Just so you know, Chapter 8 and 9 are going to take place at the same time.

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Chapter Eight

When nighttime(in Stobar's standard) happened, Kanan and Ezra were hiding out in the alleyway. Kanan peered around the wall and saw a Nautolaun approached the Falleen bouncer. The bouncer demanded for his ID, which the Nautolaun did and showed it to him. The Falleen checked it and lets the Nautolan in. Kanan moved away from the corner and turned back to Ezra.

"I'm guessing we're not using the front door again," guessed Ezra.

"Not without an ID," said Kanan, pulling out his comlink, "Moreena, can you find a way for us to sneak inside?"

Inside The Blood Moon, Moreena was in the backstage, watching the slaves dancing on stage. Then she crept away creeping and reached for her earring com and activated it.

"Let me see," she responded, beginning to search around the backstage.

She came across a metal door that reads EXIT. This must lead outside, thought Moreena, but before she can open it, she noticed something else. The door seems to have an electromagnetic mechanism attached to it, with lights blinking on and off. Moreena reached up to the metal collar around her neck. So this is what is for, thought Moreena, reaching for her earring com again.

"I found a way in, but there's a problem," Moreena reported.

"What is it?" asked Kanan.

"This door seems to have an electromagnetic system on it," informed Moreena, "Apparently this collar is rigged with a microchip that can trigger the alarm. If I walked through that door the system will go off and Carnage will notice."

"Stay put," ordered Kanan, "Will be right there."

Kanan puts away the comlink and started to search for the door with Ezra following him. They found the door Moreena was talking about. They climbed up the stairs and stood before the door. Kanan closed his eyes and lifted his hand towards the door, focusing on the security system. Using the force, Kanan was able to temporarily deactivate the system. When Moreena saw the system turned off, she took the opportunity and quickly opened the doors. Kanan and Ezra then jumped inside as soon as the door opened. They sneaked up on the upper level in the hallway. Kanan looked arouond the corner of the hallway to make sure there is nobody there. Then he turned to the teenagers.

"Okay, here's what we're gonna' do," Kanan began, "As soon as Carnage leaves his office, you two need to sneak inside and obtain the information that tells us where the missing girls are. I'll be at the bar on the second level keeping an eye on him. I'll let you know if Carnage is on his way back."

"We'll be quick," said Ezra.The trio splits up with Kanan heading to the bar and Ezra and Moreena to Carnage's office.

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Ezra and Moreena are hiding underneath the stairs, waiting for Carnage to leave. Not too long, they immediately saw a pair of Carnage's feet climbing downstairs. As soon as Carnage is off the stairs and away, Ezra and Moreena hurried upstairs. When they got to the hallway that leads to Carnage's office, they peered around the corner and saw a guard blocking the entrance.

"How are we gonna get inside?" asked Moreena.

"Leave it to me," said Ezra, "I'm gonna use jedi mind tricks to get him to leave."

"Have you done this before?" asked Moreena.

"Once, actually," Ezra hesitantly answered, causing Moreena to bit her bottom lip and crossed her fingers. Ezra cleared his throat, raised his hand towards the guard while staying out of sight and chanted, "You're going to take a break because you want to."

The guard turned his head and started making his way down the hall. But when they thought that it worked, the guard stopped right in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" demanded the guard, "This area is off-limits!"

"Um, you're going to take a break because you want to," Ezra shakily chanted. Moreena cowered behind Ezra.

"What do you think you're doing?" the guard demanded again, "Whatever you're doing, stop that!"

"You're going to take a break because you want to," Ezra chanted, a little more louder.

"I'm warning you!" sneered the guard, gritting his teeth.

"You're going to take a break because you want to!" Ezra chanted for the final time. The guard stood still for a moment still have that death glare on his face. Moreena peered around Ezra's shoulder. Suddenly the guard's face shifted into a blank face and stood up straight.

"I'm...going...to take a break because... I want to," the guard slurred and shuffled out of the hallway. Ezra and Moreena both sighed in relief.

"Not bad," praised Moreena, grinning at Ezra.

"Thank you," acknowledged Ezra, grinning back.

Without wasting any time, they hurried inside Carnage's office. Once they're inside, they make their way to Carnage's desk. Moreena sat on the chair while Ezra stood over her shoulder.Ezra took a quick glance out the window, I can see why Carnage chose to have his office above the chandelier, thought Ezra, The view is actually fantastic. Ezra turned away from the window and pulled up the comlink.

"How's it going Kanan?" asked Ezra.

"Carnage is at his booth talking with a Nemoidian," Kanan replied, "But be quick. I don't know how long he'll be there."

"Will do," Ezra answered, and deactivated his comlink.

Moreena turned on the hologram screen and the screen appeared. On the flashing screen were four different files; each of them are labeled SLAVES, MAP, SHIPMENT and STORAGE.Ezra reached into his pocket, pulled out a hard-drive and handed it to Moreena. Moreena plugged it onto the holo-computer and clicked on the file that read SLAVES. Once she did that, a list appeared before them. Both their eyes widened when they see how long the list was.

"Aw, man," gasped Ezra, "How many slaves does he have?"

"Currently or previously?" asked Moreena.

"All together," answered Ezra.

"Albeit over a hundred at least," Moreena guessed.

They review over the list; it contained four columns. The first column contained the names of slaves that Carnage either has them or used to. The second column has different colored dots: red, green, clear and yellow. The third one tells the date they were received and the fourth one tells when were they sold.

"Apparently the red dot means that he longer has them," Ezra pointed out, "The green one means he currently has them. But I'm curious: what does the yellow and clear dots mean?"

"Not sure," said Moreena, clicking on another file. On the next file showed a list of slaves that had a yellow dot right next to their names. She clicked on the icon that shows only the names that has a yellow dot next to them. The list appeared onscreen and Ezra scanned it.

"I think I now know what the yellow dot means: It's an auction," Ezra analyzed, his eyes glancing to the date of the auction, "They're being put on auction next week."

Moreena looked back at the list of girls who are on the list and grimaced when she saw Tann's name on the list. That sweet little Twi'lek who is about to be separated from her sister. How am I going to explain to Daesha? She wondered, as she began to download the information. Moreena brings up the list of names of the twelve missing Twi'leks and reviewed them. She shooked her head.

"None of them are on the list," Moreena confirmed, "Not even on the green list, otherwise I would've recognized one of them. And there's no way he'd sold them already, it's too soon."

"The only mark there is left are the clear ones," said Ezra.

"So we know that green means they're here, red means they've been sold and yellow means they're about to be sold," Moreena explained, "But we still have no idea what the clear dots means. What could it possibly mean?"

"No idea," said Ezra, then he raised an eyebrow.

The hard drive finished downloading the information and Moreena glanced at the folder that read MAP. She narrowed her eyes, No, I can't let this happen. She proceeded to open the floor map of the building. The building model appeared and Moreena downloaded it into the file.

"Why are we downloading this one?" asked Ezra.

"You're going to need this when you rescue everyone," Moreena explained, not looking up at him.

Ezra raised an eyebrow. Everyone? What does she mean by everyone? She doesn't mean the girls, they're not here. Unless...

"Moreena, you do realize that none of them are here, right?" Ezra reminded her.

"I know they're not here," Moreena explained, looking up at him, "But there's still people who needs rescuing."

"Mo, our mission is to rescue the girls that were kidnapped from Ryloth," Ezra argued, "We can't include everyone else who's been trapped here, it's too risky."

"So is leaving them behind," Moreena argued back.

"Why are you so worked up about this?" he demanded.

"Because," Moreena sighed, looking down, "There's this girl named Daesha. She has a sister and they've stayed together for a long time. When I saw her sister's name on the list to be sold and I knew that Daesha would be devastated about it.

Ezra lifted his eyebrows and listened carefully to her.

"Not only that," she continued, "But it's also because I told her that someone will come rescue them."

"Why would you say that to her?" Ezra gently asked her.

"Because she thought no one cares about them," She continued explaining, "That no one will come for them. Which is why we have to come back for them as soon as we rescue the twelve girls."

"Mo, your heart is in the right place," said Ezra, kneeling down so that he's on the same level as her, "But you shouldn't make a promise you can't keep."

"Ezra, please," Moreena begged, looking up at him, "They've already lost everything they had. They actually believed everything I've said. Don't let these words I've told them be in vain."

Ezra looked into Moreena's eyes. He closed his eyes, drew in a breath and sighed.

"Alright," sighed Ezra, "I'll talk to Kanan and we'll see."

Moreena smiled and wrapped her arms around him. Ezra froze, stared into space with wide eyes and raised eyebrows. He then smiled and hugged her back. Suddenly they heard a loud bang that sounded like a blaster followed by screams. Ezra and Moreena drew away from each other annd turned to the window. Ezra gets up and ran to the window to peer through it. It was hard to make out with the chandelier in the way. The only thing he can see is a crowd of people gathering around what looks like a dead body. Then they seemed to went back to what they were doing as if nothing happened.

"What was that!?" yelled Moreena, standing up.

"Apparently somebody just died from what appears to be a gunfight," Ezra told Moreena, "A brief one that is."

"A gunfight!?" Moreena gasped, "Did you see who shot him?"

"No I can't see through the chandelier," Ezra answered, "But I do see a couple of men dragging the dead Rodian away."

"I sure do hope they notify the Rodian's family about it," Moreena regarded.

"Actually, everyone seemed unfazed about it," said Ezra,"Apparently they get this sort thing plenty of time."

"What a surprise," Moreena sarcastically remarked.

"We'd better get of here," suggested Ezra, making his way to the door.

Ezra stopped in the middle of the room and turned around to find Moreena still standing before the desk, looking at something on the screen. She was eyeing at the last two files, SHIPMENT and STORAGE Ezra walked back to her.

"Aren't you coming?" invoked Ezra.

"We can't leave just yet," said Moreena.

"What?" keened Ezra.

"We haven't checked these files," Moreena explained. Ezra walked over to where Moreena was standing and looked at the last two files. He shooked his head.

"Moreena we don't have time for this," said Ezra, "Carnage could be heading back."

"But these files could hold clues on where they might be," protested Moreena.

"We'll come back some other time," said Ezra.

"When?" argued Moreena, "We may never get another chance. Wouldn't you get as much information as you can to save others? Besides, Kanan said that they'll alert us if Carnage is on his way."

"Fine," sighed Ezra, "But make it quick."

Moreena sat back down and clicked on the SHIPMENT file, only to be blocked by a block that read ENTER PASSWORD. Both Ezra and Moreena lifted an eyebrow. Moreena thought of a possible password. Perhaps it's his homeworld, she thought while typing down ZYGERRIA. However, the block replied with INCORRECT PASSWORD. She tried it on STORAGE, but with the same results. Why would Carnage have both these files locked, Ezra wondered. Suddenly Ezra hears his comlink beeping. He reached for his belt and held it up towards his face.

"What is it, Kanan?" asked Ezra.

"Ezra, Carnage is on his way back," Kanan warned him.

"What!?" the two teenagers yelled.

"You two need to get of there, NOW!" commanded Kanan.

Moreena frantically turned off the hologram screen while Ezra yanked the hard drive from the desk. They started to make a run for it, but before they can reach for the door, they heard voices. The only voice they recognize belonged to Carnage and he's a couple of feet close.

"Oh, Karabast," Ezra cursed, "We're trapped!" Moreena quickly think for a second and looked at Ezra seriously.

"Maybe not," said Moreena.

"Huh?"

Without warning, Moreena shoved Ezra onto the sofa, climbed on top of him, moved his helmet from his head and pressed her lips against his. Ezra's eyes widened, his face turned red and he felt his mind explode. He can feel his heart pounding against his chest. A split second later, Ezra realized what she is doing, closed his eyes and kissed her back. Carnage, Bane, and Azmorigan walked in only to stop on the spot when they saw two teenagers, completely flabbergasted.

"Whoa-ho-ho, are we interrupting something," hooted Bane. Ezra and Moreena looked up at the group of men.

"Why is that boy kissing your slave?" Azmorigan pressed.

"What are you two doing here?" demanded Carnage, his eyebrows knitting down and resting his fists on his hips. Ezra and Moreena gets off the sofa and faced an angry Zygerrian, whose eyes glared at Moreena. "I thought I told you this place is off limits unless I say so."

"Oh--um--uh...," Moreena struggled to answer coming up with a good reason. Seeing Moreena can't come up with something. Ezra stepped in.

"It was my idea," Ezra claimed, "I persuaded her that we go somewhere private." Carnage glanced at Ezra and walked up to him.

"Who are you?" demanded Carnage, his eyes pierced onto Ezra. Ezra quickly thought for a moment and spoke.

"Clyde Youngblood," Ezra told the Zygerrian.

"Well then, Youngblood, how did you get passed security," the Zygerrian interrogated, "I had a guard blocking my office when I left."

"He must've felt like taking a break," Ezra lied. Carnage lifted an eyebrow. Ezra and Moreena both felt their heart slowly pounding, hoping he bought Ezra's lie.

"I'm going to have a word with him later," said Carnage.

"So we're free to go?" squeaked Moreena.

"Yes," answered Carnage.

Ezra and Moreena both sighed in relief, thinking they're off the hook. Ezra grabbed his helmet and started to leave along with Moreena. However, Carnage stopped them on their trail. He glared at Ezra first.

"But I better not see you again," Carnage added. Ezra eyes stared at him wide-eyed. Did he just banished me? He thought, but he kept quiet. Carnage turned to Moreena.

"And you," he hissed, "I've warned you to stay out of my office and yet you disobeyed me. You're off to a bad start, young lady. Two more strikes, and I won't be so merciful, do you understand me this time?"

"Yes, sir," acknowledged Moreena, meekly.

"Good," Carnage hissed.

Finally they released them and the teenagers left the office. They remained quiet as they walked down the hallway. Ezra glanced at Moreena, who looked hurt.

"Mo," Moreena looked up at Ezra, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Moreena assured him, giving him a gentle smile, "It's my fault, I got a little careless. Sorry that I got you off guard with that kiss. It was the first thing that popped in my head. It didn't freak you out did it?"

"No, of course not," Ezra quickly replied, slightly blushing, "I was shocked at first, but then I figured out what were you doing." He pulled out his comlink and lifted up to his face.

"Kanan, we got out of there, safely," Ezra spoke to the comlink.

"Good," Kanan responded, "Meet me back at the hallway."

"We'll be there," Ezra replied, puts the colink away and looked at Moreena, "Let's go."

Moreena nodded and they make their way to their destination.