I just wanted to say to everyone that I am SO SO SO SORRY for not updating in over a week - almost three weeks! It's terrible! Earlier this month I was so busy with house hunting that I finally had a lot of time to myself and took time off from writing but now I'm back and hopefully I can keep updating much faster now! I hope all of you can understand  - and hopefully you guys haven't forgotten!

1: Bounty Hunter Male: Sha'ar Kagle 

"Keekee, does this make me look like a fat droid?"

Sha'ar's young assistant glanced over at him. His face, barely visible through the glass helmet of the EVA suit, sported an annoyed look. The bright violet and blue colors of the nebula made his face glow under his helmet.

"Mr. Sha'ar, if I am not mistaken, we just got dropped off in the middle of an abandoned asteroid field far from any known civilization and the first thought that pops in your mind is if you look like an obese droid?" Kaikai crossed his arms. " Moreover, I have known you for six years and you keep butchering my name."

Sha'ar couldn't help, but feel awed at his companion.

Since when did this boy start thinking maturely?

"I meant no insult toward any fat droid, but you could have answered my question," the bounty hunter responded.

"Ugh! How did we even make it out of that arena alive?!" Kaikai groaned.

" Do not underestimate the power of the Shi'ido, kid," Sha'ar smirked.

He looked up to see the bat-winged shape of the Lambda-class t-4a shuttle, its grey shape taking on a purplish glow from the nebula, return to the massive Star Destroyer it had originated from. That was the moment that Sha'ar had noticed the long leash that originated from the gargantuan ship and had ended at the end of his EVA suit. The Shi'ido then realized that Kaikai also had the leash as well. That was when it dawned on him.

"Those Imps are treating us like their intergalactic dogs!" Sha'ar shouted in anger.

"They are not going to stop until they have us all killed," Kaikai replied to his guardian's outburst. "Besides, why else do we have bombs strapped to our suits?"

Startled, Sha'ar glanced down at himself and gasped as he noticed a black digital timer with the number two followed by a colon and two zeroes trailing after it, glowing a bright red color strapped to his chest. The bounty hunter then spotted a small pouch around his waist. Feeling the butterflies fluttering in his stomach, he opened the pouch and saw a small wad of paper. Sha'ar then began to read it.

To the rebel scum reading this,

At this very moment, you and your partner both have a droid inside you that will explode in two hours if you do not find the disruptor to shut it down. In order to accomplish that, you would need to travel two miles past the asteroid field to Obstillia. How you do so is entirely up to you, but fail to do so and you will go out with a bang.

Best of luck,

The Imperial Entertainment Industry

P.S.Your plight is being televised all throughout the galaxy so please put on a good show.

"Kriff! We both have droids inside us that will blow us into smithereens if we don't get to some planet named Obstillia by two hours," Sha'ar briefed his assistant.

"Well, we have already lost a few minutes," Kaikai pointed at his timer.

"What are we waiting for?" Sha'ar groans. "Let's get going!"

He grabbed the young boy's hand and jumped toward the large asteroids. After a couple of minutes, he started to feel impatient.

" I feel we are not going to get even a mile in two hours if we continue like this, there must be another way," Sha'ar sighed.

"You know of any shortcuts?" Kaikai asked.

"If I knew of any kriffing sh-" Sha'ar began until various red streaks shot around them.

Sha'ar gazed around and realized that on the asteroids, various beings, donning white armor, were crouched down and firing blaster shots towards the duo. The bounty hunter immediately recognized them as Imperial stormtroopers.

" The bucketheads are out to get us!" he told his assistant.

" Of course they would," Kaikai growled. "I suggest we give it right back to them."

"How do you intend to do that?" Sha'ar asked as he dodged the enemy fire. His eyes raked across the brown and barren space rocks as he tried to determine how many stormtroopers were dug in on them.

"In case you weren't paying attention, we still are allowed to keep our weapons from the arena," Kaikai replied as he drew out a small hold-out blaster.

"You clever little devil," the Shi'ido smirked as he looked down and drew his blaster as well. "You learn really quickly."

"I learn from the best," Kaikai smiled at him as he fired at the enemy.

The duo returned fire as they got within range of the stormtroopers, felling several of them in the process. This continued on for ten more minutes until they heard the dreaded howls of the Empire's dreaded TIE fighters. Both turned to see a couple of the attacking starfighters, their grey exteriors gleaming a bright purplish color thanks to the nebula gases, hone in on them.

"Mr. Sha'ar, they are gaining on us!" Kaikai shrieked.

"I have eyes, dear boy," Sha'ar rolled his eyes.

Kaikai's eyes then locked onto Sha'ar's backside.

"Is that a jet pack?" he asked.

"Jet pack?" the Shi'ido asked, baffled.

"Holy moly, it's a Z-6!" Kaikai squealed.

The bounty hunter felt his back and turned out the boy was right. He really needed to activate it as the TIE fighters began firing at them. In no time, they were sent hurtling past the asteroid field. Kaikai grabbed onto his guardian's hand tightly as they evaded various asteroids as well as attacking Imperial ships. He turned his gaze behind him to see the TIEs smack into small asteroids shaped like balls, resulting in bright explosions.

Score! he thought as a smirk played onto his face.

"Mr. Sha'ar, you must ditch the jet pack now!" Kaikai screamed.

"Have you lost your mind?"

"No, just do as I say!"

" I will be damned if I do!" Sha'ar glared.

Kaikai then yanked it off the Shi'ido, causing them to hurtle a few yards due to the abrupt stop. Sha'ar turned to glare at his assistant.

"Congratulations, you are now going to get us killed," he snarled.

"No, you should be thanking me," the boy crossed his arms. "Take a look behind you."

Sha'ar whirled around to see the Z-6, engulfed by a small fire, hurtle toward a small figure in a spacesuit. Curious, the figure snatched the jet pack only for it to explode, killing it instantly.

" Your welcome," Kaikai smirked.

Poor Ewok, Sha'ar thought. The jet pack must have taken a hit from either the bucketheads or the TIE fighters. I really owe Kaikai my life.

"Mr. Sha'ar, look at those ships over there!" Kaikai pointed.

The bounty hunter turned around and noticed that above a nearby asteroid were the gleaming shapes of various starships.

"Perhaps we could make it if we borrow one," Sha'ar smirked. They floated closer to the grayish asteroid and raked their eyes across the various ships. His eyes then landed on a couple Firespray-class starships. A feeling of elation began to rise inside him.

" Aren't they beautiful?" the Shi'ido asked Kaikai as they admired the starships.

Sha'ar went up to close to the Firespray that had a maroon and lime green paint job while Kaikai tagged along with him.

Boba Fett, you would have loved to see this, you little dog.

Suddenly, blaster fire whizzed past Sha'ar's shoulder and struck the Firespray, making a mark. Enraged, Sha'ar whipped out his blaster and turned to face the shooter. A male Zabrak, along with his Mandalorian companion, faced them with their weapons raised.

"You kriffing idiots!" the Shi'ido snarled. " Can't you see the value in Firesprays? They are a rare type of aircraft yet you carelessly shoot at one? You should be ashamed of yourselves!"

The Zabrak and his companion howled with laughter.

" Why are you so concerned about a stupid ship?" the Zabrak smirked. " If I were you, I'd be more concerned about my own life."

Sha'ar responded by firing at the offender while he pulled Kaikai back with his free hand. Their opponents responded the same way. Sha'ar dove downward to shake off the enemy. The Zabrak also responded in kind as Sha'ar and him both exchanged fire.

They are relentless! he thought with irritation.

The firefight continued for a bit longer until a red lightsaber sliced through the torsos of his opponents. The wielder of the lightsaber then appeared before them, gazing at them as if daring them to attack. Once he saw that the wielder, who was a woman, had the tell-tale dichromatic eyes of a Sith, he felt fear grow inside his chest like a virus.

"Mr. Sha'ar, I think this woman is a Sith," Kaikai whimpered.

" Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious, " the bounty hunter groaned.

He fired a couple shots at the Sith woman, who easily deflected them. She started to float closer to him as he attempted to retreat, dragging Kaikai with him.

Kriff, we are doomed!

Just as the distance was closing between them, blaster shots rang out. The Sith woman turned to face a newcomer to the battle. Sha'ar also gazed over and saw the newcomer and her companion facing the female Sith with blasters drawn.

Is that the other bounty hunter?

He had assumed it true as he saw the weapon she was sporting and how well she was handling it. She fired at the Sith woman, who used the Force to stop the blaster bolts from making their mark. Then, the Sith decided to force choke all four of them. Sha'ar's eyes grew wide as his throat was constricted by the Force, denying him the much needed air. The bounty hunter's eyes landed on his sidekick, who looked like his head was going to burst any moment.

Must....stop...this.

Then, laser fire from a passing TIE fighter distracted their opponent for a split second. Capitalizing on that, Sha'ar and the other bounty hunter aimed their blasters and fired, striking their nemesis on the chest. Sha'ar watched in awe as the dead Sith floated away limp, signalling that they made a kill.

"Nice shot," Sha'ar complimented the newcomer.

She just shot him a cold stare. Those bright blue eyes of hers made Sha'ar shudder a bit.

"Ok, I am sorry if I offended you in any way," Sha'ar apologized.

The female bounty hunter just rolled her eyes and set her sights on the starships, her partner doing the same. Sha'ar then felt his own partner tug at his arm.

"Mr. Sha'ar, I have an idea," he stated, his eyes gleaming.

" Spill it," the Shi'ido requested.

"Since you both are bounty hunters, why don't you two work together to get to Obstillia?" Kaikai suggested.

" That's not a half bad idea," Sha'ar smirked.

He was about to go up and ask the other bounty hunter that about that when she suddenly whirled around and fired her blaster at him. Startled, he tensed up and waited for the bolt to hit him, but it zipped behind him. He turned and saw it slam into a Zygerrian that was sneaking up behind him. Sha'ar blinked in surprise as the Zygerrian fell limp, red blood flowing freely from its wound.

"Your welcome," the female bounty hunter said coldly.

"Hey, I have a suggestion," Sha'ar began.

The newcomer and her companion turned.

" Would you like to team up with us to make it to Obstillia?" Kaikai asked for his guardian.

The companion of the other bounty hunter whispered in her ear as they both turned to talk it out. Finally, they turn back around with their answer.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to watch each other's back until we make it to our destination," she replied.

" Sounds good to me," Sha'ar smirked.

" Mr. Sha'ar, let's get moving," Kaikai tugged on his guardian's hand. " We have a little less than an hour left."

Stunned, Sha'ar gazed down at the timer and gasped. How did time fly so fast?

"Kaikai, get inside that Firespray," Sha'ar ordered his young assistant.

" Congratulations, you finally got my name correct for once," Kaikai sneered as they entered the attack craft.

Sha'ar sat at the controls and tried to remember how to operate a Firespray.

"Nice ship you got there,Fett" Sha'ar smiled as he and a couple other bounty hunters entered his ship.

"It's called a Firespray," the young Boba Fett explained. " It is designed to hold up to six passengers, usually prisoners."

"You know how to operate this thing?" Sha'ar asked, as he gazed around the ship curiously.

"Of course," the young Fett smirked. " Here's how it works."

Sha'ar started the interceptor and took off with it. It gradually began to feel natural to him as he worked it.

"Feeling alright back there?" Sha'ar called out to Kaikai, who was seated behind him.

" Yes,i am quit-TIE fighters at your two o'clock and ten o' clock!"

The bounty hunter cursed as they came into view. Then, another ship he couldn't identify appeared between the striking aircraft. Once he saw the Imperial insignia plastered on its portside, he knew it wasn't a friendly.

"Mr. Sha'ar, proton torpedoes!" Kaikai shrieked as the attacking starfighter launched a couple at the Firespray.

" I have eyes , you know," Sha'ar rolled his eyes.

"How do you fire at enemy ships?" Sha'ar asked.

" Quite simple, actually," Fett smiled. " On the side of the control stick is a button."

Sha'ar's hand clasped on the stick.

" You just hold it as long as you want and some shots will get squeezed off," Boba continued.

Sha'ar held the button and a few laser shots were let loose, destroying the torpedoes before they could make impact with their target. The ship shook from the shock of the explosions as they came face to face with the enemy ships.

" This ship is quite something," Sha'ar commended the young bounty hunter.

"I know," the young bounty hunter grinned. " I inherited it from my father."

Sha'ar pulled on the controls, flying up in the air to avoid colliding with the enemy ships.

" It is an interceptor type ,therefore, it is faster and more agile than most other ships," Boba continued. " Also, you can switch between ion and blaster cannons by pressing this button."

Sha'ar pressed where Boba had told him, switching to the ion cannons. As the two TIE fighters were rising to trail him, he fired at them, turning them into fireballs. The Shi'ido then turned his attention to the remaining Imperial ship.

"Hold on tight, this is going to get rough," Sha'ar warned Kaikai as he dove the Firespray in a steep dive to avoid its fire. He came up behind it and let loose the ion cannons, but it barely made a mark on the much larger ship.

Kriff, I can't win this alone.

Then, a couple more spacecraft joined the fray. Sha'ar, not in the know as to whether these ships were friendlies, kept his guard up. He figured out that they were not with the Imps once they fired on the Imperial ship.

"Are those A-6s?" Kaikai asked.

" I guess so," Sha'ar shrugged. " Why don't you look it up on the Holonet?"

"We don't have access to it here," Kaikai sighed.

"I was being sarcastic," Sha'ar laughed.

Soon, the enemy ship was no more. As the A-6s flew by him, Sha'ar noticed bright orange hair on one of the pilots and realized it was the female bounty hunter from earlier. He piloted his ship after them and after a bit, they arrived at a dark planet. This must be their destination!

"We are here," Sha'ar informed his assistant.

As soon as they got within the airspace of Obstillia, anti-aircraft cannons let loose their volley, surrounding their ship. Then, the alarms started to bleep.

"We've taken hits!" Kaikai shouted.

Sure enough, the ship had taken so many that it was becoming unresponsive. The surface was starting to come to greet them faster by the minute.

"Brace yourself!" Sha'ar warned. " We are going down hard!"

Both closed their eyes as the ship made contact with Obstillia's surface.

5: Slave Male Kiernan Caleth 

The asteroid belt stretched for miles, the enormous rocks moving in a constant orbit. In this asteroid belt were TIE fighters, artificial storm troopers, and starfighters. Most of them were armed and waiting to attack anyone who was unfortunate enough to wander within range.

All in all, the place was a minefield of danger, and with so many going through it, people were bound to kill each other too. None of it was something Kiernan was looking forward to. Still, what worried him most were the devices placed inside him and Kazumi.

The first was set to explode after an hour and a half. Unless they reached Arena 1's moon, Obstillia, and disabled it, they would both die. The second was worse, because it was timed to go off within seven minutes if he didn't activate it, and if he did, it would take out everything within a hundred-foot radius.

They were thrown out into the pitch black, left with only a small headlamp to see by. It was impossible to see much besides the beams of light that cut through the gloom where each person and their companion had been released.

A buzz told him that his mic was online. Almost immediately voices bombarded him, everyone talking at once. He peered through the darkness again and pushed himself toward what he thought was the middle of the nebula. Hopefully fewer people would decide risk it, since there were more TIEs and other dangers as you got further in. At least they let me keep my weapons.

***

The asteroids ended up providing relatively good cover from the obstacles they'd placed further out, but navigation was difficult. Because it was so dark, it was impossible to tell who was who, and the constant chatter over the earpiece was becoming a distraction. The constant shooting was dangerous, but the fact that the blasters went off silently made it even more deadly. It was impossible to know who was shooting at who or where the shooting was even coming from.

His hand clutched his blaster tighter. If he lost it, he would be defenseless, and that was a sure ticket to death. If I could just find Sul-Juuk... he thought.

"Sul-Juuk?" he called.

If she answered, he didn't hear it, and he didn't dare stop for much longer or he might not make it to the moon in time. "Sul-Juuk can you hear me?" he asked again, louder this time.

The sounds of the others trying to talk over each other seemed to grow to a crescendo and he clenched his fists, fighting a surge of annoyance. Finally, his anger won and he unleashed. "WOULD YOU ALL SHUT UP!" he yelled.

Stunned silence reigned, and he released a breath of relief. "Sul-Juuk? It's Kiernan."

"Kiernan? That was you?" she answered.

"Yes, now help me out here before we run out of time."

"Right. I'll signal you," she told him.

Of course, that was exactly how long everyone was willing to be quiet for them. He sighed. None of this would be easy.

***

Sul-Juuk flashed a hand back and forth across her light. He noticed it winking in and out and launched himself toward it as fast as he dared, keeping his blaster ready just in case. It did turn out to be her, but she'd brought along someone else and their companion. Apparently, they'd been 'paired'.

"You two don't seem to like each other," he commented.

Everyone had finally stopped talking at once and let people take turns, making communication a lot easier. They decided to use 'over' as the word to signal the end of a discussion.

"He's insufferable," Sul-Juuk complained. "And his ideas for surviving are suicide. At least Defik isn't trying to order me around."

Her companion ignored her. "The name is Mayek, and I'm pretty sure she has a problem with having to actually listen."

Kiernan thought he heard a comment about Sul-Juuk being a 'demon cat', but decided not to ask. "Guys we need to get along here and figure out how we're gonna..."

"Scratch that, we've got a group of three coming for us on our five o'clock," Sul-Juuk interrupted.

Mayek pulled out a blaster. "Great, I'll take them from behind, you and Kiernan can distract them."

"No," Sul-Juuk corrected, "I'll take them from behind, you'll distract them, and Kiernan will make sure Kim-Ny stays safe."

"Or we could not reveal our plans on coms where everyone can hear us," Kiernan muttered. "We're done talking. Over."

"Hey, we need a plan," Mayek complained.

"No time. Just do what I tell you too," Kiernan snapped.

He covered his head lamp and the others followed suit. Kim-Ny covered Kazumi's, and Kiernan gave the two of them a gentle push toward the nearest asteroid. It tumbled slowly toward them through space and Kim-Ny latched onto it. The rest of them did the same. Kiernan handed his tether to Sul-Juuk. "Hold this and don't let go, but make sure I can go as far as I need to. Stay here. I've got this." he ordered.

She frowned, but agreed. Once he was sure he would be able to find them again, he pushed off of the asteroid with his free hand and headed toward the approaching group. They clustered together, moving forward together and scanning the surrounding area for other headlamps. Keeping a hand over his, he approached them.

He let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding as he got within a fifty yards of them. This was the tricky part. He had to find the right button and avoid setting off Kazumi's device and killing all of his friends.

"Zillah!"

The voice distracted him, and his head shot up, instinctively searching for its source. Zillah. My sister is here? Shock rippled through him and his hand slipped away from the head lamp. The enemy group immediately spotted him and yanked out their blasters.

He didn't have time to move before a bullet skimmed right by his neck, burning a hole in that part of his suit as it flew by and barely missing him. He let out a muffled yell of surprise, dropping his blaster as his hand flew to his neck to plug the hole. A little status screen blinked red, warning him that his oxygen levels were rapidly decreasing.

"Kiernan, what's going on?" Sul-Juuk demanded. "I'm coming to help you."

"No!" Kiernan snapped. "You'll get yourself killed."

The other group fired again, but Sul-Juuk yanked on his tether, pulling him out of the way. The group continued toward him and he fumbled for the button. There were two. In his oxygen deprived state, he forgot which button went to his device. He chose randomly and closed his eyes as the other group took aim again.

Energy fizzed across his body and blasted away from him, slamming into anything and everything within a hundred yards. The small group of three was thrown away from him, and their headlamps went out.

If Kiernan had thought the blaster wound hurt, it was nothing compared to the pain that overwhelmed him now. The heat from the electricity burned through him, sapping his strength. Spots danced before his eyes. He tried to draw a breath and found the oxygen in his suit woefully inadequate.

"Sul-Juuk pull me back," he rasped.

Blackness overwhelmed him and he passed out.

***

He woke feeling like he'd been hit by a speeding vehicle and then repeatedly slammed into a wall. His whole body ached, and he was pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to fight even if he was any good at it. But it didn't matter. He'd kept the others safe, and he and Kazumi were no longer primed to destroy everything at any minute.

Mayek was dragging him through space, and he spotted the others' headlamps bobbing up and down. He couldn't really do anything, so he just let Mayek drag him and tried to keep from groaning aloud at the pain shooting through his body, but he failed, and Sul-Juuk turned to him.

In his mind, he pictured her crossing her arms and glaring at him. "What were you thinking?" she demanded. "You tried to take on three people with no training. They could have killed you. I can't haggle for a corpse!"

"I feel so loved," Kiernan muttered sarcastically.

"If you were so opposed to the idea, why'd you let him go in the first place?" Mayek pointed out.

"I didn't think he was going to try and kill them all himself! I thought he was going to do something smart, like figure out where they were and find a route to get away. And now look at you! Whatever you did, it knocked you out for a good fifty minutes, and we had to change you into the spacesuit of one of the guys you killed, because you went and got yours destroyed."

"So... no one is even a little bit thankful that I both took out those guys and saved us all from being zapped to death when the... things inside of me and Kazumi ran out of time and detonated?" Kiernan asked.

Sul-Juuk huffed, annoyed, but it was Defik who answered the question. "Kiernan is right. He risked his life, and you're angry at him. At least pretend to be grateful."

"Grateful! I'm faster and stronger. I could have taken them out more efficiently." Sul-Juuk said, exasperated.

"Okay, first of all, you have a daughter, Sul-Juuk. You can't forget about that and jump into danger to save everyone. You have people who will care if you die. I don't have that. If I go, no one will notice. So you want to know why I did it? Well that's why. Because I had nothing to lose, and you and Mayek have family."

"And you don't? Don't think I didn't notice you searching for your sister. You can't lecture me about family." Sul-Juuk snapped, pushing off of an asteroid and angling away from another TIE fighter and heading his direction.

"She doesn't know me anymore, Sul-Juuk. And she's got someone who cares about her now." It hurt Kiernan to admit to that, no matter how true it was. He should have been the one with Zillah, watching her back and keeping her safe. Instead some other guy was doing his job for him. Watching out for his sister, who probably didn't even need him anymore. "Kim-Ny needs you."

She jabbed a finger in his face. "Do you know why I kept going after you? Because you kept believing in living! Not wasting it on spontaneous suicide missions!"

Kiernan was about to say something when the TIE fighter noticed them. Proton torpedoes sprayed the asteroid next to them, completely obliterating it. Kim-Ny squeaked, reaching instinctively for Sul-Juuk, who moved away from the fragments of rock and shoved her daughter at Kiernan. "Take them! We'll meet you."

Just like that, she disappeared into the asteroid field, Mayek and Defik in tow. Kiernan checked the amount of time they had left. Roughly 35 minutes left. He pushed off of a bigger piece of the destroyed asteroid and headed toward the moon.

They reached a transport with 23 minutes to spare, and Kiernan searched for any sign of Sul-Juuk or the others. "Sul-Juuk, where are you?"

No reply came, and Kiernan glanced at Kim-Ny, who was staring anxiously into space. Her worried look decided it for him. He launched into space again, heading in the general direction she'd gone in.

He found her, Mayek, and Defik pinned by a TIE and three storm troopers. They were hiding behind a huge asteroid, hiding.

Kiernan floated right into the middle of the fight, and ran through the options. He couldn't fight anything one on one, and wasn't even confident in his ability to shoot a blaster. However, he could distract. "Mayek, get Sul-Juuk out of here, for Kim-Ny's sake. Make sure they get to Obstillia."

"I won't allow you to do this again!" Sul-Juuk protested. Her light shook as she fought against Mayek, who was actually listening to Kiernan.

"Don't argue. You have ten minutes. Defik, I'll distract them, you take out the storm troopers and TIE."

"Mayek I will skin you if you do," Sul-Juuk warned.

He ignored her, and waited for the signal. When Kiernan gave it, he launched himself toward the moon as fast as he could, dragging Sul-Juuk with him. She stopped fighting when she saw Kiernan launch himself into the middle of the cross-fire. Somehow, they didn't hit him, and Defik managed to emerge from his cover and take out two of the storm troopers.

"What are you thinking? I'm a better shot than all of you and you're letting them float straight into death?"

Mayek didn't respond.

Kiernan launched himself at the storm troopers, figuring they'd be easier to escape from than the TIE. They should have killed him. Proton torpedoes moved too fast to dodge, especially in space. But just as he was sure they were going to shoot him, a starfighter descended on the group, taking out the TIE and storm troopers all in one.

"Get in if you want to live," a voice ordered.

They complied, seeing no other option, and the ship sped away towards to moon. It landed only seconds before the detonators were set to blow, and they quickly deactivated them. Kiernan let out a breath of relief.

"We made it."

7: Trader Male: Mayek Doe

"I get the feeling they're trying to kill us," grumbled Defik as he gazed around the asteroid field.

Mayek had thought running around a sand pit with forty monsters and rebels shooting and screaming was bad. Turns out being jettisoned into space on a timer with billions of asteroids and a legion of starships, TIE fighters, and stormtroopers (not even mentioning the rebels) was infinitely worse.

You'd think that was most of their worries. Nope. Inside the Imperial Starship, Kaladin had so graciously allowed Agruss, the Zygerrian slaver, to attach a spiteful Cathar to Mayek's hip. At first, Mayek was surprised to see another Cathar. He hadn't laid eyes on one since... Nim-Co. However, he soon found this woman to be uncooperative and obstinate. Her only redeeming qualities were that she was an excellent shot and she was very good at protecting her daughter. Mayek wondered at how the young girl turned out to be so kind when her mother was so snooty.

And it didn't help at all that they couldn't hear each other.

The girl had been separated, but they soon found their way on to a solid asteroid that allowed them to pick off the stormtroopers and even take down a TIE fighter. It was a miracle they got anything done at all with the constant defiance of the Cathar. Mayek soon decided he would have to drag her along if they were to make to Obstillia in time.

"There's a starship waiting on the other side of that rock," Defik said as they all prepared to jump onto said rock.

"We'll just stick to its dark side and try to hop around on smaller boulders." Mayek nodded and they all floated through the gap.

As the asteroid turned, they could see the starship over its graveled edge.

Suddenly the Cathar pointed at the ship.

"What? What does she see?" Mayek asked.

"Are those... people?"

Mayek squinted to pick out several figures on the ship's underbelly. A single red light flashed back and forth as the small group seemed to be crowed around an open panel.

"Why aren't there stormtr – oh, wait, no here they come," Defik observed as he crawled higher up on the asteroid near the shadow's line.

"Should we try to but in? A starship – hey! Whoa, what are you doing?" Mayek yelped as the Cathar grabbed the back of his space suit and launched them at the starship.

"What is she doing? They'll pick you off like womp rats!" Defik growled.

The Cathar pulled out her blaster and began to fire at the stormtroopers, felling even more as they approached the ship.

"Hold on, I'm coming. The girl's with me," Mayek heard his brother say over the headset.

Somehow the starship had not blown them to bits, but they were now apparent to the other rebels – including a Sith with a darksaber.

Mayek was left to scramble for a hold on the ship by himself as the Cathar deftly hung on the side and fired on the remaining soldiers.

All of the other rebels began to fight each other as they raced for the ship's hatch. Mayek had finally found his footing and led the Cathar across the underbelly, much to her chagrin he imagined. Steering clear of the fight, they had made it first. The Sith had sliced through two rebels and only the Sith's companion and two others remained.

Before slipping into the hatch, Mayek happened to look up and see the Sith's face. Hate and slaughter showed in every scar on her face. He could not hear her as she cried out in anger, but he could hear the ferocious howls of the Zygerrian who butchered his wife. It was those kind of people – people like the Zygerrian slaver and Kaladin that brought suffering upon other.

Moved by a strange bubble in his gut, he raised his blaster and aimed at her. In one small twitch of his finger, her body drifted away into endless space.

He wasn't sure if it was relief or woe that tied a knot in his chest as he watched the blood spill from her broken visor and freeze into solid streams of red.

There was a sharp tug at his waist and hand on his shoulder.

"Mayek?" Defik asked as he looked at his brother with a concerned expression.

"I-I'm okay." Mayek shook his head and followed the Cathar into the hatch. He helped the girl through and waited for Defik.

"Mazhdar? Hey, Mayek, I know this guy. We had some business tracts together after you left."

"Yeah? Well, get down here before the imperials come looking for us. There's bound to be a few more."

They all climbed down and closed the hatch, allowing the artificial gravity and oxygen to switch on.

As they gained their balance on the floor, they removed their helmets.

"Defik! Hey, look at you. You've gotten scruffy," Mazhdar laughed as he patted Defik's back.

He shrugged, "Gotta appeal to the clients."

"Yeah – hey, let me introduce you to my girlfriend, Peyna."

Peyna smiled and pushed her auburn hair behind her ear.

"Nice to meet you! I'd also like you introduce my brother, Mayek."

They shook hands and Mayek was just going to ask about their history when the Cathar yanked on the tether again.

"I hate to break up your reunion, but we have company!" She announced.

Immediately they went quiet, pulling out their blasters and backing against the walls beside the door leading to the rest of the ship.

Imperial shots were lobbed through the way and the rebels took turns in firing from the corner.

"Clear!" the Cathar said before leading the way through the corridor.

"We haven't been introduced," Mayek said to her in a low voice. She glowered side-long at him and peeked around the corner, "My name is Sul-Juuk."

"I'm Kim-Ny," the girl whispered up to Defik.

"Clear!"

They navigated their way to the bridge where the last four stormtroopers were taken out instantly.

"How much time do we have left?" Peyna asked as they filed inside.

"Time." Sul-Juuk's bright green eyes widened.

"Twenty minutes," Kim-Ny said as she read the number projecting from her suit.

Mayek holstered his blaster and shoved the stormtrooper out of the way to grab the controls. "Co-pilot?" Mayek signaled his brother.

"Actually, I know a little something about imperial ships," Mazhdar interrupted.

"Alright then, take a seat." Mayek reached over with his long arm and pulled the trooper from the other seat as well.

"We have to go back and find someone. A Zabrak," Sul-Juuk spoke up.

"We're not going to back, there's no time," Mayek shook his head.

She placed a hand on her hip, "Look, this is important! I need that Zabrak and I'm not leaving him to clutches of the Empire."

"Wake up, lady. We're all in the clutches of the Empire right now. Ain't no escaping them any time soon," Defik added firmly.

She wasn't giving up, "Anyhow, there is still time if we're fast."

Mayek rose from his seat and stalked over to Sul-Juuk, staring her straight in the eyes, "We cannot spend time going back for someone we can't... we can't save!" His voice cracked as he heard the words he was saying.

We can't save them.

Mayek returned to his chair as everyone remained silent. He flipped a couple switches and stared out into the stars. Obstillia was so close.

So close.

Another moment passed by in silence and Mayek knew he couldn't wait any longer.

"We're going back."

"... Are you sure?" Mazhdar asked cautiously.

Defik placed a hand on Mayek's shoulder. "We're going back."

Mayek took the controls and turned the ship, wheeling around the asteroids.

With Sul-Juuk's sharp cat-eyes, she was able to spot a figure with a small creature defending themselves from a TIE fighter. With a couple well-aimed proton torpedoes, they knocked it down and picked up the Zabrak.

As soon as he could, Mayek swerved the ship around and went for Obstillia.

A smile crept across his face.

He saved them.

They were yards away from the transport when the ship quaked with a crunch and they were thrown to one side.

"What was that?" Peyna shouted.

Mayek leaned out to the glass, "Another ship rammed us!"

"We have no engine power," Mazhdar said, "Obstillia's gravity is pulling us down, but we'll miss the transport completely!"

Sul-Juuk grabbed her helmet, "Everyone suit up. We'll have to jump for it."

There were objections as they scuttled to the nearest hatch and climbed out. Mayek didn't have to hear them to know the gasps from the others as they watched the ships begin to combust.

"There's the transport!" Mayek said as he shoved off the ship's surface. As he looked back to see if they followed, he asked Defik, "How much time left?"

"One minute."

Mayek willed them to go faster, but he knew it wasn't possible. Debris flew everywhere as the two starships started for the moon's atmosphere.

Could they be saved?

The landing pad on top of the transport was so close.

It was so close.

Mayek tumbled over the surface, hearing the grunts and groans of Defik as he did so as well.

Ignoring his bruised joints, he sat up and looked around.

They were saved.

"We're all here!" Defik laughed, "Woo!"

"What about the timer?" Mayek looked down at his suit.

"The shields must have deactivated them," Defik said as he grinned at the stopped projection. There was three seconds left.

In the artificial gravity, Defik helped Mayek stand on his feet. "We did it Mayek."

Mayek chuckled as he watched the others get up, "Yes we did."

9: Smuggler Male: Mazhdar Schneljdar 

"Mazhdar, I have a really bad feeling about this."

Peyna clung onto his left arm as they both tried to come to terms with what just happened. The Lambda-class T-4a shuttle had just dropped them both off inside an asteroid field among a nebula that glowed a bright green and yellow , and left them wondering about their fate. The smuggler's eyes took in everything, including the grey and barren asteroids around them. Furthermore, he noticed that they were both attached to a massive Star Destroyer hovering above the nebula by a small leash.

"If it makes you feel any better, I do as well," Mazhdar replied.

He glanced down at his orange EVA suit and noticed a small brown pouch at his side. Curious about what it contained, he opened it up and took out a small piece of paper addressed to him. The smuggler decided to read through it.

To the rebel scum reading this,

At this very moment, you and your partner both have a droid inside you that will explode in two hours if you do not find the disruptor to shut it down. In order to accomplish that, you would need to travel two miles past the asteroid field to Obstillia. How you do so is entirely up to you, but fail to do so and you will go out with a bang.

Best of luck,

The Imperial Entertainment Industry

P.S.Your plight is being televised all throughout the galaxy so please put on a good show.

Baffled, Mazhdar looked down at himself and realized he overlooked something. Strapped on the center of his chest was a black and grey timer with a two that was followed by a colon and a couple zeros shining a bright red. He looked over at Peyna and realized she had one strapped to her EVA suit as well. What's more? The timer started to go down a minute.

"Mazhdar, what is it?" his lover asked, her greyish-green eyes staring at him worriedly behind her dark helmet.

" The Imperials dropped us off in this forsaken place and now they want us to navigate our way past these asteroids and find a place called Obstillia to find a disruptor to shut down the droids we have inside us or we get blown to smithereens," Mazhdar grumbled.

"No way!" she gasped, her eyes widening in shock. The color of her eyes reminded him of the lightsaber that Jedi he saw in the arena wield.

"That is not even the worst part," he sighed. " We are being televised throughout the galaxy."

" Just when I thought things couldn't get worse for us," Peyna griped.

" Do not fret," Mazhdar tried cheering her up. " We will make it out of here. Once we do, I promise you that we will settle down.Keep that thought in mind."

A small smile played upon her lips as they clasped hands. They were determined to get out of this nightmare alive. Seeing that they had lost about six minutes absorbing the details of their predicament , they floated their way across the asteroid field until red lasers streaked by them.

" Stormtroopers!" Peyna shouted.

Sure enough, there were several stormtroopers floating around them while they fired upon their targets. Mazhdar, surprised to see that he still had his E-11 from the arena, drew it out and began to return fire to the enemy.

"I got you covered!" Peyna shouted as she had her weapon, a DL-18, drawn as well.

Both of them fired at their foes, striking many of them. A couple more appeared in front of them, but Mazhdar and Peyna took care of them both.

" Those stormies never seem to shoot straight," Mazhdar joked.

"Lucky for us," Peyna smirked.

Both of them froze when they heard the unmistakable wails of TIE fighter engines. They turned to see a few of the dreaded attack craft , their dark gray shapes glowing a sickly greenish color due to the nebula gases, shoot past them and fire their green lasers at targets unseen to the duo. Urgently, Mazhdar and his companion steered their way through space toward the asteroids. It felt as though they were swimming through an ocean.

"Mazhdar,look!" Peyna pointed. "Isn't that the Wolf-Cat?"

Mazhdar peered at the ships hovering above various asteroids and his eyes grew wide. The shape and color scheme of one of the ships vaguely resembled his own!

"It definitely is an Alderaanian war frigate," the smuggler surmised.

"It has the same color scheme," Peyna indicated.

Sure enough, the dark gray frigate bore green and blue stripes as well. Mazhdar blinked his eyes in confusion. What would his ship be doing here in the first place? Surely, the Imperials may have had it held for evidence against him.

"Mazhdar, look at that Ewok!" Peyna interrupted his thoughts.

The smuggler looked up and saw a small shape wriggling around in a spacesuit. To him, the whole scene looked comical, except that it wasn't funny when another shape appeared beside the Ewok and ignited a red lightsaber. Mazhdar and Peyna could only watch in stark terror as the Ewok was sliced in half by the lightsaber.

"Is that a Sith?" Peyna paled up.

"I really hope not, but we should get to the ship before it senses our presence," he urged his girlfriend.

She nodded and they both started to move away from the Sith when their bodies froze. It felt as if their appendages refused to work. With a look of horror, Mazhdar figured out that the Force was being used against them. He could only brace himself for the lightsaber attack he felt would come any moment. Suddenly, two shapes appeared next to them and fired at the Sith lord, distracting it. That gave the duo enough time to recover and regain control of their limbs.

"Thanks," Mazhdar thanked the newcomers.

"Don't thank us yet," the first one, who had unkempt brown hair not unlike Mazhdar himself, warned him as he fired at the enemy. " The battle has just begun."

"He's right," Peyna nodded as she drew her blaster and fired as well.

Mazhdar joined in the battle, shooting his blaster at the advancing Sith lord. However, it seemed that every shot they had fired was only deflected by the lightsaber. When all seemed futile, they heard howling sounds as a couple TIE fighters shot by them and fired at everyone.

"Get out of the way!" the newcomer shouted as the green lasers rained over everyone. One of the lasers struck a nearby ship, causing an explosion and a chain reaction. The flames from the explosion briefly blinded Mazhdar, but he could vaguely make out the form of the Sith lord, who the flames engulfed entirely.

"No one can walk that off," he heard the newcomer's partner mutter.

"Thanks for the save," the smuggler went over. " I am Mazhdar."

"Mayek here," the newcomer smiled. "And over there is my brother Defik."

"Peyna, a pleasure to meet you," Peyna smiled.

They were floating close to the Alderaanian starship when two figures blocked their path. Despite that they were donning spacesuits, Mazhdar recognized them to be a Zygerrian and a Zabrak.

"Going somewhere?" the Zabrak sneered.

" If you want this ship, you can't have it," the Zygerrian cackled. "Unless you can get past us."

" We will do that then," Mayek whipped out a blaster.

Mazhdar, Peyna, and Defik followed suit. Their opponents already had theirs drawn. There was a tense moment as every individual waited to see who would fire the first shot. Mazhdar's fingers wrapped around the trigger as his eyes darted between the Zygerrian and the Zabrak. As soon as he saw the Zabrak's finger start to twitch, the smuggler fired. Almost at the exact moment, Mayek fired as well. In an instant, their enemies were just floating corpses in the cold vacuum of space.

"You fired first!" Mazhdar and Mayek turn to each other, grinning.

"Doesn't matter, " Peyna rolled her eyes. "Let's get on this ship. In case you haven't noticed, we have a little less than an hour left."

" Oh right," Mazhdar replied, his expression returning to its somber form. " I totally forgot how time passes when you are having fun."

They enter the ship as a familiar atmosphere greeted the smuggler's eyes. It soon became apparent why he felt that sensation. On the bridge hung a banner that said Welcome To The Wolf-Cat.

Those bastards used my ship in their kriffing games!

The thought really infuriated him, but at least this was a ship he could actually operate.

"What type of ship is this?" Mayek asked him.

" This is a Alderaanian war frigate, but it was retired from the fleet so I bought it and modified it to be my cargo ship," Mazhdar explained.

"Oh, this is your ship?" the trader asked.

"Yes it is," Mazhdar beamed as they entered the cockpit. " I hope you don't mind copiloting if you know how."

"Of course," Mayek grinned. " I am a trader after all."

They took off and made their way toward their destination. Mazhdar searched for the hyperdrive he had installed onto his ship only to find it missing.

Of course, those kriffing Imps wouldn't want us to cheat.

Mazhdar noticed that the lights on the control panel were blinking uncontrollably. Red and green colors intermingled as he tried to figure out the problem.

"Your navigational system is a bit off," Mayek pointed out. "This must be due to the magnetic force created by the asteroid field."

"I figured as much," Mazhdar muttered.

It wasn't long before the alarms chirped. His radar indicted that three enemy starcraft were ganging up on them.

"It appears we have company," Mayek noted.

"Don't worry, I am heading to the gunnery station!" Peyna shouted.

"I will help!" Mayek's brother chimed in as well.

" We got a few Eyeballs coming in from the starboard side," Mayek shouted, using the nickname for the TIE fighters.

" Hold on tight!" the smuggler shouted as he gunned the engines and tried to invade the attacking Imperial starfighters.

The radar then indicated a few more appear on portside as well. The smuggler's knuckles were white as they played a high speed cat-and-mouse game with the Imperials.

"Asteroid ahead!" Mayek jolted him out of his thoughts. Mazhdar's eyes grew wide as the asteroid, as large as a Star Destroyer, appeared in front of them. Anxiety took a hold of Mazhdar as he pulled on the controls as hard as he could, gritting his teeth. He could hear the bottom of the Wolf-Cat grind on the tip of the asteroid as they barely made it through.

"That was close," Mayek chuckled.

"Indeed,"Mazhdar smiled nervously.

His radar showed three dots disappearing behind the asteroid. It appeared those TIE fighters weren't so lucky.

"We still have three Eyeballs on our tail," Mazhdar noted.

"We will take care of them," Defik called out.

Soon, both gunners took out the attacking TIEs. Mazhdar let out a sigh of relief. Then, a dark planet-like body came into view in front of them. The smuggler was sure that this was Obstillia. Suddenly, the spacecraft rocked as it was hit by ion cannons. The lights blinked as the damage report came in. Was this the work of another another TIE fighter?

" It looks like you have a fire in the Engineering Control room," his copilot observed.

The attacking ship passed by from under them and Mazhdar was able to identify it as a Firespray. Once he got a glimpse of the pilot, rage took over his body like a virus.

"That kriffing bounty hunter!" Mazhdar exclaimed. " Let's get him while we have the chance."

Before they could make a move, anti-aircraft lasers slammed into them, causing the ship to quake. The smuggler noted that the fire was coming from their destination's surface.

"They have FPC 6.7s!" Mazhdar warned everyone.

The FPC 6.7s were anti-aircraft weapons used by both the Empire and the Republic to take out enemy ships. They had been proven to be greatly effective.

"The ship is becoming unresponsive!" Mazhdar gasped.

"I think it took too much damage!" Mayek agreed.

"Everybody hang tight!" Mazhdar shouted. "We are going down hard!"

The war frigate crash-landed on the hard surface of Obstillia, tumbling some yards away before skidding to a stop near what appeared to be a sentry tower. Mazhdar, who had his eyes shut tight during the whole ordeal, opened them in order to see that he and Mayek had survived the crash, but not without minor injuries. Wiping blood off of his forehead, he ran down his ship's halls, with the trader on his tail. They searched for their partners respectively.

" Peyna!" Mazhdar shouted as he spotted her.

Peyna and Defik staggered out of their gunner positions, both of them bleeding from various wounds visible from under their EVA suits.

" Don't worry, I'll be fine," his lover smiled at him.

"But I doubt this ship will," Defik gazed around at the damage.

Mazhdar sighed. He wished he could mourn his ship or the Imperial replica of it, but he knew that they were running short on time.

"Guys, we have less than twenty minutes to diffuse the bombs or we will become fireworks for the Imperials!" he warned them all.

Getting the idea, the four of them ran outside only to be greeted by several stormtroopers. Something seemed off about these troopers. Instead of their typical white armor, these were sporting black armor with glowing neon green lights.

" Great, we have the death troopers on us," Mayek's brother groaned.

Mazhdar felt himself tense up. He had only heard rumors about these elite variants of the Imperial stormtroopers, but now they are here right in front of them.

"So the Tarkin Initiative is involved," Mazhdar grumbled.

"The what?" Mayek asked.

"Never mind, let's fight our way toward the disruptors or die trying!" Mazhdar drew his blaster.

" Gotcha!" the trader drew his as well.

As soon as everyone drew their weapon, a firefight started between the two sides. Mazhdar managed to down one death trooper before taking a hit in his right shin.

"Agh!" he gritted his teeth as he tried to stay focused.

"Mazhdar, are you alright?" Peyna asked as they finished off their foe.

"I think I will be fine," he replied through gritted teeth.

It wasn't long before several more death trooper and stormtrooper cells arrived. Mazhdar knew that they were wasting too much time engaging them as the timer showed ten minutes remaining. Then, an idea popped into the mind of the devious smuggler. it was risky, but well worth the shot. After all, what choices did they have left?

"Mayek, listen up, " Mazhdar shouted. "You, Peyna, and your brother should storm the control room while I hold off these bastards. I am willing to bet that the disruptors are in there."

"What? Mazhdar ,you can't be serious!" Peyna's eyes lit up with worry.

" On it!" Mayek and Defik made a dash forward, fending off enemy fire.

"Mazhdar, I won't lea-" Peyna looked at him pleadingly.

"Just go!" Mazhdar interrupted her as he fired on the death troopers.

Reluctantly, Peyna ran to rendezvous with the other two.

"Alright, it is you and me guys!" Mazhdar turned to face the combined forces of the Empire's elite soldiers.

19: Sith Male Yurrei 

Yuurei found himself to be floating around in space when he woke up. The reason he knew his location? Well, if the pitch-black environment wasn't indication enough, the star destroyer whose blinding lights were glaring right in his eyes was. The oxygen supporting suit he wore was another clue. The only sound he heard was his own belabored breathing. Wonderful, he thought. I sound like Darth Vader now. The thought wasn't particularly funny, but for some reason, quiet, hysterical laughter bubbled from him. Claustrophobia was kicking in now, and he'd never truly become accustomed to these suits. He tried to ignore the seemingly restrictive collar of his self-heating suit. Despite the warmth it emitted, he still shivered.

He fought to control his breathing since he was in the middle of space with a limited air supply and no clue where he was. Normally, Yuurei would've been very collected despite the dire situation. For some reason, however, his mind was skipping from one awful scenario to the next like a static-filled recording. What is wrong with me? he wondered, annoyed.

Fear always made him cranky and jumpy. His right hand went to his belt, searching for the reassuring shape of his dark saber. He was stopped short by the weight of a humanoid object bumping against him from that side. Grunting, he shoved the object away.

An irritated yelp echoed in his helmet. I can talk to others if they're out there... That's something good about this blasted situation. He wondered if a light had been provided as well. Curiosity briefly overwhelmed the fear and irritation. "Head lamp on," he commanded.

A light flickered on, wan against the walls of darkness hemming him in. Despite the low light, Yuurei could now see who had run into him. Zillah was shaking off disorientation and was tugging on the chain as they floated through the darkness. The brightly lit ship and the moon behind it were the only visible objects besides the asteroids surrounding them.

A large asteroid floated past, illuminated by the lights on their helmets and the star destroyer as they drifted. It seemed oddly peaceful, but Yuurei couldn't shake that nagging, insurmountable dread that had hooked its claws into his soul. There wasn't anything to direct the fear toward, and that ticked him off even more. Huffing, he looked at Zillah with a glare. "Why are we chained together?" he demanded.

She looked at him groggily, shrugging. "How would I know?"

"Because you're the miscreant who landed us in this mess!" Yuurei roared over the headset.

Her lower lip wobbled, and she looked ready to cry. That only made him more irritated. "Oh, cut out the theatrics," he snapped.

"I... I'm s-sorry..." She shook her head quietly, a tear slipping down her cheek as she tried to turn away. With nothing to push off of, she just drifted a bit further in the same direction, tugging him gently along.

He was about to say something further when a proton torpedo shot past, narrowly missing him and disturbing the peaceful atmosphere. Zillah's gasp was loud in his ear through the headset. The two quickly forgot their dispute as they looked in the direction the torpedo had come from. Rounding one side of another asteroid in the belt, a TIE fighter zipped toward them. Following closely behind was a small starship, piloted by a Stormtrooper.

Yuurei swore, his gut clenching. "Could this wretched day become any worse?"

Zillah didn't answer, but she frantically tapped his shoulder. He turned to her with a nasty remark in mind. The irritated comment died on his lips when he saw the three who were bearing down them. The lights on their helmets and the proximity allowed him to identify the approaching party. Apparently, it can, he thought.

"They don't look happy," Zillah mumbled into her mic.

"Yeah?" Yuurei glared at her. "Well neither do I, Zillah. Which should you worry about more? Me being annoyed or them?"

She dropped her gaze, fiddling with the knife on her belt with her left hand. "Them. They might actually kill me... Although I'm not so sure about you anymore... You're being a jerk."

Yuurei's eyes narrowed, and he grabbed her arm roughly, narrowly maneuvering them out of the path of an oncoming blast from the ship, which was quickly approaching. "I don't like your tone!" He yanked her closer to him, sending them drifting away from the ship and toward the oncoming trio. "You're a slave, remember? So just shut up and submit, would you?"

Zillah trembled in his grip, her gaze dropping to his chest.

He tried to revel in the way she quaked against him, but that insidious sense of fear kept him from relishing it. Why can't I shake this dread? I'll do just about anything to get rid of it and take back control... Maybe if I kill those three who decided to traipse over here...

"Hey, I hate to break up the party..." A deep masculine voice came over their headsets, and the two froze, listening. "Actually... No, I don't... Let go of the woman, Sith. She doesn't look like she wants you near her."

Zillah was pressing closer to Yuurei now as the bullets from the star fighters ricocheted off asteroids around them. She was shaking again, but for an entirely different reason. "Y-yuurei... Look at the s-stats on our helmets' bio screen..."

Yuurei called it up, his heartbeat frantic and sporadic. "What in the blazes... What is this?" he spat.

"I won't ask again," the man said. "Let go of..."

"You idiots have bigger problems," Yuurei snapped, cutting the speaker off. "You have an hour to float through space to the surface of that moon two and a half miles away. If you don't make it there by then, you go kaboom."

There was silence on the other side, but they were close enough for Yuurei to see their expressions, which told him all he needed to know. The Zabrakian male was staring at them, seemingly indifferent to the recent discovery that they all carried miniature time bombs inside their hearts that would kill them in an hour. The rest were staring dazedly at the screens reflected on the glass of their holograph-displaying visors.

Yuurei didn't care anymore. He was sick of being afraid and being toyed with. Maybe killing something would fix the problem.You shouldn't do this, the part of him that was still sane whispered. Don't care, he shot back, squelching the resistance of that part.

Without another moment of hesitation, he drew his dark saber and shoved Zillah away. She spun out, the chain pulling taut, and he was dragged along by it. The two of them were thrown to the side just in time to miss another proton torpedo. Unfortunately, the stray bullet didn't miss the mark. It tore into his arm, exposing the now wounded skin to the freezing void of space.

Gritting his teeth, he tugged Zillah toward him, using her as the weight to propel him toward the trio. They crashed into the group, tumbling through space toward one of the slowly moving asteroids. A stream of bullets erupted from the asteroid's side, aimed at them. Yuurei tugged on the Zabrakian he'd grabbed hold of, using him as a shield. A struggle ensued as the Zabrakian fought to force him into the path of the bullets. In the end, they both took the fire. The momentum of the bullets transferred to them, sending Yuurei, his opponent, and Zillah, who was still haplessly chained to him, rocketing back toward the surface of the moon.

Their direction changed again as Zillah's chain yanked taut. The two of them slammed into a passing asteroid the size of a person. He let out an oompf of pain. "You really shouldn't have challenged me," he told his opponent.

"Oh, really? I think that it's the other way around," the Zabrakian shot back.

Blood poured from both, freezing as the lack of heat in space arrested its progress. Well, I might avoid bleeding to death, I suppose, he thought, gritting his teeth against the pain.

Bullets whizzed past, narrowly missing most times and occasionally hitting the mark. They rammed into the side of a small TIE fighter before they could avert the collision. The breath was knocked painfully from him, making him double over for a moment. You'll never make it out alive... his mind laughed, spinning in crazed circles. Fear skittered down his spine, toying with him and chilling him to the core.

"Which one of us is more injured?" Yuurei retorted, gasping for breath and trying to control the fear.

I will not lose to this... I will not lose... The rage washed over him then, pure and undiluted. He wanted this fool who had dared to challenge him dead. The anger flooded out the immediate sense of impending doom, but deep down, fueling his anger, was the fear. The never ending, all-encompassing dread whispered of defeat, loss, and death. He wanted to scream into the headset, begging the voice of his psyche to cease its incessant clamor.

This, of course, manifested in an outburst against the Zabrakian he fought. The two of them narrowly avoided bullets and proton torpedoes as they hurtled toward the moon, hitting small asteroids along the way and crashing into various objects. The TIE fighters' pilots began avoiding them when a few hapless pilots had their wings hacked off by Yuurei's dark saber. The gunmen on the larger asteroids kept firing on them. Briefly, Yuurei heard Zillah stifle a pained whimper.

Voices came over the speaker in his helmet, the snatches of conversation frantic and glitchy.

"Can't talk..."

"Crap, the TIE fighter... I thought we ditched..."

"They'll hear us..."

"Shh! You'll get us caught!"

"Have you found..."

Yuurei glared at the Zabrakian before him as though somehow his opponent was to blame for this sudden distraction and the fact that no conversation was private. Somewhere in this asteroid belt, others were attempting to survive long enough to get to the moon. If they realized they needed to, that was. Yuurei only knew because of his education. He knew the little droid attached to his heart's main wall on the left side would explode if he didn't get to the disruptor on the moon's surface in another thirty minutes.

In his peripheral, there was a bright flash of light, and then a scream echoed across the headset, high-pitched and eerie. It sent a shiver scampering down his back. What was that? Someone just... They just what? Exploded? Probably got blown up by a proton blaster... Well, they died either way... There's no way someone survived that blast. Zillah was by his side again as he fought to destroy the Zabrakian.

He saw the bits of glass and debris as well as body parts and frozen blood flung from the site by the force the explosion had exerted. Wincing, he brought his attention back to the fight. This isn't the end... It isn't. I'm going to survive this... As he was thinking about that, he saw his chance. There... An opening! He took it, slamming one hand into the injured leg of his opponent and using the other to slash his dark saber across his opponent's arm.

This time, his opponent let out a choked cry of pain and distress. He fought valiantly, refusing to give in despite the injury. Yuurei continued to suppress his fear with the exhilarating elixir of rage. Deep down though, he knew he was losing himself, and that only compounded the fear. I'm losing myself to the rage and fear... I'm becoming what I always hated... I don't want to! He felt like a petulant child throwing a tantrum, but he couldn't stop.

The moon was coming ever closer as they continued hurtling toward it. The gravity of the moon had caught them now, and they were picking up speed as they fell: down, down, down. He and his opponent continued grappling. Beside them, another unfortunate soul was streaking toward the quickly approaching ground at an alarming rate. Yuurei checked the time left on his bio screen. The blinking time flashed red, making his helmet buzz as the minutes ticked away. Five minutes.

Five more minutes.

The ground never looked so far away. We aren't going to make it in time... Even as he thought this in a panic, he took opening after opening to destroy his struggling opponent. The weary Zabrakian finally made a fatal mistake. Yuurei took the opening given and brutally slashed his saber across the Zabrakian's throat. Blood sprayed over them and onto Zillah, who was near his side now, thanks to the chain and the speed she'd been moving at before they hit the gravity of the planet.

"Are we going to make it?"

Yuurei glanced at her, narrowing his eyes. "Don't ask me," he snapped. "I wouldn't know. Anyway, you're along for the ride regardless."

The ground continued to zoom up to meet them. Yuurei counted down the seconds it took to meet it. Twenty seconds.

Twenty seconds.

They hurtled through the atmosphere, their suits protecting them from most of the heat. He didn't understand how they could take the incredible pressure, but they were holding for the most part. Their lights winked out, submerging them in smoldering blackness. He saw nothing and heard nothing besides Zillah's erratic breathing. I guess this is it... Everything went dark as they slammed into the surface of the moon.

His last thought was of the time. Two more minutes... I hope the disruptor is automatic... Because if not... Two more minutes... We're dead... Then all fell silent.