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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jodo Kast" data-source="post: 208002" data-attributes="member: 4810">HEAD TRIP - PART IIIIt was apparent that neither Jirair Gann nor his friend Dev Novo could safely remain on Malabar.  They could not lay low forever.  Outer Rim Oreworks owned the planet, and even now their agents were scouring Ganlo and the other nearby islands for the droid's head.  Even if the friends turned over the head, they were certain that Choti the Squid would want revenge for his slain henchmen.  Dev Novo had his ticket offworld - in a matter of days he was leaving for the Imperial Navy Flight Academy.  Jirair needed a different solution.  And so it was that they came to the Tailfin Cantina, just two nights after the head first fell into their hands.  Jirair had clandestinely contacted his friend, the Mon Calamari Biqua, who informed Jirair that he and Bobbo had completed the repairs to the Rim Runner's hyperdrive.  He also told Jirair that the Rodian captain Baydo could be found most times in the Tailfin, sipping the local liquor distilled from various native jungle fruits and keeping to himself.  There was no love lost between Baydo and the local crime boss, Choti the Squid, and Biqua was certain that the Rodian would be leaving soon now that the repairs to the Rim Runner were finished. "I can get you past ORO, but it will cost you extra, kid.  I could smell trouble as soon as you two walked in this joint.  I prefer to avoid that kind of trouble."  Baydo sat in a corner booth, his boots propped up on the table and a wooden cup of booze in hand.  His other hand was beneath the table, and Jirair was positive it was not far from his blaster."Look, I don't have many credits.  But I do know how to repair starships.  And that hunk of junk you're flying looks like it could use someone who knows their way around a hydrospanner."  As Jirair negotiated with the gruff Rodian, Dev kept a lookout on the door."She may not look like much but she's got it where it counts, kid."  Baydo took a swig of booze as he sized up the human.  "Say, what's in the sack?"Jirair winced, hoping the droid's head would not start talking.  No matter how many times he deactivated the blasted thing, it kept coming back online.  "Um, nothing.  Just some tools.""Tell you what, kid.  Meet me at the Rim Runner in the morning with 2,000 credits.  Think you can come up with that?"  Jirair nodded slowly.  "Good.  That will get you offworld, but it won't get you far.  And bring your tools.  I'm giving you a bargain, so I'll expect you to put in some work.  Deal?""Sure.  Sure!"  Jirair smiled and stuck out his hand to shake on the deal.  Baydo just looked at the hand and scowled at the young man.  "Uh, see you in the morning, then!"Jirair and Dev left the table, scanning outside the door carefully, and rather obviously, before exiting the Tailfin.  "In the morning," said Baydo ominously.  "If you're still alive."Jirair and Dev stepped out into the humid night air and made their way out back of the Tailfin, where Dev had hidden the speeder bike.  Dev groaned as he rounded the corner, and Jirair soon saw why.  Leaning casually against the speeder was a familiar figure ... the Quarren thug whom Jirair had knocked cold with the droid's head.  He had a light repeating blaster trained on the friends.  If he decided to use it, they would have no chance of dodging the deadly barrage of blaster fire that would issue from the gun."<We meet again,>" snarled the Quarren, a snide grin barely visible between his head tentacles.  ""Jirair looked at Dev, and Dev shrugged back.  Neither of them understood Quarrenese, but the message was obvious and it didn't seem like they had much of a choice.  Sighing, Jirair reached into the sack and retrieved the L80's head. He was just about to toss it to the Quarren when twin blasts erupted past them, lighting up the night, both slamming into the Quarren and throwing him to the ground.  He lay there smoldering.  "I've wanted to do that ever since I first laid eyes on the scumbag."  Jirair and Dev turned to see the Rodian smuggler Baydo walking towards them, a blaster in either hand.  "He and another one of the Squid's cronies fragged my partner Tevy.  Now we're square.""I'm glad it's you," said Dev.  "Figured it would be ORO guys, or worse."The Rodian walked a little closer and smiled a rueful little smile.  He trained his blasters on the friends, one on each.  "Sorry kids.  This is the way it has to be.  I've got every bounty hunter this side of the Corellian Run breathing down my neck, and if what I've heard about that head is true, it should just about satisfy my debt to Choti.  So be good lads and hand it over."Jirair's disappointment was written all over his face.  He had admired the Rodian and his way of life, plying the spaceways and surviving on grit, wits and a healthy dose of good luck.  Now he realized that Baydo was no better than the rest of the scum of the galaxy, just looking out for himself.  Jirair turned the L80 head over in his hands.  Maybe it was for the best.  The head had brought him nothing but trouble.  He tossed the head through the air.  The Rodian spun one of his blasters around a finger, holstered it smoothly, and caught the droid's head in his free hand, never taking those big black eyes off of Jirair and Dev."Don't feel bad, guys.  You sure gave Choti's goons a run for their money.  But you can't win them all."  The Rodian turned to walk away."Just once would be nice," mumbled Jirair.  Suddenly another blaster bolt lit up the night.  This one came from the jungle and struck Baydo, spinning him around.  He crashed to the ground, still clutching the droid's head.  Outlined against the treeline Jirair could make out the silhouette of an armored man marching toward the fallen Rodian.  But before he could get there, more blaster fire erupted in the night, this time directed at the armored figure!  ORO operatives were flooding into the clearing, unleashing a volley of blasts at the armored man.  One found its mark, leaving a blast mark on his red and black armor.  The armored man appeared unaffected, however, and returned fire with deadly accuracy.  Each time he fired his weapon, an ORO agent fell.  Jirair and Dev hit the ground.  Caught in the crossfire, they could do nothing but watch the scene unfold.  A well-placed shot from the armored man sent the blaster of the last remaining ORO operative flying out of her hand and through the air.  The armored man then sprinted to the remaining agent, holstering his blaster and drawing a large weapon off his back as he closed upon his prey.  The weapon resembled a staff with two heavy blades at each end.  It hummed with energy as the armored man expertly cut through the air with it, whirling it about impressively.  The ORO operative never had a chance ... the blade sliced through the thick night air and her neck with equal ease.  Her head rolled to a stop about a meter from Dev's face, her features frozen in an expression of terror.The armored man glanced at Dev and Jirair, and, apparently perceiving no threat from them, turned his attention back to the Rodian ... who was no longer there!  The man slung his double-bladed weapon back over his shoulder and onto his back and stalked off into the night."C'mon," said Dev, leaping to his feet."Where to?" asked Jirair."We've got to get to that thieving Rodian before that bounty hunter does!""And then what?"Dev grinned as he revved up the repulsorlift engine on his speeder bike.  "Do I have to think of everything, Jirair?"  Jirair grabbed the blaster rifle off the still-smoldering Quarren and jumped on the back of the speeder just as the bike leaped away toward the beach.Next: The pulse-pounding conclusion to Head Trip ...</blockquote>

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