1: Bounty Hunter Male Sha'ar Kagle:

The sound of the cheering crowd woke Sha'ar from his dreamless sleep. As he gazed around wearily, a million questions shot through his mind like blaster fire. Once his vision adjusted to the blinding sun , he shuddered as he took in his surroundings.

So this is it, Sha'ar thought.

The Shi'ido realized that he was in the arena on Geonosis or at least an arena that resembled it. The burning orange sand was an all too familiar sign for Sha'ar. The last time he was in Geonosis was during the Clone Wars on a mission against the Separatists. His eyes raked the arena and he froze as he noticed the tunnels that were like holes cut into the side of the beige walls except they had steel bars over them.

So that is where the monsters come from, Sha'ar thought in horror.

An involuntary chill ran through his body as he gazed to his left and to his right. Various different people of all races including Zabraks, a Togruta, and even a Mirialan were tied to giant pillars. The bounty hunter craned his neck upward and realized that his arms were bound as well to the top of the columns. As a result of the hot sun beating on them, the columns and the chains took in the solar energy and therefore became red-hot , burning the Shi'ido's wrists.

Kriff! They could have at least considered the climate before they put us here on the planet!

Sha'ar gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the burning sensation in his wrists until he noticed something else that made his eyes grow wide. In the middle of the circular arena was a burned-out skeleton of a Republic gunship, barely recognizable by its red and white coloring. It was what was inside it that grabbed the Shi'ido's attention.

" Blasters.." his jaw drops. He had his own confiscated upon his capture and he was sure he was never going to see it again. However, his hopes rose like TIE fighters upon seeing the blasters. Then, his jaw dropped even more as his bright blue eyes locked onto the prisoners tied to the gunship. Movement from one of the captives caught his eye and his heart nearly leapt in his mouth upon recognition of the boy.

"Keekee!" Sha'ar shouted, feeling elated yet despairing at the sight of his young auxiliary being placed in this very arena where certain death was guaranteed.

Perturbed by hearing his guardian's voice, Kaikai turned toward Sha'ar.

"Mr.Sha'ar, what is going to happen to us?" the boy asked.

"I can't say for sure, but I assure you we will make it out of here alive," the Shi'ido smiled.

"Can we get Gi dumpling soup once we get out of here?" Kaikai asked, a grin spread on his little face.

"Sure," Sha'ar smiled.

" Oh! Can we also add Kri'gee to that list?" the boy pushed on, a bigger grin now plastered on his fair face.

"Now, don't push it!" the Shi'ido rolled his eyes. "Are you forgetting you are not even eighteen years of age yet? For kriff's sake, a Kri'gee is an alcoholic drink!"

Before his adjutant could respond, a klaxon wailed. Sha'ar felt himself tense up as the bars, glinting in the sunlight, were lifted. The crowd began to cheer louder once they realized that the entertainment for the day was about to begin.

"M-Mr.Sha'ar!" a terrified Kaikai called. " What is happening?!"

As if to clarify that, loud roars mixed with inhuman shrieks and screams resounded across the arena as the monsters entered the arena through the tunnel. Sha'ar felt his body quake involuntarily as the cheering and chanting of the crowd rose up a tempo. The ground shook as a large lizard-like behemoth crawled out of its cage. The creature possessed a sky blue hide as well as a sickly yellow underbelly. It scanned the arena and its red eyes locked on Sha'ar. It shrieked and made its away over to his pillar.

"Oh great, why me?" he groaned.

As the distance between him and the beast narrowed down, the bounty hunter recognized it instantly as a Condor dragon. These creatures were known to prey on Ewoks, but that didn't mean this one was ruling out a Shi'ido. As it bared its teeth, Sha'ar remembered another chilling fact about the dragon. Its fangs were strong enough to crush through the thickest hides. The sight of its teeth sent Sha'ar struggling to desperately break free of his bonds.

"Kriff, why is this so tight?!"

A low growl from behind him caused him to freeze in cold terror. He felt a hot wind from behind his back and he knew it couldn't be the dragon. He slowly tilted his head back and gasped at what he saw from the corner of his eyes. Behind him was the silhouette of the ugliest Coruscani ogre he had seen. The sunlight glinted of its orange skin and well as its obsidian-colored claws.

"Wooh!" Sha'ar interjected. " Have you ever heard of something called a mirror? Obviously, you are too pea-brained for something like that."

The ogre bellowed and struck the bounty hunter, sending him careening backward. He slammed against something that felt as hard as a rock.

That certainly is not the pillar.

Sha'ar turned his gaze upwards and realized that he had bumped into the left fang of the dragon. It snorted as smoke came out of its nose.

"Sheesh! You really have bad breath, you know!" Sha'ar made a face.

He was able to evade the pearl-colored teeth of the Condor dragon by swinging away. Unfortunately, he forgot to take the ogre into account. He felt a powerful hand grasp his leg tightly as the ogre started to yank the bounty hunter toward himself. Panicking, Sha'ar tried to free his leg from it while trying to stay out of range of the other monster's jaws.

"Hey! There is not enough of me to go around for the both of you!" the Shi'ido snapped.

As his eyes landed on the clear, blue sky above him, an idea flashed into his mind.

Woah! what is wrong with me? I forgot I was a Shi'ido for a second. Looks like I have to make a note to myself to limit the Kri'gee.

Sha'ar closed his eyes, drowned out his surroundings, and pictured a Canyon Krayt dragon in his mind. Soon, he felt his tendons and bones crack and rearrange themselves, signalling that his shapeshift had just begun. It was the least favorite part of his ability due to the painful nature of shifting between forms, but it came in handy for a bounty hunter like him. In under a minute, Sha'ar had become a Canyon Krayt dragon.

I guess that is one way to free myself from the restraints. It was chowderheaded of me not to think of it earlier.

His brown scales glittering in the sun, Sha'ar turned to face his smaller opponents. Despite being the smallest of the Krayt dragon species, Sha'ar towered over the other monsters. He let out a loud roar , causing the arena to shake. His tail then flew threw the air, slamming into columns and knocking other monsters away.

My bad!

The Shi'ido then noticed that the Condor dragon had slunk backward , but the ogre had latched onto one of his legs. Growling, Sha'ar raised his arm and slammed the creature down. Once the ogre was out, he turned his attention to the other dragon.

If you want to eat someone, feast on this ogre. I can't guarantee that it tastes good, but it is a lot better than a foul-tasting Shi'ido.

The other dragon slowly made its way toward the prone Coruscani ogre and started to bite into its flesh, sending obsidian-colored blood flying into the air.

You can thank me later, Sha'ar thought toward it as he turned his attention to where Kaikai was chained. With a jolt, he observed two Nexus, one with a tan coat color while the other possessed an reddish one, leap on top of the gunship and circle his terrified assistant.

"You messed with the wrong mouse, you kriffing cats!" he shouted, but it came out as a roar. In his haste, he started to crawl toward the gunship , but then he felt something crack under his foot. The bounty hunter lifted it and noticed it was the remains of what was once a Togruta woman.

Oops! he thought, but with Kaikai in danger, he bore no second thought about the incident.

His yellow eyes scanned the arena and he noticed the other rebels fighting amongst themselves as well as various monsters in order to get to the supplies and their loved ones at the gunship. Sha'ar Kagle turned his intimidating gaze toward the spectators, who were mainly Geonosians with some Nemodians and other races scattered in there. He let out a roar of contempt in their direction.

This is entertainment? These people make me sick!

Sensing Sha'ar's presence, the Nexus turned their attention toward him, hissing. Crouching down, they leap onto him, scratching and clawing at his rough hide. Desperately trying to keep up with the felines, Sha'ar felt their claws and jaws penetrate his skin. For a split second, he had reconsidered his decision, but at least they turned their attention away from Kaikai. Snarling, Sha'ar swung his body around and even rolled on the ground to shake off his attackers.He spotted a young adult human with dark hair run by him.

That must be the trader boy, he thought.

Suddenly, one of the Nexus leapt off of him and decided to snare an easier prey. On the bright side, Sha'ar was free to deal with the remaining Nexu. The bloodcurdling scream behind him signalled that the other feline had caught the trader boy. Sha'ar managed to shake off the Nexu that was scratching up his back and before it could recover, he pounced on it and pressed his claw onto it until he heard a loud snap. The Shi'ido then turned his attention to the last Nexu, who was feeding on the bloody corpse of the trader. Sha'ar used that opportunity to bounce on it and sink his teeth into the nape of its neck. The Nexu let out a shriek of pain as its neck was torn off.

That does it.

Sha'ar felt his tendons and bones rearrange themselves as he shifted back into his original form. Exhausted and bleeding from his many wounds, he gritted his teeth as he limped over to the gunship. He noticed that there were only blasters left so he decided to take one before he headed over to Kaikai.

"Sorry about the wait," Sha'ar apologized as he shot through the restraints, freeing the boy. "As you saw, I was preoccupied with some feral felines."

"It's fine!" Kaikai nodded as he stretched his arms. "Those chains really burn!"

"Tell me about it," the Shi'ido grumbled.

" Did you bring credits?" Kaikai pointed at a pointed on Sha'ar's belt.

Frowning, Sha'ar grabbed the pouch and started to examine it.

"Funny, I never recalled bringing credits into this arena," he murmured. "Whatever, let's check it out."

He opened the pouch and noticed that inside were two lockpicks.

"Kriff! If only I knew about these sooner," the Shi'ido grumbled.

"Don't say that word!" Kaikai scolded the bounty hunter.

"Kid, we are no position for you to even patronize me," Sha'ar responded. "Look around you, we are in a killing field!"

Kaikai noticed a blaster and went to retrieve it. Sha'ar then perceived a small Wookie also grabbing at some blasters as well. Suddenly, a whirring sound was heard and the wookie was cut down by a red lightsaber. A hooded figure wielding the lightsaber appeared in front of Kaikai, who looked up in horror at the newcomer.

Is that a Sith? Sha'ar thought in horror. I haven't seen one since the beginning of the Clone Wars!

Fearing for companion's safety, Sha'ar raced forward and fired multiple lasers from his blaster. The hooded figure just deflected and blocked the shots before it fled. Kaikai ran over to Sha'ar, clearly shaken by the encounter.

"That was a close one!" he smiled, trying to lighten the mood up. However, Kaikai was distracted by something else.

"Mr. Sha'ar, I think they need help," he pointed.

Sha'ar turned and noticed a man possessing dark brown hair and a beard of matching color trying to free a pale-skinned woman from the restraints.

"That is not our problem," he started to lecture his assistant. "Our purpose here is-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Kaikai had snatched his lockpicks and had taken them over to the man. The man said a quick thanks as he took one and freed his companion from the restraints. Sha'ar quickly ran over.

"Keekee!" he scolded. "Always get my consent before you do something! Next thing we know, you'd be handing credits to the homeless and that would be a big no-no!"

"First off, the name is Kaikai," his assistant responded. "Secondly, if you want to survive, you all should be working together instead of killing each other. After all, that's what the Imps want."

Sha'ar raised his eyebrows in amazement.

"Since when have you gotten so smart?" Sha'ar grinned and patted Kaikai on the shoulder.

" We are grateful for what this young man did," the man smiled. He stook out a hand. "I am Mazhdar."

"Sha'ar here," the bounty hunter shook his hand.

"The kid has brains, let's focus on surviving this," Mazhdar suggested.

They made their way down to the bottom of the gunship and retrieved some weapons. As they exited the makeshift weapon depot, Sha'ar thought he heard an all too familiar screeching sound.

"Take cover!"he shouted.

No sooner had he said that, three TIE fighters, the sun gleaming off of their shiny grey designs, swooped over the arena and fired green lasers inside. Sha'ar, Mazhdar, and their two companions leapt to the ground as the attacking aircraft flew off. They finally rose after a while and once Sha'ar was on his feet, he saw the first casualty of the airstrike. One of his fellow rebels, a young man by the name of Trin, was cut clean in half by the laser of the TIE fighter.

Those Imps really are playing dirty, he thought bitterly.

"We can't let them get it away with that!" Kaikai snapped. " Once we learn to work as a team and escape this killing field, we will take revenge!"

" That I can agree on," the woman chimed in.

Sha'ar smiled. It was understandable how badly the kid wanted to take down the Imperials. After all, they are the ones who destroyed his village and murdered his family. There was one thing Sha'ar had hoped that the boy would never find out. That it was the fault of Sha'ar himself that his village was destroyed.

3: Slaver Male Keiji

Sand.....sand was something that Keiji was not fond with. He hated it with a passion, and now of course he had to be standing in the middle of a kriffing sand area....

The young slaver blinked away the grains that flew onto his eyelids before looking around, taking everything in with his keen yellow eyes. A plain of sand, the color of a Lirian sunset. Spectators cheering and growling, waiting for the games to begin. He took note of that they were fake though. He was able to see the slightest glimmer of a screen: the only thing that proved that the grimy Geonosians squealing with joy, were no more than a holographic image.

He barely paid attention to the other tributes that stood, chained like he was, around the arena. Instead his first focus was on the weapons in the tattered old Gunship that looked like it had one been used by the Republic. Though what really caught his attention was the beady black eyes staring at him from the darkness. Keji grinned in joy; they had brought his pet to the arena. And it looked like from the way Mabuz watched him, the cat like creature was itching to get back to it's master.

But the slaver's joy disappeared as soon as the great doors all around him and the others started opening. He was able to catch a glimpse of large rancor and a skinny looking nexu slightly smaller than his own. But that was all he was able to see before a noise, halfway between a snarl and a screech, interrupted his thoughts. And that noise sounded very familiar....

At once Keiji started panicking and tugging at his chains in vain, but they wouldn't budge. Come on Keiji, think! There must be some way to get out... And then the thought came to him. Judging by the chains and the lock's condition, they were fairly old. And that mean one thing: it was possible to pick them with a simple lock. Though Keiji didn't have a lock pick, he had claws. And claws were just as good as any kriffing lock pick.

In no time at all, they came undone with a simple click but he barely had enough time to roll away before a set of claws scraped across the now empty pillar. When Keiji turned around, he was able to see his opponent for the first time.

Thick, coarse fur as black as dusted coal covered the creature's body while ghostly white eyes, looking like a blank void stared at him. The creature was none other than a Draagax, a rodent like creature that was feared on some planets. The Draagax itself didn't look too dangerous with small claws and a lithe body but one look at its vemon filled teeth told another story. The creature was a capable killer, a very capable killer indeed.

Keiji took one last look at it before dropping onto all fours and sprinting towards the old gunship, knowing that the hungry omnivore would follow. He knew that to defeat your enemy, sometimes you would need to become the 'prey' and lure them into a false sense of confidence and security. And that's exactly what he did.

Once he got to his target, Keiji quickly slunk into the shadows, unlocking his pet's door quietly. He could feel the warm breath of Mabuz hit his cheek and the big cat brushed against his master with a small purr before lunging at the beast that had dared to try and hurt his master.

The poor Draagax never had a chance. With a large leap, the great cat tackled the beast to the ground before tearing into it's body, not paying any attention to it's feeble clawing. Within seconds, the Draagax fell limp underneath Mabuz, its jaws hanging loose and it's bulging white eyes staring blankly under the sky. His cat looked up at him with black beady eyes, dark blood dripping off of his now red muzzle. Keiji nodded to the creature in gratitude before grabbing a small blaster and a whip, determination in his keen eyes. It was time to join the bloodbath...

He looked around for his first victim and it didn't take long for him to spot one. On the edges of the arena, a tall female Wookiee was finishing off her own beast, the small nexu that he had seen earlier. Without a word the slaver prowled towards her silently, a twisted sneer on his face. When he got close enough, he let out a loud snarl and landed neatly on her furry back. Adrenaline and hunger for blood took over and he didn't think twice before digging his sharp claws in and latching his teeth onto the wookie's shoulder, earning a rewarding howl of pain. Keiji started to feel confident that this was going to be an easy kill. But his confidence wavered slightly when a large hand grabbed the scruff of his neck and threw him away. Luckily for him being half cat, he inherited their agility and grace, and landed neatly on the ground a few feet away.

The female wookiee growled at him menacingly but Keiji could tell that she was losing energy from the wounds he inflicted her. He let out a delighted snarl and stalked towards her again, brandishing his whip. He didn't intend for her to die quickly, now he just wanted to play with his food...

With the flick of his wrist, the whip flew out and caught the young wookiee by the torso, sending shocks throughout her body. He retracted it quickly when she let out another pained howl and started circling her before hitting her again. He kept doing this, over and over, again and again, until the wookie fell to her knees and couldn't do anything but make a small rasp. At that point Keiji finally grew tired of the game he was playing and went in for the kill, stalking over to her slowly. He got within inches of her and tipped her head up, staring into her big blue eyes. "It's a pity that we weren't in the circumstances that we're in right now. I would have enjoyed you as a slave..."he said softly, before grabbing his blaster and shooting her in the neck. The wookie stared at him in surprise, blood flowing from her wound. Though, that surprise ended quickly as her eyes dimmed in death and she slowly crumpled to the ground.

He stared at her body for a moment before looking over at Mabuz, who was ripping what looked like a young human male apart with merciless teeth. He then looked around at the arena before him, seeing others fighting and a sith woman with a tattooed face killing what seemed to be a jedi. '

They're all weak...they don't have what it takes to win.' he thought, shaking his head slowly. Sith, Jedi, smugglers, thieves...it didn't matter what they were. In the end, when the grounds runs red with blood, he would be the one standing over the dead bodies, we would be the lone survivor. Keiji was going to make sure of that...

5: Slave Male Kiernan Caleth

Twenty pillars, twenty monsters, and twenty rebels destined to die. None of the Geonosians watching in the stands above expected the rebels to survive. Some would be killed going for weapons, others ripped apart by the hulking monsters, and maybe some would even commit suicide, refusing to go on. But all would be forced to kill. Maybe they would do it for no reason, but most would fight because they were desperate to win. To live.

One would survive: the one who was strong enough to make it through the trials and emerge from the bloodbath victorious. That was what these people were here for, but none of the rebels cared about that. Least of all Kiernan.

He couldn't see the monster behind him, and he could barely move his arms, but he could see the arena. He could see the destroyed gunship in the middle, and he could see the others' companions caged above it. They were exposed, waiting for the monsters to finish eating the rebels and move on to their desert.

Kazumi was up there somewhere. He could almost sense her, trapped and desperate. She was like a whole other force inside of him, wild, but somehow his friend and companion as well. Their bond was unique, and he treasured that. Leaving her wasn't an option, so he had to figure out how to save her.

His hands gripped the chain, using the muscles he'd built from years of slavery to bend the links apart until he was almost free. Whatever he'd been injected with made him strong, but it was only temporary, and it was draining out of him already. He lost his grip and his hands dropped, muscles burning. The metal was too strong. He wasn't going to break it on his own.

Something big slammed into his pillar and let out a long, angry howl. The other monsters joined in, the force of the noise shaking the arena. Most sand and dust filled the air, choking him. He wiped the dust away from his eyes and blinked, trying to clear his vision. His chains dangled in front of him, broken by the monster that attacked him.

He turned to face it, and it bellowed in his face, nearly knocking him over. In front of him stood a massive reek with three iron-tipped tusks and eyes full of hatred.

Kiernan wasn't ready when it attacked again, slamming into him and tossing him into a pillar. His head cracked against it, leaving him dazed. He dragged himself to his feet, using the pillar for balance, and fought to remain conscious. The sun beat down on him, the heat adding to his weakness and causing him to stumble. His vision began to dip and sway, making him dizzy.

The reek charged again, but he collapsed under it, landing next to the half-eaten body of a young, human female. He looked up just as it ran over him, miraculously managing to miss him with its huge feet. He rolled to his feet and tried to ignore what head-butting a pillar had probably done to him. Although he was tough and knew he could get through it if the reek didn't gore him, he didn't exactly enjoy the pain. For my sister. For Kazumi, and for those who need me. I'll survive this for them.

By this time, the reek was done focusing on one person, and headed straight for the gunship in the middle, ready for easier prey. It stalked towards them, gaining speed and momentum, and bellowing angrily. Kiernan saw its destination. Adrenaline rushed through him as he ran straight for it and launched himself onto its back, pulling himself forward to sit on its neck. His eyes registered an ugly scar there, but he ignored it.

The reek didn't notice him until he pulled out a small hold-out blaster and shot the ground directly in front of it. It balked, skidding along the ground as it tried to turn too quickly. He was thrown from its back and landed with a dull thud on the ground. His vision blackened, and he knew he was losing consciousness, but his mind was elsewhere.

He stood in a huge stable of sorts, surrounded by reeks of all sizes. Most of them were normal, but a couple had been fed meat earlier so his master could show off their reactions to it. They were in the middle of a pen, surrounding a small reek. It wasn't even an adult, but his master had still left it to the others' mercy, bleeding and helpless. Something about the situation made Kiernan think twice about walking by. He sighed. Sometimes he just couldn't help himself.

The reeks attacking the little one weren't adults either, but they were close enough and plenty dangerous. Kiernan didn't plan to fight them, however, he just wanted to distract them and lure them away long enough to save the baby. He ran for the storage area and came back with two hunks of meat.

He tied a rope around them and threw them at the reeks. Both hit their marks, and the reeks turned on the first thing they saw: the meat. Kiernan yanked it away from them as fast as he could and watched as they chased after it. Leaving them to devour the meat, he ran for the baby, hauling it out of the pen and slamming the gate closed just as the reeks came at him."I'm going to call you Naru," he said as he escaped.

Naru had grown up with a scar on its neck. A scar exactly like the one he'd just seen. I never thought I would see Naru again, but if I'm right... A plan began to form.

He scrambled out of the way, trying to avoid the reek, but it was too close. It slammed into something just before it hit him, and came to a complete stop. Shaking itself off, it tried to attack again, but Kiernan was already moving out of the way.

A yellow-skinned Mirialan holding a lightsaber stepped out from behind a pillar, a look in intense concentration on his face. "Your welcome. Stopping that thing is exhausting."

"You did that? You're force-sensitive?" Kiernan asked.

The man nodded, and Kiernan eyed the seething reek. "Can you calm it down? I need to talk to it."

"Really? Your solution is to talk to the beast that is trying to murder you? You're going to die very quickly if you try that on everything."

Kiernan rolled his eyes. "Just calm it down, please. It's probably easier than trying to stop it with the force."

Finally, the Mirialan nodded. "Fine."

Tossing Kiernan a blaster, he said, "Make sure no one kills me, okay?"

Kiernan nodded and took the weapon, looking for anyone who might harm them. Most of the rebels were busy fighting off the other monsters or trying to free their companions, however, so they were relatively safe. He knew he should be over there, protecting Kazumi, but he couldn't leave this reek to attack him from behind. If only he could get it to remember the time he spent nursing it back to health and teaching it to fight. He'd spared its life once, practically raised it. Maybe now it would return the favor.

The man, who Kiernan had by now decided was the Sith he remembered hearing something about, raised his hand. He extended it, palm out, towards the reek, who immediately stopped trying to fight and gave him a puzzled look. For a moment, the reek seemed to try and fight him, but then it settled and Kiernan approached it.

"Hey Naru," he muttered. "Remember me?"

Naru snorted and shook its head, almost as if it knew what Kiernan was saying. He laid a hand on its tough, reddened skin, and looked up at it. I swear if you let Naru attack me again, Sith, I will make sure you get hit instead of me, he thought. Just keep him calm.

"I saved you once and got my master to spare your life. I stuck around for a few years before running away and abandoning you. I'm sorry for that. I know they mistreated you and they did everything they could to make you lash out, but I'm asking you, if you're still the Naru I know, to help me. You don't have to stop fighting but fight for me. Please."

It was a nice enough speech, but Kiernan wasn't sure Naru had understood any of it. Still, he motioned to the Sith. "Okay, you can stop now."

"Are you sure? I'd rather not be this beast's next dinner."

"It's not a beast," Kiernan snapped. "It's an old friend. Just trust me. It should be safe now... I think."

With a sigh, the Sith lowered his arm. Naru stood still for a few moments, and then its eyes locked on him. Still, it didn't attack.

Kiernan stayed where he was, his hand still resting on the reek's leg. "Will you help us?" he asked.

Naru snorted, and since he wasn't dead yet, Kiernan decided to interpret that as a yes. Everything was going fine until Naru charged forward suddenly, letting out a wild battle cry. Kiernan dove for the Sith and yanked him out of the way as it moved past them and launched itself at a rebel who was approaching from behind. It snapped its head forward and gored the rebel on its horns, flinging her across the sand and trampling her.

For a moment, all Kiernan could do was stare at the body of a Togruta female. The Sith waved a hand in front of his face. "Hey, I don't know who you are, but this thing seems to obey you, so do something before I have to save you again."

Kiernan blinked and nodded. Turning toward the middle, he spotted Sul-Juuk fighting a huge blixus. It looked like she was losing too. He glanced at Naru, who was apparently awaiting its orders.

She captured you repeatedly. You don't have to save her. He would have listened to that side of his mind, except he knew her, and he knew that if they were in danger, they could both trust each other with their lives. She would save him, if only to get the profit out of it later, and he knew he would help her now because she had a daughter who cared about her, and, somewhere deep inside, he cared about her too.

"Get the blixus," Kiernan commanded. He was a bit surprised when Naru actually ran off to do that. When he turned, however, the Sith had disappeared, leaving him with the blaster.

Since the reek was occupied with the blixus, he headed for the middle, his purpose solidifying him and giving him strength. I'm coming Kazumi.

Most of the tributes had taken care of their monsters by now or been killed by them. Now they headed for the middle to release their companions. When he got there, he spotted Kazumi trapped in a cage above the gunship. It didn't take long to climb up onto the roof, and the blaster made short work of the lock on the cage. He let her hop into his arms and hugged her close. "Sorry I took so long," he whispered.

A childlike scream pierced the air, and his head whipped up. He let Kazumi down and headed for the sound. He recognized the voice of Kim-Ny and then heard Sul-Juuk pleading for her daughter's life.

"Don't kill her," she said. "Take me instead if you like, but spare her life."

Kiernan hid around a corner and watched for a moment to figure out what was going on. A Zabrak stood facing away from him, holding a blaster to Kim-Ny's head. Sul-Juuk stared at him, a mix of hatred, anger, and desperation concealed in her expression.

He hesitated. She could hate you if you try to help and get Kim-Ny killed. He wasn't sure why he cared what Sul-Juuk thought of him. Maybe because, much like a parent is supposed to do, she never let go of him. Even if her reasons were very different. Still, he couldn't leave Kim-Ny to die if he had a chance to help.

Slipping around the corner, he motioned to Kazumi, using a signal he'd taught her so she would know to alert him if anyone tried to sneak up on him. She sat down to play sentry and he approached the Zabrak, who was busy laughing at Sul-Juuk.

"A tempting offer. I might take that option."

"No!" Kim-Ny screamed, struggling.

The Zabrak's grip tightened, and Kiernan suppressed a snarl of anger. This Zabrak is a disgrace, hurting an innocent child like that.

He stepped smoothly into position, thankful that Sul-Juuk hadn't given him away. Pressing the hold-out blaster to the Zabrak's head, he leaned forward. "Let's play a new game. You let the girl go and I consider letting you live."

"You try it and I'll kill the girl."

"What's your name?" Kiernan asked.

"Mission."

"Well, Mission, would you like to bet on who shoots first?" Kiernan murmured. "Because I'd bet against you surviving either way. Trust me when I say that you don't want to face Sul-Juuk if you kill her child."

Mission pushed Kim-Ny away from him and swung around, pointing his own blaster at Kiernan. He get a chance to shoot. Kiernan's bold cut right through Mission's head. He collapsed, blood oozing from the wound, and Sul-Juuk pulled Kim-Ny away before she could see it.

Kazumi let out a low growl and he turned. A rathtar was charging at them, tentacles flailing. Kim-Ny screamed just as Naru came out of nowhere, slamming into it from the side and distracting it.

He started toward Naru, ready to help, but Sul-Juuk pulled him back. "No Kiernan. I don't know why the reek is helping, but let it fight. You can't take the rathtar on and live."

Kiernan nodded and picked up the blaster. "Here."

She nodded and took it. "We need to find something for Kim-Ny, and we may as well stick around anyway. This is the most easily defensible area, and there's cover."

"Everyone will be coming for their friends, Sul-Juuk. They're right above us, we can't just keep them from protecting their loved ones," Kiernan argued. "Plus there are still monsters out there. Do you really think they're just going to leave this gunship alone? In their minds, there's plenty of trapped prey in there waiting to be eaten, which makes it the perfect target."

Sul-Juuk frowned but nodded. "Fine, but we go out the other way, and we find a corner or something to defend, or we could be attacked on all sides."

Kim-Ny knelt and grabbed another blaster. Her voice shook, but she put on a brave face as she spoke. "Let's go get 'em then."

7: Trader Male Mayek

Mayek muttered unintelligibly under his breath as the familiar sounds of metal chain filled his ears. It was not a sound he had ever wanted to hear again. Yet here he was in an open arena, clapped in irons and dusty – and about to be executed.

Mayek had been to Geonosis... once. He and his brother had been teens looking for adventure. It was even more exciting since Kole, their master in apprenticeship, had told them not to wander. So what did they do? They wandered.

Old memories of the trouble they got into flooded back to him as his gaze swept across the hot sand and flittering audience. The last time he had seen this, he had been outside the arena, safe in the high stands overlooking an open theater. He never expected to be the one inside.

And he was sure the other nineteen rebels chained to nineteen other looming pillars never expected it either. Most of them were either trying to free themselves from the chains, or gawking at their predicament. Mayek, admittedly, was one of the latter.

An old gunship sat crooked in the sand, stripped of its dignity as a 'gun'ship. That is, unless you considered the weapons inside its hull able to categorize it so. The most interesting part of the situation, however, was the fact that twenty cages hung above the ship. Mayek couldn't see how they hung there because he was too focused on the sight of his brother.

Defik sat behind the bars with an annoyed glower. He wasn't trying to escape which meant he had probably already tried.

"Defik!" Mayek shouted as loudly as he could.

His brother caught site of him and began to shout back. The only sound that reached him was mumbled nonsense mixed with clacking applauses from the stands.

Mayek shrugged and shook his head with a confused expression. To that Defik only threw up his hands (as far as he could in the cramped space) and sat back against the cage, making it swing in the air.

"The others!" Mayek tried as best he could to gesture with his wrists chained together above him, "Swing! Grab!"

Defik looked from his brother to the nearest hanging cage. Inside was a patched up droid, completely still and unaware of the danger. Defik pointed at it.

"Yes!" Mayek exaggeratingly nodded his head. Defik grasped the bars and began to throw his weight back and forth.

Meanwhile, Mayek tugged on his chains and looked up the side of his pillar. It looked awfully high, and the chain was quite thick. He tried to push away the haunting memories of its terrible metallic sound, but the clinking still pounded through his head.

Mayek looked down with a grunt, struggling to remain in the present. He grabbed the chain with his hands and tugged, hoping the jerking motion would keep him from drifting to worse thoughts.

He took a sharp breath before trying to calm his nerves and ask himself what to do.

How to get out of this?

Mayek sifted through his options. There were none. Unless someone came to him, he would be a goner. He would be a goner because he knew what would happen next.

Around the theater came the terrifying hoots of large creatures. The crowd cheered louder and the beasts bellowed stronger, creating a deafening echo across the stone walls.

Mayek snapped his head up, watching his brother intently as he just barely grabbed hold of the droid's cage. He struggled to keep hold as they jolted to a stop. Defik reached into the droid's open parts and began to shuffle through it.

As he stared, a screech sounded behind him.

How to get out of this?

Mayek backed up against the pillar's surface and stood as still as he could.

The monster behind him screeched again. It sounded hungry.

He closed his eyes and the world changed around him. The screams of the crowd dimmed into a low hum. The howls of the other monsters lowered to a groan. All he could hear was his own breathing, each movement and noise of the monster, and the never ceasing tinkle of chains; chains all around the arena were clinking.

Suddenly he felt very hot. Sweat ran down his temple and wet his dark shirt. A small pain began in his back and he could not contain the memories flooding into his conscious. He was back. He was back there.

Mayek knelt on the hard floor. Light entered the small room. His arms hung stretched out to his sides, his hands dangling from the cuffs on his wrists.

Chains.

He looked up to see his black shadow against the wall, framed inside an orange box. Another shadow emerged from his as someone walked to his side.

"Nim..."

"Mayek..."

Mayek.

"Mayek!"

Chains.

"Mayek!"

He gasped and opened his eyes, blaster shots zooming past him. There was a scream.

"Move!" Defik ran to him and shoved him away as a long leg came down on the sand. Defik raised a blaster to the cuffs and shot, the cuffs falling from Mayek's wrist.

Defik pulled Mayek around the other side of the pillar. A roar emanated from a separate beast as it rammed into the screeching monster.

"Mayek, are you okay?" Defik asked as Mayek tried to process his surroundings.

He grasped Defik's shoulder, "The chains..."

"They're gone! You're free. Mayek look at me!" Defik ordered. Mayek obeyed and looked into his brother's light hazel eyes.

"Breathe slower, focus, hey-hey look at me! Look at me. That's it." Defik talked him through.

Looking into Defik's eyes, Mayek calmed and his breathing steadied. "I'm alright," he said once he felt his heart settle from ecstatic pounding.

Defik patted the side of Mayek's face, "Are you sure?"

He nodded and looked around, "Yeah, let's find a safer spot. I saw the..." Mayek stopped when he saw the sight of a young Zabrak desperately trying to free herself from the chains. He grabbed his brother's blaster and sprinted to her.

"Mayek! Not the- Agh!" Defik groaned to himself as he followed behind.

A rathtar curled around the column as the girl's head darted back and forth, trying to find a way to get free.

Mayek sent a blast the monster's way and it immediately turned its attention to him. He threw the blaster back to Defik, "The girl!"

Defik caught the blaster and ran to the Zabrak while Mayek rounded the rathtar. It roared and flaunted its gnashing teeth and wicked tentacles.

Just before it lunged for him, another blast shot through its red side. It turned again to Defik and the freed Zabrak as they ran, heading for the acklay that had attacked Mayek.

He at once dashed to the gunship, his eyes set on the first blaster rifle in sight. A body slammed into him, sending them rolling in the sand.

"Help!" the young man screamed before a clawed hand came down on his back and pulled him off. Before Mayek could do anything, the human was ripped apart.

He couldn't help him.

Mayek's heart clenched in despair.

He couldn't help him.

Through the clamor, Defik's shouting reached his ears and spurred him on.

He could save him.

Mayek pushed himself off the ground and reached for the ship. Snatching the blaster rifle, he turned back to monstrous fight and immediately began firing.

The acklay had killed the blixus and was facing the rathtar with a body in one of its tendrils.

It was the Zabrak girl.

Mayek's shots distracted the acklay, granting the rathtar a deadly grip on its body and snapping its neck.

He tried to shoot it as he ran to the monster, but his aim was poor. The rathtar had swallowed the girl.

He couldn't save her.

As the rathtar shuffled away, Mayek looked around and desperately sought his brother.

"Defik!" he shouted as he cupped a hand to his mouth.

"Over here!"

Mayek leapt over the broken body of the green acklay. Defik grunted under one of its thick, hard legs, "Get it off me!" He scrunched up his nose as he turned away from the impaled body on the end of the leg.

"Take my arms," Mayek instructed as he leaned the blaster rifle against the acklay. He pulled Defik out from under it and they ducked behind the hard corpse.

"What next?" Defik mumbled gingerly to himself.

"A new blaster. I don't see yours on you."

"Nah, it's buried under this green ass." Defik slapped the acklay's side.

"Great. After you get yourself another one, I think the tunnels inside the walls will be our best shot," Mayek suggested as he jerked a thumb behind him.

"After I get another one?" Defik raised a brow at his brother.

Mayek dryly grinned, "We."

Defik patted his shoulder, "That's right."

9: Smuggler Male Mazhdar Schneljdar

"Let's go!"

Mazhdar watched as stormtroopers prodded him and nineteen others toward the entrance of what appeared to be a sandy stadium. Among his fellow prisoners were Mirialans, Zabraks, and even an Ewok. As they entered the arena, he felt an intense sunlight beat down on him. All around him was sand that glowed bright orange in the sun and beige towers surrounded them. The buildings had tunnels that were barred by steel bars. The smuggler looked up to the sky and noticed that it was a really blue in color. It would have been a lovely sight had it not been for their situation.

"Stop right there!" the stormtrooper barked.

Mazhdar stopped in front of a dull red column and he was chained to it. He felt fear claw at his gut, a kind of fear he had never felt ever in his lifetime. After all, it was only natural for him to feel like this as he was likely to meet a horrendous death here.

It is all because of Jeylar!

He felt his blood boil, but the hot sun had nothing to do with it. His adjutant was the reason he was here in the first place. He vowed to hunt the offender down if he was able to survive the arena. Well, that was actually a big if.

"I must concentrate on getting out of here first," Mazhdar told himself.

He glanced at his right and noticed a tall woman with wavy, dark brown hair staring at the ground with a stone face. The smuggler deduced that like the rest of them, she was also feeling jittery. He turned his head to the right and noticed a Zabrak woman with red and black tattoos. Based on her attire, he assumed her to be a slave.

I wonder what everyone else did to end up here, Mazhdar wondered.

His eyes then darted to the middle of the arena and he noticed a peculiar sight. A crashed gunship of the Republic was lying prone in the sand, recognizable by its red and white colors which had faded due to wear. What had caught the smuggler's attention was what was chained above the downed gunship. There were many individuals chained to the gunship.

Are they rebels as well? he wondered.

Peering closer through the slight haze caused by the sand particles being thrown around by the wind, his heart leapt into his mouth. He spotted a pale woman of stunning beauty struggling against her chains. Her shoulder length auburn hair was the give away to her identity.

"Peyna!" Mazhdar shouted and fruitlessly struggled against his chains, which were getting warmer by the second due to direct contact with the sun.

Then, a loud klaxon wailed as the crowd burst into cheers and hoots. The eerie sound of the klaxon sent chills up Mazhdar's spine. The steel bars started to rise slowly, making a creaking sound. The smuggler from Alderaan felt himself tense up once the bars reached the apex of the tunnel. Low growls reverberated throughout the arena as monsters of all sizes and shapes sauntered out of their quarters and made their way toward their prey. A large, reptilian creature with a hide the same color as the sand and eyes the color of the sun lumbered over to him. Its massive white fangs glinted in the sunlight. A gasp escaped Mazhdar as he recognized the creature.

Kriff! Not a Kimogila!

Kimogila were large lizards that resembled Krayt dragons, but they were known to be deadlier and more intelligent. His cousin Talia had told him stories of how on the planet Lok, thieves,who often took the guise of tour guides, tricked travelers into visiting the areas of the planet infested with these beasts in order to take their credits. It never ended well for the travelers. Mazhdar had told himself that these beasts were only fictitious and Talia made them up in order to scare him, Robben, and Seville. It turns out that he had been kidding himself the whole time.

"There is no way I can die here," he told himself.

The beast stopped before him, blotting out the sun with its enormous form. It emitted a low growl, saliva dripping from its jaws. Mazhdar barely moved out of the way as the creature's drool hit the ground not even five feet from him, spraying him with foul-smelling liquid. Suddenly, the Kimogila's immense tail slammed into him, knocking him against the pillar. Feeling winded, the smuggler tried to steady himself as he struggled to get back to his feet. He had no idea if it was a figment of his imagination, but he thought he heard a low growl from behind his pillar. A chill went up his spine.

I must concentrate!

It seemed to the smuggler that he was like a chew toy tied to a pillar and he could only evade the monster for so long. If he wanted to survive, he would have to devise a plan to break free of his restraints. He looked between the advancing Kimogila and the pillar to his rear and a smirk played across his face. The monster let out a snarl as it lunged at him, it's jaws wide open. Timing his jump, he leapt to the side. The beast's jaws narrowly missed Mazhdar, but instead they clamped on the rusty pillar and bit it in half with a loud crunch.

"Bingo!" the smuggler shouted in triumph.

However, he had his hands still chained together, connected to a jagged piece of the pillar. Mazhdar looked up as the Kimogila raised its snout and turned to him, snarling. Then, something else caught his eye. Once the pillar was downed, it revealed a new creature. This one resembled a blue, rubbery octopus with sharp teeth and rows of red eyes on its back. Mazhdar had to bite his tongue to keep from yelling out in terror.

Kriff! A Rathtar?! This is not good!

Both of the creatures started their advance on him as he stood there, frozen in shock. Sensing an imminent threat, the smuggler turned and started to run toward the gunship in hopes of shaking the nightmarish monsters off his tail. He dodged many of his fellow rebels, who were fleeing or fighting the creatures.He looked back to see the Rathtar, rolling like a ball, steadily gaining on him. Panic welled up inside him, causing his survival instincts to kick in. The smuggler from Alderaan pushed himself to run faster to evade his pursuers.

"Ack!"

Someone ran smack into him from his side, causing them both to fall. Spitting out sand, Mazhdar craned his neck to see a Togruta woman with black stripes running up her lekku. Before either of them could say a word, a blue tentacle scooped up the Togruta. Mazhdar could only watch in terror as the poor woman was devoured by the Rathtar. Its mouth dripping with the blood of its victim, the Rathtar trained its eyes on him as he desperately tried to crawl backward.

"Oh dear, please no!" he muttered in fear.

Suddenly, the octopus-like creature was scooped into the air by the Kimogila. Mazhdar looked up in wonder as the Kimogila snapped its jaws shut. The green gooey blood of the Rathtar rained down over him. The only question that remained was what was he going to do now that the second creature had him trapped? He had only seconds to come up with something as the silhouette of the reptilian monster, blotting out the sun, appeared over him.

Curse these chains!

Mazhdar immediately rolled to the side to avoid the massive claws of the Kimogila, which pounded the ground where he used to be. The force that resulted from it had created a small sandstorm and threw Mazhdar against the remains of the gunship. Coughing, Mazhdar slowly struggled to his feet. That was when the whirring sounds reached his ears.

What in the world is going on?

He turned and noticed two figures, both of them Mirialan, dueling with glowing blades. One of them held a green blade while the other wielded a red one. Mazhdar's jaw dropped in utter amazement.

Lightsabers?! Does that mean that they are force users?

It wasn't the first the time the smuggler had seen a lightsaber. In one of his smuggling runs from Alderaan to Tatooine, he had shipped several of them for illegal buyers in the black market. However, it was the first time he had seen them in action.

" Die!" the wielder of the red lightsaber, garbed in a black cloak, threw the weapon like a boomerang.

Mazhdar then noticed it head toward his direction. Almost instinctively , he raised his arms in defense, waiting for the glowing blade to cut through his skin like paper. After a few seconds, Mazhdar lowered his arms and realized that he was still in one piece. What's more? He noticed that his chains were cut off and he could move his hands more freely.

"Thanks!I owe you a drink later on!" Mazhdar flashed a thumbs up toward the combating force users.

Then, an irritated roar signalled that his old friend, the Kimogila, had relocated him.

Time to bounce!

The smuggler fled inside the gunship and noticed various weapons scattered about. He went for an E-11 blaster rifle, the type used by stormtroopers, and immediately set it on lethal.

"Get away from it!"

Mazhdar flipped around to notice a slim, dark-haired woman fighting a young man with unruly chestnut hair over a blaster rifle. That must be the other smuggler. Fighting the urge to get involved, he turned his attention outside the gunship only to see a young Wookie get snatched up by the powerful jaws of the Kimoglia. He closed his eyes and turned away in order to avoid seeing the dreadful sight. Someone then slammed into him, sending them both to the ground. It was the female smuggler thrown on top of him by her opponent. Mazhdar rose to his feet slowly, helping the young woman up.

" You both ready to die?" the young man asked, reaching for a nearby T-7 ion disruptor.

Having his ego get the better of him, Mazhdar fired his weapon, making its mark on the young man's shoulder. Growling in rage, the man then tackled him to the ground, causing Mazhdar to lose his grip on his blaster. Both rolled around the floor outside, landing punches on each other. Mazhdar grimaced as the younger man unleashed a flurry of punches across his face.Mazhdar retaliated by landing a kick on the guy's stomach.

"Mazhdar! Up here!"

Gasping for breath, the smuggler rolled his gaze upward and realized that he had nearly forgotten about Peyna through the chaos. Yet, here was the love of his life, chained to the top of the gunship, along with a handful of others.

"Stay put, I am coming for you onc-"

He never had the chance to finish his sentence as he was struck from behind and knocked to the floor. He looked up to see his nemesis pointing the blaster he had dropped earlier at him.

"It's over, smuggler,"he smirked. " You put up quite a fight, but this is it for you. Know that you were killed by Trin Starwind."

Before Trin could fire, a shadow fell over the both of them. Mazhdar felt himself smirk. An old friend had come back one more time. His attacker turned to see a massive Kimogila tower over him. Trin raised the blaster to fire, but Mazhdar gave him a kick in the back, knocking him to the ground. The smuggler barely had time to regain his E-11 before the beast's head dipped down to snare Trin in its mouth before taking off with the screaming man in its mouth.

" Mazhdar, are you alright?" Peyna asked, her face filled with worry.

Mazhdar climbed up the side of the gunship before he smiled at her. He wiped his forehead with his sleeve only to find the dark brown color stained with crimson.

"I guess I am alright," he smiled.

" You call that alright?!" Peyna's eyes flashed with irritation. "Look at you! You look like a wolf-cat had done a number on you!"

The smuggler glanced at himself and realized that she was right. His shirt was torn in many places and he was bleeding from his face. Another thing that had caught his attention was a long gaping trail along his left shoulder. Mazhdar wondered why it was the only wound not bleeding. Peyna's green eyes traveled to the wound and she looked like she saw a ghost.

" Mazhdar, did you get into a scuffle with a jedi? That is the first lightsaber wound I had seen in a long while!"

He did a doubletake. The red lightsaber from earlier might have nicked his shoulder as it freed him of his chains.

"We will discuss it later!" he stated. "First, let me get you out of those chains."

Using the E-11, he shot the chains and liberated her. Immediately, she leapt into his arms.

" You really should reconsider-" she started to say, but was cut off when Mazhdar's lips connected with hers.

"Come on," he pulled away." Let's get you a weapon. You will need one if you wish to survive."

Taking her hand, he led her toward the weapons. She selected DL-18 blaster pistol and were about to head off when they bumped into two others. In front of them was an individual who donned red Mandalorian armor and possessed shoulder length dark hair. At his side was a nervous-looking prepubescent boy. Mazhdar assumed this man was a bounty hunter.

"Well," the bounty hunter smiled. " What do we have here?"

"Back off!" Mazhdar snarled.

"As soon as you hand me your blaster," the man smirked, crossing his arms.

" Oh, you want a blaster, you will get a blast!" Peyna raised her blaster.

"Mr.Sha'ar!" the boy interjected. " Look over there!"

He pointed at several mechanical shapes rolling toward them. Once they stopped, all four individuals were shocked to see what they were.

"Droidekas?!" Mazhdar gasped. "Those have been unheard of since the days of the Republic!"

" Impossible," the bounty hunter murmured in agreement. "It looks like we have a battle ahead of us."

Mazhdar nodded in agreement. How the Imperials gained possession of these droids were beyond him. The droidekas open fired at everyone. Mazhdar saw a tall, Chalactan man take fire and fall to the ground limp. The smuggler and the bounty hunter shared a look that shared understanding as they held their weapons at ready. Both of them made a dash toward cover, dodging droid fire and corpses littered on the ground. They opened fire on the enemy. Peyna appeared next to Mazhdar, providing cover fire for them.

One thing was clear. They were all in this together.

11: Politician Male Mission

NO ENTRY AUTOMATICALLY ELIMINATED

13: Citizen Male Aevo

The first thing Aevo did upon being chained in the Geonosian Arena was laugh. He had no idea why; perhaps it was the irony—the irony in knowing that this was where it all started for him, this arena was where his first battle had taken place and this was where it would end. Or perhaps it was his hatred of the heat and knowing that at least the Empire would kill him with something that he hated.

Perhaps... Perhaps it was because he was losing his mind. He no longer knew, nor did he care. Months of suffering torture beneath the Empire's hands, being separated from his daughter after losing his wife, running away from the Clones—his brothers—and being hunted down and seen as a traitor... perhaps it was finally all getting to him.

Perhaps not.

The sun gleamed down on the twenty people in the arena around him. Like him, they were each chained to thirty-feet high clay pillars circling the arena. Geonosians cheered and gawked at them, spewing curses from what little he could understand. Sand rolled across the ground, parting just enough to reveal a structure in the center.

He gasped. It can't be!

Crashed in the center of the arena was a Republic Gunship. How many times had he boarded one? How many times had he fought from one, retreated to one fighting by his brothers' sides? How many times had he flown one, looked upon one?

Too many to count.

It was in terrible shape. The paint was nearly gone, stripped from it so that it was an old dusty white, stained from the sand. One of its wings was gone and the other was half-buried in a dune. The doors were open and out of it spilled weapons of all sorts. He couldn't see any specifics at the distance he was at; not to mention the wind blew sand, blocking his vision.

Blinking his watery eyes, he noticed shapes above the gunship. Twenty or so people were chained to it. His eyes landed on one person that was dead even with him—the Twi'lek woman who had been imprisoned with him. Her arms were chained above her head to the top of the ship, leaving her hanging off the side of it. Her feet dangled just inches above the ground. Even from far away, Aevo could tell it was a struggle for her to breathe. Several times he noticed that she stopped reaching up to take a breath at all.

She was giving up.

He reminded her so much of his dead wife that his chest ached. Doors behind each of the pillars began to open ever-so-slowly. After what felt like a long time, the one directly across from him opened up, revealing a Terentatek. The Mirilian chained to the pillar easily lost his chains, but Aevo couldn't tell how.

That's when he realized: the man hadn't moved.

The Force! Immediately, Aevo's heart sank. All the Jedi were dead, which meant the man was a Sith. Anger gripped him harder than it should have and he glanced up to focus on getting out of his own chains.

Suddenly, there was a bellowing roar behind him and the pillar cracked and collapsed. He had just enough time to roll to the right to avoid being crushed. Dust rained down, blocking his vision completely. Stumbling to his feet, Aevo coughed, desperately trying to see what had attacked him. As the dust cleared, he was finally able to see what it was.

Red skin just barely stood above him, but it wasn't the height that startled him. It was the width. Thick muscles with four arms and at least sixteen claws as the creature pounded the earth furiously and bellowed.

A Gundark.

I hate these things, Aevo thought, briefly recalling several instances he and his squadron along with their Jedi Commander stumbled onto Gundarks. Fortunately, the pillar had broken his chains from the top when it had collapsed fully intact. The bad news was that the cuffs were still grasping his wrists and the chains were still their full length. Grabbing them in his hands, he flicked them toward the Gundark like whips. He managed to wrap them around the Gundark's neck.

This... might not be the best idea. Knowing he had no other choice, Aevo allowed the momentum of the thrashing Gundark to throw him behind it. He landed on the ground hard enough to knock his breath out. Wondering where he'd gone, the Gundark started running. Oh no you don't. You ain't dragging me! With a grunt, Aevo pulled on the chains, not feeling how much it burned and pulled himself onto the Gundark's back. Smiling, he pulled the chains taut around its throat.

Now he had it under his control. However temporary. He dug the heels of his boots into its sides and squeezed the chains, urging it forward. It galloped faster than he expected and reached the ship within a few strides. Mustering all his strength, he pulled the chains enough to choke it and didn't let go until the creature stilled.

A Zabrak was pressed up against Aevo's Twi'lek friend, groaning deep in his throat. Seeing only red, Aevo jumped on the Zabrak's back and wrapped his hands around the man's throat without hesitation. The man, one of his own, wasn't expecting it and instantly tried to throw Aevo off his back. Aevo's thick muscles were larger than the other Zabrak's, allowing him to easily subdue the man, especially when Aevo jammed a knee in the man's back.

With a loud war cry, Aevo shifted all his strength and energy into his wrists and snapped the Zabrak's neck. There was a pang in his chest and his stomach twisted. I just killed one of my own kind. Being a Zabrak for seven years, Aevo had accepted the new race as his own. Many Zabraks back on Iridonia had become his family.

Shaking off all emotion, Aevo darted inside the ship, grabbing a vibro sword. It wasn't a Zhaboka, but it would do. Inside, a person with Mandalorian armor on stood over the body of a Togruta female. Whoever it was whirled around, aiming a blaster rifle at Aevo.

Stepping to the side as the blaster rifle fired, Aevo didn't stop even though a couple shots landed in his chest. After the pain the Empire put him through, a few blaster shots were nothing. Without hesitation, he sliced the vibro blade across the person's neck. Aevo grabbed a pack of supplies and dashed out the doors.

All around him was pure chaos. People were fighting monsters as well as other people. The Mirilian man from before leapt onto the Terentatek and threw a lightsaber to unchain one of the prisoners.

Aevo turned his attention back to his friend, slicing the vibro blade across the cuffs on her wrists. Carefully maneuvering the blade, he was able to slice through his own chains. "Grab a weapon. You ain't going to last long without one, Star." Ever since he'd met her four months ago when he had first been imprisoned, she had never spoken. Being a Twi'lek with an amputated left lekku, combined with everything she must have gone through as a slave had obviously scarred her. Aevo couldn't blame her for not speaking. The amputated lekku alone was enough to kill any species.

They had spent every moment in that prison cell together, except when they were out being tortured. Even without saying anything, Aevo was able to learn a lot about her by just being with her. She used to use a piece of stone to draw pictures, most of which had been about the night sky. Aevo suspected before she was a slave she'd been some sort of pilot, but he never asked. After that, he had started calling her Star and she never seemed to mind.

Quietly as usual, Star simply picked up a blaster rifle and held it in front of her, ready for whatever was to come.

The Mirilian male used the Force to lift his prisoner, a Togruta woman, down to the ground safely. Doing so had left him exposed to a Zygerrian male with a whip that he wrapped around the Force user's neck.

As Aevo got a closer look at the writhing man, his breathing stopped.

Kanan.

His old Jedi Commander.

Crying out in fury, Aevo charged toward the Zygerrian man, slicing toward him with his blade. The man was surprised enough that it sliced through his shoulder. He jumped back, not expecting the Togruta woman to slam the butt of a rifle against the back of his head. Without waiting, she knelt by Kanan's side.

"How is he?" Aevo murmured.

She nodded, sighing in what was probably relief. "He should be fine."

Almost as soon as she finished saying that, Kanan's eyes blinked and he groaned, grabbing his neck.

"Come on. I have a few weapons and knocked that Zygerrian bastard out. Let's go." The Togruta urged him to stand and when he didn't, she yelled at him. "Come on!" She grabbed his arm and tried forcing him to his feet but his eyes closed again.

Aevo grabbed his arm and slung Kanan onto his back, carrying him back to the gunship.

"What are you doing?" The Togruta female aimed a blaster rifle at him.

"Helping him. The Gunship might be a target for the other monsters, but it's safer than lying out in the open. Stay with him and we'll help guard it." Aevo placed Kanan inside. Most of the other people had already come and gone. The ones who didn't were either dead or fighting the monsters about to be.

Now that he had more time, he searched through the remaining weapons until he found a Zhaboka. He sheathed the vibro blade and grabbed the remaining thermal detonators and clenched the Zhaboka in his right hand.

Exiting the gunship, he peered around the arena at the remaining monsters and people. There was still a rancor being held off by a few people wielding lightsabers, two Ewoks helping a Wookie against a horde of strange creatures Aevo had never seen before and heading straight for the gunship was a group of frynocks.

"Haven't seen these buggers in a long time." Aevo mentally cursed, twirling his blade around in his hands to prepare his first strike.

The first wildly leapt toward him but he sliced through its chest. The second and third were just as easy. After that, more and more jumped on him at once, getting harder and harder for he and Star to hold them off.

Suddenly, they all shot away from him at once.

His eyes shifted to the open door of the gunship. Kanan leaned against the entrance, using the Force to hold them all back. "These guys won't attack if there's two things—sunlight and the Force."

Aevo inclined his head, but said nothing else. What could he say? Even if Kanan did believe him about changing his appearance, the Clones had all betrayed him. Aevo himself had been forced to watch as Vader relentlessly attacked Kanan to the point of death.

How are you alive? Aevo wanted to ask his old friend, but no words would form. Even as he mentally asked the question, his eyes told him the answer. A mechanical eye and mechanical limbs all except his right arm spoke of the injuries he had sustained.

"Be ready," he said instead. "More creatures are coming." He clenched his Zhaboka tightly, ready for whatever was coming next.

19: Sith Male Yurrei

Yuurei opened his eyes, blinking blearily. Waves upon waves of rippling red sand met his gaze as he cleared sleep from his eyes. For a moment, it seemed peaceful. The sun beat down on his head, warm and inviting. There wasn't a single sound to disturb the silence, and Yuurei shut his eyes, leaning his head back to allow the sun to warm his face. He hit a wooden object with a thunk as he did so. He still heard nothing, but he had felt it. For a fleeting moment, that seemed odd to him, but then something more pressing came to mind.

He became suddenly aware of the fact that he shouldn't be out in a desert at all. Alert again, he turned his head, straightening. The offending wooden object was a post. And the post had an iron ring with chains attached to it. Looking down, he realized that the chains culminated in heavy manacles, which were clamped around his wrists.

Furthermore, now that he was awake and paying attention, he found that there were other posts with people chained to them. Beyond them, in the center of what he now saw was a desert stadium of sorts, there lay a twisted, distorted Republic Gunship. They weren't far from it, and he could see that, chained on the top of the ship, his droid and nineteen other small figures were struggling to get to the various posts.

His attention briefly flicked over the exits and the stands. The people in them flickered slightly on occasion, letting Yuurei know that they were simple projections. Finding no reason to dwell on that, he looked at the exits. Twenty arched doorways around the entire stadium, one for each of the twenty chained here in this arena. No good... So long as I'm chained to this stupid wooden post, I'll never go anywhere.

Glaring at the offending object, he first tried to tear the chains from the post using the Force. That was abruptly halted when a painful wave of electricity surged from the manacles into his body. His muscles seized and twitched, contracting in painful spasms. He stopped using the Force, dropping to the ground as his legs gave out. Gasping, he waited, hoping it would end. A few moments after he'd quit trying to Forcibly remove the chains from the post, the current stopped.

Yuurei gasped for breath in short, hiccupping sobs. As the pain subsided, he realized something with a shock. I couldn't hear that. I know I was screaming, but I couldn't hear it! What's wrong with me? What did they do to me before I was chained up here and abandoned to die?

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and he squinted up into the sun to find Virith looking down at him. Yuurei wrinkled his nose. The Jedi's lips were moving, but he couldn't hear anything. Finally, Virith rolled his eyes and stalked over to the ring in the post. Yuurei's eyes widened, and he weakly put up a hand, trying to yell at Virith not to do it. Clearly the sand in his mouth and parched throat didn't allow for sound. Another jolt of electricity shot through him as Virith applied the Force to the metal chains. Yuurei's back arched as he shut his eyes against the pain, fighting to breathe.

It stopped as suddenly as it started, and Virith was standing over him again, a concerned expression on his face. Again, his lips moved. Yuurei weakly shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut. As he was laying there, a strange crawling sensation crept over him. Something besides my hearing isn't right, Yuurei thought.

Forcing himself into a sitting position, he found that several others had freed themselves from the posts they had been chained to. The slightly more disturbing thing that Yuurei then saw was the stream of monstrosities coming from all twenty doors. Why me? he thought, staring dolefully at his chains. This is not how I wanted to go... Oh well... Guess I'll take as many of these things down as I can before I die.

Virith looked visibly shaken by something, but Yuurei ignored him. Who wouldn't be shaken by that motley collection of ghastly creatures approaching? Every one of those things looked hungry. Yuurei didn't even know what half of them were. Disregarding that, he got to his feet and shakily regained his footing. He could feel the Force slowly restoring his strength with each step he took toward the post. If I can't get the stupid chains out of the post, how about I rip the post out of the ground? Yuurei allowed himself a small smile. Whoever did this is about to be sorry... Hope they don't mind collateral damage. He applied the Force to the post's base this time, savagely ripping it out of the ground. Mindful of where Virith was standing to his left, Yuurei swung the wooden post around to the right, intending to get it out of his way so he could walk forward.

The post slammed to a halt. Surprised, Yuurei turned to see what it had hit. A livid Cherfer was staring down at him with beady eyes. Yuurei stared back into the bared teeth of the herd animal. Oops... I think I should've looked a little more closely before I swung, Yuurei thought. Ah, well... The creature's snout was bleeding from where the post had clouted it. Its dark eyes reflected the sun and red sand, giving it a hellish appearance. Yuurei cleared his throat, backing up to get some room. He opened his mouth to speak. "I'm terribly sorry about that," he said.

Or at least, he thought that's what he'd said. He still couldn't hear anything, which explained how he hadn't known the creature was behind him. I wonder if that's why Virith looked so worried. Why didn't that idiot tell me? Glancing over at Virith, he rethought that. Oh... Wait... I think he did. I just can't hear anything. Well, I'll excuse it, then, Yuurei mentally laughed at his own stupidity.

He got a weird look from Virith, which made him abruptly stop whatever he was doing. He realized he must've laughed aloud too. Shrugging, he turned back to the angry Cherfer. The creature quadruped was pawing the ground, and Yuurei could smell the stench as its nostrils flared and its toothy maw gaped wide. Its triangular ears were pinned flat against its oblong skull.

Didn't the first time I hit it teach it anything? Dumb thing, isn't it? Maye that first blow addled it. He picked the post up once more with the Force, whipping it up into the Cherfer's barrel-like chest. The creature flew backwards, flipping across the sand and hitting another person's post. The person by the post hadn't been quick enough to vacate the area. Yuurei watched, wincing, as the Cherfer crashed into the panicked prisoner. The two went down, and neither one of them got back. I hope that wasn't someone useful. We might've needed them to escape this place... Well, too late now, Yuurei thought.

Virith stared at him, a somewhat nauseated look on his pale face. His lips moved again, but Yuurei pointed to his ears and shook his head. Hoping that he was saying the right thing, he said, "I can't hear!"

Understanding dawned in Virith's eyes. He nodded abruptly and motioned for Yuurei to follow him. Then he motioned to Yuurei's hip. Yuurei looked down at the pouch stored there. What about my pouch?

Reaching down with his cuffed hands, he pulled the pouch open. There, nestled inside, was his lightsaber. Sighing, he reached in and took it out. They didn't leave me completely weaponless. This should be able to cut off and disrupt the flow of electricity in these death traps clamped onto my wrists. He activated it with a grin. There was a slight ringing in his ears as he positioned the blade carefully and hacked off the chains at his wrists.

There was a slight zapping at his wrists as he did so, but the current stopped as the blade went through the rest of the chain linked to the cuffs. Breathing a sigh of relief, he nodded Virith.

***

When he saw the Zygerrian man holding a blade and straddling Zillah, Yuurei flipped. He covered the space between them in a few quick strides. By now, his hearing was coming back. It was difficult to hear what was going on around him, but he could make out words and hear himself speak. "I suggest you get away from her now," Yuurei snapped. "Or you'll find yourself less a limb or two and then less your head."

The Zygerrian man turned to Yuurei with a sneer. "Just who do you think..."

Yuurei smirked as the man's gaze fell on the black lightsaber. "You have a problem?"

The man recovered quickly and snorted. "So you have Force affinity. Who cares? You can still die!" The knife slashed out.

Yuurei laughed, unable to believe that someone would attack a Force user wielding a lightsaber with a puny dagger. His laughter was halted when the dagger stopped his lightsaber. Surprise washed over him. Well, now... Someone has a highly expensive knife... Doesn't matter at any rate. He's still going to die.

He gravitated, flipping over a daring slash at his hamstring. While Yuurei could have ended the fight in moments considering the difference between their weapons, he was prolonging it, the zing of the fight thrumming in his blood and beating in time to his heartbeat. The familiarity of sparring with a skilled opponent made him feel normal again in a world that had turned upside down for him.

Finally, the Zygerrian made a mistake. Well, he'd already made the mistake of challenging a Sith, of course. But he made a further mistake, and Yuurei capitalized on it. He swung hard, his lightsaber buzzing as it slashed through the air and then through the Zygerrian's neck.

Yuurei turned to Zillah. She was covered in black ichor from whatever hapless creature lay mangled at her feet. Her green eyes met his, haunted and weary. He let out a breath of relief he hadn't realized he'd been holding. Striding over to her, he slashed the remaining chain that held her captive to the post.

Without another word, he sheathed his lightsaber and wrapped his arms around her shaking frame, pulling her to her feet in his embrace. His fingers tangled in her hair gently. "Zillah," he whispered. "It's okay now... You need to get a hold of yourself though. These people are willing to kill us to survive, so we must remain alert. Beyond that, we need to go rescue my droid and Anarchy. Come on..."

She tightened her arms around him, burying her face in his chest. For the first time since he had pulled her from the jaws of death in the slave market, he saw Zillah break down in tears. She sobbed, gasping and clinging to him. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..." he heard her faintly mumbling. "I never should've run... You never did anything to me to deserve it... I'm sorry..."

He stroked her hair softly. "Z, I'm not mad. We need to get moving though. We can talk later."

The words finally registered with her. She nodded, pushing away and wiping away tears. "Let's go then..."

***

"Get away from Anarchy now!" Zillah snapped, her green eyes ablaze with anger.

The man, who was obviously Zabrakian like Zillah, had his large hands wrapped around the animal's neck, and Anarchy was lashing out with his large claws, trying to hit the man. A snarl came from the Zabrakian man as he shot a glare at Zillah. "Then control your stupid mutt, woman! Better yet, just get lost! This beast bit me when I tried to take a weapon. Just stay out of this."

Zillah launched herself at the muscular man, her arms wrapping around his waist as she tackled him. The three went down in a flurry of limbs and fur just as Yuurei was about to step in. He sighed, stepping back to watch. There was no stopping his determined apprentice. She protected that animal with a ferocity he'd never seen in her any other time. Woe betide the moron who hurt Anarchy, Yuurei thought glibly.

A flash of metal flew through the hot desert air, glinting in the sun. There was a grunt and then a snarl. Yuurei watched as the man flipped Zillah, pinning her beneath him. He had a knife, but so did Zillah. He currently had the upper hand since her knife hand was pinned, but now Zillah was hysterical. Yuurei could feel the terror radiating off her in waves.

She warded off the blade the man intended to bury in her throat with her own arm. When the blade slammed down into her flesh, she screamed, agony flashing across her face. At that point, Yuurei stepped in. Seeing her hurt made something inside snap. He felt cold and then hot as he drew his lightsaber. The man's back was to him. There was no way he would survive. Not now. How dare you hurt her? Yuurei thought. You might have lived if you hadn't let your anger rule you. But now it's over for you. Like an avenging angel, Yuurei descended on the man without a word. The lightsaber plunged into the man's back at the same time as Yuurei grabbed his shoulder and yanked him off Zillah.

Zillah was breathing heavily and crying while clutching her wounded arm to her chest. Blood poured over her tunic as the wound bled prolifically. Yuurei kicked the dead Zabrakian's body over the edge of the ship and went to Zillah's aid. He gave Anarchy a cursory glance to be sure the anooba wasn't injured. Surprisingly, the doglike creature was fine. The beeping noises behind him alerted him to Q-P1's presence. Relief flooded him as he realized that his droid had been released at some point and caught up with him.

Virith knelt on Zillah's other side, nodding to Yuurei. "That looks nasty."

Zillah stared up at them, her lower lip trembling and tears streaking her sand-coated face. "M-make it s-stop... M-make i-it stop..." She wailed softly, squeezing her eyes shut.

"I can't, Z... I'm sorry..." Yuurei yelled over the din of the battle below and around them. "I need to bandage it for now. It's going to hurt." He used his teeth to rip a strip of cloth from his shirt. Knotting it securely around her arm, he picked the whimpering girl up. "Virith, did you free your companion?"

He nodded, pointing out the Twi'lek girl beside him.

Yuurei nodded sharply. "Then let's go."

The group broke into a dead run for the exits. Don't die on me now, Zillah, Yuurei thought as he glanced at the shivering girl in his arms. You can't die now...