A/N: Yes, I'm TERRIBLY evil by making all of you, my loyal readers, suffer through that dramatic cliffhanger. Trust me, my only regret was that I couldn't make it MORE dramatic. As far as chapters go, this one is rather bland. Little action, no romance. Not even any character exposition. Ugh. Anyway, it had to be done. Recommended listening is Bastila's theme for all the scenes in the med center.

---

Not even the Sith troopers dared to stop the group that ran through the upper city as though Death itself were hot on their heels. Perhaps it was Carth's brazenly-displayed blasters, or the 'So much as think about interrupting us and I rip your arm off' look that Zaalbar was displaying. Regardless, nothing impeded the group as they made their way toward the medical center in the south city. Zaalbar carried Kagi's limp form in his arms, and Bastila ran beside him, barely paying attention to where she was going as she focused most of her energy on holding his broken spinal column firmly in place with the Force, preventing any more damage from occurring.

The party burst into the medical center, startling the protocol droid and the two human workers. Carth approached the man standing at a terminal, his back to them. "Excuse me, but we need medical assistance, now."

The man didn't even look at him. "Can't you see I'm busy with my duties? Go talk to Zelka if you need something."

"Your duties?" Carth shouted. "Your duty is to save human lives!"

"Carth, let it go," Bastila said, then turned her head toward the other man, already standing in front of her. "Can you help us, sir?"

"Zelka Forn's the name," the man replied, carefully inspecting the unconscious commando. "Severe spinal trauma. Doesn't look like he's lost any of his nerve connections or vital passageways, but that's not to say it couldn't happen. You shouldn't have moved him."

"It's alright," Bastila said, worry evident in her voice. "I've stabilized him thus far with the Force, but his injury is beyond my capacity to heal."

Zelka regarded her coolly. "A Jedi, are you?"

"Yes," she replied. "Why?"

"No time for talk," he said, turning and moving toward a sealed door on the far side of the facility. "Quickly, bring him in here."

The door slid open before them, and Bastila and Zaalbar carried Kagi in, not bothering to look around at the room. Carth, however, noticed the two humans floating in kolto tanks in the back of the room.

"Hey, those are Republic soldiers," he said.

"Yes, they are," Zelka replied, programming a kolto tank to begin filling itself with the proper mix of life-restoring fluid. "Since the space battle, people have been secretly bringing in these soldiers who crash-landed on the planet. I had to take them in. What choice did I have?"

As she waited for the kolto tank to finish filling, Bastila spared a glance to the two soldiers on the other end of the room. She knew immediately through the Force that their time was drawing to an end. She felt sorrow for them, but almost immediately, her attention was drawn back to the commando lying motionless in Zaalbar's arms. Her left hand continued to hover underneath his head, holding his head and neck firmly in place, but her right hand came up, gently brushing the scar on his forehead.

Towering above her, Zaalbar rumbled something in his language, but she did not understand Shryiiwook. If she had, she most certainly would have been displeased about his comment about how affectionate and heartwarming her attentions to the commando were.

"Their injuries are terrible," Zelka told Carth, ignoring Bastila's ministrations. "Most of them won't survive. But at least I can make their last days more comfortable. And at least here they are hidden away from the Sith."

The Republic pilot nodded solemnly, holstering his blaster pistols. "For that, you have my thanks. It's good to know that some of these men ended up in compassionate hands."

"I hate to imagine what the Sith would do if they discovered these soldiers here," Zelka said, adjusting the mix of the chemicals in the almost-full tank. "But since their initial questioning, the Sith have not returned. Perhaps my fears are unfounded."

With a liquid hiss, the kolto injectors quietly shut themselves off. Zelka turned toward Bastila and Zaalbar. "Okay, the tank's ready," he said. "You'll need to get him out of those clothes; it looks like he's been crawling around in the Undercity and all that muck will contaminate the kolto."

Bastila's eyes widened as she looked at the doctor, her cheeks flushing red. "I…what?"

Without a word, Carth approached them, tugging off Kagi's boots and setting them on the floor. His fatigue pants came next, Zaalbar adjusting his hold on the commando as the durable fabric was pulled off, leaving him in a pair of nondescript boxers. Bastila immediately turned her back, but kept her left hand, and her Force hold, in place.

Squirming in between Bastila and the commando, Carth removed his combat vest, then his armored jacket. The pilot paused as he regarded Kagi's shirt, a long-sleeved tunic that would probably cause irreparable harm if removed over his head. Shrugging, Carth reached down and retrieved Kagi's vibroblade, slicing open the front of the shirt from neck to hem, and then pulling it off from his back. As a last measure, Carth removed the commando's gloves and placed them onto his boots.

"Good, now let's get him into the tank, quickly," Zelka said.

Rumbling his assent, Zaalbar stepped forward, Bastila awkwardly following, her back still turned. As he reached the tank, the massive Wookiee lifted up his arms and carefully slid the unconscious commando into the life-restoring fluid. Bastila finally turned to face the tank, watching him float almost lifelessly within the tank.

Zelka, wearing a pair of long, sterile gloves, stepped up onto a platform and reached into the tank, affixing a sterilized breathing mask to Kagi's face. Then he turned to Bastila, whose hand was still stretched out toward the injured man. "You can let go of your Force hold now," he said. "The kolto will sustain him in his current position."

Slowly, reluctant to release her minor part in his continued survival, she lowered her hand to her side. "Thank you," she told the doctor. "What can we do to repay you?"

Zelka shook his head kindly as he stripped off the sterile gloves and tossed them into a waste bin. "No, no, think nothing of a reward, young lady," he replied. "I am a doctor; my reward is saving a life."

She gave him a watery smile. "Your profession is not so dissimilar than that of the Jedi," she said.

He smiled in return. "No, young lady, they are not so different."

"How long is he going to have to float?" Carth asked.

The doctor turned his healer's gaze toward the floating figure, regarding him steadily. "Truth be told, I'm amazed he survived such a grievous injury, even with the sustaining power of a Jedi. But now that he's in kolto, things should improve. I've not diluted the mixture any, and add to that the adrenal boosters I've mixed in, it shouldn't take too long for the bones to mend. A couple hours, perhaps. But afterwards, I strongly suggest that he be confined to a bed for several days, just to make sure that he didn't sustain any permanent neurological damage."

"What are his chances?" Bastila asked, clenching the belt of her tunic tightly.

"Very good," Zelka replied. "Like I said, by all rights he shouldn't have survived the initial injury. This young man has a remarkable will to survive."

"Is there anything we can do?" Mission asked, speaking up for the first time. Her voice and features were creased with worry.

"No, nothing to do but wait for him to recover," Zelka said. "He's capable of making a full recovery, now that we've got him stabilized. It's not like he picked up the rakghoul disease or anything."

"Rakghoul disease?" Bastila asked.

"Rakghouls are monsters down in the Undercity," Carth told her. "Kagi, Mission, and I ran into several of them down there."

"They were human," Mission filled in, since she knew more about them than Carth. "But they carry some kind of bacteria or something in their bite that turns their victims into rakghouls."

The Jedi shuddered, remembering how Kagi had told her of the hazards he and Carth had braved to rescue her. She suddenly felt very undeserving, that she was not worth the hells that these men, and Mission and Zaalbar too, had suffered for her sake.

She turned around, looking at the face of the commando, distorted by the kolto tank and the breath mask. Pressing her hand to the transparisteel, she mused to herself, You have not changed one bit. Still willing to go to extraordinary lengths to protect me, even though you, yourself, probably do not realize precisely why. She smiled faintly as a tear broke from her right eye and ran down her cheek. You would let the galaxy burn if only to protect me for one instant.

"Isn't there a cure for this rakghoul disease?" Carth asked Zelka, trying to pass the time.

"There is no antidote for the disease, but I have heard the Republic scientists at the military base were close to perfecting a cure. Then the Sith arrived."

Carth shook his head. "Damned Sith. All they ever do is inflict and propagate pain and suffering."

Zelka nodded in agreement. "They overran the military base and now they refuse to allow anyone access to the laboratories inside. The Sith are keeping all the serum for the patrols they send into the Undercity." He clenched his hands into fists, then sighed. "If I could just get my hands on a sample of that serum, the rakghoul disease could be wiped from the face of Taris forever. But I don't see how that's going to happen."

"Perhaps we could get a sample of that serum for you?" Bastila asked, turning toward the conversation.

The doctor's expression was a mixture of surprised horror and curiosity. "I don't see how anyone could get their hands on the serum," he said. "The military base is crawling with Sith guards. Breaking in there would be a suicide mission."

Actually, it wasn't that difficult, Bastila thought to herself, then immediately winced, looking over at the floating commando in the tank beside her. No, it was difficult. Too difficult…

"I suppose the Sith patrols in the Undercity might have a sample of the serum on them," Zelka mused aloud, "if they hadn't already used it because of a rakghoul infection. But a patrol wouldn't just hand over the serum, and nobody's stupid enough to attack the Sith patrols, even in the Undercity."

"We'll get a sample of that serum for you, Zelka," Carth said, taking the words right out of Bastila's mouth before she could say them. "It's the least we can do to repay you."

"Please don't say that," the doctor replied, alarmed. "If the Sith hear you, they might think I'm encouraging you to start attacking their patrols. They could shut me down."

"You know," Mission piped up, "I think me and Big Z left some unfinished business in the Undercity."

The Wookiee growled an interrogative, but the young girl ignored it.

"Carth, you want to come with us?" she asked.

For a moment, the pilot looked at her in confusion, then her hidden meaning dawned on him, and he nodded once. "Sure, Mission. You never can have enough blasters in a dangerous place like that." He looked at Bastila. "Commander? Will you be alright here by yourself?"

She smiled at their discreet plotting. "Yes, I'll be fine. I'll stay and keep an eye on Kagi, so you three go finish whatever you need to do."

Carth nodded to her, then the three of them left the medical center. Zelka sighed theatrically. "Nothing but trouble's going to come out of this, mark my words," he said.

Bastila smiled slightly and turned toward him. "So, Doctor Forn, your opinion of the Sith is obviously not very high."

Zelka nodded, deciding it would be best for both of them to simply find something to do to pass the time until either the commando was healed or the others returned from their errand. He picked up two folding chairs from against the wall and handed one to Bastila, then unfolded the other and seated himself in it.

As Bastila sat down in her chair, he said, "I know enough to be scared of them. I've heard about the brutality of the Sith. I know what they do to planets they conquer. So far, all they've done is ask me general questions, but I'm afraid they might one day decide to shut this facility down out of evil spite." He shrugged helplessly. "I guess there's not much I can do about the Sith, except hope that the Republic can stop their conquest of the galaxy."

Bastila smiled, reaching forward and patting his knee. "Rest assured that the Republic, and the Jedi, are doing all that we can to stop the Sith," she said. "But sometimes, I am not sure if we will succeed."

Zelka nodded. "You just keep doing what you have to do, Miss, and I'm sure everything will fall into place."

She nodded back, then glanced to the floating form of the commando. She didn't think she'd be able to spend several hours just sitting there, watching him try to heal. She forced her attention back to the doctor. "Since we have so much time available, could I bother you to tell me a little about Taris?"

Pausing to check the monitor attached to the kolto tank, Zelka replied, "I don't know much, but I'll tell you what I can. What do you wish to know about? Upper Taris? Or are you more interested in the Lower and Undercities?"

"Tell me about Upper Taris," she said, getting as comfortable as she could.

He nodded. "The people here in the Upper City like to think they're better than the rest of Taris, but we're no better than anybody else…"

---

The gate leading back into the village in the Undercity slammed shut behind them with a semblance of finality. The trio looked around the wasteland cautiously, keeping alert for any potential ambushes by rakghouls.

"Looks clear," Carth said. "Where do you think–"

"You there! Civilians!"

Carth turned to see a trio of armored Sith troopers approaching them. "Great…" he muttered.

"Let me handle this," Mission said, stepping to the front of the group as the Sith troopers stopped in front of them.

"This is a restricted area," the Sith leader said as he and his men stopped a few meters from them. "What are you doing down here?"

"We've got the proper papers to be here," Mission replied coolly, gesturing to Carth, who quickly produced them.

The trooper gave the papers a quick glance. "Oh, you're that tracker group the Commander sent down," he said. "They should have given you an armed escort, it's nasty down here."

"What's the problem?" the Twi'lek girl asked, assuming a haughty, Upper City pose.

"We've lost a patrol already," the trooper replied, then shrugged. "Probably rakghouls. We've had so many encounters with the beasts that we've actually run out of serum."

Mission and Carth exchanged a glance. "Where was this patrol when you lost contact?" Carth asked.

"Ah, you're here for search and rescue, are you?" the trooper asked, nodding admirably. "I didn't think they'd send anyone. Well, no matter. They were in the southern part of the Undercity when we lost contact."

"Thanks for the information," Mission said. "We'll let you get back to your patrol."

"Thank you for helping out," he replied, then turned and led his men away.

Zaalbar rumbled something. "You're right, Big Z," Mission said. "He was pretty nice for a Sith."

"Do you know how to get where he was talking about?" Carth asked.

"Are banthas furry?" she shot back with a grin. She turned and started walking toward the east, hugging the wall of the village. "Follow me."

Carth and Zaalbar followed behind her, both of them keeping their eyes open for any marauding rakghouls. As they came to an outward projection in the wall, Mission stopped suddenly, waving her two companions to flatten themselves against the wall. As they did so, Carth understood why; he could hear the growling and snarling of a number of rakghouls on the other side of the wall.

"Stay here," Mission said quietly.

"What are you going to do?" the pilot hissed.

"Trust me," she said with a grin, then vanished.

At least, she mostly vanished. Where she had been standing, Carth could faintly make out ripples of air as the stealth field generator used holocams to record what was on one side of Mission, then display that visual data on the exact opposite side of the stealth field.

Carth shook his head slowly, but knew that Mission's idea was probably for the best. He tightened his grip on his blaster pistols and prayed to the Force.

For her part, Mission crept around the corner, watching five different rakghouls saunter around the area. There were two corpses on the ground in their midst, both of them in various states of decay, both of them showing clear signs of being eaten from.

She blanched at the smell, suddenly glad she hadn't had anything to eat in a long time. A flash of movement from her left caused her to freeze in place, as a rakghoul hunch-stepped up to her and sniffed the air cautiously. She could feel her lekku twitching, knowing that the thing could smell her, but the fact that it couldn't see her was confusing it to no end.

After a moment, the rakghoul growled in irritation and stomped off. Letting out a silent sigh of relief, Mission crept slowly forward, stopping at the body of the Sith trooper and kneeling down. As silently as she could, she began to search the corpse. She ignored the soldier's rifle and armor, focusing on the contents of its all-purpose utility belt.

Her search produced two medpacs and two antidote kits, which she slipped into a pouch on her own armor. Another pouch produced a beam splitter, which she was sure Kagi would appreciate being added to his own rifle. Afraid to turn the body over, for fear of attracting the rakghouls, Mission carefully reached around to its underside, poking and prodding the pouches. Finally, she got a hold of something, grabbed it, and pulled it back around.

Her eyes fell upon an injector kit, half the length of her forearm, filled with a shimmering green liquid. A number of score marks along the side of the vial marked treatment doses. She smiled. Mission complete.

Tucking the serum into her armor, Mission stood and crept back toward her comrades, anxious to be away from the rakghouls. But suddenly, as she approached, she saw one of the wandering rakghouls move into the line of sight of Zaalbar and Carth, and immediately charge toward them, letting out a loud roar as it did so.

The two immediately opened fire on it, burning it down before it could take two steps. Around and behind her, Mission could see and hear the other rakghouls moving toward the source of the disturbance. She swung out her right hand, the weight of the blaster pistol catching it completely unaware and flipping it over onto its back. She discharged a bolt of scarlet energy into its face, putting it down quickly.

Another rakghoul made it around the corner that her friends were behind, and she heard Zaalbar's roar of anger, followed by a surprised squeal and the sound of flesh tearing. Carth stepped around the corner, his blaster pistols blazing, sending a fourth rakghoul crashing to the ground. Mission whirled around, firing as she did so. The weight of a rakghoul slammed into her, smashing her to the ground.

"Mission!" Carth shouted, running up and kicking the beast off of her. It flopped over onto its back beside her, dead, a hole burned through its chest.

The Twi'lek girl switched off her stealth field generator and laid there, with rakghoul slime smeared over her armor. "I need a bath," she muttered.

"We all do," Carth replied, pulling her to her feet. "Any luck?"

Grinning, she produced the injector she had taken from the dead Sith. The vial was still full. "They must've gotten the drop on him," she said. "Dead before he could use any."

"All the better for us," he replied, looking around. "Come on, let's get out of here. The less time we have to spend in this dump, the better."

---

Bastila had actually fallen asleep after she had exhausted all available topics of conversation with Zelka. She woke with a start when she heard voices in the main room. With a glance to make sure that Kagi was still in the kolto tank, she stood up and opened the door out of the back room.

"…did you get this?" Zelka was asking Carth, holding a long injection kit in his hands. He shook his head. "Nevermind, I don't want to know." He turned it over, prying some part of it open and extracting a vial from within. "Excellent! This is definitely the cure for the rakghoul disease! With this sample, I can make enough serum for everybody!"

"We're just glad that we could have helped," Bastila said, leaning against the door frame.

Zelka turned to her and smiled, his expression still overjoyed. "The people of Taris owe you all a great debt," he said. He gently set the serum down on a table in front of him, reaching for some other medical supplies on its surface. "Please, take this small reward. It isn't much, but it's all I can afford. A few credits and two spare medpacs."

Bastila shook her head once, holding her hand palm-out toward him. "No, keep the reward," she said. "Your treating our friend is payment enough, and you will need those supplies more than we will."

"You truly have a noble and generous spirit, Miss," Zelka replied. "But you deserve something for your efforts. Just for you, I'll waive the usual charge for your friend's extensive treatment. And I'll do you one better: I'll also give you a discount whenever you shop at my store. It's the least I can do."

"Thank you," Bastila said, smiling warmly. She then turned and walked back to the chair she'd spent who-knew how long in, but didn't sit in it yet. She decided she needed to stretch her legs some more.

"How's he doing?" Carth asked as he walked into the treatment room.

"He's getting better," she replied, closing her eyes as she reached out with the Force and touched his living essence. "It may still be a while, though."

"Hmm. Well, we're eventually going to have to get these codes to Canderous," Carth said, tapping the pocket on his jacket that contained the datapad. "Otherwise he may think we stiffed him."

"You're right," she said, pacing in front of the two dying Republic soldiers. "We will have to give him those codes, so that he can accomplish whatever purpose he's seeking."

The pilot raised an eyebrow. "And by 'we' you mean anyone but you, right?"

She shot him a look. "I told you before that I am going to stay here and look after Kagi," she said crossly. "So can I ask the three of you to go give him those codes?"

Carth sighed and shook his head. "Alright, we'll do it. We'll be back." He turned around. "Mission? Zaalbar? Let's go. We're going to take Canderous those launch codes."

Zaalbar growled something in his own language. "Big Z says he doesn't want to go this time," Mission translated. "He says he wants to stay here in case something should happen to Kagi."

Carth sighed again. "Fine," he said. "Are you coming at least?"

She nodded.

"Good. We'll bring T3 along as well, just to round it out."

A quick exchange of goodbyes later, and the trio had departed. Zaalbar walked over to stand in front of the kolto tank, staring in at the man to whom he owed a life debt. He rumbled something that Bastila didn't understand, but it sounded, at least to her ears, mournful.

---

"Where's your friend?" Canderous asked, glaring at Carth.

"We had a little accident," he replied, seating himself at the Mandalorian's table. "He's been injured, and he's getting treatment. But we brought you the launch codes you wanted."

Carth produced the datapad, which Canderous leaned forward to take. The pilot pulled it out of his reach. "Ah, ah. Our deal, Canderous."

The Mandalorian scowled. "My original plan was to take your friend to Davik's base so we could steal his ship and have a better chance of fighting our way out. But frankly, I don't know how a Republic, a Twi'lek girl, and a droid could be of any help to me." He took a gulp of the bronze liquid in his tall glass. "Or how I could even convince him to let you in, for that matter."

"Tell him that we're Kagi's bodyguards," Mission said. "That we're there to check the place out and make sure everything is cool before he shows up."

Canderous gave her a look he normally reserved for someone he found painting his Mandalorian combat armor a bright shade of pink. "And in just the time it took you to come up with that excuse, Davik would see right through it. He's not an idiot, you know."

"I didn't see you offering up any ideas," Carth said, eyes narrowed. "But then again, you Mandalorians were never known for your finesse and subtlety."

"Now you listen here, you filthy di'kut!" Canderous snapped, slamming his glass on the table's surface. "If I catch you making one more comment like that, I'll skin you and use your kidneys to oil my armor." He settled back in his chair, glaring turbolasers at the Republic pilot as he said to Mission, "I suppose your little idea might work, if I put the right spin on it. Now, if you're interested, I can take you to Davik's estate right now."

"How are we going to get inside?" Carth asked.

"Davik's always looking for new recruits," Canderous replied. "I'll tell him your friend is interested, but he sent two of his lieutenants to check things out first, make sure it's the kind of arrangement he wants to get into. He'll want to check all of your backgrounds, and you'd need to stay a couple days for that. And while Davik is checking you out, we steal the Ebon Hawk and escape. Pick up the rest of your friends from wherever they're at, and get off this rock."

"Sounds good to me," Mission said, nodding agreeably.

"Me, too," Carth said.

"It's settled then," Canderous replied, fishing in his pockets for a few credits, which he laid on the table. "Come on, I've got an airspeeder waiting to take us there. The sooner we get off Taris, the better."