The Jedi Order is dead.

It has been nearly a years since Emperor Palpatine has reformed the Galactic Republic into the Galactic Empire. The Jedi Temple on Coruscant is in ruins. Stormtroopers walk the streets of hundreds of worlds that fear the new Empire. Many of the few remaining Jedi have deactivated their lighsabers for the last time and have fled to the distant worlds of the Empire to avoid execution. The Empire's presence is everywhere.

But where tyranny exists...so does resistance.

As the Empire's brutal reach extends across the galaxy...brave men and woman will rise to fight against the Empire to save the oppressed and those who can't save themselves.

It's time to challenge the Empire.




Outer Rim
Tatooine

Daceros couldn't help but feel a bit of anger as he watched the Imperial holonet from his seat at the bar. The announcer was smiling as she reported that a small group of resistance fighters had been wiped out on Coruscant. The former Mandalorian shook his armored head.

A hundred credits says that they were most likely holding a demonstration and the imps sent in the stormtroopers in. Wouldn't put it past them. He thought as he continued watching the holonet transmission.

At least the jedi had honor. He thought bitterly as he caught the bartender's attention and pointed at his empty glass. The bartender nodded nervously and refilled the glass with his favorite drink.


Tatooine
Docking Bay 12

Delas couldn't help but wonder how she had gotten herself into this situation as she looked at the three seperate blaster rifles pointed at her.

"Look...This is all a big misunderstanding. I was supposed to deliver this shipment to an imperial officer named Kyral. I don't know why he's not here but this is perfectly legal."

One of the stormtroopers looked at the other two next to him and let out something that sounded like a laugh.

"Captain Kyral was killed in action against Tusken Raiders nearly two days ago. There is no one alive who can back up your claims and that means that your cargo is now property of the Galactic Empire. You will accompany us back to base and your ship will be seized in accordance with Imperial law."

Delas was tempted to go for her blaster but she knew she wouldn't reach it in time.

((Merged.))


Rebel Heavy Cruiser, in orbit above Tatooine

Aside from having a keen eye, Caton Drea was known for being persistent. He had recently boarded a Rebel Acclaimator Heavy Cruiser using a small Imperial fleet of a few frigates as a distraction. In the confusion, he docked his one-man fighter in the hangar. He had received word of Jedi on the ship, thanks to a spy. The mission was simple: get in, kill the engines, get out, and then hunt down the survivors once the ship crashes on Tatooine. Simple enough, he's done something similar in the past. As he watched other fighters dock into the hangar, he quickly dispatched what few Rebels were in the vicinity. He made his way into a hall, sending some Stormtroopers to disperse to cover more ground. He made his way to the engine deck, activating his prototype stealth generator.

Rebel Heavy Cruiser, Bridge

Darrek Ulgo was on the bridge, watching the space battle through an observatory window. He spotted numerous ships slipping into the hangar bay in the confusion.

"Sir! We're being boarded!", Ulgo said to the commanding officer.

Two Days Before.
Tatooine
The Eastern Dune Sea

A dark smile appeared over Kelarra's face. Executing her plan perfectly, she had manged to draw the imperial officer Kyral, far out into the Eastern Dune Sea with less then a dozen men with him. She took her lightsaber from her belt and prepared herself.

From behind the slabs of sandy rocks, she watched Kyral and his stormtroopers march across the sand, waiting for them to get close enough to spring her attack. Only A little farther imperial scum, She thought to herself. You're walking straight to your death.

Igniting her lightsaber, she leaped over the rocks and sent a rippling force wave towards the group of stormtroopers, sending them flying backwards. She landed beside two of them and cleaved through them both before they could do anything. Kyral tried to draw his blaster, but was picked up with the force and thrown into one of the stormtroopers trying to stand up.

Two other stormtroopers had stood up and managed to fire their blaster rifles, which she deflected right back towards them. One of them was quick enough to duck, the other less agile one collapsed to the ground, dead. Kelarra picked the other one up and yanked him forward, slicing him in two as he flew by. Looking to the left, she saw all of them on their feet except for Kyral and the stormtrooper he had smashed into.

She charged them, deflecting their blaster bolts side to side. The bodies of four more stormtroopers hit the sand. The remaining trooper pushed Kyral off of him and stood up, firing at the jedi repeatedly. Kelarra defended against the barrage, and then threw her lightsaber at him, finishing off the last one. Catching her lightsaber, she then turned to Kyral.

Kyral was already dead. He lay face down in the sand, a smoking hole was in the back on his uniform. She looked up to see four Tusken Raiders Charging and shouting at her, with vibroblades. Sand people, great. She thought to herself. She went into a defensive stance and waited for them. Before reaching her though, the tusken raiders stopped, one of them drawing something from a pouch, threw it at her.

Is that a....Grenade? Since when did sand people have explosives? She wondered, as she grabbed the grenade with the force and tossed back towards the tusken raiders. The explosion killed two of them, the other two ran towards her in rage. She cut them both down with ease, then tried to sense for more enemies.

Sensing something behind her she spun around to defend herself. Nothing. By the time she noticed the shimmer it was too late, a green energy bolt had appeared out of thin air and stunned her. She colasped to her knees and then hit the sand, the last thing she saw before she blacked out was a tusken raider deactivating a stealth field generator.

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

Zothressk sat alone in the dark, working at his desk. The only light he had to work by was the sparks his own tools made when they made contact with scraps of metal. The trandoshan didn't consider this a bad thing, he actually prefered it. He had been with the Tusken Raider tribe a little over a month now, and had become a close ally to them.

Their deal worked like this, Zothressk supplied them with better weapons and equipment, and they supplied him with a safe hiding place, and place to work. And it was working really well so far. The only problem was that the materials he could find on tatooine weren't that great, so he couldn't make anything top notch. His most recent weapon he had made for the sand people was a high powered sniper rifle, equiped with his new UD silencer.

Zothressk layed the scopes he had been working on aside and hissed. It pained him that his once great weapon company was now in the hands of the empire. Pulling out his datapad he jotted down an new idea for his special project he was working on. "This is taking far too long." He said outloud to the empty room.

He looked up from his datapad as he heard the sounds of Tusken Raiders giving shouts of praise and victory grunts. Setting his datapad down, he stood up and walked out of his room to see what all the commotion was about. A tusken raider hunting party had just come in and were telling of their encounters, one of them had a knocked out human slung over his shoulder.

The brown robe the human was wearing made him suspicious, but the lightsaber another tusken was carrying confirmed it. This person the sand people had captured was a jedi.

TATOOINE - MOS EISLEY CANTINA

"What'll it be, eh? Juma juice, Shasa ale or me?" The bartender leered at her.

"Just give me a straight whiskey, and hold the ogling." Enobaria Votric fixed the sweaty, jowl-faced human with a glare that would melt all the ice on Hoth. Once she downed a single shot, she signaled for another because the first had been watered down. A little alcohol always managed to calm her nerves before meeting contacts, whether important or negligible. Even those who seemed the most oblivious and obtuse to the goings-on in Mos Eisley could be the most dangerous. Thus, she squared her shoulders and scanned the bustling cantina, known as "CC" by city militia, for her present appointment. Ah: there he is. Ruuto Than's bulbous eyes were hard to miss, even for a Rodian's, because they were rimmed with purple veins. Shuddering a little, Enobaria approached him.

"Greetings, human," Ruuto murmured cheerfully in Basic. "Votric?"

"Yes," Enobaria replied just loudly enough for the reptilian to hear. "Pazaak?" That was the code word for them both to sit down and start playing, but the stakes were not yet high. This ceremony was for show, a formality to distract other cantina patrons and make them think they were ordinary, thirsty people, no different from any other. The Rodian shuffled the deck with practiced ease, and the game began. After a while, she risked a comment:

"I've heard you know what happened to a certain weapons manufacturer."

For a moment, Ruuto simply sat still, as unmoving as a marble statue. Then: "Which? Lots of weapons here, and weapon makers. Be specific, yes?"

"His name is Zothressk, and no one could beat him or his arms. Tell me."

"Trandoshan? No, no. Yes, yes! No. Yes! Heard of him. Fine blasters. Made for Republic, not for Empire. Yes, yes, yes..." He dropped two cards.

Picking them up, Enobaria asked: "Do you know his location? I must find him."

Ruuto shook his head. "Probably dead. Tusken raiders. He got careless." At this insult, the Rodian suddenly found his neck in the grip of Enobaria's palm, and she was beginning to squeeze. Hard. "Not mean it! Why so angry, human female? Don't know why he's hiding with Tuskens. Risks own life."

Enobaria let go of the back of his scaly green neck. "Do you have any way that I can contact him, with or without the Sand People in the way?"

"No, no. Have to fight your way in. You may not get out, unless..."

"Unless...?" She downed another sip of whiskey. This was taking too long.

Hyperspace,
En route to Tatooine

Varias was awoken by the soft sound of her hyperspace control panel letting out a series of soft beeps. She yawned and checked the new information that was coming in and smiled when she saw it.

She would be arriving at Tatooine in a few minutes and with it would be the start of something more than just attacking the Galactic Empire at random and being forced into hiding after each attack. No...with the assistance of the Rebels she would be able to plan coordinated attacks against the Empire and would finally be able to actually leave a lasting impression on them, the Empire would know that the few remaining jedi would not go down without a fight.

"Attention." The computer's voice echoed through her fighter's cockpit. "Arrival at Tatooine in five...four...three...two...one.

Varias began to hit the appropriate controls as the ship came out of hyperspace and her eyes widened when she saw the cruiser she was supposed to meet with under heavy attack by Imperial forces. She growled as she hit a different set of controls and brought the fighter's laser cannons online.

I should have known. She thought angerly as her fighter began to chase down one of the Imperial fighters. She waited until it was directly in the center of her targeting computer before firing the laser cannons and blowing it to pieces.

Next target. She thought as she brought her fighter around and targeted the next one.


Tatooine
Mos Eisley Cantina

Daceros was so focused on his drink that he didn't notice the Rodian who had arrived in the cantina or the woman he was playing Pazaak with. He was a bit interested however when he saw the woman grab the back of the Rodian's neck but he shrugged and got back to his drink. It didn't really matter to him what the two were talking about.

He was on his fourth glass when he felt a sudden tapping on his armor. He slowly turned around to see an Imperial stormtrooper standing behind him. He was tempted to blast the imp where he stood but that would just make him a target.

"What do you want?" He muttered angerly as the Stormtrooper pulled out a datapad and handed to him. "Dispatch from the Tatooine garrison. A tribe of Tusken raiders killed off a large group of stormtroopers and the officer leading them. A reward is being offered for their extermination."

Daceros let out a soft chuckle as his eyes narrowed. "Thats how you imps handle everything isn't it? Someone gives you trouble and you send in the troops?"

The stormtrooper suddenly couldn't breath as Daceros grabbed him by the neck and lifted him. "You tell your CO that I will never take a job from you and your empire. Do you hear me?!" He shouted angerly. The trooper was gasping for air as Daceros finally threw him over the bar and watched as he slammed into a shelf filled with empty bottles. Daceros watched through narrowed eyes as the trooper ran out of the cantina. Daceros simply returned to his drink.

TATOOINE - MOS EISLEY CANTINA

During the altercation between the mysterious, heavily-armored Chiss and the Stormtrooper, Ruuto and Enobaria's mouths formed surprised O's. Neither of them could quite believe what they were seeing. The Empire's soldiers were renowned and feared for their strength, but this Stormtrooper's opponent had beaten him in a matter of seconds! It took a minute for the former Republic agent to make eye contact with the Rodian. "You were saying?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant but failing a little. "I'll have to fight the Tusken raiders in order to find Zothressk, unless...?"

"Unless you disguise yourself as one of them by wearing their clothes."

Enobaria picked up the pazaak deck and shuffled it crisply, a subtle warning. "That's all you have to tell me? Don't you think other people have tried to infiltrate their camp using that exact same method? Don't you also think that those others have inevitably failed?" She shook her head. "Pathetic."

"Hey! Not my fault! I give you valuable intel! Without me, you'd still be wondering where Trandoshan male is!" Enobaria nodded, however much she hated to admit that Ruuto had a point. "Have idea. Chiss male send Stormtrooper running. Let's ask Chiss male how best to deal with raiders, if not to fight them. Ruuto scared of him, but you not seem to be."

She lowered her voice. "The only thing of which I'm afraid is the Empire."

"Good, good!" the Rodian exclaimed nervously. "You go first, yes?" Rising from her seat, Enobaria approached the Chiss and cleared her throat gently.

"Excuse me," she said, "but I couldn't help but admire your amazing display of sheer power. Stormtroopers make me ill." She extended her gloved hand. "My name is Enobaria Votric, and I was wondering if you knew anything about infiltrating Tusken camps without a fight." She gave the Chiss a sly wink. "The Rodian's name is Ruuto, but as far as I'm concerned, it may as well be 'mud'."

Tatooine
Mos Eisley Cantina

"Excuse me, but I couldn't help but admire your amazing display of sheer power. Stormtroopers make me ill."

The chiss turned away from his drink to look down at the woman. "A lot of people these days share that opinion." He muttered. "Stormtroopers are cowards, they only attack when they find someone weaker then they are or when they're numbers give them an advantage."

"My name is Enobaria Votric, and I was wondering if you knew anything about infiltrating Tusken camps without a fight."

The chiss raised his eyebrows in surprise. Usually people didn't mind taking out a few tusken raiders and no one had ever asked him how to get by them without a fight. Not that he didn't know but still...it was an unusual question.

Daceros turned towards the bar and grabbed his drink before turning back to face the woman and the Rodian.

"Didn't think I'd ever hear someone ask how to get by Tusken raiders without a fight. Usually people want to know the best way to kill them."

The chiss extended one of his armored hands. "The name is Daceros. And to answer your question there are a few ways to avoid battles with them. The first is a stealth field generator. Just make sure you don't wear one during a sand storm. The sand is small enough to get through and wreck havoc with the circuits which can cause it to go offline."

"Second way is to try and sneak in at night with a stealth field generator. At night most of them are either out looking for water and food or sleeping. A quiet person can sneak in the camp, take what they need and leave without a fight."

"I myself prefer the direct approach when it comes to dealing with them. I've been stuck on tatooine for nearly seven moths now and I've dealt with them a few times while out in the Dune sea. The best way to earn their respect is to issue a challenge to their leader and win or defeat one of their scouting parties. When my ship crashed on tatooine I was stuck in the dune sea for around three days before I was found by a tusken raider scouting party. I managed to defeat them but I didn't kill them."

Daceros grinned as he remembered that event. "Eventually I ran out of water and I guess they must have been watching me. I passed out and the next thing I knew was that I woke up in one of the sand people camps. They could have killed me at any time but they didn't."

The chiss shook his head. "One of the few things Tusken raiders respect is strength. If you can overcome their scouting parties or show them your strength through some other means you should be fine."

Tatooine, Mos Eisley

"You there, twi'lek!", a sand trooper shouted as he ran up to Elyshar Dourshe - who was heading to the cantina.

"What do you want?", the former Jedi spat in an almost condescending manner.

"Judging by the lightsaber on your belt, I am required by the Order of the Empire to restrain you.", he said, starting to shake. "That is your lightsaber, correct?"

"Yes, it is my lightsaber.", he said, grabbing his double-bladed lightsaber and igniting it - the silver blade shimmering beautifully. "Just what are you going to do about it?"

"I am authorized to use lethal force. Please do not make this difficult.", he said, visibly shaking as he held up his rifle.

Elyshar wasted no time in impaling the pathetic trooper. He quickly pulled up his hood and deactivated his lightsaber. He walked into the cantina to disappear into the mass of people.

Tatooine, Mos Eisley Cantina

Darasuum Kandosii was a heavily armored taung. He was standing in a corner with his arms folded, watching an armored chiss throw around a sandtrooper, and the trooper promptly leaving. He chuckled as he walked past the people - getting next to the chiss. He looked to his side to see a rodian and a human.

"Kandosii! Gal'gala." (Nice one! Allow me to buy you a drink.), he said in Mando'a, pulling credits out of a pocket on his heavy armor.

Rebel Heavy Cruiser, Bridge

Darrek Ulgo ordered several men to head to the hangar and hold off the intruders. He, meanwhile, would head to the control center - where he saw a group of Imperials heading to when he glanced through a security camera.

He ran down a series of hallways - completely empty save for a few stray blaster shots elsewhere in the ship. Breaking down the security door, he gunned down two Imperials, before taking cover against a wall. He lobbed a grenade at the other side of the room, killing three more Imperials.

The Imperial Commander was reckless, firing wildly at the doorway. Darrek rushed past him, pulling out his pistol as he shot two Stormtroopers in the visors. He turned and shot the remaining Imperial with his rifle in his other hand. He glared down the Commander, putting away his pistol and pointing his rifle at him.

"Your commander, where is he?", Darrek demanded. With no response, he walked forward. "Your commander. Where. Is He?", he demanded again, pressing his rifle barrel against the Imperial's cheek.

"Engine Deck! He's in the Engine Deck! You'll never get him though.", the Commander revealed, shaking.

"Thank you.", Darrek said. He put away his rifle, but not before kicking him in the genitals - knocking him out. Going through the computer terminal, the Imperials were able to successfully shut down the weapons systems, and ejected all of the escape pods. They also vented the hangar.

Damnit! They killed themselves as well as us!

"Commander, I incapacitated the Imperial Commander, but they vented the Hangar and shut down the ship's weapon systems and ejected all escape pods. I'm heading down to the engine bay to prevent sabotage from their leader.", Darrek said through his comlink. He heard shouting from the other end, and hastily ran to the Engine Deck.

Rebel Heavy Cruiser, Engine Deck

Caton sliced through the heavy doors with no difficulty. His distraction worked flawlessly - he lured most of the ship's defenders to the Hangar, and received word of it being vented. The stormtroopers are expendable; they can't even shoot at a target standing still. Assuming so, they most likely also shut down the weapons and ejected all escape pods. He hasn't received an update for several minutes, so he assumed they didn't shut down life support in the bridge.

He killed what few technicians were actually on the level. He wandered around until he found the access nodes to the engines. And he promptly shut them down, one by one. Also having a series of mines with him, he installed them next to the engines in case something went awry. The effects were immediate. After shutting down the main engines, the ship lurched to the left - entering an accelerated orbital decay.

"What do you think you're doing!", he heard a voice from above, and then he turned to see an armored soldier - dropping down from the doorway.

"You're too late, the ship is already in orbital decay.", Caton said tersely, activating his stealth field generator.

Darrek wasn't impressed. He's dealt with saboteurs before. He activated the thermal vision on his visor - only to find he couldn't find him! The field was shielding him from his vision! He then felt a sharp kick to the back of his leg, and a heavy hand coming down onto his collarbone, knocking him to the ground.

"Open fire on the ship. I'm going to make my escape.", he heard Caton say.

Determined not to let him escape, he got up and tackled the saboteur, who had disabled his stealth field. They were both grappling each other on the ground before a blast distracted him, allowing Caton to kick him away. Blasts occurring in succession, the ship lurched to the left - violently. He grabbed his pistol and opened fire at Caton - some of the shots connecting. The saboteur ran, and he gave chase. A few seconds later, a huge explosion knocked him to the ground. The engines exploded! And it caused a hull breach! He felt himself being drawn to the Engine Room, so he promptly grabbed an archway and kicked at the access panel, sealing the door.

He turned his head to find the saboteur was nowhere to be found. Cursing to himself, he walked down the hall and opened his comlink. "Commander, do you read me? The saboteur escaped and crippled our engines." He hastily made his way to the bridge.

"One of the few things Tusken raiders respect is strength. If you can overcome their scouting parties or show them your strength through some other means, you should be fine."

Enobaria ordered a third shot of whiskey. "Do you have any ideas on what those 'other means' might be, Daceros? I'm a good fighter, but not phenomenal. My skills lie more in diplomatic relations than warfare, but something tells me Tuskens don't negotiate except with weapons. Would you be willing to help me? I'm actually looking for a friend of mine, whom this Rodian said is hiding with the raiders for some reason. He used to manufacture arms for the Republic, before it..." She started to say fell, but stopped herself just in time. "Before it became the Empire, I mean. Now he's with the sand people? I don't get it..."

Mos Eisley Cantina

"Do you have any ideas on what those 'other means' might be, Daceros? I'm a good fighter, but not phenomenal. My skills lie more in diplomatic relations than warfare, but something tells me Tuskens don't negotiate except with weapons. Would you be willing to help me? I'm actually looking for a friend of mine, whom this Rodian said is hiding with the raiders for some reason. He used to manufacture arms for the Republic, before it..."

Daceros suddenly frowned for a moment as old memories were brought up at the thought of combat but he shook his head and a smiled appeared on his face. "I can give you a hand out there. Been a bit since I was out in Tusken raider territory and I could use the trip."

"Before it became the Empire, I mean. Now he's with the sand people? I don't get it..."

A sudden thought came to mind. "Hmmm...Actually hiding out with the Tusken raiders isn't a bad idea. Even the Empire prefers to leave the Tusken Raiders alone unless they have an ace up their sleeves. This friend of yours...what does he do?"

"Kandosii! Gal'gala." (Nice one! Allow me to buy you a drink.),

Daceros's eyes widened as he slowly turned to look at the armored man who had appeared next to him. Although he had only understood a few words of it, he knew the name of the language.

"Excuse me for a moment. I need to speak with this one." he said pointing at the armored man next to him.

He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small translation device and activated and hoped that it would translate the Mandalorian's language. He had no idea who this man was but he knew the language of the original Mandalorian race and to say that that was interesting was an understatment. It was amazing.

"What species are you?" he asked as the small translator beeped and started translating.


Orbit around Tatooine.

Varias knew her fighter couldn't take much more as a small squad of fighters continued to fire at her. With the cruiser's engines out of comission the fighters had turned their attention back towards her fighter and it was taking all her skill not to hit debries left over from the battle.

This is a battle that can't be won. She thought as one of the her fighter's laser cannon's was shot off. She turned her small fighter towards the sand covered surface of Tatooine and pushed her fighter to it's limits. The way she saw this, she would either be able to lose them in the atmosphere or they would break off their attack and head back.

Either way, this is most likely going to hurt. she thought as the surface of the planet filled her view.

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

Zothressk stood with the tusken raider hunting party and listened to the stories of their encounters. The jedi, was currently tied up in a prison cell. They talked about battles with sand beasts and with other tusken hunting parties from different tribes. The tusken leading their hunting party, Haruuugh, held up a broken gaffi stick and laughed, comparing it to his vibroblade made by Zothressk.

Somewhat of a small smile appeared over Zothressk's face. He was proud of the victories his weapons were bringing to the tuskens. In truth, he had grown rather fond of the tusken tribe, but he knew he would have to leave soon. I've already spent too much time on tattoine. He thought to himself, With every day that passes the empire roots out more and more of the remaining republic survivors.

Just then Haruuugh started talking about their short encounter with the "shining blade". "The human managed to kill four of my comrades, but in the end, she was no match for us, or your stealth generators Zothressk." Haruuugh said. One of the other tuskens held up the lightsaber, and asked, "What should we do with this? Should we give it to the chief?" Haruuugh shook his head. "No, we are the ones who captured the human, we should keep the shining blade." He said, snatching the lightsaber from the other tusken.

"Perhaps you should let me hold on to it," Zothressk spoke up, "I bet I could do some major upgrades on that." Haruugh thought about this, then nodded. "Excellent idea Zothressk, you can improve anything you lay your hands on." He agreed, handing over the lightsaber. "If it's not too much trouble, I need to speak to the prisoner." Zothressk said, hooking the lightsaber to his belt. "You'll have to talk to the chief about that." Haruuugh said, "Why would you want to speak to the human anyway?"

"Thats my business Haruuugh, good luck with your next hunt." Zothressk said, starting to walk towards the large tusken meeting room where the chief currently was.

Tatooine
Dune Sea

Rarakor knew that Tatooine had a reputation as a world with an unforgiving climate but he hadn't expected it to be this hot. The wookiee was sweating heavily and was severely dehydrated but he continued walking towards Mos Eisley.

Find him...The angry wookiee thought repeatedly as he continued to stagger across the dune sea. Find the murderer. Avenge Kashyyk! The wookiee's senses were dulled by the heat of Tatooine's twin suns and the lack of water but he knew that something was watching him. The problem was that he couldn't tell where this something was. The wind was carrying the sounds and smells of this planet all around him and it was confusing his senses. This was an unfamiliar hunting ground.

It was at that moment that the something that was tracking him made a noise that he couldn't mistake even in his dehydrated state.

Whoever it was was right behind him.

The wookiee turned around quickly but wasn't fast enough as he was only halfway turned around when a blunt object cracked him hard across the skull and he hit the ground with a thud.

The last thing that he heard before blacking out was the grunting and victorious howls of a party of tusken raiders. Of course he didn't know the name of the species, he only knew that he had failed in his quest. And he would most likely wake up as a captive.

((Warlord, could you have the raiders take him to the camp?))

Tyler was approaching Tatooine in a pilot-only craft he had stolen from the Imps, when the engines failed. His vessel crashed into the ground but thanks to a bit of luck, the cockpit was barely damaged.
The engines shouldn't have just cut out like that...

He attempted to get out of the ship, but found that the hatch was stuck closed. He tried everything he knew technically to get it open, and then physically, but to no avail. He was trapped, unfortunately.

Rebel Heavy Cruiser, Secondary Docking Bay

Caton limped his way to the secondary docking bay. That blasted Ulgo gave him some good shots - and he isn't going to get away with it. Having left the secondary hangar bay alone, he opened the doors and escaped the crippled cruiser by one of the fighters that was on the ground. The remaining fleet dispersed, and he contemplated opening fire on the bridge.

No. That would ruin the hunt., he thought - thinking that it would remove the thrill of hunting them down once the cruiser crashed. He stayed a distance away as he watched the cruiser enter Tatooine's atmosphere.


Tatooine, Mos Eisley Cantina

Elyshar went to the bar and ordered a drink. He turned to see an Imperial darting out of the cantna. He paid no heed to the group a few feet away from him, but the armored man did catch his interest for a few seconds. He received his drink and took a sip, looking at the holoscreen on the opposite wall.

***

Darusuum noticed the chiss pull out a translator. "No need. I could speak Basic. I just prefer not to most of the time.", he said, with a gesture of his hand.

What species are you?

"Mandalorian.", he replied. "Name's Darasuum Kandosii. It's Mando'a for Eternally Indomitable, a very honorable name in our culture.".

He noticed a twi'lek stare at him for a few moments before looking away. He noticed just a tip of a lightsaber poking out of the folds of his armored robe.

"The offer still stands, would you like me to buy you a drink?"

Tatooine
Mos Eisley Cantina

"The offer still stands, would you like me to buy you a drink?"

Daceros nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes I would. I apologize for the hesitation but to be honest...I've never heard someone speak the language of the first Mandalorians. It was a bit of a shock. to hear it."

Daceros turned to look at Enobaria and the Rodian before turning back to look at the armored man. "Tell me...have you tested your strength against the native Tusken Raiders?"

He motioned towards Enobaria and the Rodian. "From what your saying, I gathered that the two of you are planning on taking a trip out towards Tusken Raider territory. If you need my help then I'll give it under one condition: When you leave this planet, I would appreciate it if you took me with you."

The chiss sighed. "I've been stuck here for awhile and I tire of seeing nothing but sand everywhere. I'm tired of having to take shelter whenever a sand storm forms. Get me out of here and I'll gladly assist you."

The armored chiss turned as he heard the door to the cantina open and narrowed his eyes as a group of about nine stormtroopers entered the cantina with their weapons at the ready.

"Hmph. I probably shouldn't have roughed that trooper up. Looks like he brought friends."


Tatooine
Docking bay 12

Delas was just for a moment tempted to run for her blaster but the need to vanished a moment later as the trooper's comnlinks went off.

"Attention. A Rebel Cruiser has been shot down and is currently in the process of crashing in the Dune Sea. All available units are to proceed to base and prepare to hunt down rebel survivors. All units are to respond immediatly."

The two troopers immediatly turned and left without a word and Delas was able to breath a sigh of relief as she headed towards her ship only to notice something when she reached the bridge.

The controls has been shot out. The hyperdrive computer had been wiped. And no matter what she did she couldn't access the backups to restore the data.

She slammed her fist down on the control board and swore violently as she ran to the cargo bay and grabbed a case of credits.

She needed to find a slicer. Someone who could get past the damage and get the data back.


Tatooine

Varias rapidly hit the thrusters as she tried to get her ship under control as it continued heading for the dune sea. As her fighter went down however, she saw that a small ship had hit the sand not far from where it looked like she was about to crash.

It was looking grim for her as she threw all the ship's power to the thrusters on the bottom of the ship and hoped to the force that she didn't die.

Tatooine, Mos Eisley Cantina

"Tell me...have you tested your strength against the native Tusken Raiders?"

"I've taken down beasts larger than you with my bare hands. I'm sure these 'Tusken Raiders', are going to be nothing more than a nuisance."

Darasuum turned to his right to see a group of stormtroopers enter.

"Hmph. I probably shouldn't have roughed that trooper up. Looks like he brought friends."

"Watch how a true warrior does it.", he said as he walked into the middle of the group.

He grabbed the closest trooper and forcefully drove his knuckles through the helmet's faceplate, obliterating it and sending the trooper to the ground. He used his momentum to drive his elbow into the chest of the trooper to his side; he then grabbed his leg and dropped him to the floor. As one of the troopers began to fire, he sidestepped and grabbed the rifle by the barrel, and then kicked the trooper in the knees with his right leg. He followed it with a punch to the neck, and wrenched the rifle from his grasp. He smashed the barrel of the rifle into another trooper's helmet, and then grabbed his body as a shield from more blaster fire. He kicked the body into a group of troopers, and tackled a lone trooper into the bar. He grabbed his rifle and shot at the legs of the remaining troopers, before throwing it into the center of the group.

***

Elyshar was watching the fight between the armored man and a group of stormtroopers. A few people were scurrying out of the cantina, while others stayed to watch. The fight was in his advantage until he tackled a trooper into the bar and nearly into him. He saw the remaining stormtroopers ready their rifles, and he wasn't going to let them gun him down. He used the force to lift the four troopers into the air. He contemplated what to do with them for a moment, and then threw them into the opposite end of the cantina - each of them either smashing into a light, table, or wall. As he walked up to the armored man, they turned to see the other troopers getting up.

Rebel Heavy Cruiser, Tatooine Atmosphere

Darrek saw the transparisteel windows glow red-hot with friction as the ship entered Tatooine's atmosphere. He saw the yellow sand grow closer and closer, until the ship collided with the ground. He saw explosions and parts of the ship collapsing until passing out.

Tyler could only look upwards and noticed the other ship coming to crash land. All he could do was watch, trapped as he was. He tried to use a knife to get through the cockpit glass, but after a couple attempts, and not so much as a dent, he gave up.

Wonder if anyone will survive that crash? There are some strange symbols on it. Rebels, maybe? That would explain why they are crashing..

Tatooine
Dune Sea

Haruuugh, stood over the body of the unconscious and grunted in victory. "The chief will reward me for this fine catch." He said, gloating. Another tusken raider looked up at the sky, "We should head back to the caves, the sky is streaked with fire." he said, sounding scared. Haruuugh pointed towards the wookie, and they moved to pick him up. "Let us hurry then." Haruugh said.

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

Zothressk stood in the tusken meeting room and hissed, he had been waiting for the chief to finish his meeting with some of the tribe elders hours, he had only just finished. The chief, Ruurarrrruor, stood up and grunted a hello towards the trandoshan. "The new rifles you made us are very effective," Ruurarrrruor said, "My warriors tell me they will never use their old ones again. We are grateful for your help."

"I'm grateful to you and your tribe aswell, for letting me stay here." Zothressk said, "But I need to ask you something, about the human prisoner that Haruuugh's group just brought in." Ruurarrrruor was silent, and Zothressk assumed he was puzzeled, so he continued. "The human prisoner is a friend of mine, and I wish to speak to her, and if at all possible, I wish her released."

He didn't really know who the human was, but he did know she was a jedi, and jedi were once great warriors for the republic. Ruurarrrruor shook his head, "She was trespassing on my tribes territory, Haruuugh told me she killed four of my warriors, to release her would be betrayal to my people. I cannot let her go." Zothressk nodded, "I understand, may I at least speak with her?" he asked, hopefully. Ruurarrrruor hesitated, then answered. "I see no harm in this, you may speak to the human prisoner."

Zothressk nodded, "Thank you Ruurarrrruor, you are a very honorable leader, and warrior." The tusken chief stood in silence for a moment, then spoke. "You may not be one of my race, Zothressk, but you are one of my people, and you are part of this tribe. I trust you more then many of my own kind."

Zothressk left the meeting room and walked towards to prison pens. I can't stay here any longer, the empire has to be stopped, and maybe this jedi can help me. He thought to himself. Several tusken guards sat near the prison cells, some of them held stun blasters that he had made for them. He walked passed the cells, until he found the person he was looking for.

Kelarra looked up to see a trandoshan starring at her. She was tied up and couldn't move and her vision was still fuzy from the stun blast. What is a trandoshan doing in the middle of a tusken camp? She wondered. The trandoshan spoke to her, "You are a jedi, am I correct?" he asked. Kelarra remained silent, she felt no need to tell this person anything about herself. Zothressk sighed, and shook his head. "I want to help you jedi, I was once part of the republic, and I'm working on a plan to stop the empire." he said, trying to convince her.

Kelarra was suspicious. "Why should I listen to anything that comes out of your scalely mouth?" she asked him. "Because i'm telling you the truth," He answered "I used to own one of the greatest weapon companies in the republic, and i've been avoiding the empire for almost a year. If you'll trust me, I believe I can get you out of here."

Kelarra listened to the trandoshan and thought about what he said, Is he telling the truth? What if this is all some kind of imperial trick? Who is this trandoshan? Her mind raced with different questions. Zothressk turned around as he heard the sounds of footsteps, two tusken raiders were walking towards them, dragging a wookie behind them. The tuskens dropped the wookie in an adjacent cell and shackled him to the wall. It looks likes Haruuugh's on a roll today." Zothressk thought to himself.

Tatooine
Mos Eisley Cantina

"Watch how a true warrior does it."

Daceros raised his eyebrow as he watched the armored man who called himself Darasuum Kandosii managed to take down the entire squad of stormtroopers without breathing heavily. It was a bit of a shock to also see a few of the stormtroopers lifted up into the air and thrown around the cantina.

"Impressive." Daceros said while nodding his head in approval. "I haven't seen a display of fighting skills like that in quite a while. I should be the one buying you a drink after that display."

He turned to look at one of the other patrons approaching the table. A green skinned twi'lek who had also managed to avoid being harmed during the brawl.

He turned to look at Darasuum, Enobaria and the rodian and motioned towards the door. "I think we should discuss our business somewhere else. I have a feeling that this place is going to be swarming with more stormtroopers any moment now."

He turned to look at Enobaria. "I'll cover you. Just let me know where you need to go."


Tatooine
Dune Sea

Varias cursed her luck. She had crashed on the most inhospitable planet in the system and she had no idea where to go or in which direction civilization was...there was however another fighter that had crashed nearby. Possibly a survivor from the rebel cruiser that had been shot down.

She sighed heavily, exited her fighter and headed off in the direction of the other fighter and kept her hand on her lightsaber. But a sudden thunderous sound that echoed across the barren Tatooine sky caught her attention.

That ship the imps shot down is going to hit the sand soon. I can't be around when that happens. She thought as she started running.


Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

Rarakor muttered under his breath as his eyes slowly opened and without thinking he tried to move his arms only to find himself chained to a wall. He let out a furious roar as he attempted to get free.

(("Who dares to imprison me!? Come forth and fight like warriors!)) He roared again.

TATOOINE - MOS EISLEY CANTINA

"Please take me to the Tusken raider camp," Enobaria replied crisply. "I've never tested my strength against them, but if that's what I need to do in order to find my contact, I'll do it. His name is Zothressk, and he's a weapons manufacturer. Don't worry; he's not with the Empire, even though they offered him a deal he couldn't refuse. The thing is, he did, and now I have word from Ruuto that he's here on Tatooine and 'hiding' with the raiders. You may wonder why I need to find Zothressk instead of another weapons tech to share what I know, but there is no one else I trust more than the Trandoshan. He may be lethal and brutal under certain circumstances, but he also hates Sith more than anyone. I would rather have him on my side than someone 'out of the loop', if you get my meaning." Enobaria didn't tell Daceros the other half of her story, and why she was fixed on locating her scaly ally. She was beginning to trust him, but how could she explain about what Zothressk knew without endangering his life?

Tyler went through his equipment again, finding little to use in this scenario. The inner release was jammed (and broken off), the console for controling the fighter (and its various parts, like the emergency release) was completely fried, and apparently cut from its power source. There was an outer release latch, though it was bent and Tyler couldn't reach it from here, within the cockpit. Inside of the console, he found that most of the inner components had been disconnected (presumably by the crash) and traveled down a half-hand sized hole.

If I could get out, I could find out why the engines failed, but that doesn't solve my situation or change the fact that I'm going to need a new ship if I want to get out of here.

Just then he noticed a large ship decending at a rather rapid pace. He calculated that it wouldn't hit him directly, though depending on how it impacted and how the sand shifted as a result, the cockpit he was in could be buried in sand, rolled over, hit by debris, or any combination of those things.

Just my luck I suppose...

He also noticed a black figure moving across the sand quickly, but he couldn't gather much information due to the distance.

Not a sand person, and that would be a huge Jawa. I bet it is a survivor from that other craft. Did they see me?

Many thoughts raced around in the head of this trapped human.

Tatooine
Dune Sea

Varias was running as quickly as she could when she saw that the fighter that had gone down near her held a person inside. She looked at a few far off large boulders that could possibly give a small amount of shelter but if she stopped to help the person in the fighter she might not reach them in time.

The former jedi looked up at the sky at the ship which was now much closer then it had been earlier and then back at the fighter.

No choice. She thought to herself as she ran towards the fighter and ignited her lightsaber just in case. As she approached the fighter she found that a few of the mysteries surrounding this fighter became clear.

The reason the one inside had not left the fighter was because it looked like the controls on the outside were jammed. She could tell just by looking that the engines had either been sabotaged or shot.

She held her ignited lightsaber up and motioned for the human inside to move to the side so she could cut a hole.


Tatooine
Mos Eisley Cantina

"I've never tested my strength against them, but if that's what I need to do in order to find my contact, I'll do it. His name is Zothressk, and he's a weapons manufacturer. Don't worry; he's not with the Empire, even though they offered him a deal he couldn't refuse. The thing is, he did, and now I have word from Ruuto that he's here on Tatooine and 'hiding' with the raiders. You may wonder why I need to find Zothressk instead of another weapons tech to share what I know, but there is no one else I trust more than the Trandoshan. He may be lethal and brutal under certain circumstances, but he also hates Sith more than anyone. I would rather have him on my side than someone 'out of the loop', if you get my meaning."

Daceros smiled. "Don't worry. I'll get you out there. But with all the activity thats been going on we might want to leave. Now." He said quietly as two larger groups of stormtroopers entered the cantina.

He turned to look over at Darasuum and the Twi'lek. "I think it would be best if we left as soon as possible. Sooner or later they're going to pull out the big guns and we'll be in more trouble."

He looked at the Twi'lek. "I take it your not with the Imps?" He asked. He had a feeling that the Twi'lek had been somehow responsible for the stormtroopers that had been thrown through the air. There was a...look to the Twi'lek that Daceros just couldn't place.

Tyler's eyes widened and he quickly moved away.

Oh ****. That's either a Jedi, or someone who has killed a Jedi... Either way, I couldn't stand a chance in a fight with them.

Tyler could only watch and wait for his fate to be determined by this stranger. He placed his knives in their sheathes and gathered his belongings as the light saber was cutting a hole. After putting everything he planned to carry with him on his person, he placed his hands in the air in the attempt to ward off hostility.

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

One of the tusken raiders backed up, startled at the wookie's sudden awakening.

(("Who dares to imprison me!? Come forth and fight like warriors!))

The other tusken who had helped drag the wookie in drew his gaffi stick and jabbed at him, ordering him to be silent. "Thats enough!" Zothressk hissed, "It is not wise to anger a wookie, i've seen them tare the limbs of warriors far more fearsome then you." He warned.

The tusken raider grunted, then backed off, gesturing to his companion for him to follow. Kelarra stared at the wookie for a while then turned back to the trandoshan, "If you really want to help me get out of here i'm going to need my lightsaber. Do you think you can handle that?" She asked.

"Actually, I already have." He said, showing her the lightsaber. "But if at all possible, I want to avoid fighting our way out. Just give me time to think of a plan, i'll get you out of here." Kelarra leaned her back against the wall and worked to get her hands free. "If you take too long, i'll break out of here by myself." She told him.

Zothressk walked over to the wookie's cell, interested in how he ended up on tatooine. "Can you understand basic?" He asked.

Tatooine, Mos Eisley Cantina

"I haven't seen a display of fighting skills like that in quite a while. I should be the one buying you a drink after that display."

The Mandalorian laughed heartily. "That was nothing. You should've seen me against these two Iridorians. That was a good one."

"I think we should discuss our business somewhere else. I have a feeling that this place is going to be swarming with more stormtroopers any moment now."

"Agreed.", Elyshar said. "I have a ship we could talk freely on. It's in one of the docking bays."

Tatooine, Eastern Dune Sea, Rebel Heavy Cruiser Crash Site

Darrek Ulgo awoke some time after the ship had crashed. His vision was heavily disoriented, and he looked around to see his surroundings. The bridge was destroyed - with transparisteel littering the floor, exposed power cables, collapsed ceiling, some burnt metal, and much of the surroundings simply wrecked. Just a huge mess. He pulled himself up, and tried to find a way out. He saw an opening, but it was impossible to pull himself through it in his current state. He instead walked down what used to be the hallway that connected the bridge to the rest of the ship.

He turned to see a blood pool where he was laying, and he was making a blood trail. He nearly collapsed as he went further down the hallway. He shook his head, taking a left to see a collapsed hallway. He was beginning to see more sand the deeper he went into the ship, until it essentially became the floor. He saw a large opening and pulled himself through it.

It was now, free of the ship's confines, that he took a good look of his state. Much of his armor was melted or broken, and there were shards of metal that were buried in his mesh. His visor also had a very large crack through it, and most of the built-in programs were inoperable. He looked ahead to see two crash sites, and he wondered if they were shot down from the space battle too. He made his way to one of the ships, but collapsed from exhaustion when he was halfway there.

TATOOINE - MOS EISLEY CANTINA

"You don't have to tell ME twice," murmured Enobaria as she walked quickly toward the doors of the cantina. Since she had no blood, gore, or other ghastly remnants of a lethal fight splattered all over her body, she found it easier to sneak out with the rest of the panicked crowd, humans and aliens alike, than others did. Once she was outside the doors, she ducked behind a trash bin.

"Greetings," the trash bin said. "I am L-382. Please deposit your garbage within me, the proper receptacle. I am a licensed and classified disposal droid."

"I'm not garbage," Enobaria said, "but can I hide inside you anyway?"

"Whatever for?" said the droid. "Very well, madam. Climb in." With that, the former Republic spy clambered into the bin and shut the lid firmly. Outside, she could hear more stormtroopers charging inside the cantina.

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

"Can you understand basic?"

Rarakor stared at the Transdoshan for a moment and than narrowed his eyes. "((Yes...I understand Basic. I do not speak it though. Who are you? And why do you ally yourself with these hunters? Most of your kind do not ally themselves with others."))



Tatooine
Mos Eisley Cantina

"That was nothing. You should've seen me against these two Iridorians. That was a good one."

Daceros chuckled as they left the cantina only to find three heavily armed stormtroopers wating outside checking the IDs of those who were leaving. The chiss frowned. "I'm going to assume that they're looking for either your or me. Or possibly both of us."

"I have a ship we could talk freely on. It's in one of the docking bays."

Daceros looked over at Enobaria who was currently hiding herself in a waste disposal droid. "Alright. I think the best plan is to split ourselves up and meet at the docking bays. I'll escort Enobaria to the ship. Which docking bay is it located in?"



Tatooine
Dune Sea

Varias shook her head as she finally cut a hole in the cockpit and grabbed the human by one of his raised hands and pulled him out. "I have a feeling that you are not imperial and that means you have nothing to fear. But now is not a time to make introductions, now is the time to run."

She pointed up at the falling rebel cruiser which was now extremley close to hitting the sand. She grabbed the human's hand just as the ship hit the sand.

A large wave of sand erupted from the ground and covered the small ship she had just pulled the human out of nearly instantly. The Jedi concentrated for a moment and a barrier of force energy surrounded the two of them.

"Hold on!" She shouted as the sand shifted around them. Varias struggled to keep on her feet. She knew that if she lost her balance and fell she would most likely be covered in an instant.

As she struggled to keep her balance she saw what looked like a figure heading for the site where the fighter had been a moment ago but it looked as if he had fallen.

Tyler didn't respond, though he allowed her to move him. He was a little surprised to find that this woman was a Cathar, but more surprised when the sand came and somehow didn't bury them. He could almost see her will forcing the sand away from them. He was rather shocked.
Must be the Force. That is amazing..

Tyler didn't have much experience with Force-users, of either side. He didn't generally socialize with many others, unless they were asking for help, or there was a crisis. And the Imperial Force-users, well, he was sneaky enough to avoid most encounters with them.

Tyler kept his gaze on the Cathar's face, watching the expression shift, if only slightly, as she imposed her will on the sand. Something told him not to interrupt her concentration, and he followed that instinct.

((Once again, I apologize for the long wait.))

Tatooine
Dune Sea

As the sand continued to shift and threatened to bury the two of them, Varias continued to hold the sand at bay with her force barrier. After a short amount of time, the sand stopped shifting and finally stopped. The former Cathar jedi almost dropped to the ground due to exhaustion but just barely managed to keep on her feet.

She looked over at the human and smiled. "I think that was the worst of it. But right now we may have a bigger problem. That was a rebel ship that went down and knowing how much the Imperials hate the rebellion they're most likely going to send out squads to search the wreckage for survivors."

She looked over in the distance at the figure who was laying out in the sand. "I'm going to assume he's a survivor. We need to get to him before the imps do and then we need to get out of here as quickly as we can before the imps show up."

Tyler remained largely muted, nodding at the last statement. Then he offered his hand for a handshake.
"My name is Tyler, and I am in your debt."

Enobaria climbed out of the disposal bin - that is, the droid - and thanked him - er, it. She then walked over to Daceros. "Thanks for the offer of an escort. I daresay that you're far more skilled at the martial arts, while I favor intrigue. Zothressk, my Trandoshan contact, is a perfectly balanced prototype of what a survivalist should be: warrior, engineer and diplomat all in one. I admire him." She then weighed her options about what to tell or conceal from Daceros. "As a weapons specialist for the Republic, he was second to none. I even suspect that he was working on a certain 'special project' that would target the Sith and their ilk. He may not be able to use the Force, but Zothressk certainly knows how it operates. That means against the Empire, he'll be a monster, if I can find him."

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

"((Yes...I understand Basic. I do not speak it though. Who are you? And why do you ally yourself with these hunters? Most of your kind do not ally themselves with others."))

"My name, is Zothressk, and I am not like most of my kind. I used work with the galactic republic, before the empire took over. Now i'm with the tuskens because it's one of the few places left that I know of thats safe from the empire, and even thats about to change." He explained. Zothressk didn't want to tell everything to a complete stranger, but he was pretty good at spotting when he could make possible allies. If he was going to win this wookie over, he was going to have to show him some trust.

"Have a look." Zothressk said, showing him the republic emblem on his vest. "Even though the republic has fallen, I still wear it proudly, as I always will. The empire can kill me, but they can never take away my beliefs, or my honor. I am not afraid of the empire, and I will do anythi-" Zothressk stopped himself, realizing he had accidently gone into a speach.

"Forgive me, I think some of my anger towards the empire was starting to surface. I don't know if you cared about the republic, but the empire are scum, mindless drones without honor, and the sith that lead them are pure evil."

Zothressk looked at the chains that held the wookie captive, "You didn't come here to get captured by the tuskens, and listen to me I take it? What is a wookie doing all the way out on tatooine? What were you hoping to find amongst the sands of the Dune Sea?"

Tatooine
Dune Sea

"My name is Tyler, and I am in your debt."

Varias turned and extended her hand and smiled. "My name is Varias. And you have nothing to fear from me. Before Order 66 I was a jedi knight. Now my only enemy is the Empire and those who stand with it."

She looked him over for a moment. "If I may ask...are you with the Rebellion by any chance?"



Tatooine
Mos Eisley

"Thanks for the offer of an escort. I daresay that you're far more skilled at the martial arts, while I favor intrigue. Zothressk, my Trandoshan contact, is a perfectly balanced prototype of what a survivalist should be: warrior, engineer and diplomat all in one. I admire him."

Daceros smiled as he pulled his battle worn helmet off the back of his armor and placed it on his head and shook it slightly as the HUD targeting system activated. "To be honest, back in the cantina that was the first time in a long time that I stood up to the Empire. Most likely would have been the only time as well if you hadn't shown up and asked for help."

He looked down at Enobaria and smiled grimly. "At one point I was part of a Mandalorian clan. A clan that valued honor. But the Empire exterminated us for refusing a mission. Now I'm the only one left." He said as he headed towards the stormtroopers.

"Halt. Present your ID chip." The lead stormtrooper ordered. Daceros smiled darkly under the helmet as he pulled it out of one of his poches and handed it to the stormtrooper. The stormtrooper looked at the chip and then up at him and quickly raised his blaster rifle. The other two raised their weapons and pointed them at Daceros.

"So...it looks as if one of Clan Jikor survived. We'll have to fix that won't we?"
The stormtrooper chuckled. Daceros didn't make a sound and the trooper stopped laughing.

"There's a reason I survived where the rest of my clan died." He said quietly as he pulled out a blaster pistol and shot the first trooper directly in the center of his helmet. "I knew when I was outmatched."

He quickly turned to look at Enobaria and motioned for her to get down as the other two began firing their blasters at him. He ducked the first few shots, grabbed one the troopers and threw him at the other one. While both of them were on the ground he quickly shot them both in the head.


"As a weapons specialist for the Republic, he was second to none. I even suspect that he was working on a certain 'special project' that would target the Sith and their ilk. He may not be able to use the Force, but Zothressk certainly knows how it operates. That means against the Empire, he'll be a monster, if I can find him."

Daceros looked down at the dead troopers and back at Enobaria. "If what you say is true...the Empire would be in serious danger. Unfortunatly that also means that they may be looking for him as well. We need to find him first."

An alarm began to sound and Daceros could hear the sound of heavy bootsteps heading in their direction. He looked at the Twi'lek and at Darasuum. "We really need to leave now before they begin locking down the hanger bays."



Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

"You didn't come here to get captured by the tuskens, and listen to me I take it? What is a wookie doing all the way out on tatooine? What were you hoping to find amongst the sands of the Dune Sea?"

((I have fought against the Empire since it formed.")) Rarakor grunted. (("If you are an enemy of the Empire than you may fear nothing from me."))

(("I am not on this planet by choice. I am the Avenger of Kashyyyk and I am searching for a certain Imperial squad that was responsible for the death of my Wife Chalurra and my son Arribecca. They were killed when the Empire attacked our village and now I hunt them across the stars. My ship crashed here due to damage from a previous battle.))

He shook her hand.
"There is no emotion, there is peace."
Instantly he began cloaking his own thoughts with slicing techniques to hide his thoughts from this force-user. He didn't want her to know that he had once sliced a Jedi Holocron, though he had lost it during an Imp raid..

He had read (from one of the Imperial data archives) that keeping the mind full and occupied prevented it from being easily read.

The words had left Tyler's lips before he thought about them, but he continued after them with his mind on full alert,
"I thought Jedi were supposed to be much calmer than to name a whole group their enemy. I am 'with' no one, though I support most of those who oppose the Empire. You may be Jedi, or you may not. However, so long as you do not side with the Empire, I will pay my debt to you."

Tyler released her hand and began walking towards the distant figure she had indicated before.

TATOOINE-HANGAR BAYS

"I agree," Enobaria replied, "but just in case, I have these." She unsheathed her two highly-advanced vibroblades. "They may not cut through Stormtrooper chest plates, but if I can get one near the helmet of one of these Sith-supporting scum, that'll be the end of them. I don't carry lethal weapons only so I can hobnob at parties." With a wink at Daceros, she threw one of her blades at an alarm control box nearby. After a shower of sparks and sizzle of electricity, the former Republic spy picked it up by the hilt. "Which ship is ours, exactly?"

Tatooine
Dune Sea

"I thought Jedi were supposed to be much calmer than to name a whole group their enemy. I am 'with' no one, though I support most of those who oppose the Empire. You may be Jedi, or you may not. However, so long as you do not side with the Empire, I will pay my debt to you."

Varias couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in confusion as Tyler began walking towards the figure who was out in the sand. Not the reaction I usually get...still, as long as he's not with the Empire he has nothing to fear.

She shrugged and started heading towards the figure, she soon found herself walking side by side with Tyler and they soon reached the figure. She knelt down next to the figure who appeared to be a human male but she couldn't be sure as he was still wearing armor and had a vibrosword strapped to his back.

She was about to remove the helmet when she suddenly felt something: A disturbance in the force. She reached out and felt...something that made her fur stand on edge.

"Keep alert. I can sense...something. Some sort of danger near by." She whispered to Tyler.

"Which ship is ours, exactly?"

"Follow me!", Elyshar said, Force shoving a group of Imperials out of his way. Darasuum followed suite, pulling out his slugthrower just in case. The twi'lek made his way to Docking Bay 57-C, and locked down the doors to slow down the Imperials. "The ship is the medium-sized freighter over there."

He lowered the boarding ramp and entered the ship, walking toward the main hold.

"We can discuss freely here. You have no fear of me or my ship.", the Gray Jedi said, assuring the others to stay at ease.

Tyler nodded and took cover behind some nearby rocks. They were flat, beaten by the wind, so he had to go to a prone position in order to get adequate cover. With most of his body now hidden, he watched the Cathar interact with the seemingly unconscious individual they had come across.

((Once again, I apologize for the wait.))

"We can discuss freely here. You have no fear of me or my ship.",

Daceros looked around just to be safe as he made sure that Enobaria was safetly aboard the ship before boarding. His senses were warning him that something was wrong here but he couldn't figure out what it was. He knew that jedi had the ability to sense when danger was nearby but as far as he knew he had no force sensativity to speak of.

He made sure that his blaster pistol was set to stun before turning to face the force user, He was sure this mysterious force user was not a sith since he wasn't dead yet or being force choked...to be honest, he wasn't sure this one was a jedi.

"I think it's time for introductions." He said. "I am Daceros, I was a Mandalorian warrior before the Empire destroyed my clan.


Dune Sea

Varias was about to try and wake the armored individual when she suddenly whipped around just in time to block a gaffi stick that would have most likely bashed in her head.

Tusken Raiders! Where did they come from?!

She extended one of her hands and sent the raider flying through the air only to see seven more of them running over the edge of one of the sand dunes towards her and Tyler who was still hopefully hidden.

She raised her lightsaber in a defensive stance and began deflecting blaster bolts back at the few raiders that were firing at her while the rest began to close the gap between the raiders and herself.

Tyler took out a couple of knives and jumped up to a crouching position once the Sand People were about three strides from Varias. Two found knives in their throats, and Tyler had another pair in his hands.

Another of the Sand people appeared moved to fire on Varias. He rounded the dune, and he would have been in a good position to flank, had he not come across a group of low lying rocks. He was quickly dispatched, and now lay in the position Tyler had hidden himself in. Tyler saw five still moving in from the direction where his knives had dropped a pair.

I'm surprised they didn't send more to flank, considering...

Another trio rounded the dune,They have blasters! and Tyler threw the knives he held at the two who weren't using gaffi sticks, and charged the one with the gaffi stick with a low tackle taking him to the ground. The raider was more worried about keeping Tyler off of him than hitting him, using the gaffi stick and both hands to press him back. Tyler drew one of his three remaining knives and slipped it in from below the rib cage and up, diving into the heart. He removed his blade and turned to see how the Cathar had fared.

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

((I have fought against the Empire since it formed.")) Rarakor grunted. (("If you are an enemy of the Empire than you may fear nothing from me."))

"Very few are brave enough to stand up against the empire." Zothressk stated "If you have the courage to fight them, or die trying, in my eyes, you are an honorable warrior."

(("I am not on this planet by choice. I am the Avenger of Kashyyyk and I am searching for a certain Imperial squad that was responsible for the death of my Wife Chalurra and my son Arribecca. They were killed when the Empire attacked our village and now I hunt them across the stars. My ship crashed here due to damage from a previous battle.))

Zothressk let out a short sigh. The empire has to be stopped, but hunting down one insignificant imperial squad won't really change anything. "I'm sorry for your loss, and I understand how you must feel, the empire is very good at taking the things you love the most from you."

Zothressk placed his clawed hands onto the bars of the holding pen and looked into the wookie's eyes, "I can't promise you that we'll find the imperials who killed your family, however if you let me aid you, I can guarantee you that you'll have a good opportunity to strike a great blow against the empire itself."

Dune Sea

Ruurrhra, the tusken who was leading the party sent to investigate the crash site, roared in disbelief, as the young human managed to take down two of his warriors before they were even able to fire a shot. He was about to give an order to use explosives, but told his men to hold back when he saw more tuskens pouring down from other directions towards the crashed ship.

Other tribes must have seen the ship falling from the sky aswell. He thought to himself. "Hold back, let them fight each other first, then we will move in and kill or capture the survivors." Ruurrhra told his group. Tuskens from every angle charged towards the jedi, hoping to overrun her, at the same time the tusken tribes were fighting each other. A tusken sniper positioned up on a sand hill fired at Tyler, barely missing him. He roared in frustration, then took aim again.

Tyler saw the sniper as he fired the shot, and thought he was done for. Luck was on his side, as the sniper missed his first shot. Tyler sheathed his held knives and rolled to the duo that he had taken with his thrown knives and plucked the knives from the corpses, returning his knife count to five.

There was no time to grab one of their blasters, so he kept moving around the dune, hoping to avoid more sniper fire. However, he ran directly into a group of five wielding gaffi sticks. With the advantage of surprise, he managed to cut one's throat, and push him towards his comrades as he bled out, knocking two down.

One of the two left standing quickly tried to retaliate, but Tyler dodged to the right and used the hilt of his knife to crush his opponent's temple. The second of the two took advantage of that moment to hit him in the arm, sending a wave of pain shooting through it. This one found a knife in his chest a second later. The other two were back to their feet and circling.

Tyler dove to the ground and tried to hide under one of the corpses as the pair, at first confused, were hit with blaster bolts, adding their number to the corpses.

Strange, I thought they had smaller parties than this..And what is with those weapons? That ship might have brought a larger group than normal, I suppose, but something is off.

"I'm Enobaria, a former Republic operative." She put a hand on her right hip. "My words and my vibroblades are equally lethal. Both are to be used against the Empire, and to find my contact, Zothressk."

((Sorry for the wait.))

Tusken Raider Hideout

"I can't promise you that we'll find the imperials who killed your family, however if you let me aid you, I can guarantee you that you'll have a good opportunity to strike a great blow against the empire itself."

Rarakor thought for a moment. He hated the Empire with a passion and the opportunity to strike a blow against it seemed like a great opportunity. He looked over the Transdoshan and thought for a moment. He had assumed that he wouldn't live very long after completing his quest.

Hmph. I am already an outcast on Kashyyyk and don't plan on returning there at any time. Not after what he had done.

(("Your offer intrigues me.")) He said as he turned his body so that he show the Transdoshan a small piece of armor on his shoulder. (("I wear a small piece of armor that I took from one of the troopers before I was knocked out back on Kashyyyk. I will assist you but If I finally do meet the squad that took my family from me I will expect you to aid me in killing them."))


Dune Sea

Varias was barely able to hold her own against a few of the Tusken Raiders and she knew she was in trouble as many of them poured over sand dunes. She gathered the force around her and unleashed a massive force wave that sent many of them flying backward but more and more of them just kept coming at her.

"We need to fall back!" She shouted at Tyler. "I'll hold them back, you grab the human and head for the wreckage! I'll cover you!"

She pulled her second lightsaber it and connect the two of them at the hilt and ignited the other end of the Lightsaber staff.

She unleashed another wave of force energy. It was a powerful defensive move but she was quickly weakening.

Hearing Varias, Tyler tried to act quickly. He got up from the ground to find that the one who had gunned down the two with gaffi sticks had apparently moved on. He moved back around the dune, but ducked back behind it as the sniper fired another round. Noticing that the Cathar woman was around 20 feet away, with battle raging all around, he shouted:

"There are a few problems with that plan, Cathar. We need to get away from the wreck! It must be what they're after. I can't get to you, and that 'human' is too heavy for me to even possibly carry. We have to leave him and run, or we'll be killed here. There are too many! Get over here if you can, but watch the sniper."

Getting hit by that sniper wouldn't do anyone any good. I just have to hope she doesn't die...

I have to survive too though.

As Tyler was thinking two trios came into view, one from the side of the dune with Varias -- armed with blasters and bulges showing more weapons, and possibly explosives under their robes -- and the other were from the direction he had just run from. These were armed with the traditional gaffi sticks. Must be more than one clan...

Tyler tried to back up into the dune and stay as still as possible as the gaffi stick group began to charge the blaster group.

Dune SeaCaton stood perched above a tall sand dune, watching the chaos ensue below. He had just recently gone through the ship wreckage and killed what few survivors there were. There is only one last link - the damnable soldier that almost killed him. He laid prone on the sand, having dug himself a small niche in the sand. Instead of shooting at the body, he instead chose to aim at the human who leaning against the sand dune. He aimed at his left kneecap, and fired. He figured that he'd leave the two for the Sand People, and once they entered the ship, he'd go and ensure that the soldier would be dead.

Elyshar's Ship

"I'm Enobaria, a former Republic operative." She put a hand on her right hip. "My words and my vibroblades are equally lethal. Both are to be used against the Empire, and to find my contact, Zothressk."

"Was it wise to just announce your whole mission like that? What if it turns out that one of your companions is an Imperial Spy?", Elyshar said. "You should learn to be more reserved. I'd expect a Republic Spy to know better than to blurt out her entire mission. Do you even know who any of your companions are?"

Tyler noticed the light reflecting off of something far off. He started to move just in time, a small cloud of sand popped up next to his leg introducing a large amount of sand to the cut there. Cut!?

The projectile had given a decent scratch, and burned off a bit of his suit. He grunted in pain and fell over, giving the appearance of a direct hit. Thinking quickly, he lay still in the sand, hoping to appear dead to any hostiles. Hope I don't need medical care. This desert world isn't exactly known for that kind of thing.

Tatooine
Caves of the Dune Sea, Tusken Raider Hideout

(("Your offer intrigues me. I wear a small piece of armor that I took from one of the troopers before I was knocked out back on Kashyyyk. I will assist you but If I finally do meet the squad that took my family from me I will expect you to aid me in killing them."))

Zothressk nodded. "I give you my word of honor."

Pulling away from the bars he looked over at Kelarra, then back at the wookie. "There's a few things I need to prepare, but i'll have you, and the jedi out of here by dawn."

Dune Sea

The tuskens pulled back for a moment after the jedi's force waves, but that didn't last very long. The tusken sniper saw the human he had been trying to kill fall over and assumed he was dead. He quickly switched targets and took aim. Some of the tuskens on the ground saw Ruurrhra and his group waiting on sand hills and charged towards them, easing the pressure on Varias.

Ruurrhra shouted to his men that they had been spotted and ordered them to kill the attackers. They took aim with their blasters and fired, cutting down the frontline of the gaffi stick tuskens. Several grenades were thrown, sending tuskens along with piles of sand into the air. "Don't let them get up the hill!" Ruurrhra bellowed. A few of them made it to the top of the slope, but were killed shortly after by Ruurrhra and his vibroblade. Tusken raider corpses tumbled down the slope and collided into other tuskens, trying to make their way up. They don't stand a chance. Ruurrhra thought, pleased with himself.

Tyler lay with his face to the side, watching as sand people slaughtered each other. He hoped that the Cathar would come towards him. If not he intended to lie prone untill the sand people moved on, then determine what they had done with her.

Doing anything else would only result in capture or death, but I still owe her...

As Tyler struggled with the desire to get up and do something to prevent the death of the female who had saved him, another though struck him.

If she is captured, then I'd have to bust her out of a Sand People camp.. There can be no good outcome from this.

Tyler slowly started moving again, without checking his leg. It didn't hurt too much as he got up in a low crouch and began moving towards where he last saw the Cather woman. He didn't see her right away, as he looked over the battlefield to note the many corpses. To his surprise, some were already being covered by sand.