The Silver Scree settled into the Nar Shaddaa berth. Ter'viro shut down the engines and rose from the pilot's seat, headed toward the exit.

"We shouldn't be here," Mako said from the copilot's seat.

Ter'viro shrugged.

"I know," Mako said. "But we shouldn't be here. We should be on Tatooine. We'll miss the target."

Ter'viro shrugged again.

"Yeah, I guess," Mako said. "Let's make it fast."

Ter'viro nodded.

They reached the Promenade and headed toward one of the cantinas. A male Nautolan waited near the entrance and motioned to Mako.

"That's Otvat," Mako told Ter'viro. "My contact."

Otvat stared at Ter'viro when they reached him. "This is your bounty hunter? I gotta put some money on the Hunt."

"Focus, Otvat," Mako said.

"Right. Sorry. This is your guy." He held up a holoemitter showing a heavyset, middle-aged human. "His name's Carteri. He's in the cantina. The guy is definitely shady. SIS, I think, based on the company he keeps."

"Thanks, Otvat," Mako said. "We've got it from here."

"Coral?" Carteri said. "Well, this is a surprise. Never thought you would just turn yourself in."

"Who's 'Coral'?" Mako asked.

"Right," Carteri said. "I suppose you're just here for a friendly chat? That's why you brought the muscle." He nodded at Ter'viro.

"Who sent you after Mako?" Ter'viro asked.

"There is no 'Mako'," Carteri told him. "You've been had. I can imagine what she's told you, but you're being played."

Ter'viro took a step forward. "Who. Sent. You?"

Carteri stepped back. "What do you want me to do?"

Mako said, "Maybe you could tell me who Coral is, and who sent you?

"Here's everything I was given on my target," Carteri said, handing Mako a datapad. "Take it and go."

Mako scanned the pad. "She... really does look like me, huh?"

"Got a sister?" Ter'viro asked.

"Maybe I do," Mako replied. "I'll see what I can find out. Guess I have plenty to keep me busy for a while. We should get going."

"We shouldn't have gone," Mako said when they were back aboard the ship.

"This was important," Ter'viro said.

"More important than the Hunt?" she asked.

He watched her for a while. "More important." He turned back to the controls.

"Thanks, big guy," she told him. "I'm going to look up this Carteri, see who he is." She headed back to her cabin but stopped when she was half-way there. More important than the Hunt. Why did he say stuff like that? He wasn't supposed to. He wasn't supposed to look at her like that, either. And he got kind of aggressive with Carteri. What was that about? And he-

The holoemitter beeped, displaying Crysta's signal.

"Crysta's calling," Mako called out. "I'll patch her through."

"Finally!" Crysta said after Ter'viro arrived. "You're some hard critters to pin down. Ter'viro, ignore my recording for Tatooine. Everything's changed..."

Mako lost the conversation and started scanning the holonet for Carteri. She searched by his name and appearance. She searched Republic databases, military records, Nar Shaddaa security recordings and found nothing. Their meeting with him, less than an hour earlier, had already been erased. No scans of him entering or leaving, and a big, empty spot where he was standing.

"When you catch him," Crysta said. "Better hold on tight."

"Who?" Mako asked.

"Tyresius Lokai," Crysta said. "Have you been listening?"

"'The' Tyresius Lokai?" Mako asked.

"That's the one," Crysta said. "Ter'viro will tell you everything. Crysta out."

"What did she say?" Mako asked.

"Mos Ila," Ter'viro replied. "Devaronian."

"Got it," Mako said.

"Find something?" Ter'viro asked.

"Nothing," Mako said. "Literally. That guy doesn't exist."

"We met him."

"I'm not sure he wasn't a holo," Mako said. "I can't find out anything about him."

"You thought he was SIS."

"I don't know what he was," Mako said. "You know what's weird? The more I look at that holo of Coral... the more it makes me think. If I've got a sister, what else've I got? Aunts? Uncles? Cousins? Maybe I've been missing family dinners my whole life."

Ter'viro shook his head. "They'd have looked."

"How do you figure?" Mako asked.

Ter'viro shrugged. "No one walks away from you." She stared at him while he walked back to the cockpit.

So, she thought. Tyresius Lokai. Right. Devaronian. Smuggler. That's what I need to focus on.

"I am sorry," BZ-9D said. "I am unable to provide personal information about other spaceport visitors. Please enjoy your stay on Tatooine."

Ter'viro shrugged, and he and Mako walked away from the Traffic Control Droid.

"Mako?" Ter'viro asked.

She continued scanning through the holonet.

"Mako."

"What?" She looked up.

"Any Devaronians in the spaceport? The droid didn't tell us anything."

"Sorry," she said. She switched over to the spaceport network, accessed the security scanners, and searched for facial recognition. "Docking bay sixty-four. Only Devaronian here." She switched back to the Republic holonet.

"How long can it take to get departure clearance from this lousy spaceport?" the Devaronian said when they reached him. "Stupid locals." He saw Ter'viro. "Did somebody order two hundred kilos of Twi'lek?"

"That him?" Ter'viro asked Mako.

Mako looked at the Devaronian and scanned arrest records. "Ninety-nine-point-three percent match. Nice to meet you, Tyresius."

"I'm afraid you're mistaken," the Devaronian said. His three bodyguards unholstered their weapons. "I'm Gellar Roing, speeder salesman from Nar Shaddaa. If you're in the market, I have great deals on the new T-9s. Unfortunately, I'm a bit rushed. Look me up on Nar Shaddaa, won't you? The name's- SHOOT!" The Devaronian took off.

The three bodyguards started firing. Mako laid down cover fire while Ter'viro knocked out the first bodyguard then the second then disarmed the third and grabbed him by the shirt.

"Stop!" the bodyguard said. "I surrender! I've got no loyalty to that scum."

"Where did he go?" Ter'viro asked.

"The Devaronian said a bounty hunter shot down his starship," the bodyguard said.

"Where?" Ter'viro said.

The bodyguard shook his head. "He didn't say, but he wanted us to help get it running again. That plan changed real sudden-like, though. This bounty hunter caught up to us. Nasty little Rodian named Veeboo Lunx. Before we could draw blasters, the Devaronian cut a deal. Not only did he buy off the bounty hunter, he convinced him to sell his own starship!"

"Where's the Rodian?" Ter'viro demanded.

The bodyguard said, "The Rodian's celebrating with a private party at a club outside of town. That's useful information, right? Please, let me go. This was never personal."

Ter'viro shrugged. "Grab your friends, and go."

"Don't have to tell me twice!" the bodyguard said.

"Come on, baby!" the Rodian said. "Move those lekku! Show Veeboo what you got! I'm paying good money for this!"

The Twi'lek dancing girl spun around and bumped into Ter'viro. He caught her before she fell. She gasped and looked up at him.

"Ma'am," Ter'viro said to her and moved her gently out of the way. "Veeboo Lunx?" he asked Mako.

"That's him," she said.

"Oh, it's you," Veeboo said. "My 'rival.' Welcome to the party! You're probably wondering why an amazing bounty hunter like myself quit the Great Hunt and let Tyresius go."

"Don't care," Ter'viro said. "Where's Lokai?"

"You just missed him," Veeboo replied. "He dropped by a little before you. Said he needed a new ship. I sent him to the Lady of Pain. But, don't worry about her." He stood up and drew his gun. "Worry about me. Tyresius tossed me a bonus to eliminate you. Thanks for making yourself easy to find. Come on, boys! Time to earn your pay!"

A short fight later, Veeboo and his men were dead. Mos Ila security arrived and questioned witnesses, and Mako patched up a blaster shot on Ter'viro's arm.

"Stop jumping in front of me!" she told him.

"I have more armor."

"You do not," she told him. "You just have a bigger cross section."

"Same thing."

"It also means I'm harder to hit," she said. "They probably would've missed me."

"Who's the Lady of Pain?" he asked.

"You're not changing this subject," she said and applied the bandage.

He examined the bandage, nodded his approval, and walked to the security officer in charge.

Mako scowled at him and said, "We are so not done with this."

He came back and told her, "Self defense. No charges."

"Stop jumping in front of me."

He shrugged and headed out to the speeder. She made an angry noise and followed.

She didn't talk to him for most of the trip other than directions. He'd look over at her or shrug but nothing else. Finally, he asked, "Find anything?"

"Other than blaster marks?"

"About Carteri," he said.

"Fine," she said. "I sliced some SIS computers. Way easier than I thought. Anyway, found my birth certificate. Maybe. Found a dozen birth certificates, all with a gene stamp a lot like mine."

He stopped the speeder. "Show me." He scanned through the data and shook his head. "This can't be right."

"What?" she asked.

"Need to ask someone," he said. "That's all. Better with plants than people."

"Ask someone what?"

He started driving again. "Those gene stamps aren't similar, they're modified. Maybe. I'm not as good with people."

"Oh," she said. "I guess that's why Coral looks like me."

"Maybe," he said. "I might be wrong."

"I found an SIS project number: 32. I'll keep looking, see what else I can find." She took back the datapad. "Thank you. But, I'm still pissed off."

They reached the Lady of Pain's compound and found Tyresius talking to a barely dressed Rattataki woman.

"I already have those," the woman said to Lokai. "Stop wasting my time."

"Tyresius," Ter'viro said. "Let's go."

"Tyresius?" the Lady of Pain said. "Shame on you, you naughty little Devaronian."

"Sincerest apologies, Lady," Tyresius replied. "Now that you know I'm the justifiably famous Tyresius Lokai, you also know my resources. I need you to eliminate this bounty hunter and help me leave Tatooine. I'll pay generously, of course."

She looked Ter'viro up and down. "I'd like to hear what this delicious specimen has to offer, first."

Ter'viro shrugged. "What do you want?"

"My favorite question," she said. "A gladiatorial match is scheduled for today, and I've lost my beloved champion." She ran a hand across his chest. "Whoever fights as my new champion could ask any favor of me." She smiled at him. "And receive a considerable reward. But, you're not allowed to wear armor for the fight. Not even the undersuit." Ter'viro pulled off his armor and stripped to the waist. The Lady of Pain exhaled softly. "It's not looking good for you, Tyresius. Not at all."

"This isn't exactly a fair negotiation, Lady," Tyresius said. "I'm no gladiator."

"Ask one of these men would fight in your place," she told him.

"All right," he said. "I'll make anyone who fights for me obscenely rich. Once in a lifetime opportunity!"

The men nearby looked at Ter'viro, laughed, and shook their heads.

"That's that," the Lady said. "Guards, put Tyresius someplace safe. And watch him- he's slippery."

"You haven't heard the last of me," he called out while the guards dragged him away. "Either of you."

The Lady wrapped her arm around Ter'viro's and said, "Your opponent is in the next room. And I'd love for you to meet my guests."

"Do you really need to do that?" Mako asked.

"If he wins, honey, I'll do a lot more than this. Care to join us?"

"Ew!" Mako said.

The Lady rolled her eyes. "Come along," she told Ter'viro. "I can't wait to see the reaction you'll get."

As expected, all eyes followed the massive Twi'lek and the nearly naked woman at his side. The Lady guided Ter'viro to the observers deck and a human that acted important.

"Fell Dargun," the Lady said. "This is my new champion."

"Borga will rip this fool limb from limb," Dargun said. "Won't you, my beautiful boy?"

A massive Gamorrean snarled at Ter'viro. "I eat this worm's head! Rip out his guts and make a new puppet!"

"There you have it," Dargun said.

Mako looked at the Gamorrean and said, "Any place I can make a bet?"

"Over there," the Lady told her. To Ter'viro, she said, "Go, my champion. Make me proud."

Ter'viro and Borga left for the fighting pit.

"Hey, boss," one of Dargun's men said. "Isn't that the guy that knocked out a Gamorrean in the Grand Melee?"

Dargun said, "You're mentioning this now?"

"Sorry."

Mako returned just as Ter'viro and Borga entered the pit, Ter'viro barehanded and Borga with a Gamorrean ax. Borga rushed at Ter'viro, snarling. Ter'viro stepped out of the way of the ax and punched the Gamorrean. Borga staggered back, shook his head clear, and attacked again. Ter'viro blocked the ax this time and punched Borga again. Borga staggered back, fell, groaned briefly, and was out.

"Wow," Mako said to Dargun. "Your guy was tough. I've never seen him need a second punch."

Dargun scowled at her.

The Lady of Pain sighed. "I'm a bit torn. I'm happy I won, but there's not much entertainment value in so obvious a winner."

"This isn't over, Lady," Dargun said. "I'll return with a new champion."

The Lady of Pain smiled at him. "I hope so, Fell. Our little gatherings always make my day. Kisses." Dargun left with a snarl. "Champion!" the Lady said. "For a moment I thought Borga might kill you."

Ter'viro shrugged.

"Now then," the Lady said. "Time for the first part of your reward." She summoned one of her servants. The Lady removed what little clothing she wore and handed the garments to the servant. The servant was unfazed, but Mako and most of the guests gasped in shock. The Lady of Pain stood naked before Ter'viro and said, "Show me what else that delicious body of yours can do." She led Ter'viro away.

"Refreshment, my lady?" the servant asked Mako.

"Yes, please," she replied. She sat in a corner and started working on Carteri's datapad. Stupid Ter'viro, she thought. Stupid naked Lady of Pain. Stupid Tyresius for coming here. Stupid Veeboo for sending him here. She sighed. Stupid Mako for getting upset. She focused on the datapad. After an hour, she thought, shit, how many levels of security did they put on this thing?

"Are you certain I can't persuade you?" the Lady of Pain said. She was barely dressed in something else now. Ter'viro was beside her, back in his armor.

Ter'viro shook his head. "Great Hunt."

"Pity," the Lady said. She sat near Mako, wincing as she lowered herself down.

Mako asked, "Are you okay?"

"Love bruises, my dear," the Lady replied. "And I do love bruises. You really should have joined us. There's plenty-"

"Lady!" a guard said, rushing in. "Tyresius escaped! He hit us with a stun grenade."

"Where did he get that?" the Lady asked.

"One of his horns was fake," the guard said. "He hid the grenade inside it."

"Where is he?" Ter'viro asked.

The guard replied, "He stole a swoop bike and a hyperdrive regulator; he could be anywhere by now."

"Never fear, my champion," the Lady of Pain said. "The swoop bikes all have homing beacons- a precaution against thieving Jawas and stupid guards. Mako, is it? This is the bike's signal."

"Got it," Mako told her.

"Ter'viro, my sweet," the Lady said. "It has been... wonderful. When you catch Tyresius, please hurt him for me. A lot."

Mako sat in the passenger seat of the speeder and called out directions. "Left." "Right." "There." "That way." Nothing else. And she never looked at Ter'viro.

"Okay?" he asked.

"We would have had him," she said. "If you hadn't gotten your 'reward'. Now, we need to hunt him down for a third time. Okay, the first time wasn't your fault, but the second time totally was. He wouldn't have had time to use the grenade. We would have him on ice and be on our way back, but, no, you wanted a reward. Well, you got rewarded. Congratulations." She scowled at the scanner and said, "Turn left."

Ter'viro shrugged.

"Don't you even start in with that, mister," she said. "I'm telling you that right now. I know what that meant. Don't think I don't. That was completely uncalled for, and you know it. Middle fork. This doesn't have anything to do with that."

"Sorry," he said. He drove for a while then said, "Datapad?"

"SIS should throw their ciphers a party! With clowns! And a juggling bantha. Turn right. Stupid datapad is impossible to decrypt. Mostly. Take the bridge. Found a holo address. For Coral. I think. I mean, it could be her. Maybe. I sort of... wanted you around when I called her. If that's okay." She stared at the scanner and waited.

He stopped the speeder and turned toward her. "You're my partner." He started driving again.

Don't say that, she thought. Why do you say that? You're not supposed to say things like that. What is wrong with you? She looked away to hide a smile.

"You're sure she's ready for take-off?" Tyresius asked a droid. He examined his severely damaged ship.

"I've checked the calculations four times, master," the droid replied. "With shields at minimum-"

Tyresius said, "Right, right, good enough."

As they walked up, Ter'viro noticed the pistol on the droid's hip. He fired before the droid could react, destroying it's processor. The Devaronian ran toward the ship's cockpit while Ter'viro and Mako fired on the exposed repairs. A conduit exploded and took three others with it. The engines sputtered when Tyresius applied power to them, coughed loudly, and leaked smoke. Tyresius climbed out of the cockpit and kicked the ship.

"You're the most persistent bounty hunter I've ever met," he said. "I have only one thing left to say. Give me a job."

Ter'viro blinked.

"Spare my life, and I'll dedicate it to working for you," Tyresius continued. "How's that sound?"

"Like a lie," Ter'viro said.

"I'm tired of running," Tyresius told him. "My fortune's gone, but I'm still hunted. I want Tyresius Lokai dead as much as anyone. What if I told you there's a duplicate of yours truly? A replica identical in all respects? Even a bioscan couldn't tell the difference."

"A clone," Ter'viro said.

"A scientist on Nar Shaddaa made it," Tyresius said. "Amazing what's for sale there. My duplicate is already dead, frozen in carbonite. Just pretend he's me. Once I'm declared dead, I'll put my legendary skills, savvy and contacts at your disposal. Imagine what we could accomplish."

"Show me," Ter'viro said.

"A cautious man of few words," Lokai said. "I like it."

"No bullshit," Ter'viro told him.

"Right. I'll do my best to remember that. There's my duplicate. Should only take a few moments to thaw him out. We need to make it look convincing. A couple of blaster shots should sell it. Want to do the honors?"

Ter'viro scowled at him.

"Fine," Tyresius said. "This'll only take a second." He shot a few holes in the clone. "Let me collect my gear, and we can be on our way. And, I'll need a new name. After all, Tyresius Lokai is dead. What do you think of the name Gault Rennow? Has a nice ring to it."

"Don't care," Ter'viro said.

"Wow," the Devaronian said. "Never met anyone who could say so much with so little. Gault Rennow it is. A fine new name for an exciting new life. Lead on, my fearsome friend. Gault is ready for action!"

"Don't make me regret it," Ter'viro told him.

Gault shrugged. "Glad to have the warning."

Back on the Silver Scree, Mako watched Gault settle in and shook her head. "Why did you want him here?" she asked Ter'viro.

Ter'viro pulled her out of sight of Gault and whispered, "He knows clones."

"We don't... we don't know that yet," Mako replied.

Ter'viro shrugged.

"Yeah, good point," Mako said.

"When you're ready," he told her.

"Sure," she said. "Because this will be fun. Sort of like flying into a black hole. Nothin' to worry about. Just a stupid call."

He put a hand on her shoulder and nodded.

"I know," she said. "You don't need to say stuff like that." It'd be nice if he hugged her, she thought. But not after their argument. Arguments. Two arguments. But he hugged her on Nar Shaddaa after an argument. Well, not really an argument. But, they were on the Hunt. They couldn't-

Ter'viro pulled her into a hug and whispered, "I'll keep you safe." She nodded, and he let her go.

Mako searched for the holo address, broke a couple of security barriers to get to it, and established a connection. A woman crackled into view, an exact match for Mako in every way except her hair style.

"Hello?" the woman said.

"Hi... Coral? It's Coral, right? I'm Mako."

"Mako?" Coral said. "My little sister, Mako? I can't believe it! I thought... I thought you were dead! How did you find me?"

"Wasn't exactly easy," Mako said. "Ran into an SIS guy looking for you."

Coral's eyes snapped open in fear. "Izak? The SIS agent, was his name Izak?"

"Carteri," Ter'viro said.

"Oh no!" Coral said. "Mako, you've got to help me! Please! Carteri's just one of the agents after me. Izak's the one leading them. If he finds me..."

"What's he want you for?" Mako asked.

"I've got to go," Coral told her. "I've been on this channel too long already. He's on Dromund Kaas, looking for me right now. If there's anything you can do to stop him..."

Mako said, "Coral, what's going on? Why is he after you?"

Coral looked around her in fear. "They're already trying to trace my location! I have to go. Please! You're the only hope I've got!" The transmission ended.

Mako scowled. "What is it with people never answering my questions? That was weird, wasn't it? Wasn't just me, right?"

"I don't trust her," Ter'viro said. "But SIS had birth certificates. I'm not sure this is about something Coral did."

"Yeah," Mako replied. "Let's go to Dromund Kaas."

"This is the closest location to her transmission," Mako told Ter'viro. She scanned the buildings nearby. "Something," she said. A glitch on the scanner? No. Power outage? No. Damaged conduit? No. It looked like... anything but what it was. A hacked terminal. Only a master slicer could be that subtle. Like her. "There," she said. "We need to check that building." She pointed to a maintenance building well away from normal traffic. When they reached the building, she asked him, "Do you know how to pick this lock?"

Ter'viro shot out the lock and pulled the door open. Mako shrugged and walked in. The stale air told her the building wasn't accessed often. The terminal had been hacked remotely and set up as a relay. Coral was nowhere near by.

"Great," she said. "Now I need to trace the signal."

She just started working when someone called out, "Hold it right there, Coral!"

Mako looked up and saw two more of herself, one with a bowl cut, the other with her hair in a bun. "Oh, for the love of- I'm not Coral!"

"Don't do anything stupid," Bowl cut said to Bun. "We should wait for Izak."

"Are you crazy?" Bun said. "What are we supposed to do, ask her to just behave herself?"

Bowl cut replied, "I'm just saying Izak will be here soon. Let's not jump the gun."

"Not Coral!" Mako said. "I'm Mako. Ma-ko. Got it?"

"There's a 'Mako' on the list," Bowl cut said.

"She's dead," Bun replied.

"We don't know that," Bowl cut said. "It could have been Delja."

Bun said, "We don't exactly have a lot of options here, and I don't like the look of that guy she's with."

Bowl cut stared at Ter'viro then turned to Bun. "When did Coral ever work with a partner?"

Bun's eyes opened wide. They turned and said in unison, "Mako?"

"Yes!" Mako said.

They started toward her, and a bright, metallic cylinder arced over them from outside of the building. Ter'viro slammed into Mako, knocking her to the ground and diving on top of her. Mako's world turned white then black.