The Putrescent Hutt Cantina

[Durstalph]

“Hey princess, what does it take to make you smile?”

"Huh?" Dash shook her head to clear away the unwanted memories. "Sorry, you mention my father and Twi'lek slaves and I go and get lost in nostalgia. And I do smile, just not when being shot at and running for my life." She made a show of turning her lips into an exaggerated pout.

“So umm… would any of you fine ladies happen to have some explosives or grenades on you, by any chance?” The Togruta spoke with a longing look at the back wall. Her meaning was obvious.

Dash checked her bandoleer's pockets, and pulled forth four round grenades. They were marked with colored bands, one yellow, two blue, and one red. "These are all I have, a flash grenade, two cryobans, and a frag. I didn't exactly come to the Jedi planet expecting trouble, lucky I still have these from my last job. I don't think the flash and the cryos will do you much good, and I doubt that a single frag will put a hole in the wall, let alone one large enough to fit any of us through."

Thinking a moment, Dash scanned the immediate vicinity for inspiration. Her eyes finally fell on a pallet of some form of gas cylinders. Suitably inspired, she checked the storage label on the pallet. "Frak! Nitrogen won't work, but if we find something in here that's combustible, we can use the frag as a fuse. Let's have a look around, maybe we'll get lucky and find some munitions or something in one of these crates"

[Blind Equilibrium]

Fiona examined the wall of the warehouse as Dash ran through an inventory of what she had on her.

Looks like duracrete…. Guess it was too much to hope that they would have cut corners on construction here. She thought with a sigh, turning to listen to what the Twi’lek had on her.

"… a flash grenade, two cryobans, and a frag. I didn't exactly come to the Jedi planet expecting trouble, lucky I still have these from my last job. I don't think the flash and the cryos will do you much good, and I doubt that a single frag will put a hole in the wall, let alone one large enough to fit any of us through."

As Dash started to examine the immediate area for further material, the beginnings of an idea started to form in Fiona’s mind.

Hrrm… if I use the cryobans first… might be enough… no, needs something with more umph than the frag…

From a nearby pallet, Dash’s voice intrudes on her musings with a harsh swear, "Frak! Nitrogen won't work, but if we find something in here that's combustible, we can use the frag as a fuse. Let's have a look around, maybe we'll get lucky and find some munitions or something in one of these crates"

The half formed plan snaps into focus in Fiona’s mind. Walking to the pallet with the cylinders, she looks them over and satisfied, turns to Dash.

”I have a plan, let me have those cryos, please.”

Taking the two cryoban grenades from Dash, Fiona walks to an area of the wall clear of obstructions. She turns to look at Bubbles and Dash.

”Um… you may want to back up and find cover…”

As the two other women move to the cover of some more distant crates, Fiona walks to the wall, setting a fifteen second delay on the grenades as she walks. Upon reaching the wall, she hits the triggers of both. Dropping them next to the wall, she turns and runs, reaching the cover of a nearby crate moments before a sound like distant thunder cracks through the warehouse.

Peering over the top of the crate, a grey sheen like dirty ice had formed across a fair portion of the wall, the extreme temperatures of the grenade hopefully causing a structural weakness to form in the wall.

Walking over to the pallet, she selects two of the cylinders dragging them over. Laying them down so the bottoms to the cylinders are facing the frozen wall, she looks over to see the two lekku’d heads looking around the edge of the crate they took cover behind.

”You may want to stay in cover… and possibly be ready to clean up what’s left of me if this doesn’t work!” Fiona yelled back to them excitedly.

Pulling her helmet from its place on her belt, she slides it over her head, snapping it into place, and checks the seal. Swapping to the internal air supply, she takes a breath, and then slams the stock of her carbine on first one, then the other of gas canisters regulators, breaking them free.

The sound of expanding gas is near deafening as the two bottles shoot toward the wall like a pair of missiles. The canisters violently collide with the frozen barrier, causing the structurally weakened area to shatter with a crash, leaving a more than sufficient hole in their wake.

”Frak me.. it worked…”Fiona mutters in disbelief.

Turning to the where the others are still hiding, she yells.

”Hey you two, I found an exit!”

[Pax Eternus]

Zeeto could think of only one explanation for what was happening here. The imperial agent and the aqualish engineer inside a maximum security holding facility on Tython... the engineer's words that he was on the verge of blowing a crater in the side of the planet. Someone in the empire had been orchestrating an attack on Tython for quite some time. They'd never be able to get an explosive device onto Tython, passed their bomb detection sweeps, but it is conceivable that they could deliver the pieces in parts and have them assembled by a weapon's engineer. The only way to get a weapon's engineer onto Tython without arousing suspicion must have been to have him arrested. Then, during mundane prison assembly work duties, the agent would slip in and provide the aqualish with the materials that he needed to make the bomb.

All this was racing through Zeeto's mind, distracting him from the imminent danger at hand. Blaster fire scorched his cover as Zeeto regained his presence of mind and began charging his blaster for a burst shot. He popped up for an instant to get a look at the power tech suited assailant only to have a near miss blaster bolt burn a black mark on the side of his cybernetic skull. Zeeto leaped out of cover to the left and let the charged burst fly. However, the aqualish anticipated this move and made a jetpack propelled dive towards Zeeto's new position.

Seeing the distance between them closing, Zeeto activated his portable defense shield and lobbed a sabotage charge wildly into the air, then he reached for a shock charge that would hopefully overload his opponent's powertech suit long enough to give Zeeto time to land a decisive blow. The sabotage charge erupted in front of the aqualish, but he had, had time to activate a personal shielding device. Zeeto holstered one of his blasters and pulled the shock charge, but hesitated- he realized that it would be no use so long as suit's shield was up.

In that moment of hesitation, the aqualish let lose a lightning quick cable from an arm emplacement. Zeeto raised his arms in surprise as the cable coiled and tightened around his mid section. A sudden yank sent him flying through the air towards his capture. In that moment the engineer wound back his free arm in anticipation.

Flying through the air, Zeeto had only half a second to regain his focus. If he was going to be pulled towards his opponent, then he was going to use it to his advantage. He raised his blaster knowing there was not enough time to aim, but only enough to raise the butt end. *THUD* the pistol collided with the aqualish's helmet. At the same time half of the engineer's swing met what remained of Zeeto's orginal skull. The two of them fell in a heap to the floor.

In the pileup, the bounty hunter held fast to the coil and began to tighten it further. Zeeto winced as the aqualish knocked his blaster aside and began to draw his own. A muffling ding from the engineer's suit made notice that the shield had subsided. Zeeto's mind drifted to the feeling of his grip on something in his other hand- the shock charge. Quickly he raised his arm and jammed the charge up the front part of the engineer's protruding helmet. As the aqualish's head jerked back from the blow, he dropped his blaster in order to have a free hand to dislodge the device, but it was too late.

The shock went off, sending pulses of electric charges for what became ten long agonizing seconds. The power tech suit overloaded in sparks. But voltage also carried through the coil wrapped around Zeeto and took its tole on his more machine than human parts. Zeeto twitched and convulsed as it happened. And then, it was over. The stench of burnt metal melted into flesh and the smoke coming off their clothes was all that seemed to remain.

[Captain Bubbles]

Fiona didn’t have to tell Bubbles twice to get in cover. She had already taken a grenade to the face and been deafened by a shotgun blast in the past few hours alone. She wasn’t fragile, but it’s not like she enjoyed getting hurt just for fun, either. She crawled behind a crate, curled up with her arms cast protectively over her montrals and waited. The first detonation was quieter than she had expected, but the second one was deafening.

When everything was quiet again, Bubbles slowly got up and stared at the wall, grinning. Whatever Fiona had done, worked. Where there previously stood a uniform duracrete wall, was now a hole big enough for them to squeeze through.

“I should have guessed you were the kind of trouble who enjoyed blowing things up! Nice work!” Bubbles gave a quick hug to the trooper before poking her head through the hole, to make sure the other side was clear. After deeming it safe, she jumped through head first, but her belt caught on a piece of rubble, making her chest crash on the outside of the warehouse and her lower half hang unceremoniously, stuck.

She heard the sound of laughter behind her and quickly lost her temper, embarrassed and angry. “Would a little help really be too much to ask?” she barked. She felt hands fumble with her belt and give her a good shove, the giggling never ending. When she was finally free, she fell to the ground, managing a roll to soften the impact.

She stood up, brushing the dirt off her torn clothes, carefully ignoring the smirk that just wouldn’t leave Dash’s face. Aching for a distraction, Bubbles gestured to the Mischievous Ferry, berthed a few paces away. “She’s a real beauty, ain’t she?”

[Markis. D Thatch]

Alkhet took Thatch's insult with a sneer and in the blink of an eye Thatch had brought his dagger to connect with his violet blade. Alkhet was amazed that his blade could not penetrate the weapon and as a result momentarily lost his concentration. His jedi reflexes finally kicking back in were able to deflect the stabbing to the throat with a quick spin of his lightsaber. Thatch's knife clashed against the saber and was deflected away but Thatch's momentum allowed him to continue his attack with a downward slash. Alkhet brought his blade around again and deflected the weapon.

Thatch's movements were rhythmic and ferocious. His blades were mear blurs of metal clashing with Alkhet's lightsaber. Alkhet was able to deflect the majority of the blows and when he was un able to only suffered minor scathes and scratches. The weapons were brought to a dead lock as Thatch held the lightsaber in between two layers of his knife and dagger. Thatch smirked as the light illuminated both mens faces and cast light into their eyes. Thatch's eyes remained glossed over but alert while Alkhets were of growing frustration.

"You've done well....Juliana was dead by about now in our duel..."

Alkhet gritted his teeth and overpowered the lock Thatch had with his weapons. Alkhet went for a striking blow to Thatch's chest but was partially deflected by Thatch's dagger only causing saber scorches to his armor and slightly slicing into the skin. Thatch howled in pain as the blade cut into his chest but repaid Alkhet's slice with one of his own to Alkhet's shoulder. The two men broke apart and stared each other down. Both were barely breathing hard and held their weapons at the ready.


"You don't know how long i've dreamt of this Thatch...your days of terror will end by the slash of my blade"

Thatch waved his dagger and knife around his body and stepped into another fighting stance. "Dreamt of this huh? Longing to kill me? Sounds like a Si" Thatch couldn't finish his sentence as Alkhet brought his opposite hand up and force Pushed Thatch along with several pieces of larger debris through a see through glass window into the prisoner yard. Thatch tumbled down to the desolate yard with Alkhet falling right after him.

[Clusterfact]

WHOOOOOMPTH

The Force hit Thatch with a satisfying pulse that sent the Mirialan through a larger glass window and into the yard below. It was usually against Alkhet's morals to wield the Force against non-Force users in such a way, but this situation was anything but usual. Alkhet would have to find a way to capture or destroy Thatch without succumbing to the dark side.

Alkhet leaped through the broken window and tumbled through the air landing in a battle-ready stance. The Jedi looked to all sides of the room, but there was no sign of the assassin. Alkhet closed his eyes and looked to the Force. Thatch was still very close, in the same room, even, but he wasn't visible. Stealthed? Hiding?

The Jedi began slowly walking through the trashed yard. The riot had caused all kinds of trouble as furniture of all kinds was tipped over or pushed from the levels above. Around every large chunk of debris, Alkhet slowed his approach and carefully peered around the object to look for Thatch.

The Mirialan was either hiding from injury or hiding for his next strike, and Alkhet wasn't about to be taken for a fool.

[Markis. D Thatch]

Thatch flew through the air as the force blast connected with his body. He gritted his teeth as he slammed through the window followed by several chunks of debris. KARK... Thatch fell in a debris field of broken glass, metal plates and a particular looking chunk of pipe. Thatch had to blink twice realized that his shotgun has been blown out with him. He smirked, slid his knife into its holster and slid his fingers around the handle just as the yard floor rushed up to meet him. He pushed off of the wall as best he could to get his momentum to go outward. He landed on his feet and allowed them to buckle then tucked into a roll. As he rolled he flipped the switch on his stealth field, halted his rolling and ejected the spent chamber. Thatch slid his shotgun into its back holster and smirked as he saw Alkhet trying to sense his presence. Open area...lots of debris and obstacles from the riot. I am stealthed...I have the advantage now. Thatch drew his knife and held it in the reversed position. He began to run around Alkhet, making sure to make noises on objects as he did so.

"You've never used the force on me before... "

Thatch's voice came from one direction and then another, changing in distance each time so as not to be pin pointed with the Jedi's senses.

"Did I strike a nerve? "

Thatch pushed off of a prison bench near Alkhet and slashed at his waist with his dagger. His footsteps grew loud then faded as he continued his illusion.

"Striking in anger is a Sith trait..."

Thatch's voice continued from different directions.

"You're becoming the very thing you swore to defeat..."

"I am sure the Sith will welcome you with open arms! "
Thatch kicked up a smoldering pile of debris at Alkhet and used the distraction to make his attack.

[Clusterfact]

Thatch's taunts fell on deaf ears. Alkhet had slipped into a state of hyper-awareness while searching for Thatch and only the sound of the Mirialan's footsteps held any real meaning to the Jedi. Every now and then the light pattering of feet sounded as though it was coming from more than one place at a time.

"I'm sure the Sith will welcome you with open arms!"

From the corner of his eyes, Alkhet noticed as a chunk of debris shifted and was launched from its resting place. Instinctively, Alkhet's leg swung up for a powerful round-house kick and broke the sizable missile into several smaller pieces. Before Alkhet's foot touched back with the floor, a blade pierced into his right shoulder as Thatch speared the Jedi from his place of hiding.

As Alkhet fell backwards, he placed the heel of his boot into Thatch's gut and pushed him off and away. The momentum from the assault allowed Alkhet to keep rolling up onto his feet. Alkhet whirled around and lifted his blade defensively.

"Such cheap talk for someone with as much of an appetite for cold-blooded murder as you. I have walked through the shadows long enough to know the price of failure. I will not falter again."

The Jedi lunged his saber towards Thatch's arm in an attempt to disarm his adversary.

[Markis. D Thatch]

Thatch saw the debris explode with the Jedi's kick which was all he needed to burst through the flaming chunks to sink his blade into ALkhets shoulder. He attempted to dig it deeper when He was thrown back by a swift boot to his gut. Thatch tumbled to the ground, his dagger fell from his hand but his knife remained clutched in his laft palm, Alkhets blood staining the blade. Thatch's stealth field vanished and Alkhet was upon him.

"Such cheap talk for someone with as much of an appetite for cold-blooded murder as you. I have walked through the shadows long enough to know the price of failure. I will not falter again. "

Time seemed to slow down for the two warriors. Alkhets blade began its decent to Thatch's arm while Thatch howled in rage. He came up on his downed elbow bringing his body up right and pulled his slug thrower from its back holster. Alkhet's blade was close enough that Thatch felt his duster burning and his flesh beginning to crisp. He brought the barrel of his weapon to point blank on Alkhet's knee. " KARK YOU! " Thatch felt his left arm explode into a burning pain and his duster a blaze but the bright flash of his shotgun blowing into Alkhets knee cap was all the more satisfaction he needed.

[Clusterfact]

Alkhet watched as his saber cut through Thatch's arm, seemingly rendering his opponent without weapons. As his cut reached the end of the follow-through, Thatch let out a bellowing "KARK YOU!" and inflicted the most worst pain that Alkhet would feel for decades to come.

The tiny clinks and clanks of the internal mechanisms of the produced slugthrower, unseen by Alkhet, wound and released a chunk of molten slag that cut through Alkhet's knee without problem and left his lower leg hanging by a few tendons and flaps of skin.

"AARGHH!" The sudden loss of support left the Jedi unbalanced and he toppled over as the momentum from his swing carried him, twisting, to the floor.

Alkhet rolled onto his back grimacing with intense pain and held his lightsaber pointed at the Mirialan, in flimsy attempt to continue the struggle should Thatch be well enough to attempt another assault.

"If you have honor, you will.. argh.. finish this now, Thatch." Alkhet maintained his strong and stubborn presence, even as blood began to pool around his legs and feet.

[Blind Equilibrium]

Fiona was admiring her handy work when a voice came from behind her.

“I should have guessed you were the kind of trouble who enjoyed blowing things up! Nice work!”

Hearing Bubbles’ voice, Fiona turns. The broad smile across her face completely obfuscated by her helmet, she was nonetheless proud of the large hole.

The Togruta gave her a quick hug prior to sticking her head through the hole, presumably to verify the presence of her ship or any guards on the far side. With that completed, apparently to her satisfaction, the red-skinned woman attempted to do a forward dive through the hole, only to wind up catching her clothing and coming to a sudden halt mid-flight. A faint sound of rushing air came from the hole, presumably the breath being knocked from Bubbles’ chest as she folded suddenly against the wall.

Startled for a moment, Fiona took in the sight of Bubbles’ hindquarters hanging out in midair. Then burst out in gales of laughter.

Bubbles’ indignant squawk, muffled by the wall, sounded from the far side. “Would a little help really be too much to ask?”

Still snickering uncontrollably, Fiona worked her hands around Bubbles’ caught form, and started working at the belt clasp blindly. Unable to manage the clasp, she instead jerks at the belt until it dislodges from its hang up among the rubble. With the accomplished, she places her hands on Bubbles’ rear and gives an unceremonious shove.

The Togruta looks to manage a tuck roll after being shoved through the hole, managing a semblance of grace when she recovers. Fiona waves Dash through the hole, still pushing down the last of her giggle fit.

Finally recovering, Fiona hikes herself through the hole, feet first, in time to hear Bubbles speak.

“She’s a real beauty, ain’t she?”

Eyeing the ship dubiously, Fiona responds to the proud question.

”Looks like just another ship to me…. But I’m just a ground-pounding grunt, s what do I know. Turning to address Bubbles, she continues,
“So then, what’s the plan? I got you to your ship so this is probably the end of this adventure for me.”

[Captain Bubbles]

Bubbles did a poor job of masking her disappointment at Fiona’s lack of enthusiasm regarding her ship. But like she had said, she was just a pretty little grunt who couldn’t recognize an engineering wonder when she saw it, so she forgave the trooper.

After being done eyeing her ship like it was nothing special, Fiona turned to face Bubbles, voicing the same question she herself had been thinking over in her mind. “So then, what’s the plan? I got you to your ship so this is probably the end of this adventure for me.”

Bubbles had to admit, she didn’t especially want Fiona or Dash to leave her yet. Thatch was probably dead, it may very well be that Crox and Finx had shared the same faith and she felt if she was left alone to think about any of this, she would sink into despair. She also had no plans of her own, she didn’t know where to go next. “I just need to buy a little more time to figure something out...” she thought.

She looked at Fiona, then Dash and back at the trooper. She patted her human friend’s stomach and said in a mocking tone “So quick to say goodbye? I’m pretty sure I owe you dinner, so what’s the rush? How about it, uh?” Bubbles remotely triggered the loading ramp to lower and when it touched the ground, she boarded her ship, not bothering to look back to see if anyone was following, but hoping they were.

The moment she entered the common area, she was greeted by a worried Shan’in. “Bubbles! Where are the others? Where’s Crox?” She had no answer to this question and just stared at her feet shamefully, feeling like all this was her fault. The Twi’Lek grabbed her arm and demanded answers. “Is Crox alright? What happened?” Bubbles couldn’t bring herself to look Shan’in in the eye when she answered. “I don’t know. There’s a riot in the jail. Thatch is…” her voice trailed off. “I haven’t seen Crox or Finx.”

When she managed to look at Shan’in, she saw great sadness in her eyes, quickly replaced by a flicker of hope. “The radio” she said. “We can contact them!” Bubbles shook her head. “Like I haven’t thought of that already, silly girl…” but she kept her thoughts to herself. “There’s interference Shan’in, I can’t get a hold of them” she said softly, biting her lip.

The Twi’Lek didn’t seem to care. She looked around, took a step back when she apparently noticed Fiona and Dash. Bubbles saw her eyeing the trooper’s radio and just grabbed it without asking. Fiona seemed to remain calm and Bubbles relaxed, as she had been ready to jump in between the two.

“Crox? Are you there? CROX! Please answer me!” Shan’in continued yelling his name over the radio and Bubbles just didn’t have the strength to stop her. Then, she heard the familiar voice of the Nautolan crackling from the radio. Whatever had been blocking the signal previously had somehow been removed. She let out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding.

[Markis. D Thatch]

Thatch closed his eyes and laid back as Alkhet's body flew over him screaming. In a flash he grabbed the pump shook it hard up and down ejecting the spent round, tossed it slightly and brought it back over to Alkhet's body. Alkhet has also aimed his blade back at Thatch and was seething in rage and pain.

" If you have honor, argh...you will finish this now, Thatch "

Thatch held his shotgun shakily as his adrenaline began to wear off and the pains in his body began to increase. His left arm had been hacked at the elbow, chest slashed and burned in several spots, legs injured in the fall and he was pretty sure that there was a piece of debris in his thigh from rolling to stop his momentum. Thatch smirked to Alkhet and then coughed hard, as he did a trickle of blood sprang from his mouth and oozed down his lip. "Think you busted some of my ribs on top of all the other damage..."
Thatch brought his gun barrel down and he hoisted himself up using his weapon as support. He used gravity to assist his aim on Alkhet and leveled his shotgun with his head.

Thatch smirked, "Aren't we a pair?...I want you to remember this moment...about the way it could have gone but didn't " Thatch clicked a special button on his shotgun and hoisted it straight into the air. He pulled the trigger and sent up a bright green flare high into the sky.

"Bubbles....hurry.....up...." Thatch had watched the flare shoot up and then looked back down to Alkhet. "I am going....to buy your life...and in exchange...the bounty on my head...will disappear..." Thatch dropped his shotgun to the floor and slumped against a piece of duracrete. He activated a button on his belt which sent a signal to Boltz reactivating him with his previous command.
______________________________________________________________________

In the cargo bay Boltz's receiver activated and the little droid came to life. He check his internal processors with the last command he received and then noted the origin of his activation signal. Boltz flew from his perch and went searching for Bubbles. He flew to the landing ramp and saw her and Shan'in standing there with a Trooper and Dash.

"Ms Bubbles! Ms. Bubbles...Master Thatch has activated his homing device...I can guide you to him" Boltz looked to Shan'in and then turned to face Dash.

"Greetings Ms. Dash"

[Crox Rava]

"That... went pretty well."

The mess hall smelled like the last place in the galaxy one would ever want to eat food. Ozone from a dozen shock charges mingled with piled-up sweaty prison inmate. Crox could hardly smell Finx's perfumed cigarra over the stench. The human passed the aromatic stick to the Nautolan, who took a drag from it in turn. The spicy, stinging flavor whispered many memories of unlikely victory for the pair of outlaws, and while Crox had never really enjoyed the act of smoking in itself, it was good to stand beside his old friend atop a mound of fallen foes.

"They have quite a hangover to anticipate."

"Don't I know it!" Finx chuckled as he took back the cigarra and wedged the bit into the corner of his mouth. "So let's retread our steps here, Blue. We came to this shiny rock with a hull full a' slaves got rescued by our girl Bubbles, for the purpose of turnin' those slaves loose."

Crox already saw where this was going. He smiled. "That sounds about right, yes."

Finx hopped down from the mess table, nearly slipping as his booted foot slammed into the gut of a stirring inmate. "Once we get here, Bubbles get's herself snatched by a vengeful Jedi who's really lookin' fer that new mate of yours, Thatch. So, bein' the upstanding wanted men we are, we mount a not so clever rescue mission. Right in the middle of a prison break riot, I might add."

"It could have gone more smoothly."

"Bubbles gets herself free just fine. So fine, in fact, that she's long gone by the time you found the room she'd been held in, and with a pretty new friend in tow if I saw rightly on the monitor. Thatch runs himself right into the Jedi he was runnin' from all along, and yet another colorful new pal of yours is runnin' around here even though you say he's dead." Crox followed his friend to a barred window where Finx set about applying an explosive charge to the frame. "What's more, that skag Orta is the one that patched him up and sent him after us all, even though she's dead, too. And we're gonna have to slice his noggin so's he don't shoot us all or blow us up or whatnot."

Crox grimaced at that. Zeeto had appeared quite dead when they'd seen him last. Finx had described the same man, but with a lot more metal parts than he'd possessed before. They still had to retrieve him from the warehouse. The note he'd left behind suggested he hadn't come after them willingly, and Crox wasn't in the habit of leaving a slave to his fate.

"... but I digress. Back to the matter at hand, we have spent the last few cycles either rescuing and freeing captives, or else runnin' from them that had em captive in the first place. If you had told me this mornin' I'd be rigging this slop room with charges to make damn sure an entire prison of captives didn't go free?

"You'd have promised to eat your hat right after. Can we go now?" Crox smiled broadly. The irony had not escaped him.

Finx shook his head, sending a swirling cloud of cigarra smoke into the air. "Step back, good buddy."

Crox kicked over a table and crouched behind it. Finx joined him and thumbed a detonator switch.

CHOOOOM!

The window bars clattered to the floor, and the two gunmen hurriedly slipped through the window to the courtyard outside. As Crox exited the building, his radio crackled to life.

"-you there? CROX! Please answer me!" Shan'in!

Crox fumbled with the device. "Shan'in! I'm here! Are you alright? Where are you?"

At that moment a bright green signal flare lit up the sky. Thatch's signal! Crox and Finx locked eyes for an instant, then took off in opposite directions. They had understood each other. Finx would retrieve what was left of Zeeto while Crox secured Thatch's position. Just like that time on Ord Mantell.

Crox could hear Shan'in's joyful cries over the radio, as well as a very perturbed Bubbles delivering a pent-up tongue lashing an entire day in the making. They were safe. She was safe. His large black eyes swirled a faint blue as he blinked away a single tear. "Save it, Bubbles. Did you see that green flare? You have got to get us a ship over there. It's Thatch. I'm headed there now. Copy?" His long coat flaring against the wind as he sprinted, he felt hope that they would all walk away from this one after all.

She's safe.

[Clusterfact]

"I am going....to buy your life...and in exchange...the bounty on my head...will disappear..."

Alkhet retracted the blade of his lightsaber as his head hit the floor wearily. If he could get up he would have continued until one or both of the men lay dead on the floor, but the pain and loss of blood made the Zabrak too weak to move much more.

He watched Thatch prop himself against the wall and fiddle with something on his belt. The flare drifted slowly back to the ground and filled the yard with an eerie green light. The smoke from the flare began to cloud the yard, slowly blocking Thatch from sight.

The edges of his vision started growing dark, but Alkhet managed to pull his holopad from his belt and activate the call switch. There was, without a doubt, a considerable task force on their way to clean up and investigate what was left of the riot, but this message was to his master, Vaurus Otai.

The council would most likely pull Alkhet from this case when word reached them of the grievous injuries he sustained. The thought festered in the back of Alkhet's mind as he slowly lost consciousness. He wouldn't be able to bring to justice the man who killed Juliana. Juliana, my love..

Alkhet's eyes closed and his mind went black.