CHAPTER XXXIII: THE WANDERING EYES

On Kreiga, a small dreary clouded world where it rained constantly, Bruxus and Boorma of the Bothan Ack’lar clan had waited for the Sith’s arrival over the last two weeks. They were a proud people, the Bothans, and were known for their great skill at tracking and espionage. Bruxus and Boorma were the Bothan’s best spies having rescued Lady Kaliah from Kaladar and reporting her capture alive by Ligris at Vas-Maya. Now, they would hopefully bring the Whills more invaluable information that would be put to great use against the Sith.

But for now, they were content that the despised Varmins knew nothing of their arrangement with the Sith traitors or what news the Dark Seer Syrenia would bring.

Today, the sky was dark with storm clouds and the rainfall was great. “Not the best of days”, thought Bruxus as Boorma was busy drinking down another bottle of Jackdal inside of a filthy little bar inside a filthy little town on this inhospitable uncharted world. Bruxus would warn her that the drinking would dull her senses but Boorma would always respond the same, “How many Varmins have I killed?” Bruxus would always sigh, knowing he would never win THAT argument. Boorma had killed hundreds of Varmin spies and never lost a battle. She was an expert with Revenger Spikes and Combat Needles of all classes. The small rodent-like odorous Varmins relied on crude small razor-sharp cutting talons called Strike Shredders.

As Bruxus badgered Boorma over her drinking, two pairs of “Wandering Eyes” were busy sharpening their Extended Strike Shredders as they watched the Bothans from a safe distance away in a dark, water-filled alleyway.

The Bothans had overestimated themselves by killing so many Varmins near the Outer Rim. As the death toll climbed, the Varmins sacrificed many of their people while they attempted to track down the Bothan ships using Sith technology instead of their usual networking of shared information.

Bruxus and Boorma had killed two Varmins just outside of the Outer Rim a month ago when, for the first time, a Varmin task force was sent to plant a homing beacon on a Bothan Ship. The Sith gave them new parasitic engine infiltrators that could survive inside the ion thruster units of the Bothan Foxxer starships. The parasitic intermittent transmitters were embedded in stolen Viktalen metal that once formed- were impenetrable. The Bothans routinely scanned their ships for planted devices, but Viktalen would not show up. That was how desperate Lord Rexor was to find both Dark Lord Kalore and Tirahn. If any species knew where they were hiding, it would be the Bothans. Bruxus and Boorma’s Foxxer had been targeted for the Sith device- which once physically imbedded, worked.

Now, the Varmin hunters had tracked the notorious Bothan team of Bruxus and Boorma to this uncharted world just outside the Outer Rim. But there was no sign of Dark Lord Kalore or Tirahn. Cautiously, they had waited to see what would happen and followed the Bothans every movement. Today, their patience and persistence would be well rewarded.

Inside the D.A.S. Engager Tirahn was running the ship’s weapons inventory: four mini M-Packs- all charged, four Sledgehammer missiles in the main bay-all self actuating, and two graviton bombs in bays 2 and 3- secured. Not bad, Tirahn thought as she raced towards Kreiga.

This was the first time Tirahn had the chance to pilot a star fighter built by D.A.S. All customs were usually reserved for Syrenia, but she had lost two of them; one to a Junkar male on Na’Baiya and her second to a vicious Kraal bounty hunter back on Elysia. D.A.S. had anticipated that the Enforcer might be lost in battle so Engager was her back-up, stored at Horath.

The D.A.S. Engager was a deadly slender flying wing design with all four M-Packs buried in the wing roots with their massive chargers bulging on either side of the cockpit. A single long missile launch tube ran along the sleek underbelly of the craft and into a bay containing a rotary missile launcher while the Gravitons were located in two opposed bays- one under each wing. The craft was covered in obsidian armor plating augmented with Dark Matter proximity shielding and carried aft missile decoys in a podded tail unit. Unlike previous D.A.S. ships, the main engines were external, slung under each wing- two podded Hessa Maxpulsars located near the tips of each wing. But the ship’s greatest asset was its emergency light-jumper hyperdrive unit that could be pre-programmed for up to four separate destinations. No need to program navi-processor co-ordinates into the ship and wait for the hyperdrive to power up. This unit was voice controlled and Tirahn had it programmed for Kytana, Kreiga, Tirahnna, and Elysia (emergency use only).
The light jumper unit was protected in an obsidian shell for recovery in the event of destruction of the ship.

Right now, inter-species Kreiga was coming into view and as Tirahn hit the atmosphere, she descended into the storm. Kreiga only had one city- Moha, and the Bothans had expected to meet her there at the city’s main landing facility where Bruxus and Boorma’s Foxxer was parked. Within minutes, Tirahn located the shabby landing facility and spotted the Foxxer. She set down across from it and transmitted a coded signal to Bruxus.

Back at the bar, Bruxus was fed up with Boorma’s drinking and snatched another bottle of Jackdal out of her furry hands. “That’s enough for today”, barked Bruxus as his alertcom started beeping! “Quickly Boorma, we must get out of here” Bruxus urged as he grabbed Boorma by the arm and headed out into the mud-soaked streets of gritty Moha. The rain was still pouring. Together, they walked with great urgency towards the landing facility that was just a few blocks away. As they passed each alleyway pairs of “Wandering Eyes” tracked their movement and followed them far behind with great stealth. When the pair finally made it up to the landing platform where the Foxxer was parked they ran to the landed Sith fighter.

By this time, the prowling Varmins had massed at the lower platform and raising themselves up to peer over the platform, they used Sith directional audio enhancer devices to listen to the conversation of the Sith traitor Tirahn dressed in combat Kyrie gear with the two hated Bothans.

Tirahn greeted the drenched Bothans with enthusiasm and reported that something called the Slayer had been launched towards Elysia. She gave them an encoded disc and told them to take it to Elysia at once, that the planet was in grave danger. Powerful lectrovision devices recorded the stolen D.A.S. Engager as well and image-locked Tirahn with the Bothans. The Varmins could not believe their fortune. They had discovered Tirahn alive, the stolen ship, and a coded disc being sent to Elysia by the Bothans! Dark Master Lord Rexor would reward them very well. All they needed to do now was get that encoded disc and track the Engager back to wherever Lord Kalore was in hiding! This would be a great day of revenge for the Varmins… but they could not attempt to fight the Kyrie. They would wait until she departed and then attack the Bothans in strength this time before launching a parasitic device into one of the Engager’s two engines.

After the brief exchange, Tirahn had reminded the gloating Bothans that she and Lord Kalore had upheld their promise. The Bothans swore to keep their secret- all was forgotten. Tirahn nodded and remounted her ship, closing the cockpit and lifting off for a return flight back to Kytana. She had fulfilled her duty to Lord Kalore and now it was time to sit back and watch the vision unfold in their favor.

But the Varmins would not allow it this time. As Tirahn departed in the Engager an alerted Varmin craft in another part of Moha followed her from a safe distance as Engager climbed back up through the storm.

Bruxus and Boorma couldn’t be more elated. They would be heros again… but then there was a clanging noise coming from the lower platform deck. The Bothans saw the Varmins emerge from the darkness as the rain continued to pour down. The Varmins climbed up on the landing platform from all directions even as Boorma grabbed her Revenger Spikes and Bruxus ran to the Foxxer to load the encoded disc.

Boorma was surrounded by vicious Varmins bent on revenge, but drunk or not she would enjoy killing them all. That is, until she saw the Strike Shredders had been modified and now extended from the Varmins filthy little hands outwards with long curving blades. She was surrounded by them and as she lunged at the first Varmin within range they all attacked her at once and cut her to pieces alive. Viciously and violently they slashed her, cutting her clothing to shreds and ripping her fur-covered flesh as she screamed in terror. Bruxus knew that the fate of Elysia depended on his escape, so he closed the Foxxer’s cockpit, fired up its twin side thrusters and lifted from the platform into the dark sky. From the rain streaked cockpit view port he could see Boorma lying dead in a large pool of blood and rainwater. The evil circle of Varmins looked up, their shrouded “Wandering Eyes” crossed in anger while Bruxus mourned his fallen partner... and lover.

Bruxus set the Foxxer on maximum velocity and headed out towards Elysia on a long journey. But the Varmins were already rising in their ships and pursuing him from a distance. They had entered the prefix code 6-6-6 and burst transmitted it from their Cou-vat CVS starships in hopes of obtaining Sith assistance.

The Dark Master would certainly comply, it is in his best interests as well as ours… greed and ambition go hand in hand.