16 The Crash Site

Had they been on foot, the journey to the cruiser's crash site would have taken days, or maybe weeks. As it was, Dak had modified the engines of the speeders, making them faster than usual, and, following the coordinates they were given, they made it to the crash site within a matter of hours. It was kind of hard to miss, as the cruiser was sticking out of the ground nose first and leaning significantly. Stopping next to the wreck, Dak and IG-67 dismounted their speeders and looked at it.

"How the heck does he expect us to find a small box in all THAT?" Dak said in frustration.

"Perhaps the tracking fob we were given might help." IG said. Dak took it out and looked at it. Sure enough, it was beeping faster than when they had first left.

"It'll help, alright," he said, "Now how do we get in there?"

It took a few minutes, but the two were able to find an opening in the hull that was big enough for them to get in. Once inside, Dak unholstered one of his rifles and activated the flashlight he attached to the bottom.

"Alright, stay sharp," he said, "We don't know who else is in here with us."

"I understand," IG-67 said. The two then crept slowly, but steadily through the halls of the ship. It was slightly elevated, which made navigating through it more difficult, but it wasn't anything Dak's rocket boots and grappling hook couldn't handle. As they kept going, Dak held out the tracking fob in front of him, noticing, it began pulsing a little faster.

"We're getting closer," he said, "You see anyone else here?"

"Negative," IG replied, "No life readings so far."

They stopped in front of a surprisingly intact doorway as the fob began beeping uncontrollably.

"It's in here," Dak said, walking over to the control pad. Pressing the button, the door opened, but got stuck halfway. Fortunately, it had opened enough so that dak and IG-67 could slip through. Looking around, they realized they had entered a room full of different supply crates. The fob was really pulsing now.

"Check through these crates," Dak said, "It's here somewhere."

The two began moving crates aside to check the ones in the back, even taking the lids off a few to check what was inside. After what seemed like hours, they had gone through almost every crate in the room and were about to give up when the tracking fob suddenly let out a long beeping noise; he was right next to the crate.

"I think it's right here." He said, getting Ig-67's attention. The two knelt down to where the fob was going crazy and shoved aside a few crates to reveal a large, rectangular case. Blasting the locks with his blaster, Dak opened the lid to reveal a small chest in a foam mold. Dak pulled the box out of the foam, revealing it to be just like the one Ajax had shown them.

"We got it." Dak said, "Now let's get out of here. If what Ajax said is true…"

Suddenly, IG grabbed Dak and threw him out of the room, jumping out immediately after just as an explosion blasted out from the room.

Dak quickly got up, still holding the box.

"Thanks," Dak said.

"Affirmative," IG responed.

"Freeze!" said a voice behind them, Dak and IG-67 turned around to see a Commando droid, in remarkably good condition, pointing a gun at them. Next to him stood a Togruta in a sort of mechanic's outfit, her face covered by goggles and a mask. She also had a blaster pointed at the two.

"We can't let you walk away with that." She said.

"So, you're the reasons the bounty on this thing was so high?" Dak said, "I gotta thank you for that."

"Drop the box." the Togruta demanded.

"Sorry," Dak said, "No can do." And he launched a missle from one of his gauntlets at the wall next to the Togruta and Commando droid. The blast knocked the two to the ground as well as create a hole in the wall, leading outside.

"Come on!" Dak yelled, and he and IG-67 jumped out of the hole. Grabbing onto the hunter droid, Dak ignited his jet boots to soften their fall. Landing on the ground, they saw their speeders nearby.

"Oh, thank goodness." Dak said, only to be hit in the back by a blaster bolt; luckily, he was saved by his Beskar armor.

"We must leave now," IG-67 said, firing back at the hole and running to the speeder.

"Great idea!" Dak said sarcastically as he ran for his speeder. Getting to the speeders, Dak and IG jumped on and immediately shot off, Dak strapping the box to the back of his speeder.

After a few moments of speeding away from the wreckage, Dak breathed a sigh of relief just as a laser bolt hit the sand next to him.

"What the…?" he said, turning to see the Togruta and Commando droid chasing them in a two person speeder with a gun mounted in the front and back.

"Seriously?!" Dak said in frustration.

"I'll handle it." IG-67 said, grabbing a blaster and pointing his arm straight backwards, began firing ack at the speeder. Dak also pulled out one of his rifles and fired back as well. Just then, he noticed a small canyon to the right.

"Lose em in there!" he told IG before turning his speeder and driving into the canyon. IG-67 followed suit. The pursuing speeder tried to follow as well, but stopped at the mouth of the canyon; it was too wide to fit through. However, the Togruta hit a button on the control pad, and the speeder seemed to transform, splitting apart and folding out until it became one skinny speeder. Then, she drove into the cavern.

"Think we lost them?" Dak asked.

"I should hope so." IG-67 yelled back. Suddenly, a shadow dropped from above as the Togruta drove her speeder off of a nearby ledge, dropping down in front of them and blocking their path. Dak and IG-67 were barely able to stop their speeders in time.

The Togruta and the commando droid pointed their blasters at the hunters. Naturally, they pointed back with their own weapons.

"I can't let you get away with that." The Togruta said.

"It was clever what you did back at the wreck," the commando droid said, "but it ends here."

"Why are you so desperate to protect this thing?" Dak asked, "It's Mandalorian, judging from the symbol on it. So, technically, it belongs with a Mandalorian."

"Be that as it may," the commando droid said, "We suspect you were sent here to claim it for someone else, just like all the others sent before. Those sent by Commander Ajax."

This caught Dak off guard; how did they know his buyer's name?

"You know who he is?"

The Togruta nodded: "Commander Ajax is a protégé of the Imperial elite. He specializes in experimental weaponry; often looking to other cultures for inspiration, Mandalorian being the most common."

"You mean to tell me there's a weapon in that box?" Dak asked.

"Open it up and see for yourself," the Togruta said.

"How do I know you won't shoot me the second I lower my gun?"

The Togruta thought for a moment, then, holstering her gun, said, "Fair enough. CD-108, stand down."

"Fine," the commando droid said, reluctantly holstering his own weapon.

Dak lowered his gun, walked over to the box strapped to his speeder, and, undoing the straps, gently opened the lid. Inside, he saw three hilts of some kind, but there were no blades attached to them. Dak took one out.

"What is this thing?" he said.

"I'm not sure, to be honest," the Togruta said, "All I know is that it's a powerful weapon of some kind. It looks like some kind of sword hilt."

Dak found a button on the hilt and, pressing it, ignited an energy blade that glowed an eerie black color.

"A Darksaber," Dak said in amazement, "I thought there was only one ever made."

"Apparently not," the Togruta said, walking over to get a better look, "Apparently, a few were made, if those other two hilts are the same."

"This should not be in the hands of an Imperial," Dak said, "These belong with the Mandalorians."

"Ajax won't stop until he gets these," the Togruta said, "If you want to keep these, you need to get rid of him first."

Dak realized she was right. He knew he had a job, but he valued Mandalore over bounty hunting, and he knew what he had to do.

"You have any ideas?" he asked.

The Togruta thought for a moment: "I might have one. It's risky, but it's worth a shot."

"Well, I'm open to ideas."

The Togruta held out her hand: "I'm Valeria, by the way."

Dak shook her hand: "You can call me Nightstalker."

"Huh, weird name."

"It's a codename. I prefer my real name be hidden for now."

Valeria shrugged: "Alright then. If you insist."

"Okay, now that we're fully introduced," Dak said, "What's your plan?"

Valeria smirked: "Oh, this is gonna be fun. Alright, listen up…"