"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.
?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ?
Ariv couldn't believe what he had gotten himself into.
The smell of the sewer here was unbearable, worse than before, something he hadn't believed could be possible. Despite the flimsy cloth barrier covering the lower half of his face, the stench invaded his senses and he resisted the urge to vomit.
"How far along are we, Mission?" He asked, he really would prefer to be in a gang's base surrounded by enemies rather than in this awful tunnel.
"Just a couple of metres!" She answered, cheerful as ever.
Nodding, he continued walking east. He walked a few feet ahead of the group, making sure that Mission trudged along between Zaalbar and Carth so that she was protected from any stragglers. There were too many rakghouls in this damn place – not to mention any Vulkars or Gamorrean slavers who might look for revenge. He blinked, trying to get his vision to adjust to the abrupt darkness. The glowrod in his hand was already dimming, its pale yellow light cast long shadows on the walls of the tunnel, and it would not be long before its light went out entirely.
Ariv swallowed, he could tell that there was something – or rather someone nearby.
He raised his hand, gesturing for the group behind him to stop. They all paused a few feet away, except for Carth, who whisper-yelled, "What are you doing?"
"Quiet! I think we're close." He hissed in response, turning to face the group.
"At least tell us what –" Carth objected, moving closer and he accidentally stepped on a stone, depressing it slightly. He jumped back quickly, realising what had happened, but it was too late. A massive gate made of thick bars of durasteel dropped down and a loud clang echoed in the sewer making everyone wince and separating Ariv from the rest of them.
"Ariv!" Mission called, worried.
"It's okay," he reassured her with confidence he did not particularly feel. "I'll be fine. Don't worry, just try to get this open."
She nodded in response, pulled out a datapad, and got to work, while Carth stared at him and began, "I'm sorry, shit! I didn't mean to–"
"I know!" Ariv interrupted, "Just – just be careful next time, alright!" Honestly, the Captain should be grateful that he'd jumped away fast enough and not been crushed by the spiked ends of the gate.
Ariv focused his gaze on said gate, seeing if there were any weak spots that his blaster or sword could help him break through. There were deep gashes along the rods, though they were caused more likely by claws rather than any weapon. His eyes traced the path of the dark green lubellian fungus that clung to the rusted surface, and Ariv swore he could see splatters of dried blood of various colours.
Wonderful.
Ariv heard the sound of large metal creaking open and deep growling as Carth and the group's eyes widened in horror, their gaze focused on something behind him. Ariv turned and saw a massive rancor roar – it had probably been woken up when the gate slammed shut. It had been a few metres away from him, but it quickly covered the distance between them, long arms swiping at him.
Ariv ducked, moving away from the creature's sharp claws, knowing that they could probably reduce his flesh to shreds within minutes. He ran, putting as much distance between himself and the beast. The leathery folds of its skin glinted with slime, mucus, and blood in the low light. Ariv stepped on something – it crunched – and he closed his eyes for a split second, knowing what he would find beneath his feet. There was a pile of bones, yellow and rotting with age, with cracks that ran along their surface.
Ariv took in deep breaths through his mouth, he looked at the rancor again as blaster fire passed through the gaps in the cage – Carth and Zaalbar were doing their best to help him out after recovering from their shock. While the bolts could not damage the beast's hide, they would annoy the rancor.
Grateful for the distraction, Ariv observed the mighty creature. He knew they relied on smell, and given that he was probably the freshest meat it had come across – judging by the state of the corpses nearby – in a few months, it made sense that it would attack him with as much ferocity as it could muster.
Ariv took stock of what he had: a blaster, which was absolutely useless, and a sword, he did not think it would do much damage and he did not want to get close enough to find out. He also had a few medkits, something he would most certainly need if the rancor got his claws on him – if there was anything left of him anyway. He had the oddest desire for a lightsaber – at least it could have cut through the creature with ease. Shaking off his thoughts, he wondered how he'd get rid of the rancor.
He then pulled out the vial he stole from the Sith troopers, wondering if it was of any use. The label marked it as a synthetic scent. He quickly put two and two together: the vial he possessed contained a synthetic odour, one that either the racor found repulsive (Ariv pondered about that would be, given the horrid state of the beast's home, it did not seem to care about abhorrent smells) or it could lure the rancor to its prey.
The latter probably made more sense.
A plan formed in his mind and he shut off his glowrod and let the rancor's attention focus where not one or two, but three fresh meals were just beyond the gate. He wasn't too worried about them, that barrier had clearly done very well to keep the beast contained. The light of blasterfire lit up the cage in an eerie shade of crimson as he placed frag mines on the remnants of the many unfortunate people that had come across the beast before he had. He activated the mines, setting a short timer.
He paused for a moment, knowing he would have to open up the vial and get out of there before the rancor got to him. Ariv made sure his eyes were on the beast the entire time, lest it realise there was no point in going after the meal past the gate – not when it had an alternative in close vicinity. He quickly ripped off the seal and twisted the cap open.
Ariv could not smell whatever was in it, but he could see the effect it had on the hungry beast. Almost immediately, the entirety of the rancor's attention was on the vial in his hands and it charged at him. He froze for a moment as sheer terror coursed through his veins but it was a moment too long, despite the fact that Ariv had almost immediately dropped the vial onto the pile of corpses in front of him, it was too late.
The rancor had gotten so close that Ariv could see the decaying flesh and blood sticking to its teeth, which were as long as his forearm and sharper than his sword.
Instinctively, he raised his hands to stop the rancor, and he realised it was a useless gesture, but for some reason, the beast froze in its place a foot away from him and that was enough time that he needed to put distance between them. The rancor turned away from him then, the scent coming from the vial overpowering its desire to chase after Ariv. It began feasting in the corpses and within a scant few seconds, it swallowed the frag mine which exploded not even a minute later.
Ariv turned away as the bomb blasted through the rancor but heard the sick splatter of tissue and blood. He looked at the group outside which was gawking at him in awe, Carth and Zaalbar stood frozen with their weapons still raised, while Mission clutched a datapad.
"Mission," Ariv began, addressing the teen Twi'lek who was still staring at him, "The gate?"
"Right," she responded quickly, "Of course, I just – yeah sure." She shook her head and continued prodding at the datapad.
Carth had recovered from his shock and looked at him sceptically before saying, "You killed a rancor."
"So I did," Ariv acknowledged. They stood staring at each other for a long few seconds before the gate separating them opened with a groan. Mission beamed because of her success before scampering to the door that blocked their entry to the Black Vulkar's base, past the steel trapdoor that had led to the rancor's home. After a few minutes of Mission tinkering with her datapad, the main door to the Vulkar's base opened with a whoosh, and Ariv took a deep breath in, preparing himself for what was inside.
?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ? ?￢ﾟﾡ?
"Looks like we have visitors – lackeys conned by Gadon Thek into trying to steal Brejik's swoop engine accelerator, I bet!" Kandon hissed in fluent Twi'leki, addressing Ariv, Carth, Mission, and Zaalbar. They had finally made it to the garage where Brejik kept the accelerator he had stolen from Gadon Thek.
Finding this place hadn't been easy, they had to get past numerous guards, unfaithful gangsters, countless droids, a poor waitress who had been forced to join, massive turrets that could've killed them, and not to mention the fucking rancor.
But finally, they were here. Ariv had even tried to see if Bastila had somehow been kept around on the base but everyone who answered his query had told him that someone as invaluable as Bastila (who they still thought to be a Republic officer) would not be locked up in a place as accessible…as this base.
Brejik did not want any trigger–happy members of his gang to get their hands on the prize – especially two days before the swoop race. But there was no harm in trying.
Mission brought Ariv's attention back to the scene around him with an indignant, "Brejik stole that engine from Gadon! It was never yours to begin with!"
Carth joined in, "You're talking like that engine isn't Gadon's."
"Well," Kandon answered, "I didn't go through all that trouble of acquiring this prototype just so you could steal it back for that old fool!"
One of his bodyguards piped in, "Would you like me to dispose of these Bek spies, Kandon?"
"No – hold on a second." He interjected, his gaze focused on Ariv, "I see you aren't wearing the Hidden Bek colours, so I'm guessing you aren't part of that feeble old man's gang. You must be a freelance mercenary."
Ariv rolled his eyes, did Kandon truly think that he would turn on Gadon that easily? He was getting annoyed at the delay too, they had to get out of the base with the prototype intact and in time to fix it into a swoop bike.
"Enough yapping! Hand over that accelerator." He threatened, raising his sword and taking a step closer to Kandon. A single drop of crimson ran across the bloodied edge of the blade, dripping onto the floor.
Kandon visibly shrunk, swallowed, and took a step back. But he didn't stop his persuasion, "Instead of stealing the prototype for the Beks, why don't you come work for us? The Black Vulkars could use someone like you."
"Forget it," he spat, "I know all about you Black Vulkars!" He added, thinking about how common buying and selling slaves was for this gang, at least the Hidden Beks were not as awful. Maybe the gang had some honour in the earlier days, as the former Vulkar had suggested, but since Brejik had assumed leadership, it seemed that the gang had changed extensively.
"Be smart: Gadon Thek is old news! He's a blind fool in more ways than one! Brejik is a visionary – soon he'll control the entire Lower City! Don't shackle yourself to a losing team." Kandon countered, refusing to drop the point.
He eyed Ariv's blade again and continued, "Our leader has grown tired of this petty war with Gadon and his pathetic followers. He needs someone to get rid of Gadon… permanently. If you do this task, Brejik is willing to offer a very substantial reward. How does 500 credits sound? Oh, we'll throw in any slave you want as well! Think! It could all be yours!"
"No," Ariv snarled, getting angrier by the minute, "I don't care what Brejik has to offer me — unless it's the Republic officer."
"Well…" He began nervously, "We can't just hand over the girl to you. Not after Brejik has publicly offered her up as a prize in the big swoop race."
Ariv opened up his mouth to tell him that he did not care for his offer but Kandon spoke quickly, "But we can do the next best thing. Whoever wins the swoop race gets the girl. Kill Gadon and we'll give you credits, sponsor you as a Vulkar rider, and equip your swoop with the accelerator. You can't lose!"
Ariv cocked his head, considering. It wasn't better than what the Beks had offered him, but if he could convince the man to just, "Give me the girl now or we have no deal."
"Brejik can't withdraw his prize without losing the respect of every gang in the Lower City. Besides, she isn't even here! Brejik's keeping her somewhere safe until after the race." Kandon protested. "Just get rid of Gadon and you'll have your prize."
"How about I just kill you instead?" Ariv asked, "Look, I want you to let go of Bastila right now or you can forget your deal!"
"Wait!" Mission interjected, "You're not actually considering his offer?"
It seemed that everyone waited for his answer.
"Not if he refuses to leave Bastila," Ariv said.
Kandon sighed and said mournfully, "I can see there's not much chance of convincing you to come work for us after all. Most unfortunate."
The bodyguard jumped in, asking her boss gleefully, "Now can I kill them, Kandon?"
"Yes, darling. Kill them. Kill them all." Kandon replied before the fight broke out again.
Ariv ducked as blaster shots rang out, he deflected as many as he could and fired back whenever he had the chance. He could see the others doing the same, but suddenly someone cried out in pain – it was Carth!
A stray blaster bolt had hit his leg and he was unable to stand. Zaalbar rushed to his side, propping up the Captain who was grateful for his help. Meanwhile, Ariv and Mission made quick work of the remaining Vulkars, went into the engine room, and finally got their hands on the accelerator.