With assistance from Mako, Valajin is able to break into the Rust Yards and complete his second bounty for Nem'ro. The Hutt then reveals that his final target is Ohnaf, Nem'ro's beastmaster. Upon confronting Ohnaf in the beast pit, however, the ceiling parts to reveal Nem'ro and several guests. As they watch, the cages around the pit begin to open…
The cage far to the left was the first to open. As the metal grate on it rose, a similar one fell down over the exit to the arena, trapping Valajin inside. The walls had no handholds for him to use to climb out. And that was assuming Nem'ro let him try. Which he wouldn't; clearly, the Hutt wanted a show.
Valajin grimaced and drew his blasters. If he wanted a show, he'd give him a show.
The cage finished opening and something somewhat slug-like crawled out. However, he didn't know any slugs that were as large as a speeder. It walked around on a dozen limbs that ended in sharp bone protrusions. It had spikes on its tail, too, as well as two blade 'arms' and a massive circular maw filled with rings of teeth. The monster let out a loud hiss at him, ropes of saliva hanging from its mouth and glistening off its fangs.
"Now you will be dinner for Clawbane the Indomitable!" Ohnaf said behind the gate.
Valajin ignored him as Clawbane charged, limbs skittering across the sand. His blasters erupted in a series of shots, orange bolts striking and causing the creature's muscled hide to sizzle. It screeched in pain but didn't even slow down, getting far too close for comfort. It swung an arm blade at him and he sidestepped, avoiding it. He continued shooting, now aiming for the softer flesh at the joints.
The beast roared again and lunged at him, mouth open wide enough to swallow his entire torso. Valajin rolled to the side. As he did, he saw two more slugs enter the arena. They let out high-pitched hisses of their own, moving with alarming speed despite being smaller than the first.
One larva was closer than the other, so he targeted them with another volley of blaster fire. His shot struck a pair of bladed legs, causing the creature to stumble. A small slug dived at him, but Valajin pivoted and fired into its maw. The bolt exploded out the back of its head, and it landed face-first in the sand.
Clawbane turned with surprising agility, its tail lashing out in a deadly arc. He ducked just in time, the spikes missing his face by inches. He aimed at its underbelly, where he could see less of its tough outer skin. Each shot seared into the flesh, causing the slug to squeal and writhe in agony. The remaining larvae heard that and ran at him. But once it was close enough, he drove his foot into its maw. That kick sent it staggering back and showed its belly. Valajin quickly aimed and shot at the exposed area. The creature convulsed and went still, smoke rising from the blaster wounds.
Clawbane, now enraged over its dead brood, skittered towards him. Instead of retreating, Valajin charged as well. Ducking under a bladed limb and getting right into its space, he aimed both blasters for its maw and started shooting. The orange bolts tore through the soft tissue inside, but it refused to stop. It tried reaching down to swallow him again, but he let himself fall backwards in a roll. He hadn't stopped shooting as he did, peppering its front with more blasts. The slug let out a one more gurgling roar and fell over, bladed limbs twitching before going still.
Only once Clawbane was dead was Valajin able to hear the cheers from the crowd above. Rather than wish he had died, they sounded excited. He supposed it wasn't every day that someone fought Nem'ro's beasts and survived. Even Nem'ro himself was smiling.
Ohnaf scoffed at the scene. "You might be lucky now, but not forever. Release the dogs and Boneshatter!" In response, the cages to the left and right of the arena began opening.
'Not even a rest break,' Valajin thought.
The cage on the left revealed two large adult akk dogs. Both of them were half as tall as he was, with red scaled hides, four small horns on their forehead and mouths full of pointed teeth. Their eyes locked onto Valajin, low growls rumbling from their throats. Meanwhile, the other cage revealed another massive creature he didn't recognize. Their front legs were massive and covered in muscle, while its significantly smaller back legs clawed at the sand. Armor-like plates dotted its thick, leathery skin, and its jaws opened to reveal multiple rows of teeth.
Valajin readied his blasters for the next fight, and the akk dogs wasted no time charging in. As they did, they split up in order to flank him from either side. He fired at the one on the right, his blaster bolts striking its tough hide but failing to stop its advance. He shifted his aim and fired again, targeting the second akk dog. One of his shots hit home, scorching its side and causing it to yelp in pain.
The first akk dog lunged, jaws snapping. Valajin sidestepped again, but his fatigue from the last round slowed him just enough for the beast to graze his arm. He gritted his teeth against the pain and fired at point-blank range, the bolt going through the side of the creature's skull. The akk dog collapsed at his feet, twitching. The second dog tried to leap onto him from behind. He spun around, firing rapidly before it could finish the jump. The bolts struck the creature's legs and caused it to fall. Before it could get up and try again, he shot it three more times, enough to ensure that it didn't get back up to.
He had no time to celebrate. As he heard a roar from far too close behind him, he turned around just in time to see Boneshatter close the distance between them. He fired at its head, but the thick skin absorbed most of the energy. Boneshatter reared up then slammed down, its weight and strength sending a shockwave through the sand.
That threw Valajin off-balance, and the creature seized the opportunity. It swiped at him with one of its front legs before he could recover. The blow caught Valajin square in the chest, denting the plate of his armor and sending him flying across the arena. He crashed into the sand, gasping for air. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he felt pain radiating throughout his body.
The crowd's cheers seemed distant as he struggled to rise to his feet, blasters still clutched tightly in his hands. He could also feel blood beginning to trickle from a gash on his forehead. Thankfully, it was far enough to the side that he wouldn't have to worry about blood getting in his eye. Meanwhile, Boneshatter lumbered toward him, eyes filled with predatory hunger.
Valajin gritted his teeth and forced himself to focus. He couldn't afford to falter now. As Boneshatter closed in, he aimed carefully at its eyes. Despite being set deep into its skull, its eyes remained a visible weak spot. He fired three shots, two of which fizzled against its hide. The last shot, however, found its mark and struck the right eye.
Boneshatter roared and blindly swung in every direction. He used that chance to run to its blind side, staying out of reach of the beast's reach. Although it mainly used the front legs to move, he could see that it still relied on the back ones for balance. With that in mind, he fired again at the joints for its back legs. Two shots to each leg were enough to make it stagger. Boneshatter began turning to see him, but its weakened stance slowed how quickly it could turn.
Taking a breath–and feeling how his dented armor inhibited that–Valajin charged at the beast from the side. He could see a gap in its outer hide where its stomach and back met. His blasters blazed as he concentrated fire on that spot, quickly burning through flesh to reach the organs underneath. Boneshatter howled in pain and swung in his direction, but he was too far away for it to hit this time.
His pistols were nearly overheated by the time he finally got the beast in the heart. When he did, Boneshatter let out a pained whine before collapsing on all fours. The crowd immediately erupted into wild applause, ecstatic at seeing a fighter that made it past two of Nem'ro's pets. Valajin panted heavily as he wiped the blood from his forehead. He didn't feel ready to drop yet, despite feeling like a speeder crashed into his chest. More than ever, he was glad for the adrenaline such fights filled him with.
Ohnaf stared at him, his previous derision replaced with anger. "You win against both Clawbane and Boneshatter…" he said, before shaking his head. "No matter. Now you become food for my prize pet: Fleshripper the Unkillable!"
The cage next to the exit began opening. Valajin took those few seconds to replace the packs in blasters and let them cool down. The pounding of his heart and the pain radiating from his battered chest drowned the crowd's roar out. His dented armor made it difficult to breathe and would make dodging even harder.
Fleshripper ran out of the cage the moment it finished opening, letting him get a good look at them. They were a large, reptilian species, bipedal and with two massive, muscular arms. Their hands ended in four curved claws each, two horns extended from either side of their head, and a small tail swung behind them. Oh, and their eyes were far enough apart to give them a full range of vision, while yet more razor-sharp fangs filled their mouth.
Fleshripper let out an angry snarl before charging at him. After that experience with Boneshatter, Valajin knew he couldn't afford to stand still and let something this big close the distance. He sprang into action, darting to his left to put space between him and the charging beast. He fired a volley of blasts, but Fleshripper's skin was just as tough as Boneshatter's, and the blaster fire barely fazed it as it continued to pursue him.
Using his agility, Valajin zigzagged across the arena, forcing the beast to adjust its path constantly. He fired more shots, aiming for the creature's legs to slow it down, as he had with Boneshatter. One bolt struck a joint, causing Fleshripper to stumble briefly, but it quickly regained its balance. As it did, Valajin looked around to see if any of the bones in the sand were large enough to pass for cover. None of them were, but Boneshatter's corpse would do.
He made a beeline for it and vaulted over the body, continuing to fire at Fleshripper. The creature lunged, its claws slashing through the air and tearing into the corpse. Valajin ran to the side, coming around with his blasters ready. Fleshripper leapt over the body and came down hard, its claws raking across the sand. Valajin dodged to the right, but his armor and fatigue slowed him down. Fleshripper's clawed hand raked across his side, tearing through the armor and leaving deep gashes in his flesh.
"Gah!" Valajin cried out, the pain nearly overwhelming him. The blow knocked one of his blasters from his hand and he fell to one knee, his vision blurring. The beast loomed over him, ready to deliver the final blow. It raised both hands over its head and swung them downwards. Summoning every ounce of strength, Valajin rolled to the side, avoiding the blow by a hair's breadth.
As a plume of sand shot up from the force of the strike, he raised his other blaster with his good hand and fired two point-blank shots into its face. The blaster bolts seared into the Fleshripper's eyes, causing it to roar in agony. Blinded and disoriented, it staggered back and grabbed its face with both hands.
Valajin used the opening to grab his fallen blaster and start shooting relentlessly. He initially aimed for its throat, and when it moved its hand to cover that, he aimed slightly upwards for its face again. He didn't slow down or stop, and each shot weakened it further until, with an ear-splitting roar, Fleshripper fell down onto the sand.
Valajin lay beside the fallen beast, his chest burning with every breath and blood soaking his torn armor. The crowd's cheers were deafening, but he barely heard them. All he could think about was surviving the next moment, the next breath. "My poor, sweet Fleshripper!" Ohnaf shouted. The Rattataki looked up and saw the grate that the beastmaster had been behind finally rising. "I will kill you!"
As he entered the arena, his massive frame and the gleaming vibrosword in his hand drew gasps from the audience. Despite his size, he moved with a dangerous grace, his eyes fixed on Valajin with a predator's focus. Valajin could see the confidence in his opponent's eyes—Ohnaf knew that if it weren't for his exhaustion and injuries, this fight might have been very different.
Valajin tightened his grip on his blasters, his muscles protesting with every movement. He had one wrist-rocket left, but he needed to save it for the right moment. Ohnaf circled him, the vibrosword humming menacingly. "You look tired," he said, his voice carrying over the arena. "Ready to give up yet?"
Valajin's response was a series of blaster shots aimed at Ohnaf's legs. He deflected them with his vibrosword, sparks flying as the bolts struck the blade. The large man lunged, swinging the sword in a wide arc. Valajin barely dodged the blade inches from his face. Ohnaf pressed his advantage, attacking relentlessly.
The hunter's fatigue made it hard to keep up, his movements sluggish. He fired his blasters, but Ohnaf's skill with the sword allowed him to deflect most of the shots. A sudden, sharp pain shot through Valajin's side as Ohnaf's vibrosword grazed him, lightly cutting through the same spot that Fleshripper had already torn into. He staggered back, gritting his teeth against the pain. He needed an opening to end this quickly before his injuries overwhelmed him.
Valajin feigned a stumble, making it look as though he were weaker than he truly was. And angered as he was, Ohnaf bought it. With a triumphant grin, he charged forward, raising the vibrosword for a powerful swipe that would cut him in half. Valajin waited until the last possible moment, then rolled to the side, his body screaming in protest. As he came up, he aimed his wrist-rocket and fired.
The rocket streaked through the air and struck Ohnaf square in the chest. The explosion knocked the large man off his feet, sending him crashing to the ground. Valajin didn't waste any time. He fired his blasters repeatedly; the bolts struck Ohnaf's exposed form and ensured he wouldn't get back up.
Valajin stood over the dead beastmaster. Every part of his body ached, and his vision swam with exhaustion and pain… but he had won. With great effort, he straightened up and raised his blasters in a gesture of triumph. The crowd erupted into their loudest cheers yet, with Nem'ro joining in on their applause. That was when the grate covering the exit finally opened. With nothing else to throw at him, he could finally leave.
Before he turned away, Valajin sent one more glare up at the Hutt. Once he had some stims in him to numb the pain, he and Nem'ro would have a talk.
As one might suspect, considering the company Nem'ro kept, low-level stims were available for purchase over the counter at the cantina. They had no bacta, unfortunately, though they had both alcohol and spice if he wanted something extra to numb the pain with. He got one stim to stop his bleeding, another for the pain, and a third to keep his wounds from getting infected. Applying all three and giving them time to circulate in his bloodstream took a while.
Once he was finally in 'decent' shape, he stomped his way to Nem'ro's throne. None of the guards tried to slow him down, and even Juda remained quiet as he walked right past her and nearly tried to kick the door open. He settled on punching it rather than knocking, and they let him in post-haste.
While several of Nem'ro's guards appeared tense, the Hutt himself was all smiles. "Mighty hunter! You slew terrible beats I had brought in from Hutta and beyond, and Ohnaf as well! My apologies for the deception. It was the only way I could have him eliminated without upsetting things here."
And of course, he also got a show out of watching Valajin fight for his life. Whether Nem'ro's claim was true, he didn't really care. "I've done everything you asked for and more. Now hold up your end and give me my sponsorship."
"Ah yes, the sponsorship…" Nem'ro said, causing a sinking feeling to appear in the hunter's gut. If he said what he thought he was going to… "I honestly did not expect you to survive the beast pit. Carnus said you would prevail, but I didn't believe him."
Carnus smiled. "I hear about your killing spree in the Rust Yards!"
"Yes, yes, I should listen to you more, my friend. But what's done is done."
Valajin's lip pulled back in a snarl. He held his hands over his blasters, uncaring about the half-dozen weapons that were raised in response. "I'm gonna say this one more time, and then I'm gonna lose my manners. Give. Me. My. Sponsorship."
Despite the threat, Nem'ro didn't appear troubled. "My sponsorship token is a small holo conferring my authorization to its bearer. A representative for the Great Hunt will arrive here at the palace soon. When he does, you would merely have to hand him the token to enter the Great Hunt. Unfortunately, I already gave it to someone else."
Valajin inhaled through his nose, eyes wide. "So you not only tried to have me killed, but you broke our deal as well?"
"I don't respect deals with the dead, which I believed you would be," Nem'ro said. "If you want my sponsorship so badly, you'll have to find the hunter I gave it to and take it before they use it to enter the Hunt in your place."
"You think I won't do exactly that?" Valajin shot back. "You think I won't find them and pry that holo from their cold, dead hands?"
"I think that if you fail, I will win, and if you succeed, then I will still win. Either way, the toughest warrior on Hutta goes to the Great Hunt in my name! Ha!" Nem'ro said, letting out a smug laugh.
There was a moment of silence, during which Valajin used every ounce of willpower he had to throttle his temper back. If he killed Nem'ro now, before he entered the Hunt, then his sponsorship would mean nothing. He couldn't afford to kill him this second, no matter how much he loved the idea of seeing Nem'ro bleed.
After another moment, Valajin turned and marched back out of the room. He took all the anger he had at the fat slug and stuffed it in the back of his mind. Once he didn't need Nem'ro anymore, then he was going to kill him, no question. This may be what he got for trusting a Hutt even momentarily, but he was too upset to care.
"Hey," he heard, and stopped marching. Juda was standing up at her desk. "I'm glad that you're alive. I heard what happened; that was a rotten thing for Nem'ro to do to you."
Valajin grunted, pushing down the last of his anger. For now. "One day, he'll pay for double-crossing me."
"Maybe that's what this is for." Then she held out another payment voucher. "This payment's a lot larger than what I usually sign off on, and it doesn't say what for. Apparently, that's between you and Nem'ro."
The bounty hunter looked at the voucher and paused, reading it over. That was a pretty big payment… If the chance presented itself for him to kill Nem'ro, he was still going to take it. But maybe he could leave getting revenge as a third priority on his list, rather than the second. "A large stack of credits does wonders for my mood."
"I figured it would. Here you go: One massive payment for mysterious reasons. Don't spend it all in one place."
Valajin took it with a nod and walked away. However, he could see someone leaning against the wall just outside the waiting room. Once he was closer, they pushed off the wall and revealed themselves: it was Mako.
"Hey, someone tricked us! Nem'ro has already sponsored someone for the Great Hunt!" She appearing just as unhappy about it as he was.
"I already know. The worm himself just got finished taunting me about it," he replied, jerking his thumb back towards the throne room.
"I bet you don't know who it is, though," she countered, which stopped him. That much was true. "I know who has the sponsorship token and how to find him. I'll tell you, but it comes at a price."
He looked at her incredulously. "You expect me to suddenly pay for your information?"
"Yep. Just not with credits." She took a step forward. "Braden taught me how to fight, and you know I'm great with technology. My 'price' is that you take me with you–on this hunt and all the others."
Valajin blinked once. Twice. In exchange for helping him, she was asking to come with him into the field? That… was it? "Sure thing."
She nodded. "I figured you'd say that, but you can't leave me on this mudball where–!". Then she stopped as she processed his response. "Did… you just say yes? That quickly?"
The Rattataki shrugged. "We may only be half as many as before, but you and I are still part of a crew. And you supply the info, so you know exactly what danger I run into. If you still want to come along knowing that, I'm not gonna tell you no." He extended a hand towards her. "So what do you say? Partners?"
Mako stared at him, then at his hand. Slowly, a smile began forming on her face, which then grew into a full grin. "Yeah… partners." She grabbed her hand—so much smaller than his—and the two of them shook on it. "Thank you. Braden was sweet, but he always treated me like a child. I'm not a child anymore."
"So I see. Besides, we still need to find Tarro and make him pay, don't we?"
"Exactly. More than anything, I want to be there when you get your hands on him," Mako said. Then she reached into her pocket and produced her datapad. "And that starts with finding Nem'ro's new pet."
"Then you've already got a name?" he asked.
"Yeah. The hunter we're after is a Trandoshan named Rarsk. He's major bad news—burned an entire village alive on Dantooine just to kill one target. Right now, he's collecting a bounty for the Empire, a Republic scientist being held in Fa'athra the Hutt's palace," she said. "I intercepted a holocall between him and, of all people, the bone-faced guy that was following me. Remember him?"
Valajin frowned. "I remember, yeah. You think they're working together?"
"It's too soon to say. But we should be ready for anything," she said, getting him to nod. He'd have to keep an eye out for ambushes. "If we break into Fa'athra's palace and find the scientist first, we can use them as bait to lure Rarsk in."
"And when he shows up, we take the sponsorship token. Clever." There was the entire issue of making it past Fa'athra's security, but between the two of them, he was sure it would be no big deal.
"If you thought that was clever, get a load of this." She turned the datapad over to show him a trio of portraits–a male Nikto, a female Twi'lek, and a male Sullustan. "Fa'athra likes to keep interesting people on his payroll, 'interesting' meaning that they have prices on their heads. If we want to have a budget when we compete in the Great Hunt, we'll need the extra credits from these bounties."
"Then we better get going–Urk!" Valajin started, before wincing as his side flared in pain again.
Mako's eyes widened, and she moved around to get a look at his injuries. "Wow, they really did a number on you."
He gave her a flat look. "I noticed. Getting into Fa'athra's place is going to be harder with this."
"Well, then it's a good thing you have me, isn't it?" Before he could ask what she meant, she reached into her pocket and produced what looked like a small cube-shaped droid. She pressed a few buttons on her datapad and the droid suddenly came to life, flying over to his injury and spraying out a clear, slightly green substance.
The moment it made contact, Valajin gasped as the pain immediately began receding, replaced by a pleasant cooling sensation. Not only that, but he could see the flesh start slowly knitting itself back together. "What is that stuff?"
Mako smirked at him. "Kolto. Less effective than bacta, but it still treats most injuries, and quickly too. I figured you were going to need some with all the stuff we'll run into. I also got my hands on some medpacs and electro-darts."
The hunter slowly nodded. Suddenly, he was more grateful than ever to have Mako with him. Having someone who could watch his back and patch him up would be a godsend. There was, of course, the question of how she got this stuff with no money. Valajin decided he was better off not knowing. "Now I just need to get this armor fixed, and we can get going to Fa'athra's."
Getting Valajin's armor fixed meant going to the same Ugnaught armorsmith and his droid. The small, porcine alien complained about having to work on the same item twice in the same week. However, he still took their money and fixed the dents and tears his pit fight had gained him. Waiting on that to get done took them an hour, but once it was done, they would be ready to head out.
As the two of them sat on a bench outside the smithy, they spotted a young man in worker's clothes and with a smirk covering his face, coming towards them. Once he was in earshot, he said, "Hey, you two. You look like my type of people, if you know what I mean."
Valajin raised an eyebrow and leaned back, crossing his arms. "If you mean 'people that like to get paid', then yes," he said, getting a smile and a nod from Mako.
The stranger chuckled. "Oh, Burnok, can you spot them or what?" The apparently named Burnok continued, "And yes, I mean that you have a mind for business. I have a job that needs doing, and a big reward for the doer."
He hummed before looking over at Mako. "Think we got time for another job on top of the one we've got?"
"Depends on where the job takes us," she said, before looking at Burnok. "So what's the job?"
"Well, you see, my buddy got captured and I want someone to rescue him. His name is Oren, and he's a world-class Mandalorian Jedi-killer. He heard that Fa'athra the Hutt was hoarding some treasure and went into his palace," he said.
"And he hasn't come back out," Valajin ventured. "Some world-class warrior he was, then."
That got him frown from both humans, with Burnok saying "Hey, he was double-crossed! One of Fa'athra's own lieutenants told him about the treasure." He shook his head. "Either way, what's done is done, and now Oren's hanging in a block of carbonite in Fa'athra's palace. I was thinking you could unfreeze him. Carbon freezing has a tendency to make someone lose their sight for a while after they've thawed, but I can get him out once you've cleared the way. Deal?"
So the job would require them to go into Fa'athra's palace, where they were already planning to go, anyway. Valajin and Mako shared another look, and then they both nodded. "You've got yourself a hunter."
Burnok sagged in relief. "That's great. Thank you for this. I'll make it worth your while," he promised.
Valajin went to respond when a voice from inside shouted at them in Ugnaught to get inside. "We'll talk again after the job's done," he said, before going inside to collect his armor.
Once he was ready to go, the two of them took a pair of speeders back out to the work camp. Rather than head to the northwest, however, they went into the bogs to the southwest this time. The path was initially unclear and filled with patches of tall grass, but it started clearing the closer they got to where the palace was supposed to be. After another ten minutes, they reached the outer perimeter and could get a look.
Much like Nem'ro's palace, Fa'athra clearly built his with defense in mind. Thick metal walls, a rounded cone structure to allow it to defend any side, and a high wall encircled the grounds in front of it. However, that was where the similarities ended. Instead of a town, a small maze of footpaths covered the grounds within the walls and between various tiny buildings–armories, barracks, supply depots and the like. The ground also rose closer to the entrance, meaning that any invaders would have to fight uphill.
From here, they could see dozens of Fa'athra's guards that patrolled the paths, with no telling how many more were inside. The walls had a single opening, where three armed guards stood in front of a metal gated fence. The duo crouched and hid behind some of the foliage near the entrance to the grounds.
"So, while you were looking up extra targets for us, did you see if there were any other ways inside the palace?" Valajin asked.
Mako shook her head. "I looked, yeah, but when it's his own security, Fa'athra is really paranoid. Only one way in or out, and that's through the front door," she said gravely. Then she gave him a half-smile and said, "At least it'll let us keep an eye out for our targets."
The Rattataki suppressed a snort. "That's one way of looking at it, I suppose. Though that means we'll be storming through the front gate. Which will make a lot of noise," he pointed out.
"I know. I'm ready if you are," she replied, drawing her blaster and the controls for her kolto droid.
Valajin smiled. Having Mako in the field was going to be fun. "Then let's go," he said, before bursting out of the shrubbery and charging towards the gate.
New Companion Unlocked: Mako
Specialization - Healer
Primary Weapon - Single Blaster Pistol
To the reviewing guest:
1. Valajin has had two pistols this whole time. He arrived on Hutta with one, and Braden gave him the other. As for crossing class abilities, that is what I was referring to with the flamethrower. What's exciting is that, since all characters in the game can get two subclasses now, I can even try those out Powertech abilities with him during gameplay.
2. You are correct that Mantis is part of its model name, the D5-Mantis Patrol Craft. Between that and mentioning the Ebon Hawk, I have now made up my mind: every character will give a personal name to their ship.
And 3. I will be recruiting all companions, even the less popular ones like Skadge and SCORPIO. When we eventually get to KOTFE, however, all bets are off.