CHAPTER SIX
After landing on Tatooine, the Forge Seeker's crew had divided into four separate teams, two of them, consisting of the six Dark Jedi and six Alliance troopers, had traveled to the planetary capital, Bestine, to find intel. Meanwhile, the other Jedi and stormtroopers, along with Jast, Lumpy, and Cyclops, went to Anchorhead to find any knowledge on the Star Map, splitting up upon arrival.
Much to Anakin Solo's disappointment, Commander Jokar, the leader of the team he was part of, led them to a local cantina. The stormtrooper commander had explained that such places were the best to find information.
Anakin thought they were the best to find trouble.
Upon entering, the team of three stormtroopers, three Jedi, and Jast immediately encountered an obviously drunk Gotal.
"'Scuse me," the horned alien said. "Got any credz fer the podrace in Mos Espa?"
"No," said the Zabrak Jedi Donhran Remker, waving his hand slightly. "It would be best if you went home and sobered up."
"Yeh, I think it be best I went home and sobered up," the Gotal murmured as he waddled out the door.
Once he had left, the team took their seats, with Jokar sitting at the bar between a Jawa and a Bith, while Anakin and the others sat at separate booths.
"I doubt that we'll find anything here," murmured the female Verpine Jedi Zaylii. Her large red eyes seemed to scan the room for anything out of the ordinary. Verpine had naturally keen eyesight, which, along with their radio wave-sensitive antennae, made them an ideal addition to the team.
"Why do you say that?" the stormtrooper Vex Laedo asked.
"The Star Maps would have become obsolete when the original Star Forge was destroyed," Zaylii said. "Even if someone did know something about them, they probably wouldn't care to remember-"
"Shh!" Jast suddenly said.
"What's wrong?" Anakin asked.
The smuggler did not respond. Anakin followed his wide-eyed gaze and saw two beings- a Klatooinian and a Bosph- sitting on the opposite side of the bar Jokar was at. The Klatooinian seemed to be minding its own business, but the short Bosph's multi-lensed eyes were staring at the booth Anakin and the others were sitting in.
"Snatchers," Jast said under his breath.
"Great," Vex muttered. "Does Commander Jokar want to get away from us again?"
"If he does, he's going to have to bear with you," Zaylii said as she rose from her seat. "Wait here."
Anakin watched as the Verpine Jedi walked over to where Jokar sat. At the same time, the two Snatchers tensed and he noticed the Klatooinian's mouth curve into a scowl.
"Commander," he heard Zaylii said to Jokar. "I believe we can leave now. I might have found something about the you-know-what."
"So have I," Jokar replied. "This Jawa happens to know of a place outside of Anchorhead that might serve our interests."
"Great. So, shall we-"
Before the rest of her sentence could leave her mouth, Zaylii's lightsaber was instantly in action, its teal blade shooting out from the handle's emitter as it deflected six plasma bolts from the two Snatchers' blasters.
The Klatooinian got up from his seat and leaped over the bar, inciting a frightened scream from its female tender. The burly Snatcher then brought out a large blaster carbine and began firing rounds at the Jedi, Jokar, and the others.
Ducking under the table, Anakin activated his own lightsaber and dashed towards the bar, plunging the azure blade into the counter which the brutish alien stood behind. On the other side of the counter, the blade barely grazed the Klatooinian's stomach, but it was enough to distract him so that Zaylii could slice his weapon in half and then Force-push him into the far side of the room, knocking him out cold.
With the Klatooinian down for the count, Anakin searched the cantina for the Bosph and caught the four-armed alien trying to sneak out the door. Before he could try to stop him, the bug-eyed mercenary brought out a spherical object which he threw to the ground.
"Gas grenade!" Donhran Remker cried. Without warning, the Zabrak Jedi Knight used all of his might with the Force to push Anakin and anyone near him out the door.
As he landed onto the sandy ground outside, Anakin saw Kalvin Sivel fire a rocket launcher into the wall, creating a hole large enough for everyone else to escape. Once all of the patrons and cantina staff had evacuated, he saw the rest of his team arise from the smoke, carrying a coughing Jast.
"He caught the worst of it," Zaylii said. "I believe the grenade was filled with some kind of toxin. If it's not cured soon...."
"Can you heal him?" Anakin asked.
"I...will do my best." The Verpine Jedi bowed her head slightly. "I never did finish my healing lessons with Master Cilghal."
"Do what you can," Anakin said. "I'm going after the Bosph."
"You mean we," Jokar said. "If that guy's packing more of those bombs, you're not going after him alone."
"Well, commander," Remker said, "you did catch some of the toxin and thus may have your health deteriorating if you were exposed to more. Anakin and I, however, can protect ourselves from such poisons. We shall both go after the Bosph."
Jokar nodded stiffly. "Very well. I'm not one to argue with a Jedi."
He glanced at the sound of an engine humming. "And I wouldn't do so with taxi drivers, either."
Anakin and Remker turned to see a landspeeder drive up to them, controlled by the same drunk Gotal they had encountered earlier, though he appeared to be sober now, and with Jokar's Jawa accomplice in the passenger seat.
An amused look seemed to glimmer in the Jawa's yellow eyes as it spoke. In perfect Basic.
"Anyone in need of a lift?"
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