Episode II: Part 2

The twin suns overhead beat down on the reddish rocks and powdery alkali sand. Deuce wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his sleeve before picking up the sonic cutter and slicing away at the hard sandstone rock in front of him. A broad-shouldered zabrak in a worn jumpsuit and a tangle of long hair shut down his own sonic cutter then wiped sweat and grime from his tanned face with a rag.

"You're new."

Deuce grunted in reply, being too hot and tired to waste words on conversation.

Undeterred, the zabrak ran a hand through the long hair and small horns on his head and squinted at the reptilian rodian and trandoshan pirate guards that were stood silhouetted on the ridge above them. "Where is this? Tatooine? It's hot and dry enough."

Finishing the slice through the rock, Deuce kicked the modest size chunk aside and examined his work. "Not enough sand, too much rock. Maybe the Jundland Wastes, but I don't remember any of those spindly, greenish scrub trees there."

"There are some by an oasis, but never in the canyons. Name's Mag Toth by the way."

"Deuce," the clone replied before hefting the sonic cutter again. "Guard coming."

Mag followed suit, hefting his own sonic cutter and turning it on the jagged stone in front of him. An alligator-like trandoshan armed with a battered E-11 carbine strolled into view and inspected the shallow mine tunnel Deuce and Mag carved out of the tough rock face. He watched them work then grunted in a mixture of satisfaction and boredom. After a few minutes he turned and sauntered away, scowling at a green skinned twi-lek woman in ragged dancer garb pushing a cart of rock debris a short distance away. The reptilian alien pulled out an electro-whip and cracked it in the air over the exhausted woman once, then twice, each time closer than the first. The young woman yelped in terror and shoved harder at the cart, her already exhausted arms shoot from the additional strain.

Deuce turned the cutter to attack a different section of rock, enlarging the mine entrance. "Five minutes."

"Eh?"

"That's all I'd need. Give me five quick minutes alone with that stinkin' di'kut of a trandoshan and I'll show him a new place to keep that whip."

"That'd make two of us." The pair sliced away at the rock silently for a few minutes more. "Where'd they get you?"

"Passenger liner out of Mebras."

"Devon Four, agro colony. I was hauling some water purifiers when they attacked."

Deuce frowned at the familiar name, though he could not remember from where. He shrugged aside the thought for later. "Bad time to be making a delivery."

"Tell me about it. Best I can hope for is that my ship's still planet side on Devon, if its not been sold as scrap yet."

"Doubtful, I would guess its right where you left it."

"Why do you say that?"

The mandolorian chuckled, "'Cause I would've taken it for parts. This bunch doesn't look nearly that smart."

A dull rumble mixed with terrified screams stole the conversation. Dropping their sonic cutters, both men turned as one and raced towards the sound. The moment they took two steps outside the crude tunnel entrance than an electro-whip stung Mag in the chest and Deuce in the side, sending both into seizures from electrical-induced muscle spasms. Past them all, the twi-lek woman ran for her life while the ground cracked and gave way behind her swallowing the ore cart whole.

The trandoshan laughed his voice gravelly. "Run girl! Run faster!"

Ancient sandstone and thin shale crumbled away beneath the frantic woman's feet as she ran harder. With another hissing laugh, the trandoshan curled his whip and hung it from his belt enjoying the woman's terror. Finally the waving and gesturing of a rodian pirate on the ridge caught his eye. Confused, the pirate squinted and shrugged in return. He pulled the comlink from his belt and thumbed the 'send' stud irritably.

"What?"

"He's saying 'behind you'."

The pirate spun instantly and was struck on the snout by a hard fist. The reptilian alien staggered back a step while Deuce angrily stalked forward, obviously fighting back the aftereffects of the taser whip.

"Oh we're just getting started, di'kut. When I'm done, you're gonna think this is a career." The trooper swung before the reptilian alien could react, the mandolorian's hard right connected against scaled lips, splitting them open from the impact. "Mag, get the girl!"

"Workin' on it," Mag shouted while he stumbled towards the twi-lek.

Above pirates fired sporadically down into the pit but with the sandstone crumbling away beneath the feet of panicked slaves, there were too many targets to focus on at once. Eventually, they gave up and spent their time re-capturing any that managed to climb out from the disaster below.

In the shallow canyon itself, Mag raced and stumbled along between shudders of earthquakes and fissures opening near him. Ahead the young twi-lek ran headlong through the chaos, only vaguely aware of Mag, instead paying more attention to the ground that threatened to swallow her whole. Suddenly three ground fissures tore open and converged on the young woman, dropping the ground from under her. In a last ditch effort, Mag threw himself forward the last couple of feet.

"Got her!" He shouted as his hands locked on the twi-lek's forearm and wrist. In a blind panic, she clawed at him, struggling to save herself from an ugly fall to the exposed cavern below.

Meanwhile, Deuce stepped aside from a swing from the trandoshan pirate, narrowly avoiding the alien's claws.

"Good!" Deuce yelled back while sidestepping the alien's claws. "Get her someplace safe."

"Workin' on it!"

Stepping in close, Deuce caught the pirate's wild punch, sidestepped and pulled, sending the alien to the ground in a heap. No sooner had the pirate collapsed than his battered E-11 slipped free of its holster and skidded across the shaking ground. The pair of combatants exchanged a glance then dove for the weapon, only Deuce was a moment faster. Shoving a heel into the side of the pirates' head, the stormtrooper snatched up the E-11 and leveled it at the trandoshan, giving the alien an icy glare while he squeezed the trigger.

"Kill him and I plug your friend," said a woman's voice from the ridgeline over the rumbling earthquake.

Deuce paused, eyes still locked with the trandoshan. If a reptilian alien could sweat, he was sure it was doing so right then. He lifted the carbine a few centimeters for a better aim. He squeezed again, the trandoshan jumped when the whine of a blaster echoed through the now quiet excavation site as the tremors had slowly stopped.

"Well, you boys are a tough lot. Usually I get a yelp of pain from shooting someone in the leg like that."

The sergeant's eyes darted to one side and then the other. Mag had just pulled the twi-lek woman out of the fissure to one of the remaining patches of unbroken ground. Above on the ridgeline, he saw the woman from the liner only this time she was not dressed as a noble heading to an evening's formal event, but in more practical military trousers, cream shirt and black smugglers' vest. The heavy blaster pistol and holster on the curve of her hip completed the look. By her stood two more pirates holding tight to Jammer who now had a smoking blaster wound in his upper thigh. The wound was not lethal, but definitely painful. Deuce tossed the E-11 away and relaxed.

"You win."

"This isn't over human, we're gonna finish this later. You and me." The trandoshan spat at Deuce.

"You're funeral, di'kut."

A hard backhand across the clone's mouth was the reptile's reply. The force of the blow knocked Deuce into the dirt.

"Askrik!"

The trandoshan's look shot daggers at the female pirate. "Shut up, Mera! I'm tired of this one's backwash!"

"Damnit, Askrik, I'll shoot you myself, now back off!"

Reluctantly, Askrik turned and snatched up his E-11 then spent the rest of the time glaring at Deuce who slowly got to his feet.

Mera smirked, pleased with herself. "Much better. Besides, we're going to need him and his two little trooper brothers very soon now, the real work's about to get started."

With an overly grand gesture, she motioned to the broken edge of sandstone and the drop to the now exposed subterranean cavern below.

Deuce looked over the side and sighed at the ancient carved walls of the ziggurat that had been buried until a few moments ago. Black walls and obsidian statues glittered ominously in the sunlight despite the cloud of sandstone dust that lay heavy in the air.

"Tomb raiders."

"Who's tomb?" Mag asked quietly.

"Not sure, but I can guess what those carvings mean."

"What?"

"Go away."

From above Mera's voice rang out, "All right, get some rope! Hammer out a ramp here, no tellin' how big anything down there'll be. And break out the repulsorlift carts, we're going down. Somebody bring along our pet stormtroopers."

Deuce frowned uncomfortably, "I have a bad feeling about this."