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Hutt Space

Sheef is sad that Hungo is gone. He started to hang out in the gun turret which was Hungos favorite spot to be when they traveled. The squib had been roommates with him since he moved onto the ship. Hungo wasn't happy to share his room with this new stranger but, over time, he warmed up to him and they became really close.

"You can't mope around up there all day again," Grok called up to him.

"But I miss him!" Sheef sighed.

"It's been five days, we all miss him," said Grok, "Now, get down here and eat. We're not bringing it up to you again."

Sheef huffed and slid himself out of the turret. He slid down the ladder and made his way to the galley. Dokraar and Daddus were trying out some of the new things they learned at the party. The entire cabin smelled of meat and vegetables. They had stopped at a trading post to pick up some of the ingredients. They even found a butcher and picked up fresh nerf.

They had the meat resting as they finished grilling up the vegetables. Daddus started to slice the meat and put it into bowls. Dokraar put the veggies over the top. Daddus served the table while Dokraar chopped up their mystery purple fruit. According to the seller at the market, they're called jogan fruit.

Dokraar sat down, "How soon till we're at Gamorr?"

Buklam yawned, "Mmm, shouldn't be too much longer. I have Knot manning the bridge, he'll let us know when we arrive."

"I'm surprised you're trusting him," said Grok as he forked into his food.

"Eh, stops him from complaining," Buklam chuckled.

The ship started to stutter and vibrate. Everyone held on as they whipped out of hyperspace. The ship rumbled before shutting down. The lights then flickered back to life. Buklam sighed as he stood up to go to the bridge.

"Knot?" Buklam called out, "What happened?"

"Ask the ship?" Knot was checking the diagnostics already, "It would appear something burned out."

"Great," Buklam double checked, "Come on, let's get you below deck."

"Ugh, it's always me," Knot complained.

Knot slid himself down into the maintenance hatch, a moment later he popped his head out, "There's a hole blown through the hyperdrive. Something burned itself through the casing. Had we kept going, we would have burned a hole through the ship."

"Please tell me we have the spare parts needed?" said Buklam.

"We don't. We have the eta, time to abandon this scrap heap," Knot suggested.

"Guess we'll have to send someone out to get new parts," Dokraar joined them, "The eta can't pull all of this through hyperspace. But, it can pull itself."

"What's the nearest system?" Buklam asked, "If we can shop locally, I'd rather us not get left out here too long."

Dokraar checked their coordinates, "Hmm, looks like we're in hutt space. We should have taken the long way around. Our closest planet is Saki. It's not the best place, but it's what we got."

"Take a team with you," Buklam ordered, "Hopefully you can find something."

"Aye, aye," Dokraar playfully saluted, he went back into the galley, "Grok, Nuz, Daddus, with me."

"Can we finish eating?" Daddus protested.

"Very well," Dokraar smirked, "Then we go."

Everyone finished eating. Dokraar had M2 run a diagnostics check on the Eta. He's bringing the droid with them in case they need a quick getaway. Dokraar fired up the eta's systems as Nuz and Grok took their seats. Daddus sat next to him. Dokraar separated the Thundasa II from the Thundasa and took off for Saki.

"This is going to be quite the scavenger hunt," said Grok, "It's not everyday you find replacements for a 720."

"Well, I've doctored it up so much," said Daddus, "Knot gave me a list of everything that was damaged, I think my doctoring is at an end. We'll have to find a hyperdrive of any kind, and we're gonna have to make it work."

"You're kidding?" Grok sighed, "Will that even work?"

Nuz patted Grok on the knee and gave it a squeeze, "Don't worry. We'll figure it out. Won't be the first time we've had to be inventive on the ship. Have you seen those engines?"

Grok squeezed his hand, "I just don't want to get stuck, or to abandon ship."

"Hmm, what's that there?" Dokraar banged on the eta's navigation system, "We picked up a ship, and then it was gone."

"Hyperspace?" Daddus suggested.

"No," said Dokraar, "It didn't jump. I think we're being jammed. Hold on."

Dokraar picked up speed. He gave everything the eta had in its thrusters. A giant cruiser came zooming in after them. It appeared to be a Belarus cruiser. It was ten times the size of the eta, and more than twenty times the armament. The ship started firing at them, and Dokraar did his best to try and lose them.

"Hang on!" Dokraar called out.

The shistavanen dipped the eta down and away from the cruiser and shot back up. He had pulled them to the rear of the cruiser and started to break away. The cruiser was quick to turn and continued the chase. The cruiser finally found its mark, blowing out one of the etas thrusters.

"Oh come on," Dokraar sighed.

"Can we jump into hyperspace?" Grok asked.

"We can't do that blindly," said Daddus, "We might crash into something."

A tractor beam locked onto them. The cruiser was pulling the eta up into its docking bay. The four of them armed themselves. Dokraar and Nuz took the forward position to the hatch. Daddus was hunched down behind the passenger seats with Grok behind him.

"Come on out," a gruff, raspy voice called over an intercom, "We have you surrounded."

"What do we do?" Nuz asked.

"We can go out with guns blazing," said Dokraar, "Or, we surrender and hope for the best."

"I vote for surrender," said Grok, "Maybe we can talk our way out of this."

Nuz sighed and opened the hatch. He threw his gun out, but slid his lightsabers into one of the passenger seats. The rest of them followed suit. A nephran and a quarren came up to the entrance of the eta and ordered them out. Nephrans are a crustacean species with orange colored skin with black eyes. They have pincer claws, tentacles on their heads, and clawed feet. Quarrens are a squid-like species with four facial tentacles and webbed hands and feet. They have deep turquoise eyes and suction cups on their fingers. There were several others waiting outside with guns drawn on them.

Dokraar put his hands up, "We're just passing through."

"Quiet," the nephran knocked him to the floor.

"Hey!" Nuz went to pick him up but put his hands up.

The quarren had a gun to his head, "Down on your knees."

Nuz obeyed. Soon Grok and Daddus were knelt down next to them. The quarren ordered for their ship to be emptied out. They soon saw a new figure enter the room. He had a familiar gait to him as he came across the poorly lit docking bay. It was a lasat with an impressive beard and a solid purple color with distinct gray stripes along his arms.

It was the voice they heard before, "Well, well, what do we have here? What a ragtag group to be traveling through space in such a tiny ship."

The lasat leaned down and inspected them, "Lets see, we have a bothan, and a few funny looking wookiees. What are you doing flying around here all alone?"

"Just traveling," Dokraar looked up at him.

The lasat leaned inches from his face, "No one travels through hutt space without protection. What are you doing here?"

Dokraar didn't answer him.

The lasat pulled Grok to his feet, "You! What's your name whelp?"

"I'm hardly..."Grok went to protest, but the lasat tightened his grip on his shirt, "I uh... My name is Grok, I'm just a doctor."

The lasat started to laugh, "Grok! You've got to be kidding me?"

"I don't see what's so funny about my name," Grok felt hurt.

The lasat dropped him to the floor and posed, "I'm Captain Grox, leader of the Boosh Bandits. We're just going to take whatever you have on your ship and send you on your way. Free of charge."

"Swell," said Grok.

Grox grabbed him by his chin scruff, "Come on Grok, it's not so bad. I'm letting you live."

Grok turned his face away. Grox laughed and left them there to go inspect their ship.

"You ok?" Nuz asked Grok.

"I'll be fine," Grok nodded.

"Come on you stupid droid!" they heard Grox shout.

M2 came out, blipping and buzzing in protest as Grox kicked him out of the ship.

"You're mine now," Grox growled at him, "We'll wipe your memory, and you'll be a good obedient droid."

"Get your filthy mitts off of him!" Nuz stood up.

One of Grox's men went to bash him aside his head but Nuz was quick to act. He threw the man over his shoulder and jumped up into the air. He force pulled his lightsabers off the seat where he left them and lit up. He landed and swept the legs out from under Grox and held the glowing blades to the lasats throat.

"That's enough," Nuz growled at him.

Grox for only a moment was shocked, he then burst out laughing, "Well, my lucky stars, a jedi! I thought you lot were all dead."

Nuz had every gun on the ship pointed at him, "Call your men off."

Grox smirked, "Lower your guns boys. Looks like we got a mister hero here."

"You're going to let my crew leave," said Nuz.

"Oh, you staying for fun?" Grox smirked.

"I need to make sure they get away," Nuz growled down at him.

Grox narrowed his eyes, "You won't survive boy."

"Just let them go," Nuz said firmly.

"Typical jedi," Grox chuckled as he stuck a claw tip into the blue blaze heating up his neck, "Tell you what, how bout you work for me? I could use a jedi on the crew."

"We have a crew," said Nuz.

Nuz let out a yelp. He forgot lasat could use their feet to latch onto things. Grox had grabbed him by the tail and threw him backwards. Grox jumped up onto his feet and pulled a bo-rifle on Nuz. Nuz faced off with him, both his lightsabers at the ready.

"Nuz, put them down," said Grok.

"But Grok..." Nuz started.

Grok approached him and put a hand on his shoulder, "We can't fight our way out of here."

Nuz put his lightsabers down, "Nice bo-rifle."

"I won it in a fight," said Grox.

Grok raised a questioning eyebrow, "Boosahn keeraw?"

Grox looked taken aback, "Huh, not many know that. How do you know?"

"Well, I'm educated," said Grok, "I also spent time on Lasan working at a medical facility. I met many warriors while there. However, I doubt you won that."

Grox got riled up again, "You calling me weak, bothan?"

"On the contrary," said Grok, "A lasat your age, stature, combat experience. That's clearly been a weapon given to you by the guard. You were once a man of honor. Still are in a sense. You bring the men on your ship honor."

Grox looked shaken, "You know nothing about me."

One of Grox's men came up and whispered in his ear.

"I see," Grox nodded, "Alright, I think we've had enough fun here. We picked up another ship on our scanner, and it seems to be dead in space. I'll wager that's where you came from."

"Our hyperdrive fried," said Grok, "Maybe you can help us fix it."

Grox smirked and left for the bridge, "Grok, come with me. Maybe your friends too if they want to behave."

Grok followed, and so did the rest of them. Nuz went to pick up his lightsabers but the quarren held his gun up at him. Nuz put up his hands and followed the group. Grox sat in his captain's chair. The bridge had a full crew. They couldn't help but wonder how many were on Grox's crew.

Grox opened a channel to the Thundasa, "Wayward ship, prepare to be boarded. You are being commandeered by Captain Grox, leader of the Boosh Bandits."

"Like fark you are," Buklam called back, Grox pulled into view of the Thundasa, "Ok... Maybe you are."

Grox ordered his men to dock up with the Thundasa, "Alright boys, stay here, Grok, with me."

"Why me?" Grok asked.

"I like you," Grox laughed and made his way off the bridge.

Grok followed Grox down the ship. The lasat opened the airlock that was locked onto the Thundasa. The door whirred open and a blaster went off. Grox held Grok back.

"Let them know you're here," said Grox.

Grok sighed, "Buk, it's me! Grok!"

"Grok!" Buklam called back, "What the hell's going on? You alright?"

"The uh... The captain wants to talk with you," said Grok.

Grox stepped into the airlock with Grok in front of him, "Just a nice chat."

"A lasat?" Buklam poked his head up from hiding.

"A lasat?" Grox laughed, "Well, well, Grok, looks like fate is smiling on us today."

Buklam approached them, gun held up, "Why do you have my man?"

"Oh, and you're the captain?" Grox chuckled, "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Captain Grox, of the Boosh Bandits. A fellow lasat." He held out a hand.

"Uh, Captain Buklam," Buklam shook hands with him.

Grox squeezed his hand, his cheeks tightened a bit, "Heh, not every day I meet one of my kind."

"Same, it's been years," said Buklam.

"So captain, I'm gonna keep this short," said Grox, "I'm a pirate. I rob ships. But I also give to those in need. I'm as low as the dirt can be."

Buklam crossed his arms, "I'm listening."

"I like your Grok fellow here, love a good bothan," Grox patted Grok on the shoulder, "I was expecting an easy pickup when I took his ship in. But, there was a jedi onboard who gave me a bit of a fright."

"What did you do to him?" Buklam growled.

"We're all fine, Buk," said Grok, "I don't know what his game is though."

"My game," Grox smirked, "I need to borrow your jedi and Grok. My men are good men, but none of them are too smart for what I have in mind. I need someone agile, mister hero back there. And I need a doctor, Grok."

"What for? And what do they get in return?" Buklam asked.

"Well, they get to live," said Grox, "Also, I'll leave my men with you to fix your hyperdrive. I'm sure we've got plenty spare parts somewhere on my ship that can fit in yours."

"And what are you going to have us do?" asked Grok.

"Do you have tea?" Grox asked.

Grox let the crew reunite. Dokraar begrudgingly made tea for Grox. He had half a mind to poison it. Grox made himself at home. He had his feet crossed up on top of the galley table. He took the tea cup that Dokraar handed him. Grok, Nuz, and Buklam were sitting across the table from him.

"Mmm, that's some good tea," Grox set his cup down, "Alright then, down to business. In exchange for my services, I need to borrow Grok and, what was it, Nuz, for a mission on Nar Shaddaa."

"Smuggler's Moon?" Buklam looked worried, "Why there?"

"I had received word about a special cargo that's being held there," said Grox, "I sent my assassin droid, PALLAS-11, Pal for short, to scope it out. He never reported back when he was supposed to."

"You want us to risk our lives to get a droid?" Nuz laughed.

"Getting Pal back is a bonus," said Grox, "The cargo is a lot more interesting."

"It's people, isn't it?" Grok asked.

"Figured out your role, did you?" Grox smirked, "Yes, very important people. There's a group of lasat being held as prisoners. They're getting tossed into the gladiator pits to fight for their right to live."

"Why can't you just take your crew in there with you?" Buklam asked, "You have plenty of men."

"You kidding?" Grox laughed, "I don't need to piss off the Hutts. It's bad enough I lost credibility after the Tech Masters gave out on me. I need to keep a low profile and build myself back up. I'm already getting my name back where it needs to be. And I need Grok to help patch up any of the wounded."

"I want to go with you," said Buklam.

"Less is more," Grox argued.

"I'm their captain," Buklam argued back, "And if there's a chance to save lasat, I want to be in on it. They're my people too."

"Buk, we're on a schedule," Dokraar interjected.

"You can go without me," said Buklam.

Dokraar flattened his ears, "Don't get killed, eh?"

"Don't worry," Grox chuckled, "I'll make sure he lives."

"When do we leave?" Buklam asked.

"Let's make a plan," Grox took his feet off the table.

Nar Shaddaa

Buklam flew the Thundasa II down into Nar Shaddaa. They were heading for the palace of Grakkus the Hutt. Grox had a place to park the ship. Buklam pulled up next to a grimy, run down bar. He shut the etas systems down. M2 whirred and whistled at him.

"Keep the comms open with us," said Buklam, "We'll signal you once we need extraction."

Grox patted M2 on the head, "Sorry for busting your chops before."

M2 blurted at him.

"Yeah, I know," Grox chuckled, "Alright boys, we're just going to go in to scope out the gladiatorial arena. From there, we figure out where we gotta go to get to the prisoners."

"Grox," Buklam narrowed his eyes, "You let anything happen to him, I'll bust your chops."

"We'll be fine, Buk," said Grok.

Grox and Grok were going low, and Nuz and Buklam were going high. The two groups broke off from each other to take different entrances to Grakkus's Palace. Grakkus had been arrested by the Imperials, but his palace remained a bustling business on Nar Shaddaa. No one really knew who was running the show still, but most locals assumed Grakkus still ran things while in prison.

The palace was guarded by IG-100 droids, commonly known as the Magnaguard, that wandered the structure in pairs. The Magnaguards were once used during the clone wars by the Confederacy of Independent Systems, but were sold off to other interested parties by their makers. The combat droids came equipped with a cape, which made them unique, and were armed with an electrostaff and rocket launcher.

Grox had things planned out for Grok and Nuz to pretend that he and Buklam were their servants accompanying them to the Grakkus Arena to watch the fights. Nuz and Grok both got makeovers from Bokoof. The shistavanen helped them clean up their looks, and gave them some of his fancier clothes that he reserved for the parties he attended. They were a tight fit on Nuz, but he looked hulking and intimidating in what he was wearing. Grox and Buklam both put on shock collars that Sheef had laying around. The squib assured them they were hollowed out.

Grok got them through the checkpoint. As with most places like this, they allowed weapons in. Grok could feel eyes on him. He was carrying the bo-rifle for Grox, and had a lasat "servant" by his side. He couldn't help but feel guilt knowing he looked like a criminal. They both made their way indoors toward the arena. The crowd was already shouting and cheering at matches going on.

"Come on, let's see if we can get in close," said Grox.

The lasat lead the way down toward the top of the pit. There was a lasat fighting against several armored men with electrostaves. He's well built and is fighting with a bo-rifle. His face was gashed open and his body was bloody and bruised. However, he was winning against his assailants.

"Looks like we're definitely in the right place," said Grok.

"That poor bugger," Grox looked around the arena to see if he could spy a way down to the prison cells, "This may be difficult. It looks like some of the Magnaguards are posted at the doors that lead down. Not sure if they'll let us pass."

"Only one way to find out," said Grok.

Grox led the way to the other side of the arena. The lasat in the pit had won himself a victory as they went. The crowd cheered and jeered. Grox kept acting natural, and so did Grok, as they went to pass by the droids.

"Halt!" both droids said and crossed their staves over the entryway, "None shall pass."

Grox pursed his lips.

Grok stepped in, "Who may I speak to about seeing the prisoners? I'm interested in adding more lasat to my collection of servants and am willing to pay handsomely."

Both droids looked at eachother and back to Grok, "Leave this area at once."

"Very well then," Grok turned to leave.

"Just a moment," a deep voice called out from behind the droids.

Grok turned back and his jaw dropped. A rare sight to see was before him and Grox. A thakwaash, an equinoid biped species with rounded muzzles, long pointed ears, and dark eyes. Most notable thing about the thakwaash was their height. This one is over three meters tall. Grok shrunk back a little when the thakwaash leaned over him to talk.

"What is your interest with the lasat?" the thakwaash inquired.

"W...well, they're quite a lovely looking species," said Grok, "They're also hard workers. As I get on in the years, and him as well, it's hard to find good labor to maintain my estate. I heard tale there were plenty being held prisoner here, and thought maybe I could put in an offer to buy them."

Grok had to be careful how he worded things. Thakwaash had a rather unique ability. Instead of thinking normally, thakwaash's minds would switch between personalities. Each personality would have its own means of performing tasks or conducting conversations based on the thakwaash's needs. If Grok tripped up in the conversation, he could possibly say the wrong thing to trigger one of his other personalities, and that could blow their whole cover.

"I see," the thakwaash nodded, "My name is Elks Sodash, I am the current security captain here in Grakkus Palace. I will afford you my time and show you the prisoners. I'm sure Grakkus would be pleased to make money from selling the slaves. They, however, come at a high price because of their rarity."

"Lets see the merchandise, and maybe we'll talk credits," said Grok.

Elks bowed his head and motioned for Grok and Grox to follow him. The droids stood aside as they followed Elks deeper into the facility. The thakwaash had to duck to bring them down a flight of stairs and into a long hallway. The noise of the crowd upstairs slowly drained out the further in they went.

"From which planet do you hail?" Elks asked as they walked.

Grok said the first planet that came to mind, "Daalang."

"Hmm, a powerful trade route for your kind runs through there," said Elks, "Not too far from here. I can't imagine the difficulty you must have holding slaves there."

"I treat them as servants," said Grok, "I give them homes and food in exchange for their services to me."

"A kindness not common," said Elks, he paused in thought, "This way."

Elks opened a large door that led down into a long hallway. The smell was unpleasant. Elks motioned for them to go forth and he walked in behind them. The sound of his heavy steps echoed down the hall as they went. They could hear cries and arguing coming from further in. A door slammed shut in front of them. Grok and Grox had no time to react. Elks had grabbed both of them and pinned them up against the door.

"Fark, let me go," Grox cried out.

The thakwaash leaned in, they could feel his breath on them, "Why are you here? Do not think you can trick me. I will break every bone in your bodies if you lie to me again."

"Please," Grok begged, "We're truly here for the lasat."

Elks growled, "But to what end? You think you can just walk out with them?"

"We have credits," Grok cried out as Elks put more pressure on him.

"Not enough to afford them," Elks squeezed against them.

"You have no right to hold my people," Grox shouted at Elks.

Elks expression softened as he studied Grox for a moment, "You think it's wrong. I think it's wrong. But I must serve as I have promised. I keep the palace secure."

"Please," Grok gasped for air.

Elks brought Grok up to his face and breathed him in, "You bothan, why do you care so much?"

"Everyone has a right to be free in this galaxy," Grok had tears rolling down his cheeks from the pain he was in, "You're forcing these people to fight to live. The last of their kind. The imperials destroyed them and their planet. It's immoral to keep them here like animals."

Elks eased his grip, "The imperials took away Grakkus. They raided the palace. Destroyed what he had built. We have been instructed by him to do what we can to keep his palace running."

"What does Grakkus provide for you?" Grox asked, "What does he provide?"

"Credits, a home, a place to belong," said Elks.

"You could be somewhere better," said Grox, "You're in a sludgehole in the middle of the galaxy. A man like you could make a world of difference somewhere else."

The thakwaash folded his ears back, "Where lasat? What life could I possibly live? My kind struggle to find a place in the galaxy. We always end up being a bodyguard, working security, loading docks. My kind deserves better."

"As do mine," Grox shot back at him, "Make your own path. Make your own life better."

Elks threw them both to the floor. He opened the door that blocked their way, "Then you follow my lead. You will take me from here."

"I don't think we have the space on our ship," Grok coughed, gasping for air.

"We will take one," said Elks, "You promise me a better life, yes? Then I will do what I can to get us out of here. I tire being told what to do by Grakkus and his lessers."

"Then let's get to it," said Grox.

Elks led them back the way they came. He peered down the hallway and continued towards the holding cells. The lasat that they had seen in the arena was sitting in the room before the cells. A medical droid was patching him up, and two battle droids kept guard over him. He leered at the three of them when they entered. He flattened his ears and lowered his eyes.

"Here to bring another to suffer," he growled at Elks.

Elks smashed the two combat droids together, he then picked up the medical droid and ripped it in half, "No. He came here to save you."

The lasat looked confused, "W...what?"

"How many of you are there?" Grox asked.

"Fourteen," the lasat looked between the droid twitching on the floor and up to Elks, "Is this some sort of trick?"

"I was told nineteen," Grox growled.

"There were three times as many before that," said the lasat, "Why not ask the captain?"

Elks hung his head, "We were merely following orders. Now is not the time to think on the past, if you want out of here, we must move quickly."

Elks opened the door leading to the cells. The thakwaash leaned over a console and typed in his code. All of the cells opened. Even those not belonging to the lasat. Everyone cowered back into their cells when they saw him walking down the line.

"All lasat, come forth," he ordered at them, "Now!"

The lasats came out of their cells. Most of them were badly beaten. Half of them hid behind the larger lasats. Elks opened up the weapons locker and motioned them to come forward.

"Grab your weapons," Elks stepped aside, "These men are here to get you off planet."

There was hushed chatter between all of them.

The bloodied lasat stepped forward, "You heard him. Lets gear up and go."

The lasats did as they were told. Grok looked over all of them as they approached. He had his work cut out for him. Grox took his bo-rifle from Grok and extended it out. The rest of the lasat followed suit.

"I'm Captain Grox," he told them, "And I'm taking you home."

"Our home was destroyed," one of them said.

"A new home," said Grox.

"All prisoners," Elks bellowed out, "Arm yourselves, and cut a path out of the palace. Reclaim your freedom!"

"Why are you doing this?" the lasat from the medical room asked.

Elks seemed thoughtful for a moment, "There is more out there for me too. I may as well make the most of it before I leave."

The lasat shook his head. He then unfolded his bo-rifle. The prisoners were hustling to grab a weapon. They didn't hesitate to lead the charge out of the prison. Grox looked over his people. He loaded up his bo-rifle and turned to face the exit.

"Before we get out of here," Grox looked up at Elks, "Did a droid known as PALLAS-11 come here? He's an IG-86."

Elks shook his head, "I had not seen an IG-86 in a long time."

"Damn," said Grox, "I guess something happened to him outside of here. I'll have to come back to try and find him." Grox turned to the group of lasat, "Alright, let's get out of here!"

Elks took the lead as they went down the hallway leading back out. There were screams of terror from all directions as they made their way into the arena. Hundreds of prisoners were battling against droids and anyone that decided to take up arms against them. The emergency doors activated and started to close over their escape.

Elks stomped his way through the crowds of people trying to escape. The thakwaash got to the blast doors before they finished closing. He gripped on tightly and tugged against it. The door creaked and stuttered before he folded it open. He then gripped the bottom door and pulled it back the same way.

"Out!" Elks bellowed.

No one needed to be told twice. Patrons and prisoners alike all ran out of the building. The crowd came to a sudden halt. Hundreds of the Magnaguard had gathered out front. The droids didn't care who was who. They were stopping anyone making it down the stairs. Nuz caught up to Grok.

"What did you guys do?" Nuz asked.

"We met someone," Grok pointed at Elks, "And he released all the prisoners."

"With those droids waiting outside, there's no way anyone is getting out of here," said Nuz.

"Would be a mystery if somehow a jedi saved everyone," Grok smiles.

"I love you," Nuz smirked, "But even that's too many for me."

Grok looked around the room, and then a thought occurred to him, "Elks! Come here!"

Elks shocked Nuz by his size as he came lumbering over, "What is it freedom bearer?"

"Can you lift that pillar?" Grok pointed at one of the many five meter pillars.

Elks laughed. The crowd moved out of the way when they saw the thakwaash pull up a pillar. He had the front of it resting on the ground as he screamed on his way out the door. He let go of the pillar. It slid down the stairs at first. It then hit a step that caused it to turn sideways and tumbled faster at the droids.

The droids weren't able to react fast enough as it wiped out most of them. One after the other, Elks ran pillars out the door at the droids. The stairs were soon littered with droids and pillars. He'd taken out enough of them that the fighters were confident they could fight the rest of the way out. Soon people were fleeing down the stairs.

Elks grabbed a large, decorative shield off the wall. He then led the lasat out and down. Grok and Nuz searched the crowd for Buklam, but saw no sign of him. Nuz jerked his head back to the top floor of the palace. Nuz and Buklam had been up there looking for a way to distract the guards. Nuz and Grok ran up the stairs which were empty now. The floors were littered with droids blasted to pieces and the occasional body. They poked their heads into every room calling out for Buklam. They finally found him in a room full of strange cubes.

"Buklam!" Nuz called, "We need to...Whoa..."

"These are what I think they are, right?" Buklam asked.

"There's so many," Nuz could feel his heart pound against his chest, "We can't leave these here."

Grok grabbed a nearby crate, "We can fit a lot of them in here. We can get away with three crates full at least."

"Do we even have space on the ship for this?" Buklam asked.

"We had a change of plans," said Grok, "I'll explain on the way. Load up what you can."

Nuz told both Grok and Buklam to hold as many of the holocrons on their bodies as they could after the crates were filled. He didn't want to miss out on too many. Grakkus the Hutt was going to come home to a rather destroyed business and empty home. Nuz, Grok, and Buklam made their way outside. All the droids were gone. Any of the ones that survived the onslaught of pillars and fighters were probably hunting down anyone that ran.

Grox called Grok, "Where the fark are you?"

"We're on our way," said Grok, "If you have a ship, meet us at the rendezvous."

"Roger that," Grox called back, "Elks kidnapped us a freighter and a pilot."

"Let the pilot go," said Grok.

"Too late," Grox laughed.

Grok, Buklam, and Nuz called M2 to bring the Eta to them. The droid had the ship there in no time. M2 landed just a short way from the bottom of the palace stairs. They loaded up their crates of holocrons. Before they even got to their seats, M2 was taking off. A batch of the leftover Magnaguard had started firing at them. Soon, they were leaving Nar Shaddaa and blasting off into space.

Gamorr

Holocrons are an organic crystal-lattice device. They store phenomenal quantities of data which are guarded by the gatekeeper. Gatekeeper is the term used for the artificial personality that grants a user access to the holocron. Both sith and jedi alike used holocrons. Grakkus had quite the collection on him, and they now sat in front of Thikok.

"You stole these?" Thikok asked.

"Reclaimed," said Grok.

Thikok nodded, "Thank you. This is quite the find. Lucky you found a greedy hutt that collected these."

"He collected a lot of things," said Nuz, "That place was wild."

"Well, I'm glad you're all home safe," said Thikok, "Where'd Buklam get off to?"

"He went to see Grox and the other lasat," said Nuz.

"Always business with him," Thikok chuckled.

The shistavanen climbed out of the ship and into the pirate ship. Grox's men were quite helpful with their repairs. The Thundasa was fully repaired and refueled. Thikok made his way to the galley and was greeted cheerfully by them. Grox had gathered food and beer for all to enjoy. Most of his crew was there along with the lasat. Buklam was sitting next to Grox as the pirate entertained everyone.

"Alright, alright!" Grox stood up on his chair, "So, I told you all I would get you home."

"You've said that before, but you didn't say what it meant," one of the lasat said.

"I met a lasat fellow on my travels," said Grox, "What he told me was so ludicrous. So I decided to believe him. He had given a map to Lira San. Our home."

All the lasat burst into laughter, and one said, "That's a child tale! Just mystic nonsense to entertain us."

Grox growled and slammed his bo-rifle against the table, "It's not a tale!"

Everyone hushed.

"I have already delivered many lasat to Lira San," Grox continued, "You can ask

any of my men. They will vouch they've been there. And I will bring you there! My people, we finally have somewhere safe from the galaxy. A home where we can rebuild our society."

It sounded ridiculous to all the lasat, but they had nothing to lose. Grox sounded serious. The lasat sat back down in his chair. He took a long swig from his mug and then he thudded Buklam on the chest.

"You want to go?" Grox asked.

Before Buklam could answer, Thikok answered from behind him, "Of course he does."

"Oh, Thik, I dunno," Buklam flattened his ears back, "Grox, are you sure?"

Grox growled at him, "There's millions of lasat there. A thriving society. And I'm on a

mission to find all lasat and bring them home. I won't force anyone to go, and yes, it sounds unbelievable, but I want our people to thrive again. To be safe again. But it's there. It's hidden behind an imploded star cluster. And there's a special way to get there."

"When can I see him again?" Thikok asked.

Grox chuckled, "Don't worry there, Thik boy. I'll have him back in a wink. We're actually not that far from there."

Thikok held Buklam to him, "Go. See your people."

"Come with me," said Buklam as he stood up to embrace Thikok.

Thikok laughed, "You think the kids can take care of themselves?"

"They know damn well if they mess up my ship I'll mess them up," Buklam laughed as he pressed his nose against Thikoks.

"This is true," Thikok grinned as he gave Buklam a kiss, "I'll come with you."

"Then it's settled!" Grox held up his mug, "To Lira San!"