bounty on Calak for a guy that already has a bounty on his own head."
Once he was done with his meal, Calak headed to the duelist lounge. It was time to face Twitch, and then… step into a death match.
"Mysterious Stranger! Here for one more round?" Ajurr said. "You've beaten just about everyone for Twitch!"
The current champion, a rodian with two blasters out got up from where he sat in a corner of the room away from the rest of the duelists. He made his way over to Calak.
"You tough! You climbed up the ladder! Now you face Twitch!" he said an excited, maybe crazy tongue of Rodianese.
"Uh, may the best duelist win?" Calak said hesitantly.
"You want shot at Twitch, you get it! But Twitch shook you first!" Twitch said. "Say the word and we fight!"
Calak grinned nervously. "Alright, I guess we're gonna fight."
"Yes! Fight! Champion match!" Ajurr said.
And it was back in the Dueling Ring again.
"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome to the ring! We have a very special presentation in store for you!" the announcer said.
He described Twitch first. "Hold onto your seats and stay back from the edges of the ring! He's wild he's unpredictable, he's borderline psychotic! And he's the best damn duelist in the game today! Give it up for… Twitch!"
"And his opponent, a relative newcomer who has climbed up the ladder in the space of only a few days. Emerging from the shadows with no history, no past, and no name… the Mysterious Stranger!"
Calak aimed his blaster rifle while Twitched aimed his dual pistols. Both of them shot, moving side to side, creating a circle. The ring was filled with blaster fire which they both dodged as they ran. They tried to aim further ahead and catch their opponent as they moved. Twitch's shot missed by a milimeter while Calak's grazed Twitch's shoulder, causing the rodian to cry out. Had that been the chest area, Twitch probably would have been brought down. The rodian only wore ordinary clothes rather then a suit of armor like the rest of the combatants. This sacrificed protection but let him move at full speed. It was a good thing Calak had acquired such good reflexes in his training as a soldier or this might have been a different story. His armor didn't slow him down much.
Twitch was forced to use his left pistol thanks to the injury on his right shoulder. Calak watched carefully, some sixth sense seeming to guide him like several other times before. Telling him to… move your head.
He leaned off to the side, avoiding a blaster bolt that would have hit him the face and certainly knocked him out. He then shot at Twitch who barely managed to dodge the blast to his chest. The rodian then shot an on point blast at Calak who was hit in the chest, but his armor protected him from getting knocked out. It still stung a bit but that was a small price. Calak then aimed his rifle once again and shot. His final blast hit Twitch and knocked him off his feet. The rodian champion collapsed and a new champion walked to the center of the ring.
"Its over! The fight is over the Mysterious Stranger has won! Twitch's reign is over folks! Its over! We have a new champion, and hero to the people of Taris! All hail the Mysterious Stranger!"
Calak smiled as the crowd cheered. He was the best now, except for Bendak, but that would soon change. He made his way to Ajurr.
"Well well stranger, you've managed to grab the top spot in the brief time you've been here," Ajurr said. "Now you are the Champion after just a week or so!"
A week? It felt longer than that with all that had been going on.
"Here is your reward," Ajurr said as he handed Calak a large number of credits. "I guess there is nothing else, except Bendak Starkiller. But he's retired."
"Actually about that," Calak said. "Bendak talked to me, and he wants to fight me. But in an illegal death match."
Ajurr grinned. "Really? Do you agree to it?"
"Well, I have mixed feelings about it," Calak answered honestly. "But he's not really innocent is he?"
"No, not that I care about that," Ajurr said. "I only care about money!"
Of course you do. Typical hutt. Calak thought. Hutts were known to consider themselves above the laws of 'lesser species' and be corrupt. Calak usually tried to follow the law, but someone had to bring justice to Bendak for his crimes, and the retired gladiator never left this place from what Calak had heard. Calak couldn't draw a blaster on him in the main cantina as there was built in protection around here that would fire upon anyone that tried to aim a blaster. The Dueling Ring was the only option, otherwise Bendak would go free for possibly the rest of his life.
"So, you in?" Ajurr asked.
"Yes," Calak said with only the slightest hint of reluctance.
"Good. I will set it up then, it will take some time to bribe officials to accept a Death Match. Come back in a few hours or so," Ajurr said.
Calak nodded. He could go to the Sith Base in the meantime and get the codes then. And Canderous would meet him in Javyar's cantina, exactly where he needed to go to collect the bounty. It was perfect.
"Let's go," Calak said once he reunited with his friends.
They headed outside the cantina. As they walked they came across the Equipment Emporium.
"If we're really going into the Sith Base, we're gonna need to be prepared," Carth said.
"Yeah," Calak agreed.
They checked their current supplies. Several of their energy cells had been used up fighting Rakghouls and Vulkars in the Lower and Undercities. Also they could use more grenades. Heading into the shop they found the keeper, Kebla Yurt.
"Hey look at this!" she exclaimed as she saw Calak. "You're the winner of the recent swoop race and the new champion of the Dueling Ring! I heard about it on the holonet! And you're challenging Bendak Starkiller!"
"Wow, word travels fast around here," Calak said.
"Well if you need weapons I can help with that," Kebla said. "If times weren't so tough I'd give you a discount but with the quarantine and all… eh."
Calak shrugged. He had plenty of credits to spare. Everyone stocked up on grenades of different kinds, as well as fresh energy cells to power their blasters. The only exception was Bastila who only took some grenades, as Jedi didn't typically carry blasters.
"I upgraded my blaster while you were in the race, Calak," Carth said. "We might be able to upgrade somethings you have as well."
Calak looked at his equipment. The only thing he could really upgrade was his suit to make the armor stronger. Using the work bench Kebla had in back, they inserted some of the upgrades they'd found in the Vulkar base and bought from Igear. There were still some left over as not all their equipment was upgradeable. But the armor worn by Mission and Calak, as well as Carth's main blaster and Zalbaar's bowcaster was able to be outfitted with some modifications.
Bastila watched as Calak inserted an upgrade on his armor.
"That's a mind protection implant!" she said as she recognized the piece. "It can protect you against mind tricks by Dark Jedi."
"Really?" Calak exclaimed.
"Yes, the Republic Army made it in an attempt to prevent the Sith from using their dark powers on soldiers and throw them off," Bastila said. "It won't protect you against all force powers but ones that would thwart your mind."
"Good," Calak said.
Once they had a sufficient amount of supplies and upgraded their equipment as much as they could, they headed off.
As they walked, the group spoke.
"Bastila I was wondering something?" Carth said. "How did the Vulkars manage to capture a famous Jedi like you? Did the crash of the escape pod knock you out?"
"N-no, I was conscious but I had spent much of my energy. My powers were exchausted from using my battle meditation on the Endar Spire, if not for that I feel we might not have survived at all," Bastila said.
"I guess, but I've seen you Jedi in action. You still could have gotten away with your lightsaber," Carth said.
"My lightsaber was… misplaced. I couldn't find it after I saw the Vulkars coming to my pod," Bastila said.
"Wait wait! You lost your lightsaber?" Carth chuckled.
The others started to laugh as well. Even Zalbaar cracked a fanged grin.
"Of all the Jedi we have to work with we get one that's absent minded!" Calak said conjuring up some more giggles.
"This is no laughing matter!" Bastila said. "My lightsaber wasn't on my belt when I tried to reach for it! It must have slipped when I crashed! Oh no!"
She hid behind Calak as a Sith Trooper passed them on patrol, making sure to hide her lightsaber in particular.
"Well, I don't think it would suit a legend like you to have it known you lost your lightsaber," Carth said. "You would probably want to avoid bringing that up with the Jedi Council when you meet them next."
"I hardly consider myself a legend, Carth but perhaps you are right. There is no need for the Council to know every detail," Bastila said. "So what happened after you and Calak crashed. How did you get into the Swoop Race, avoid detection by the Sith and find me?"
"We had a lot of help," Calak said. "Some people covered for us when there was an incident. We met with Gadon Thek, learned you were captured by the Vulkars, found Mission, saved Zalbaar from slavers and then retrieved a special accelerator to win the race."
"Well that's certainly a lot," Bastila said. "I'm surprised you managed to do it on your own."
Calak narrowed his eyes. "I didn't do it on my own! I had these guys with me."
"Uh, I think you did the most out of all of us," Carth said.
"For once I agree with Carth," Mission said.
"Your modesty is admirable," Bastila praised. "But judging by how strong the force is I can feel in you, you were the catalyst in the majority of events leading up to the race. You've done a good job in your mission soldier."
"Thanks, I guess I did save a damsel in distress," Calak said.
Bastila blushed. "Yes well, I hardly consider myself a damsel in distress. But I suppose I should be grateful. You did provide me the distraction I needed to escape. So I guess I can say thank you."
They arrived at Droids by Janice. The Twilek stood behind the counter as before.
"Ah, I remember you!" she said as she saw Calak and Carth. "Afraid I don't have any more droids for sale. I've given up trying to repair that brown T3 unit."
"Actually, we came for that droid," Calak said pointing to the blue one he knew to be the special order. "Canderous sent us."
"Canderous, oh wonderful! Iwas wondering if he was ever gonna come and get it," Janice said. "That will be Five Thousand credits."
It was a good thing they'd found that much in the Vulkar Base. Calak handed the credits to her and they took the droid. T3-M4 rolled behind them.
"Alright T3, you're gonna have to crack a few things for us," Calak said.
The droid beeped.
"Shouldn't be too difficult huh? Well we'll see," Calak said.
They headed to the Sith Base on the other side of the platform. The group kept their eyes open but fortunately no Sith patrols came their way, there wasn't even a guard in front of the door. That made it easy for them to just walk up and T3 to slice the door open.
"Okay, here we go again," Carth said.
"Well, with a Jedi on our side this should be easier then the Vulkar Base right?" Mission asked.
"Don't be too sure," Bastila said as they stepped inside.
Okay, another chapter down. Two or three more and I expect we'll be getting off Taris. Hope you guys enjoyed and please review. Still got a long way to go.