It Happened on Belsavis

[YoshiRaphElan]

One went to places like Nar Shaddaa if they wanted to start over–or if they were forced to by war, crashing economy, or other crises. One went to places like Nal Hutta to make a living–if that living was bounty hunting, smuggling, or bodyguard work.

However, one went to Ord Mantell only if they had a death wish.

At least, that was what they said. Dha didn’t intend to die here. As the ship hovered over the planet, Dha checked his gear.

Pistol. Jetpack. Rocket launcher. Jet boots. Mandalorian armor. Helmet. Grapple cord.

He was ready. Placing his helmet over his head, he looked down at the planet. Torian, piloting the ship, announced they would be hitting atmosphere in two minutes. Dha sealed his helmet and looked over at Mako.

“Ready?” he asked.

She nodded. “Ready. Just a little nervous, is all.”

He smiled under his helmet. “Don’t worry. You’ll do just fine.”

She nodded her thanks and sealed her own helmet–not Mandalorian, like his, because she insisted it was too bulky for her, but a bootleg version of an Imperial agent’s helmet.

Unlike him, she was not wearing full armor. She had an armored chestplate, but it was fitted on top of a lightweight shirt. Over her armor she wore a knee-length coat. Her pants were fitted with a few armor plates, and her boots were military-grade.

“Thirty seconds to atmo,” Torian said.

“Got it,” Dha replied. “Gault, get the airlock ready.”

“Roger,” replied the Devaronian.

Gault sealed the rest of the ship off from the small entry area where Dha and Mako stood. An eager smile crossed Dha’s face.

“Here we go,” he hissed.

“Ten seconds!” Torian called.

Gault flipped a switch, and the airlock hissed open to the vacuum of space. Dha and Mako sealed their helmets and braced themselves against the heat of the ship breaching the atmosphere.

Over their helmets, they heard Torian say, “We’re in. Go!”

Dha went first, leaping from the vessel. He enjoyed the moment of sheer thrill as he dropped straight down toward the planet below, nothing between him and the ground except his armor and the air.

“Yahoo!” Mako exclaimed. “This is great!”

“Told you you’d love it!” Dha replied.

They let themselves fall for almost five minutes. Then, Dha activated his jetpack. Mako pressed a button on her gauntlet, and her rocket boots activated.

“Hitting the ground will be a little rough,” he warned. “Ready?”

“Ready!”

Dha’s feet hit the ground and he deactivated his jetpack and tumbled forward, somersaulting and landing in a crouch.

Mako stumbled to a stop beside him. Dha had his pistol out instantly. Mako followed suit. He scanned the area with his helmet’s HUD.

“Clear,” he said.

Mako holstered her pistol, and the two stood. Dha took his helmet off and scanned the area again, this time with his eyes.

“Oradam Village is this way,” he said.

They were there hunting a known spice smuggler, who also allegedly worked for the Republic. It was dangerous for them to be here, because it was Republic territory, and Dha and his crew were wanted for crimes against the Republic.

But then, they were wanted for crimes against the Empire, too–like killing Darth Tormen. It would not have technically been illegal for them to be here–Chancellor Janarus had offered to pardon them, an offer which Dha had accepted–but Janarus had resigned from office before he had been able to waive the arrest warrants.

“Gizmel Gam is away from home,” Mako said. “He’s probably doing spice running again.”

“We’ll find him,” Dha replied. “Don’t worry, guys like this are amateurs.”

“I don’t know,” Mako replied. “If Gam wasn’t good, he probably would have been arrested by the Republic by now.”

“True,” Dha said. “It’s a good thing he hasn’t been.”

The prize for this hunt wouldn’t be credits, or gear. Dha had been offered something bigger by Republic officials–freedom. In exchange for Gam’s capture, the Senate would pardon Dha and his crew. But until Gam was doing ten to twenty in a prison colony, Dha was a hot target in Republic space.

“There’s Oradam,” Mako said.

Dha nodded. “Remember, Mandalorians aren’t popular here. No need to go around telling everyone who we are.”

Mako laughed. “What are you worried about? I’m new to this culture, remember?”

Dha nodded, smiling behind his helmet. She always knew how to diffuse a situation. As they entered Oradam Village, a team of three troopers in blue uniforms–Ord Mantell military–started toward them.

“State your business,” one commanded.

“I’m here on personal business,” he replied. “Besides, this planet isn’t a war zone anymore, right? You finished off the separatists. So legally I shouldn’t be required to fill out a questionnaire just to enter a town.”

The guard stiffened. “Fine. Go on in.”

As the guards stepped aside, Dha nodded his thanks and entered the village. Mako had gone silent, so she was probably consulting the local HoloNet.

“Gam’s house is…there,” she said.

Dha looked at the identified home and nodded. Pulling his helmet off, he approached the home. If Gizmel was home, he probably had run for cover upon seeing Dha. A man in blue and black Mandalorian armor was a fearful sight.

“Gam!” he called.

He rapped his knuckles on the door. No answer came. He frowned and knocked again. Again, no one moved to open the door.

“Mako?”

She moved forward and pulled out a small dataspike. She jabbed it into the door’s console. A moment later the light flashed green and the door swooshed open.

Dha nodded his thanks, pulled out his blaster, and moved in. He swept the room, making sure Gizmel wasn’t hiding behind a table or box.

“Mako, look for anything–datapads, notes, memos–that might give a clue as to where he went.”

She nodded and moved around the small home. Dha put his helmet back on and scanned the room again, making sure Gizmel was not inside any of the boxes. Then he looked up.

His eyes widened under his helmet. Gizmel was hidden in a secret attic. He made a quick hand motion to Mako, and then jerked a thumb up. She nodded understanding.

“Guess he’s not here,” Dha said. “Let’s go.”

Mako walked out the door. Dha started to follow, but then activated his flamethrower and torched the ceiling. There was a startled cry, and a moment later a vent outside broke open.

Gizmel took off down the street at a pace surprisingly fast for a man his age. Dha sprinted outside, followed by Mako. Gizmel had a fair head start.

Dha started to pull his blaster, but decided his pardon would be pretty useless if he shot up a town on a Republic world. Instead, he fired a tracking device from his wrist launcher. The small device clamped to Gam’s belt.

By that time, Gizmel was ascending a flight of stairs to a taxi service station. He hopped on a speeder and flew off.

“Hey–” stammered the droid at the station.

Dha hopped on another speeder, flipped the droid a ten-credit chip, and took off, Mako on the seat behind him.

“Where’s Gam going?” she asked.

“Don’t know,” Dha replied. “Can’t be Fort Garnik, he’d be arrested there. And that’s where the spaceport is, so unless he has a private dock somewhere…”

“I’m on it!” Mako said.

They followed Gam at full speed, but he had too much of a head start and was going too fast. Dha set his speeder down in Talloran Village.

“Anything?” Dha asked.

“There aren’t too many private docks on this island, but of the ones there are, none seem to be owned by a man named Gizmel Gam. However, by checking the identities of the other owners, I can confirm that only one of the docks is owned by a man whose name I can find no trace of.”

“An alias,” Dha assumed.

Mako nodded. “You got it. It’s in one of the smaller village, close to Fort Garnik. Come on, I think we better move.”

 

 

Dha chose not to rent a speeder this time, instead running on foot. He hadn’t had a hunt in weeks, and it felt good to be running down a target again. He looked at his tracking device.

As Mako had suspected, Gam was headed for somewhere near Garnik, and according to her map of Avilatan Island, there was a town very close to that area.

“Torian,” Dha called over his comlink. “We should have him soon, but just in case, watch for ships leaving the planet from these coordinates. This hunt is too important to get away.”

“Got it,” Torian replied.

Dha was panting now, but he forced himself to continue. Soon they reached Garnik, and not long after they had sight of the village.

“The dock is there,” Mako said. “I think I see a ship!”

Dha nodded. “It’s powering up. Come on!”

 

 

Dha kicked down the door to the private dock. According to Mako’s listing, before being bought by Gam, this dock had been owned by a man named Skavak.

Too bad Skavak was a confirmed kill, Dha mused. That one had once had quite a bounty on his head.

“Hurry!” Mako said.

Dha sprinted out to the landing pad. The ship started up, and Dha leapt and grabbed a handrail beside the airlock. Activating his flamethrower, Dha burnt the airlock down and charged into the ship.

He was met with a blaster bolt, one that smacked into his armor and knocked him flat. He instantly whipped out his blaster and raised it to fire. Gam stood over him, blaster pointed at his chest.

“You should have just left me alone,” Gam said. “You shouldn’t have gotten involved.”

“A blaster bolt won’t penetrate this armor,” Dha said. “But I’m guessing your tunic isn’t as blaster proof. I suggest surrendering.”

Gam hesitated, so Dha blasted him with a cold wave of carbonite. The man gasped as his entire body froze. Dha walked to the cockpit and set the ship back down.

Mako ran up the ramp. “Good job!”

“Thanks,” Dha replied. “Let’s get this cold lump back to the Republic. The sooner we have that pardon, the better.”

 

 

Dha didn’t feel comfortable landing on any world near Coruscant, so he asked the Republic representative to meet him on Nar Shaddaa.

In the Lower Promenade, there was a small, neutral cantina that both the Republic and the Empire could enter without worrying about being shot.

It was here Dha sat, in a corner seat in the cantina, watching the door. His helmet sat on the table in front of him. He had brought Skadge with him to the meeting, mostly because the giant Houk was used to places like this.

Skadge sat at the bar, watching the room and ready to act if anyone threatened action against Dha.

“Boss,” Skadge said over the comlink. “The representative just entered. Blue tunic, blaster strapped to his side.”

“I see him,” Dha replied. “Stay where you are. It’s not him I’m worried about.”

The representative saw him and walked over. His bodyguard, a man in white Special Forces armor, stood to the side, rifle gripped firmly.

“Greetings, Mandalorian.” The representative smiled. “I am Ambassador Averdon.”

“Dha. It’s a pleasure. You have the pardon?”

“You have Gizmel Gam?”

Dha nodded. “One moment.”

He activated his holocom. An image of Mako appeared. She was delivering Gam to the local Republic garrison.

“Mako, please give the ambassador visual confirmation of Gam’s capture.”

Mako nodded. “I’d be happy to.”

She pulled Gam into the image, defrosted and in stun cuffs. The man looked utterly defeated.

“Good enough?” Mako asked.

“That’ll do,” Dha replied. “Thank you, Mako. Dha out.”

“Mako out.”

As the holocom shut off, Dha looked up at Averdon. The man was already pulling a datapad from his pocket.

“Here is your pardon,” he said. “If you will sign your signature here, we’ll be done.”

Dha did as asked, then nodded to Averdon.

“A pleasure doing business with you, sir.”

“And you, bounty hunter.” Averdon made a motion to his bodyguard. “Come, corporal, we have other things to do.”

 

 

Back on their ship, Dha smiled as he put his helmet on its rack. He mounted the stairs to the upper part of the ship and entered the main hold.

“Good job,” Mako said. “We’re officially pardoned!”

Blizz jabbered in excitement, Gault nodded his approval, and Torian rapped his fist against his chestplate, just above his heart. Skadge just nodded–for him, it was practically a show of joy.

“We can move free among Republic worlds, at least,” Dha said. “The Empire’s another matter. We may have helped them a lot, but we killed Darth Tormen.”

Torian muttered something in Mando’a, and then spoke up. “Our time with the Empire was coming to a close, anyway. I’m sure Mandalore will be announcing its neutrality soon.”

“How do you know?” Dha asked.

Torian seemed embarrassed. “Well, I, ah…I am good friends with a…female bodyguard of Lord Mand’alor.”

Dha chuckled. “And she tells you what goes on in Mandalore’s courts.”

Torian nodded. “We’ve been friends since before I had my first set of beskar’gam.”

“So, since we’re pardoned,” interrupted Mako. “Let’s celebrate!”

Blizz stormed out of the room, and Dha was a little concerned of what the little guy would do for a moment. A Jawa couldn’t be figured at the best of times.

“I say we go for a good old fashioned Mandalorian hunting retreat,” Torian said.

Dha nodded. “It’s been years since I’ve done that. I agree.”

“I’ve never done anything Mandalorian-style, but it sounds like a blast,” Mako said.

“Hey, you’re married to me now,” Dha said. “You’re as Mando as I am.”

“And even though I wasn’t welcomed into the clans, I’ve always admired the culture,” added Gault.

“Skadge?” Dha asked. He didn’t really care for the Houk’s opinion–they’d go whether he approved or not–but he wanted to be fair. “What do you think?”

“Why not?” the Houk grunted.

He was practically being chatty today. It was at that moment that Blizz charged back into the room, carrying a pile of refuse. He sat on the floor, humming contentedly to himself, and began assembling something from the junk.

“Set course for Dxun, Torian,” Dha said.

The Mandalorian nodded. “Oya!”

 

 

A day later, the group had set up camp in the jungles of the moon Dxun. They had left their ship three kilometers behind, so they would only rely on the technology they’d brought from the ship–their weapons, armor, and a handful of glowrods and other essentials. They would start their fires by hand.

Torian loved it, disappearing into the jungles for hours on end even before camp was set up completely, carrying only his blaster rifle and his beskad. Mako was equally into it, sitting on a log and enjoying the sounds of nature.

Gault was calibrating his sniper rifle, ready to hunt. He seemed to love the outdoors–his people had an affinity for it. But his enjoyment was more quiet and refined.

Blizz had brought his refuse with him, and he spent all his time in the small clearing, building his contraption and loving every minute. He continued to hum to himself.

Skadge seemed to not care what was going on, sitting with his back to a tree and sharpening a knife. Any time someone tried to talk to them, he just grunted and ignored them. He was moody and silent once again.

Dha stood on a small hill just above the camp, looking out over the forest. Though he saw nothing but the treetops and clouds, as well as the distant signs of rain, it was beautiful to him. His father had brought him here when he was twelve years old–before his rite of passage to adulthood.

That brought back more memories; those of his hunting with his father in the forest of Mandalore on his thirteenth birthday, letting the hunt mature him into a man.

This would be great.

 

 

That night, the group sat around the campfire Torian had started. Mako was assembling a rack to cook their food–Torian had caught two young boma and a maalraas–and Gault was hacking up some edible plants with a vibroknife.

“Skadge!” Dha called. “You want to get in on this meal?”

Skadge grumbled, heaved himself up, and walked over to the fire, planting himself on a log and looking at the fire.

“Cooker’s ready!” Mako said.

She put the rack over the fire, and Torian placed the slabs of meat on the rack. Gault threw a few shreds of plant on top as seasoning.

Dha glanced over and saw Blizz yapping in joy as he finished his strange construction. It looked like nothing more than a sphere of mashed wires with a large bulb on top.

Blizz yapped at Dha. Dha’s translator bud in his left ear said, “Boss! Boss! Blizz build great gift for entire crew! Boss will love!”

“What is it, Blizz?” Dha asked with a laugh.

“Is search droid! Will find animals that are good to eat! Took Blizz long time to discover how to make droid do this.”

“That’s great, Blizz. Why don’t you come and eat?”

 

 

The next day, the hunt began. To make Blizz happy, they let the search droid do its part, even though more often than not it scared off the animals when it found them.

After that, Dha asked that Blizz put it away for a while. Though the Jawa seemed confused by this, he accepted when Dha explained that to them, hunting down animals without droids was like building droids was for Blizz.

The group split up then, with Mako and Blizz following Dha, and Skadge and Gault following Torian.

Kneeling at the edge of a clearing, Dha saw a zakkeg stomping impatiently as its young chased a cannok.

“Torian,” Dha called over his helmet. “We got a grown zakkeg here. Want in on it?”

“On our way,” the young man replied.

Dha saw them soon, on the other side of the clearing. Torian nodded his helmeted head and pulled his electrostaff from his back. For beasts like zakkeg, he loved getting in close.

Dha pulled out his pistol and squeezed his fist in readiness. It was the best find of the day–all their other targets had been young boma or cannoks.

“Go!” Dha said.

He and Mako charged into the clearing, Blizz trailing, his short legs making a blur of his robe. Torian and Skadge charged from the other side of the clearing, and Gault stayed behind, waiting for a good shot.

The large zakkeg roared, and the young scattered. Dha let them go–they were no challenge, and they would be safe enough if they returned to their mother.

The cannok, frantic now, tried to run away, and Blizz put a bolt through its throat. A grin split Dha’s face. The little guy was learning.

Dha, Mako, Skadge, and Torian surrounded the zakkeg, prodding and shooting at it. The beast roared and swung its tail at Dha. He ducked under the tail and it caught Skadge in the wrist. He dropped his sword and grunted, rolled back, and grabbed the weapon from the ground.

The zakkeg reared up on its hind legs and smashed its front legs against the ground. Dha was thrown back, as were Mako and Torian. The beast reared up again, standing over Skadge. Dha had no doubt the beast’s powerful claws would kill the Houk.

Suddenly, a sniper bolt flashed through the air, catching the zakkeg in the head. Two more followed, both hitting it in the chest. It toppled backwards.

“Good shot, Gault,” Dha gasped.

 

 

Two days later, the group packed up from their all-too-brief vacation and made for space. Dha found that they had been left five messages that turned out to be bounty offers.

“Three days of rest, followed by a week of nonstop work,” Torian commented.

Dha nodded. “Exactly. Mako, find out which of these bounties is paying the highest. We’ll do his first. Then we’ll go in descending order from there.”

“On it,” Mako replied.

Dha smiled. Vacation was great, but it was good to be back doing what he loved.

 

 

They found their first bounty from a disgruntled ex-employee of Czerka Corporation. Apparently he’d been hired for a job that was practically a suicide job. Before running away he’d robbed Czerka’s vaults, offering money for the head of the bigwig that had hired him.

Czerka probably would have put a price on his head, except their funds were a little low, both from the robbery and from overextending their spending.

The bounty turned out to be a Duros by the name of Zhey Turnon, and his current residence was on Tatooine.

 

 

Kneeling on a mountain over the rocky portion of Tatooine known as the Jundland Wastes, Dha watched the small settlement below. The place was Imperial territory.

There was one advantage, though. The guards were Mandalorian, and would likely allow their own kind in, and the Imperials inside would not likely recognize him with his helmet on as the killer of Darth Tormen.

Plus, he had another advantage, and it was standing beside him.

“Blizz so excited to be home! Blizz miss home. Only problem is heat. Blizz forget how hot home is! Must be hotter for you, boss, you not used to it!”

With Blizz at his side, he could walk into the town without problem, since Jawas were natives of Tatooine. He could make up a cover story about Blizz getting lost and him bringing the Jawa back. The Mandalorians would be even less suspicious, then.

“I’m going in, Mako,” he said.

“Be careful,” she replied.

Dha tapped Blizz, and the Jawa started forward. Dha walked up to one of the guards. Both wore the typical combat wear of Mando shock troopers–blue armor with white stripes. One was a human or near human; his helmet covered his face. The other, a Nikto, had no helmet.

“Su’cuy gar!” called the Nikto.

“Su’cuy gar!” Dha replied. It was a traditional Mandalorian greeting, meaning so you are still alive.

“What is your business?” asked the other Mandalorian.

“I was hired by the locals,” Dha replied. “This one was lost.”

The Nikto looked down at the Jawa. “Kind of demeaning work for a Mandalorian, eh?”

Dha laughed. “Times are tough.”

The humanoid nodded. “Go on in.”

Dha nudged Blizz with his boot. The Jawa gleefully walked into the town, humming with joy at being on his homeworld again.

“Okay, we’re in,” Dha said to Mako.

“Got it,” she replied. “Turnon lives at the edge of the settlement, near the cantina.”

“I see the house,” he said. “Blizz and I will engage. Tell our employer he’ll be receiving the Duros shortly.”

“Will do. Mako out.”

Dha pulled Blizz’s blaster from the holster he’d hidden in his boot and handed the weapon to the Jawa. Blizz looked up at the house.

“Wait here,” Dha ordered.

A pair of bodyguards stood outside the door, each wielding a nasty-looking rifle. Dha didn’t stop; he just raised his wrist and fired a rocket at the door. The rocket detonated upon hitting the metal, blowing the door inward and sending the bodyguards flying.

One of them recovered, standing and raising his rifle. Dha rolled aside as the barrage of fire passed by him, and he quickly snapped off a shot with his pistol. The bolt hit the guard in the chest.

“Blizz, watch the exit!” Dha ordered.

The Jawa jabbered a response, and Dha entered the house through the crumpled door. The Duros would no doubt be hiding by–

A flamethrower lit, and fire blew at Dha’s chestplate. Crossing his arms, Dha blocked the flames with his beskar gauntlets. The fire spread across the house, catching many flammable materials.

By the time the flames stopped, Dha realized the Duros had run out behind him. Snarling, he charged out. He saw Blizz firing his pistol at the Duros, who was hiding behind an overturned landspeeder. The Mandalorian guards had seen the commotion and run to investigate. Panicked, the Duros fired at the humanoid. The bolt hit the Mandalorian’s helmet and glanced off. Before either of them could fire and ruin his bounty, Dha fired a stun dart from his wrist gauntlet. The Duros gasped as the bolt hit him. Dha followed up with a blast of carbonite.

“What was that about?” the Nikto asked.

“Long story,” replied Dha. “But let’s just say the Imperials wouldn’t be too happy if they found out I was here.”

The guards exchanged glances. “Don’t worry, vod,” the humanoid said. “You’re one of us. We won’t tell them. You’d better get going.”

“Ret’urcye mhi,” the Nikto said.

“Ret’urcye mhi,” Dha replied.

 

 

The next bounty was a man who’d apparently earned the ire of the Hutt Cartel. According to Tassaa Bareesh, matriarch of her clan, the man had smuggled a droid away from the Hutts for a long time, avoiding many bounty hunters.

Dha had smiled at the challenge, eager to show his skills. He’d accepted the challenge, and been pleased to learn that the bounty had, in only three years, reached sixty thousand credits.

This man had been tracked recently to the world of Nar Shaddaa–it felt like going in circles, Dha mused.

The bounty’s name was Jet Nebula.

 

 

Standing on top of a Nar Shaddaa building and looking down at the Red Light Sector, Dha eagerly prepared for combat. Gault stood with him, preparing his sniper rifle.

“I’ve heard of Nebula,” Gault noted. “He’s quite the smuggler. Or was, before his entire crew betrayed him.”

Dha glanced over at him. “Oh?”

“Yeah. Since then, there’s only been one notable event in his life–he participated in the battle of Sebaddon, six years ago.”

“I heard about that,” Dha replied. “He was responsible for commanding both sides, right? Because the Empire and the Republic shared a common goal.”

“Actually, his ship served as the command center, but Republic envoy Ula Vii was in charge.”

Dha nodded. He looked down at the cantina below. Nebula had been reported going in nearly three hours ago. Unless he was drunker than a depressed Baragwin, he was hiding.

“I’m going in,” he told Gault. “If he comes out, nail him. But don’t kill him–he doesn’t matter, only his droid.”

“Why’s the droid so important?”

“Tassaa said it wasn’t, not until after the Battle of Sebaddon. At that point, a Mandalorian named Dao Stryver started hunting Nebula, for his droid. Apparently, Tassaa’s spies said that they overheard Stryver and Nebula speak.”

“And?”

“Apparently, Nebula controlled the battle through the droid–it hacked into the Republic and Imperial computers faster than, well, Mako. It guided both sides.”

“Impressive droid. Easy to see why Bareesh wants it. What about Stryver, though? What if he still wants the droid?”

“She,” Dha corrected, absentmindedly. “Dao Stryver is a female Getkl.”

“A Getkl Mandalorian? How does she fit the tail in the armor?”

Dha chuckled. “Maybe she had it removed. All right, enough talk. Don’t worry about Stryver now–that’s Tassaa’s problem.”

With that, Dha fired his jetpack and flew down to the cantina. Inside, he took off his helmet and scanned the crowd. He saw Nebula, sitting in the back corner.

Wearing a brown jacket, Nebula looked like any smuggler, and his hair was shaggy. It was black with early flecks of white, and he had a few days’ worth of stubble on his chin. He had a blaster sitting on the table in front of him, but his head was down, and his chest was moving slowly, as if he were sleeping.

“See him?” Gault asked.

“Yes,” Dha replied. “He looks drunk.”

“Be careful,” Gault replied. “He is known for being sly as a fox.”

“Right.”

Dha walked to the back of the cantina and gently kicked Nebula’s table. The smuggler looked up, bleary-eyed.

“What?” he asked in a drunken slur.

“Jet Nebula?”

“Yeah. Hardly.”

“What do you mean?”

“Got time for a sad story?” Nebula asked.

Dha frowned. “I’m here for your droid.”

The smuggler laughed. “You too. You’re too late. He’s gone.”

Dha was surprised to hear a true note of sadness in the man’s voice. Cautiously, he moved forward and sat across from Nebula.

“What happened?”

“She was persistent. She always gets what she wants, you know.”

“Who, Stryver?”

Nebula nodded bleakly. “She’s not just a Mandalorian, you know.”

“She’s not?”

“No. She’s only there to spy on them. She’s a member of the Star Cabal.”

Dha frowned. He had never heard of any Star Cabal–and he was sure he would have. He turned on his comlink.

“Gault, ever heard of the Star Cabal?”

“Rumors,” replied the sniper. “Myths. They are supposed to be a group of fanatics that came together after the first Sith War. They hated the Jedi and Sith Orders.”

“Keep going.”

“Rumor has it, they were recently discovered by the Empire, and their leaders had become corrupt, more interested in personal gain than the good of the galaxy. They used their vast spy network to comb the galaxy and bring in things that they could use for themselves.”

“Like a droid that could hack computers as fast as the best slicer in the galaxy.”

“Right. Wait–Stryver?”

“Yeah,” Dha replied grimly. “Anything else?”

“Yes. As of a few months ago, Imperial Intelligence busted the doors of the Star Cabal. All the leading members are dead.”

“Thanks. Dha out.”

He turned to Nebula, who nodded sullenly.

“Everything he said is right,” he muttered.

“Was Stryver a leading member?”

“I don’t know,” Nebula replied. “All I know is, she took Clunker away right before the Cabal dissolved.”

“So Clunker is probably at the Cabal base.”

“Right.”

Dha considered. “Look, the Hutts hired me to find your droid, but since you don’t have it, it looks like I failed. Anyway, anyone who loves their droid as much as you doesn’t deserve to have it taken away.”

“Lot of good that does me.”

“Since I don’t have a job…would you like me to help you find Clunker?”

Nebula looked surprised. “Really?”

Dha nodded. “I know what it’s like to lose everything you love.”

“Clunker’s supposed to be just a possession, a droid…but he’s more. He’s my best friend. If he were organic…I suppose he’d be my brother. Sounds stupid, eh?”

“Not at all,” Dha replied. “Come on, let’s get you out of this hole.”

Nebula nodded glumly. “What harm can it do?”

“Maybe none,” Dha mused. “And maybe a whole world.”

 

 

Many events took place over the next few weeks. Mako constantly scanned the HoloNet for any mention of a “Star Cabal” and hacked Imperial records. She found several leads, which she compiled into a list.

Dha and Torian helped Nebula out of his slump, making sure he only touched alcohol when he was not depressed. Dha gave him some quick-draw training, and Torian showed him some Mandalorian hand-to-hand tricks.

Blizz helped patch together Nebula’s ship, the Auriga Fire, patching holes and servicing worn cables and tubes.

Skadge, as usual, grumbled and paced the ship, doing nothing helpful except staying out of the way. However, the prospect of hunting a group like the Star Cabal–a group related neither to the Republic nor Empire–seemed to lighten his mood.

Nebula, surrounded by so many people willing to help, seemed to get genuinely revived out of his slump, carrying his blaster proudly and acting as a truly new man.

However, on another side of the galaxy, a sleek silver ship detected Mako’s slicing. The ship’s owner scowled at the screen. He whirled and powered up his ship.

Above Coruscant, a Republic Thunderclap starship sat in orbit, waiting for orders. They received them ten minutes later, and blasted off quickly.

And a thrill-seeking treasure hunter, waiting for another chance at money, saw the orders too, and went to follow.

The players were lined up, and it was time to begin the game.

 

 

The ship came down over Belsavis, and Dha checked his armor again. Everything was in order. Beside him, Torian finished his own check and gave a thumbs-up.

“Ready?” Torian asked.

Dha nodded. “Nebula’s coming down behind us.”

“Not what I mean.”

“You mean, am I ready to find out if Stryver was a spy all along?”

Torian nodded. “You never found out who was the leak that allowed Tormen and his scum onto your world.”

“If it was Stryver…”

“You’ll have to beat me to the shot,” Torian replied. “Anyone who would do that deserves a headshot.”

Dha nodded.

 

Once Cipher Nine, now an officer in the SIS, Merok loaded his rifle and geared up. Someone was searching for the Star Cabal. It had been his mission to wipe them out, and if this being were trying to find the remnant of them, he would make sure they didn’t have bad intentions.

Imperial Intelligence may have given him the mission, but Merok still intended to finish it, even if he was no longer Imperial.

Merok looked over at the lethal assassin droid Scorpio, who had been found in the Star Cabal base on Belsavis. It was only fitting that she come with him now.

“Ready?” Merok asked.

“Always,” Scorpio replied.

 

 

On board a Republic BT-7 Thunderclap, Major Tyto of Havoc Squad slammed his helmet on and looked over at Yuun, a Gand Findsman and his tracking expert.

“Here we go,” he muttered.

 

 

On her private fighter, young Mesh scowled. She had been thinking about her friends again. Nikk, Akaavi, Risha, Gus, Bowdaar…Corso.

Stop it, she thought. Nikk is their captain. I was just along for the ride–just until I got back on my feet.

She nodded determinedly, taking in her ship. Belsavis wasn’t the greatest planet to treasure hunt on, but if this rumor of an underground base was true–

Well. Maybe she’d get rich after this.

 

 

Dha stepped out into the ruined cavern, scanning the area for threats. Nebula’s ship was nearby, and Torian was already moving forward, his electrostaff charged.

“Clear,” Torian said.

Dha nodded. He started into the cavern. He knew Nebula was right behind him, so he didn’t bother to wait. Blaster held in front of him, he scanned the wreckage. Someone had done quite a number on this place–probably that Intel guy.

“Hmm,” Torian muttered. “I didn’t think the Imperials were this violent, especially not the spies.”

“Maybe a battle broke out,” Nebula said from behind them.

Dha considered and nodded. Though Intel agents didn’t usually fight much, they could if pressed. All things considered, it was probably that the Star Cabal had discovered the agent and he’d been forced to act decisively.

“Come on,” Dha said. “We need to find out if Stryver is here, or if she left a clue.”

“Hey!” a heavily accented voice called. “Freeze! Hands in the air! All three of you!”

Dha whirled and saw a black-clad Chiss coming forward with a chrome-plated assassin droid behind him.

“Weapon down, Torian!” Dha said. “Let’s talk this out.”

The Chiss approached. “What are you doing here?”

“Searching for Dao Stryver,” Dha replied. “I have a bone to pick with her.”

Doubt crossed his face. “You’re not here to find traces of the Star Cabal?”

“I don’t give a flip about your secret cabals,” Dha snapped. “Just traitors.”

The Chiss holstered his blaster. “I see.”

“You’re the agent, aren’t you? The one that wiped out the Cabal?”

The assassin droid raised her pistol, but the Chiss held his hand up.

“I’m Republic agent Merok.”

“So, you’re not the one?”

“Didn’t say that. I defected.”

Dha nodded. The assassin droid, seemingly satisfied, slowly lowered its blaster, but kept it in hand.

“I’m Dha,” he said. “This is Torian, and Jet Nebula. We’re here to find Nebula’s droid.”

“A droid?” asked Merok. “What model?”

“Republic military,” Dha replied. “Not sure what class.”

Merok nodded. “Okay.”

Suddenly, there was an explosion, and a voice shouted, “Havoc Squad! Everyone down!” Dha scowled and sighed. His relations with the Republic weren’t going to well right now.

“We’re all friends here,” Dha replied.

Two troopers entered, one helmeted, the other a Gand. The helmeted trooper, wearing a major’s patch, had a pistol raised. Each of them was clad in white armor with light green stripes.

“I’m Major Tyto,” the helmeted one said. “Helmets off, now.”

Dha nodded, and then motioned for Torian to do the same. They both took their helmets off and placed them on the ground. Tyto seemed taken aback.

“Dha?” he asked.

Dha frowned. “Do I know you?”

Tyto took his helmet off. “Sure you do, Dha. I’m your brother.”

Dha’s eyes widened. “Prudii!”

“Not anymore. I changed my name.”

“Auretyc,” muttered Torian.

“I heard that,” Prudii replied. “I changed it not because I was ashamed of my heritage. It was because many people feared my, due to the, ah, sensitive situation with the Mandalorians. As a soldier, I don’t want my people afraid of me. I wish I could’ve kept my old name.”

“I thought you were dead!” Dha exclaimed.

“And I thought you were,” Prudii–no, Tyto–replied. “What happened?”

“When I saw the house explode, I thought you were dead, so I stripped off my armor and became a freelance bounty hunter. Eventually I returned to the Mandalorian way, after winning the Great Hunt.”

“When the house blew up, I thought you were dead,” Tyto said. “I became freelance, too, until a Republic officer decided my skills were good enough to join Special Forces. Wait…what ever happened to Mesh?”

Mesh was their sister. Dha nodded. “I took her to the neighbors and went back to help you. When I thought you were dead, I started to go back for her, but I saw the Dark Jedi already sacking that house. I figured she was…”

“Dead?” a voice asked. “No, she’s here.”

A small Zabrak girl emerged from the shadows, a pistol trained on Dha’s head. She had tears welling in her eyes, hatred written on her face.

“Dha. You left me!”

Dha’s eyes widened. “Mesh?”

She nodded. “You left me, Dha!”

“Mesh, I went back to help–”

“Prudii didn’t need help! He was the oldest! I was the youngest; I needed you!”

“Mesh–”

“No arguments, Dha! You left a four year old in the guardianship of a neighbor, going back for a nineteen year old!”

“It wasn’t like that!”

“It was,” she said coldly. “You left me. I was lucky one of the neighbors snuck me offworld to the Republic!”

“Mesh, you are lucky. I probably wouldn’t have gotten you that far.”

“Liar! You could have gone with me! But you were a true Mandalorian, right? You had to seek thrill and glory in combat!”

“Family is more important than glory,” Dha said. He was talking calmly, but the truth was, seeing her shook him. “You were safe at the time, but Prudii wasn’t.”

Her gaze faltered. “I…I guess I knew that, but I was four years old. And scared to death.”

“I’m sorry, Mesh. I wish I could have gotten you safely away myself, but we’d already lost Mom and Dad, and I wasn’t losing Prudii, too. And after I saw the troops going to where you were hidden, I thought I’d lost my whole family.”

“This is all very interesting,” said Merok. “But why is this girl here?”

Mesh glared at him. “Treasure hunting. I was going to see if anything was left over here.”

“You’re wandering the galaxy alone,” Dha said.

Mesh nodded. “I had some friends for a while, but we went out separate ways.”

“Okay,” Merok said. “If no one’s here for the sole purpose of restarting the Star Cabal, I will be leaving.”

“You cannot,” a voice said.

Dao Stryver entered the room, twin pistols raised. Behind her walked a rust-colored combat droid.

“Clunker!” cried Nebula.

“Everyone down,” Stryver said. “I have a restraining bolt on the droid. On my command he will sweep the room with a repeating blaster and wipe you all out.”

“Do as she says,” Tyto ordered.

Torian fumed at seeing her, and Dha did, as well. But he obeyed her, not wanting to get his friends and family killed.

“Clunker,” muttered Nebula.

“All right,” Stryver said. “I will board my ship now. If anyone follows me, you will be lying in a pool of blood.”

As she entered an adjacent hangar and took off, Merok snarled and stood. His assassin droid was right behind him, pistol in hand.

“Trace her!” Dha ordered.

Torian raised his wrist launcher and fired a tracking dart at her ship. Tyto and his trooper were already running back to their hangar, and Merok was yelling into his comlink for someone named Kaliyo to power up the ship. Dha ran to his own ship, Torian in tow. Mesh ran to her own hangar.

Dha activated his ship’s holoterminal. Images of Merok, Tyto, Nebula, and Mesh appeared. Mako was powering up the ship to follow Stryver.

“Looks like we’re working together,” Dha said.

“I agree,” Merok replied. “We will stand a greater chance against Stryver together than if we were to all attack her separately.”

Tyto nodded. “I’ll do whatever it takes to finish my mission–make sure nothing here can threaten the Republic.”

“And I’m in,” Mesh added. “For the money.”

Dha saw the coldness in her eyes and knew it would take a long time for her to trust him again. He felt bad about that, but had no time to worry about it now.

“Mako!” he called. “Take off!”

The ship powered up. Dha glanced at the panel that showed Stryver’s ship. It wasn’t leaving Belsavis.

“Looks like we’re not going far,” he said. “Move!”

 

 

Stryver’s ship landed near what appeared to be an ancient ship that had crashed. Dha felt a little misgiving, but he squashed it. If Stryver had been responsible for his parents’ death, he would kill her, no matter what.

“Landing,” Mako said.

“Torian!” Dha said. “Come on!”

The two Mandalorians charged down the ramp, weapons in hand. Jet Nebula, Mesh, Tyto–and a Republic trooper, a Cathar–and Merok and his droid met them there.

“Blow the hatch,” Tyto ordered.

Dha fired a rocket at the large door, and a hole large enough to fit them blew open. The group entered, weapons raised. Stryver had set her ship down on the opposite side of the vessel, and they were not taking any chances.

“What could she want here?” asked Tyto.

“Something ancient,” Merok replied.

The group saw a large door. Mesh ran up to it and looked at a small access panel. She typed in a code, and to Dha’s surprise, the door opened.

“I typed a standard reset code,” she said.

The group entered, and lights flashed on as they entered the hall. Weapons raised, they saw a large cavern-like room, and they realized that the top of each of the walls was opened, holding what looked like an army.

Merok walked over to a panel in the center of the room and pressed a button marked DEPLOY. A claw grabbed one of the soldiers by the shoulders and dragged it down to the ground. A few welders began working on the thing, and Dha realized it was a droid. Its eyes flashed to life, and Dha realized he had seen one of its make before.

In a place called the Foundry, an ancient Jedi had been forming an army of killer droids to destroy the Sith Pureblood species. He had a personal assassin droid called HK-47, which had been later recovered by Darth Malgus.

This droid was just like HK-47.

With a skull-like head and silver armor with red markings, the droid differentiated from 47 only in color.

“Statement: HK-51, ready to serve.”

 

 

Merok looked around the room, observing everything, taking it in at a glance. Scorpio, too, seemed equally intrigued by the assassin droids. Maybe she had found a kindred spirit.

“HK-51,” Dha said. “What are you?”

“Diagnosis: I am an assassin droid, mass produced and built to fight a war. I am skilled in assassination, personal combat, sniper skills, and heavy artillery.”

“How long have you been here?” Merok called to the droid.

“Statement: Internal chronometer suggests a total of three hundred years.”

“Can you activate the other droids?” Tyto asked.

“Amused Statement: I am in complete command of every HK-51 model while they are in stasis. Once I deploy them, they can serve individually or together.”

“HK-51,” Dha said. “Activate three more droids. You’re with me, one for Major Tyto, one for Merok, and one for Mesh.”

“Statement: Command being carried out.”

“What are you doing?” Merok asked.

“We’ll need these droids to fight Stryver,” Dha replied. “And don’t tell me the Republic couldn’t use them.”

Intrigued, Merok nodded. “I’ll send General Garza a message about this place.”

“No,” Tyto replied. “I will.”

Merok nodded. Suddenly, a blaster bolt whizzed by his head, and the conversation was over.

 

 

Tyto stopped reaching for his comlink when the blaster bolt passed between him and Merok. He looked up and saw Stryver hovering in midair on her jetpack, pistols raised.

“Step away from the droid!” she called. “Now!”

“HK-51!” Dha said. “Attack her!”

Instantly the droid whirled and opened fire. Tyto raised his own rifle and fired, and Jorgan and the others were close behind.

Stryver was agile and acrobatic, but with something around a dozen blasters pointed at her, she didn’t last long. One bolt pinged her jetpack and she went crashing down.

 

 

Dha moved forward toward Stryver, grabbing her throat and tossing her helmet off. She glared at him defiantly, and he threw his own helmet off.

“Do you recognize me?” he growled. “Was it you? Were the Mandalorians getting too strong for the Star Cabal? Did you send the Empire to strike us? Did you?”

He was coming close to hysteria, he knew, but he couldn’t help it. Torian, Mesh, and Tyto stood coldly by. Merok was examining the droids, and Nebula was scouring the room for his droid.

“Yes,” Stryver replied. “Under orders from the Star Cabal, I sent the Imperials a message that a world in the Mandalorian system was planning to rebel.”

Dha felt her confirmation flow through him and he snarled in her face, throwing her across the room. He raised his blaster and pointed it at her head.

“You’ll pay,” he shouted. “You will pay!”

Before he could pull the trigger, a bolt slid into Stryver’s throat, and she gasped in pain before dropping to the ground, dying.

Mesh lowered her pistol. “That’s what you get for tearing my family apart,” she whispered.

Dha looked down at Stryver, coldly. He was not going to help her. She deserved this. But he would put her out of her misery. Putting his blaster between her eyes, he discharged his weapon.

“Good job,” Torian said quietly.

“Hey!” Merok called. “Grab your droids and run! The Empire detected this place, and they’re sending someone to scout it!”

Dha nodded, ordering the HK-51 to follow him.

“I have no use for one,” Mesh said. “But grab an extra, Tyto, and send them to a guy by the name of Nikk. He could use it.”

As she ran out, Dha called to her, “Stay in touch.”

 

 

At the end of the day, Tyto grabbed four of the droids–one for himself, one for the guy named Nikk, and two to give to the Jedi Order. Dha and Merok each managed to get one.

Later reports confirmed that the Empire had only gotten two–each going to a different Sith Lord. The rest of the droids had been damaged beyond repair after the crash on Belsavis.

Nebula had found Clunker and removed the restraining bolt, and the two had left quickly, before the Empire arrived. Dha had contacted, Bareesh, saying that he had been unable to find the droid.

Tyto had given his droid to General Garza, who had assigned it to Havoc Squad. The Jedi had accepted the droids, giving them to two influential Jedi Masters who often faced combat.

Dha had programmed his HK-51 to assist him in his bounty-hunting jobs. Everyone, Blizz in particular, welcomed the droid to the crew.

When Tyto sent the droid to Nikk, he put a note with it saying with regards, from Mesh. The smuggler’s crew had been initially skeptical, but in the end decided to keep it, especially after Corso Riggs voiced his opinion that Mesh could be trusted.

Dao Stryver’s corpse was recovered, and ejected into a star–she deserved nothing more, Dha said bitterly.

Mesh wandered planet to planet, trying to decide whether or not to stay in touch, as Dha had requested. Eventually, she sent him a message saying she’d like to speak to him.

 

 

END