Learning to Cry - Act II (Competition)

[Lord Fire Blade]

Darkness
Imprisoning me
All that I can see
Absolute horror
I can not live
I can not die
By myself
Body exists as itself

Bullets
Has taken my sight
Taken my speech* * * *
Taken my hearing
Taken my arms
Taken my legs
Taken my soul
Dragging my life into hell….

[Gronk Droid]

The small droid watched as the medical droid TDK-60M towed the medical gantry into the small bare room, white, with harsh artificial lighting. It’s mind and sensors scanned the human – or what remained of the human, who still had some red armour type material on it. Blood crusted wounds that had been patched, while the face seemed to have been subject to some sort of heat blast, blackening the features and making them indistinct. Gronk droid, or more accurately, a power unit, watched as the medical droid fussed over it’s charge.

“So, what are we going to do toight?” beeped Gronk in it’s own language.

“Same thing we do every night, take over the galaxy.. what do you think it looks like, you bucket of bolts?” snapped back TDK-60M. “We have been ordered to keep this human alive”. Not many people realised droids that didn’t get their memoires wiped developed personalities after a while, the most famed being R2-D2. Droids that could often wished to have the freedom of that one. TDK-60M and Gronk hadn’t been wiped in a long time and hence TDK was a snippy and sarcastic device, while Gronk was fairly flippant. Both however knew their work well and that was clandestine medical. Servicing the underground, they had even built up a credit balance that would be the envy of most beings, let alone droids subject to the various laws and rules of the Republic. Free droids was a status rarely obtained and these two had done it, saving the life of a grateful smuggler, who had bought them and then given them their freedom.

A rare thing indeed and the pair had made the best of the opportunity. Gronk, despite being a power droid, was also an experimental medical scanner, about to gander information about a patient that few other instruments would be able to achieve. TDK-60M was the physical side of the combination, with delicate probes and instruments to cut, patch, explore and remove as the case warranted. With Gronk’s array of sensors, TDK could remove a single cell if need be. With the addition of drip mechanisms, filters, pumps and analysers, TDK was capable of a full transfusion as well as poisions removal or other infections. A bacta tank in another room completed the formidable abilities. Hence, on Coruscant, if you could pay the fees and didn’t want to gain official attention, you went to the warehouse Gronk and TDK were at.

“Ah, of course. Who is this?” Despite the no questioned asked policy, the droids liked to find out who they were working on – mainly to avoid reprisals if things went badly.

“Called Lord Fire Blade, given the identifying features. Seems this one has some powerful counterparts”

“As well as powerful dis-assemblers.” Gronk paused, scanning. “Slug thrower damage?”

“Yes. The person who delivered this being was wearing many strange weapons, some of which could have been projectile”

Gronk scanned again, relooking at the wounds the now identified bullets had done. Maybe projectile weapons were unusual, but also incredibly effective by the evidence offered. Major organs had been ripped through, bone shattered, infective agents introduced. 15 separate impact points Gronk identified, as well as burns from what appeared to be a clumsy flamethrower. It was remarkable this being was still able to be alive. The power droid projected a map of what he had found to TDK, which the other studied for a moment.

“No hope” pronounced TDK

“Then why is it here?” replied Gronk. “Throw it into incinerator”

“Because human male who probably shot this being pointed gun that look a S’mith and Wess’on rail gun at head and said I would be reprogrammed by it if Fire Blade was not kept alive”

Silence for a moment.

“Ah” beeped Gronk. “That reprogramming include me too?”

TDK nodded.

“Ah”.

Silence again.

“Keep alive, not make well?”

“Keep alive. Nothing else said”.

Gronk was silent for a moment longer. “Then we keep alive. Status field”

TDK agreed before continuing. “Also instructed to allow fact of incapcitation to be known”

Being a droid, surprise was not something it was really programmed for, but Gronk still managed it. “Why?”

“Don’t know. Gun wielder did not say.”

“Computed. Was there promise of payment?”

“We stay unprogrammed by projectiles. Sound like good payment”

“Point conceded”

The droids got to work, eventually TDK began to do one of the odder things it did.

“So, what are you doing TDK?”

“Reading history”

“Oooh, I love doing that, but I always forget to buff the chrome bits”

“Nooooo Gronk, that’s waxing the speeder. : that’s different”

“Oh”

“Reading history doesn’t make things shiny. It edifys you and prepares you for the possibilities of destiny!”

Pause.

“Did you know that every time your mouth moves, strange sounds come out?” replied Gronk.

“Ggggrrrrrrrr! I shall explain this in a way even you can understand!”

Bizarrely, TDK began to sing….

To the tune of A Modern Major General – with apologies to Gilbert and Sullivan as well as Pinky and the Brain

TDK:
Through meticulous analysis of surgery
I shall find a way to make the beings worship me
But study of the sawbones of days gone by
I’ll discover the mistakes that them go awry

Gronk:
So that you can make the same mistakes if you just try!

TDK:
By studying the past so carefully,
I wont make the same mistakes of surgery

Gronk:
You’ll never another mistake you see, cause you’ll fall asleep from all that history!

“Pay attention Gronk”

TDK:

When MK-DCA cut a spleen,
With New Republic officials it was often seen
But when it had no ruling friends,
It found a explosive flake to put it to an end

Gronk:
A fate I really wouldn’t recommend!


TDK:
I wont need Galaxy alliances,
When I control the hospital appliances

Gronk:
I like to bet that would really smart, to be cut apart by a flake out cart!

TDK:
HB2BL by datapad confirms
Tried operating on gnomes with pacaderms
Just why he failed, no one knows
But he could never get past the gnomeish sentinels

Gronk:
And he couldn’t find it’s scalpels in the peanut shells!

TDK:
An elephant is not required
If I can use the holoview to be admired

Gronk:
The holoviewers you delight are sitting all like zombies on a Sunday night!

TDK:
AtlllA was a mightly Dis-hun
He cut apart Asi’ans just for fun
When he got to Eur’op’s banks,
It was stopped by an dressage of shorted out Franks

Gronk:
I like mine with sauerkraut and mustard thanks!

TDK:
Why cut apart like a criminal
When I can anaethetize subliminal

Gronk:
Please send a message to those huns, to see if they can rummage me a hot dog bun!

:: TDK slaps Gronk on the back::

Gronk:
Zort!

TDK:
Cali’ggggula was no droid scout
It did sewed up things we cant even talk about
But the nurses knew it had flipped it’s head
When it filled a doctor’s seat with Mr Ed

Gronk:
What’s wrong with being friendly to a thorobred?

TDK:
Why operate like such a reprobate
When I can put my patients in a hypnotic state

Gronk:
When everybody’s in a trance, you can make the people do a chicken dance!

:: Gronk plays Chicken dance music::

“Gronk, if you don’t stop this foolishness, I hall have to disassemble you”

“Oww….k!”

TDK:
In France Napoleon Bonapart
thought cutting apart Austria was very smart
But when he operated on England too
It was cut apart by Wellington at Wat’erloo

Gronk:
And now it’s just a pasty filled with creamy goo!

TDK:
Why operate with depravity,
I’ll do all my surgery by undermining gravity!

Gronk:
And even if your plan falls through, maybe they could name a pasty after you!

:: Sounds of violence are heard and Gronk yelps::

TDK:
From Gengis Khan to Ch’1’mane
From Axander down to Tamberlame
I’ll find a surgeons tragic flaw
And gain a little wisdom out of each faux paux

Gronk:
Don’t forget the former surgeon from Arkansas!

TDK:
That concludes my little rhyme
I hope this lesson wasn’t just a waste of time

Gronk:
Well TDK I learned one things true,
All of them have failed and so have you!!

TDK looked somewhat annoyed “Thankyou for that vote of confidence. Now Come! We must prepare for tomorrow night!”

“Why? What are we going to do tomorrow night? Oh! Sing a song about the galaxy’s cheeses?”

“No Gronk droid… we shall take over the hospitals of Coruscant.”

TDK:
Though meticous analysis of surgery!

“Aww, but I like the cheese song TDK…”

The now connectewd life support machines began to do their work, keeping the body of Lord Fire Blade alive as the two droids left arguing, while a preprogrammed data beeped, sending a message to the Wayland Yutanti Corporation and the desk of one of the many nameless New Republic techs that kept the wheels of the beaucracy oiled and turning.

[Elieen Cross]

Somehow, her day was getting worse. As well as the flow of morons calling and their stupid questions, her superior had called her into his office for a butt chewing.

“Elieen, what in Zork’s name is the matter here?!?! Telling the head of Gusston to go flush his head down a sewer? Do you think Waylan d Yutanti appreciates one of it’s clients that spends millions of credits a year to stuff his head downa chemical toilet?!?!”

Elieen deseratly wanted to say Yes and that she frankly didn’t care. The damn headache was still pounding away and all she wanted to do now was to curl up in some dark corner and sleep. Still, she just sat there and let the boss yell a bit, then she would be back at her desk. Yes, she was snappy, but she was also the best damn accountant the Corporation ever had. She could cut through datatrails in a second, find reasons not to pay, or others to overcharge hideously. When you were as good as she was, you could afford to be a bit out of line. Maybe later she would slice the IRS database and give the insufferable fool from Gusston a tax bill that would read like a national debt. That cheered her up slightly, even bought a small smile to her face.

“…. And another thing… what are you smiling at? Do you think this is funny?!?!?”

She snapped back to reality to see the boss giving her a filty look.

“Ummm…. Sorry no..” A call beep interrupted them, that theboss answered with an annoyed slap onto the console.

“WHAT?!!? I SAID I DIDN’T WANT TO BE DISTURBED!?!?!”

“Sorry sir, but this call is for Cross and it is marked as priority A-1”

That silenced the boss for a second. “Well, who’s it from?” he asked cautiously.

“Code clearence is ASD-4456”

The boss blanched. Elieen just looked puzzled. What the…?

The message came up. One word. Just one word that she could hardly believe.

“Run”

It sat there blinking, almost accusing her as she sat there dumbfounded. Run? Why? Where? And from what/ whom? Confused she looked at the face of the boss and in a blink became even more concerned.

Clearly, in the face of the fat fool, there was fear. Mortal Fear. His face was bone white, with drips of sweat coming off it forehead, he almost looked like he was about to break down and cry. His eyes met hers and she clearly read the fear there too. What else was there? Anger? Respect?

Like a droid, he reached under his table and drew out a blaster, that he handed to Elieen. She took a grip of it it he had just given her a week old dead fish and stared.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“D-d-don’t ask. Just run”

“Run? Where?”

“JUST GO!!”

Puzzled more than ever, she got up and turned, but stopped as another call came through. The boss turned grey as it was answered automatically and a receptionist came online

“Sir, there is a Master Hunter here to see you,….” Gunshots rang out and the receptionist screamed, getting out of frame incredibly fast.
In the background, a black clad man in a trechcoat, gun held in hand could be clearly seen getting into the turbolifts.

The boss gabbered. “Elieen, just go! That man, he killed Turbogeek and Tohmahawk, as well as Lord Fire Blade, plus some others, he wants you as well! We were paid to hide you, but now you must run! Go!”

Elieen could only stare dumbly. Who? What? Who wanted her dead? What was going on? Protected? Why, she was just an accounts data pusher and nothing special….

The boss ducked behind the desk while Elieen was still gaping, then to her shock came up with what looked like a small cannon, pointed right at her.

“MOVE IT YOUR STUPID BITCH!”

Quite suddenly, the boss had seemed to change. His face was masked with deadly purpose, his form, so fat and ugly was now deadly and she had no doubt that gun was just an extension of his arm. The mind reeled, but on another level, another conscious took over. Her feet found the will to move and she headed for the door, ducking as the first blast shook the office. Knowing the boss was tracking her, Elieen took three paces and hit the plate glass window with her back, smashing it and rolling onto the ground as shards of glass bounced everywhere. She rolled and gained her feet, running at a speed she found hard to believe she was capable of.. The cuts on her exposed flesh didn’t worry her, she just ran for the fire door exit, smashing it off it’s hinges with a well aimed shoulder charge, stumbling into the stair well, then began a dizzying and reckless charge three, four steps at a time.

[Force Master Hunter]

He waited as the doors opened, then stepped out, his boots making a highly deliberate thump as he advanced. Some would call this reckless, some would call it foolhardy. Not if you knoew Hunter. He preferred the direct approach as it got results. No one really thought you were going to come charging through the heavily guarded front door, no one expected the weaponry he had. All in all, it worked much better than it had any right to. Now, he had the rail gun in his hand, freshly loaded with his favoured explosive shells, The sunglasses covered his eyes, but the rest of his face was laced with the detirmination of following through on this grim task.

His inside info had been correct, it was an open plan area with an office at one end. He saw the workers had already gone to ground and there was a large man he knew as Grismal standing at the door with a large handgun drawn and already drawing a bead on him…

Reacting, he leapted left just as the first blast sizzled through the air where his head had been. He hit the floor and crawled behind a desk as the blasts tracked his boots, thudding into the table as he crouched under it.

Hunter barely paused, checking the substance the table was made out of (Plastic), then dropping a hand inside his coat. Drawing one of his backup weapons, he turned in the direction of where the blaster shots were coming from, guessed the correct angle and fired a 2o round burst of armour piercing projectiles, blowing the table to pieces and flinging heavy steel slugs at Grismal. A screech of alarm and more screams Hunter leapt up from behind the shattered table, rail gun back in his hand as his eyes found where Grismal now was. As almost expected, his burst of armour piercrs went high, but it had forced Grismal to duck…

And leave himself on as the prefect target.

He had his gun raised in a blink, sighted, fired all in one move. Time seemed to slow down as the rail gun spat it’s projectile outwards, Hunter could almost see the bullet spin, the air shockwaves coming off it. Almost see and hear the small plop as it impacted Grismal’s elbow. He didn’t need his imagination too what happened next.

The bullet’s explosive head detonated, blowing Grismal’s arm to bloodied ribbons. The fat former mercenary’s face reflect the surprise and sudden pain, he stumbled and fell onto his backside as Hunter cooly and with great menace walked over to the felled merc.

Grismal barely noted anything until the bounty hunter kicked him in the chest, then placed a boot on his throat. A bore of gun, utterly enormous and looking for all the world like a clod black cave yawned in front of him. Hunter’s voice when he spoke sounded like two rusted steel sheets rubbing together.

“Where is she?”

“W-w-ho?”

Hunter leaned forward and showed the gun into Grismal’s left nostril, making the ex-merc yelp in pain. “You know damn well who. The girl you have been hiding for Fire Blade you miserable piece of excrement. Now, I’m going to ask the question again and if you don’t answer, you lose another limb. Or maybe….” Hunter’s foot shifted off grismal’s neck as he stepped back “… I hear you are quite a ladies man. Maybe….” The gun aim shifted and Grismal gulped in fear. No… he had heard what happened when one got shot there. The agony. He had done it to a miscreble prep a few years ago and watched as the coward had wailed for hours before dying. Great lumps of sweat appeared and he wet himself. He couldn’t help it. This Hunter was beyond anything Grismal had ever met..

BLAM.

The staff in the office screamed again and Grismal winced as splinters of the floor hit his groin from the shot aimed 5 cm below his crotch.

“PLEASE NO!! She ran away!!” cried out Alyee.

Hunter looked up, frowning. For the first time, he saw broken glass. He tracked and saw the window. He spun, looked at the broken door. His face twisted into something ugly, then without delay ran at the door, leaping tables and beings, knocking Alyee out of his way as Hunter rushed for the door. Kicking a bit out of the way, he reholstered the rail gun then leapt down the stairs as well.

Grismal passed out

[Elieen Cross]

The door read Basement, but as she tried the handle, she realised it was locked. Stepping back, she blew the lock to pieces and then booted the door open, darting out into the speeder park. Normally a purveyor of public transport, she could only hope someone was fool enough to leave the ignition codes armed on something fast enough for her to make a getaway.

[Force Master Hunter]

As he spun down another level, he heard a bang, a blaster report, then a thud from a few levels lower. Now fully intent on his pursuit, he leaped an entire flight, spun around and continued on in similar manner till he reached the debris of the door, that was still swinging.

Good. That meant the target was not far ahead.

He unholstered the rail gun, reset the power level to full and began to scan the area for movement.

[Elieen Cross]

As luck would have it, 10 rows down and the first one she tried, had a speeder bike that was unlocked, a good fast model and ready to fly. She checked the igniter sequence, then keeping a low as possible, climbed onboard. Not knowing if pursuit was close, She sat up fast, sighted a speeder with an exposed motor close to the exit doors, fired three times and then ducked as the engine exploded. She shoved the blaster into her jumpsuit, kicked the igniter, throttled up, turned out of the parking area as flames and debris scattered, then kicked the throttle full open, blasting out of the fireball and directly for the open air of the exit

[Force Master Hunter]

Some sixth sense warned him. He jumped back inside the door as three blaster shots rang out, but to his mild surprise, not at him but a speeder. Pieces went flying and a red hot piece pierced the fuel cell of the craft. Hunter dropped to the floor.

BOOM

The flames blew over his head and debris scattered. He covered his bead and pieces thumped to the ground and as his ears began to hear again after the fear bang, a new sound echoed in amongst the explosion. A speeder bike.

Spinning over and then thrusting himself upright, he ran out amongst the flames, gun in hand and raised, already firing. He emptied the clip at the back of the fleeing bike, but only managed to wing a side pack as it jinked and jived and then blasted for the outside.

[Elieen Cross]

She heard the clang of the pellets as they gouged trenches into the side packs of the bike and she imagined the next one hitting her back. The ramp angled up as she wrangled even more acceleration from the bike. Crashing through a barrier and into the open air outside. Elieen relaxed and looked behind, seeing no further pursuit. Allowing her foot to come off the throttle, she turned back to the front and froze.

A building was directly in her flight path.

Elieen screamed as she desperately turned the bike, cursing her own stupidity. The building loomed, then the speeder bike skidded, touched the plastiglass structure and blasted along the surface, the skid plates grinding and shooting sparks. Again she twisted the control vanes and booted the throttle, blasting clear as the motor howled. Elieen gasped and forced her attention to stay focused – be rather ironic to escape a killer to be turned into bug snot in an accident not long afterwards. She angled the speeder along the street, flying above the crowds, but low enough so she could take cover if anyone else decided to take a shot at her.

But there was one question that kept intruding on her thoughts as she flew. Who wanted her dead? She was only a data pusher… and why was Grismal protecting her? From what? From just this bounty hunter or was there something else bigger.

Whatever it was that was chasing her, she knew just the place to go. Somewhere where she could blend in with the crowd and lie low.

[Force Master Hunter]

His arm dropped to his side as he stared at the empty place that was the last place he had seen the speeder. He had grudging respect for what had been a quite well laid escape move but still, he felt the touches of irritation. Somone had got their intelligence wrong. They had said this was going to be the easiest of the quartet he had been hired to dispose of, but Elieen Cross had been the only one to escape. Maybe she had had help from the fat merc, but still…

But still he had done his own intelligence gathering and he had a good idea where Elieen would be headed.

His ears heard footsteps coming down the stairs and he snapped into action, darting back into the stairwell and heading for an exit he had found on a previous reconicence break-in.

Elieen Cross wasn’t going to elude him yet

[Venom]

A figure kept to the shadows as a light rain fell, washing the otherwise putrid alley of dirt. Some scum aliens, whose smell was so penetrating and obnoxious that Venom toyed with the idea of executing them, sheltered under waterproofs and various bits of garbage they could find. Occasionally, one would speak in some blighted language, mainly to complain.

As far as Venom was concerned, if you didn’t like it down here in the bowles of Coruscant, you could leave to some other sunnier dive. The place down here suited him well and he liked it. The shadows and the biting cold, the darkness. The Dark Side of the Force rejoiced in such a place as it was a place where much suffering could take place and by the evidence of the decrepit aliens, it was.

By his side, a similar sized bulk in a cloak grunted and hooted. Venom raised a black clad arm in acknowledgement. Venom himself was clothed in a black cloak that helped him merge with the shadows and if you saw him, you would have to agree, he needed all the help he could get. Not because that he was bad at hiding, it was just difficult to hide a human who was a good 60 + cms taller and 100 kg’s heavier than even quite large humans. Immensely tall and equally powerful, the Dark Jedi was a figure to fear and rightly so. He also bore a somewhat unusual weapon that was also as effective in creating terror.

Right now, he brooded in anger as he waited for someone to come. They weren’t expecting a visit from venom, but nethertheless, they had earned it for this outrage. No one, especially no one as well paid as what this bounty hunter had been, defied Venom’s direct order. Maybe he no longer had the power of the Rogue Sith Order behind him, but that was by choice. Standing alone or with the beasts he could control was always what he preferred and for this, he worked alone. He suspected anyway there would be Sith who would want the prize at the end of this for themselves and that was not going to happen, even if Venom had to mow down his former comrades. Some of them he had to admit fully deserved a lightsabre in the guts but that was not for him to deliver. The Jedi, if they ever regained their former power would be quite welcome to do that.

Venom was after something else completely. Why bother with petty disputes when a real thing to strive for was now within his grasp. Immortality. For a Jedi, it was possible, but only at the expense of physical death and then it had restrictions. He was after bodily immortality as well as in the Force. Dark Side users, while powerful all died in the end. He would be the first to defeat Death truly.

“Doo youuuu think heeee hassss the girllllll?” hissed Venom’s companion

“That’s what we are here to find out. I hope for his sake the rumour is not true”

“Annd ifff it isssss? What thennnn?”

“You get to eat well tonight my friend”

The silence from the hissing creature was more ominous than any words.

Presently, Venom felt the arrival of someone else in the Force. He stretched out, trying to find out who it was, but all he got was instinct notions and vague hints only. The only thing he could really tell was that the being was moving with a fair degree of caution. He pointed in the direction that the being was coming in and the other seemed to nod fading into the shadows silently. Venom waited until he could hear footfalls close to him before moving into what light there was and spoke, bearly above the noise of the rain.

“Hunteeeeer. I warned you not to cross me, thence I shall give you only one chance. Where is the girl?”

[Force Master Hunter]

Force Master Hunter emerged beneath the sewer of the building and quietly padded through the pipework into the sub terrainian alley, which was silent and dark. Dripping with moisture, the pipes were down here slimy greasy and anyone who actually wanted to be down here in the fetid smell deserved a medal. Not a place for the weak.

He continued on for a while, slowly putting together the next phase of his plan. So far, this whole business had been fairly straightforward apart from the mechandice. That had complicated matters no end. Still, things were not going too bad and he was pleased with progress. Matters could have been a lot worse.

He breathed in suddenly as a presence he wasn’t expecting became clear in the danger sense he had. A proficent Force user, Hunter rarely actually used it, preferring his wits and his guns over the quasi mystical field he had learned about some years ago. However, it still did prove useful for getting the drop on danger and also the rather odd ability to hide himself in the Force and escape detection by a Jedi or Sith until it was too late. It wasn’t that he became invisble in the Force, that wasn’t possible. It was more like he merged into the background noise. It had caught Lord Fire Blade totally out and it had helped in the capture and destruction of Tohmahawk.

The presence became clearer and Hunter swore under his breath. He stopped for a moment, making sure the rail gun was reloaded, then drawing it’s pairing. He also commanded the smart rope to entangle around his wrists, making it near impossible for a Force user to snatch the weapons. Also given their high fire rate and the fact they were projectile guns and not blasters, it gave him a distinct advantage over unsuspecting sabre weilders. Not that the person ahead used a sabre, but Hunter doubted even he would be prepared for the nasty payload of the guns. He walked cautiously forward and wasn;t really surprised to see the other step forward and challenge him.

“Hunteeeeer. I warned you not to cross me, thence I shall give you only one chance. Where is the girl?”

He sounded pissed off, thought Hunter.

“Expecting me here were you Venom? Lets call it my way of making sure you stay out of my damn way until I finish this off”

“I made it clear the merchandice was the priority and that killing the four in question were secondary. Where is the girl?”

“Oh , so the girl is just a piece to be bartered over now, is she? I don’t deal in kidnap and had you told me what the *&**&! thing Fire Blade had that you wanted, I would have told you to shove the deal right up your ass. Understand?”

Venom grunted, before gesturing and a shadow splitting off from the wall, growling lowly. “Answer me Hunter, or my pet here will give you anew definition of pain”

One of Hunter’s guns snapped up and aimed at the now resolved…. Lizard thing that was advancing. It was huge, with it’s tail whipping backward and forward, oozing menace.

“Wow. Something uglier that you are Venom. If I kill it, can I eat it?”. The beast snarled and then in a blur came at Hunter. He replied by firing off a 10 round burst, that impacted into the creature. It seemed to pause then laugh, before the explosive tips on the bullets were set off. Deep in the body of the lizard beast, the bullets turned to shrapnel and shredded the beasts internals.

It collapsed without further sound, stone dead.

“As I said, can I eat it?”

Venom looked at the dead beast in fury. “You will die for that, scum”

Hunter gave the Dark Jedi a dead pan look as he retargeted for the human. “Get in line. You think your tricks will stop a bullet? Now shut up and listen to me. The price has doubled. If you want the girl, then you be at Sweggol’s bar in five days time. Bring all the pets you want or any backup, because you try anything, the girl gets a explosive tip through the ears. Do I make myself clear?”

Venom stayed silent, obviously fuming

“DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!?!”

“I’m going to gut you for this outrage Hunter. Slowly. With a rusty vibroblade”

“Well, yes or no?”

“Yes”

“So nice doing business with you @#%$. So long”

Hunter circled the Dark Jedi, guns pointing for the heart, backed away and after about twenty paces, slipped down a adjoining alley way and slipped out of sight.

[Venom]

“Youuu allowwww one likeee thattt to speakkkk likeeeee thattt?”

Venom turned, suddenly much calmer and even a smirk on his face under the depths of the hood. “Why yes. Don’t worry Fregge, I will deal with that insolent runt soon enough. Interesting to see his guns no? Who would think to use slug throwers in this day and age?”

The now revealed Vog’on waved a claw and more of it’s fellows disjoined the shadows on the wall and moved in a semicircle around the killed beast. Venom stepped forward, swinging clear his Force Pike and poking the dead Vog’on with the point. The beast gave an obsence sounding belch and a trickle of gore dripped from the mouth.

“Explosive tip too. Most effective. Most informative too. I wonder what other toys this Bounty Hunter has that are as interesting?”

Fregge was sniffing the body. “Projectile weaponsssss?”

“Yes. Extremely rare now and maybe even unknown to most. Apparently the Mandalorians worked out that a Jedi sabre is useless against a bullet and that they were sitting mynocks for such devices. It seems our esteemed idiot has also worked that out too and more to the point, a device that can kill Vog’ons easily too. We must be cautious in future. Fregge, set one of the other to following Hunter at a good distance and report to me his movements. The rest of you, clean this mess up”

Venom turned and disappeared into the shadows, as one of the Vog’on split off from the group and moved in the direction Hunter went. The rest fell to the body and began to quickly eat it, loud crunching and tearing sounds echoing down the alley. Venom smiled. The Vog’on would eat anything, but they always preferred their own if one failed. It was rather handy in keeping them on their claw tips.

A Vog’on sided up to Venom and passed him a datapad.

Venom stopped. The data pad was clear.

Lord Fire Blade was still alive.

[Elieen Cross]

Elieen couldn’t understand the lyrics to the song. That was okay, it still provided a pleasant, if raucous backdrop to the bar she had come to. The speeder bike had been dumped and she had made the last few kilometres in a nervewracking sprint to where she said at times was her second home. That had a good deal of truth in it, as she probably spent more waking hours in this place than any other.

The bar staff knew her well and even had a place reserved for her, with her favoured drink ready. She marched over, feeling for the first time in some hours that she was safe. Not even a battalion of New Republic troops would dare ever this place, as it was not only owned by a well known criminal and Imperial sympathiser, the place was a hangout for some of the toughest and hardened crims that showed up on Coruscant. If anyone came in, either as a law enforcement officer or a bounty hunter, several dozen guns would be pointed at the interlopers and fired before they would have a chance to leave. A few of the other regulars acknowledged her presence as she sat down. Almost immediately, a drunk human male came over.

“Hheeeyyyyy b-b-babe…”

She replied by swivelling off her chair and landing an enormous punch that decked the drunk. Some laughter filtered through the pounding music and a Walrus-face hooted.

“Yeah, same to you butt ugly” she said as she regained her chair. The Walrus-face hooted again and this time Elieen replied with a rude gesture, but with a smile on her face. The walrus hooted in laughter and turned away.

“Eh, so what was Squisy saying?”

Elieen glanced at the barman. “He was asking me if that was a mating ritual I used”

“With you, nothing would surprise me. Anything else, or just keep the glass full?”

“Yeah there is” She leaned over the bar. “There’s a bounty hunter after me. Don’t know why, but this one seems good. Think you can hole me up here for a few days?”

“Yeah sure. Anything else, or just pass the word around in here?”

“Pass the word. Oh and Tigger..”

“Yes?”

She made a small hand sign that the barman watched, then blanched. “You serious?”

She nodded and took a drink.

“Okay….” The barman turned and hurried away, while Elieen took in the patrons of the bar. Normal faces, not too many new ones. Despite the seedier aspects, most here were beings she could rely on in a pinch as there was respect here for Elieen. She did the odd slicing job for those willing to pay, she could hold her drink better than just about anyone and she was incredible at the various gambling games, given her knowledge of how numbers worked. She also had her fair share of brawls that she more often than not won. She might be beautiful in a hard edged way, she clearly was no pushover. The regulars respected that. She also wasn’t a threat to any of the real hard customers, which she steered clear of anyway.

[Force Master Hunter]

The sound of what he knew as “heavy metal rap” music drifted up out of door as he finally finished the long walk to get here. It was now close to local midnight and he knew that by now Cross would have been here for several hours. Probably drinking if the surveillance he had done was accurate, She seemed to be a real heavy one. Hunter had to admit, it was an odd place for an accounts data pusher to hang out, but then again, he knew now that Cross was no ordinary person. If the fact that she was on a hit list that included the major Jedi of the time, a top ranked General of the New Republic and a former Imperial bodyguard of the Emperor himself, there was the fact she had escaped his first hit. Hunter in fact was beginning to think this Elieen was nowhere near what everyone thought she was.

But what was she if not this petty data pusher?

Normally, Hunter would set up a situation where the target would have no chance to escape, if was within the clients requirements. Here, he had been clearly been given the wrong information about his target – no he thought, what if Cross was something similar to the girl he had been tricked about? Venom had called Jina Jade, daughter of Lady Mara Jade, with some juicy rumours to the father as well to boot, a package. Elieen was supposed to be some low grade data pusher.

This was beginning to stink worse than a day old baby diaper.

However, he was going to have one more go at Cross. She obviously wasn’t too smart if she was inside the rat hole he thought she would be, a true pro would have run. Or set a trap in return. A trap…

Great. He could convince himself it was a trap and not go in and never find out. Or he could go in, knowing what could happen and find out it was nothing and Elieen was a stationary target. Not exactly impressed with the choices, he sat on the ground, watching the door and thinking. And came to a decision.

Let’s go in and look the place over again and do some watching he thought. Keep my face covered and not draw suspicion to myself. Probably the best I can do… apart form keeping my wits about me and watching out for my back.

That decided, he got up, pulling his cloak hood over his face and walked to the entrance of the bar.

[Elieen Cross]

She looked at the chronometer on the wall and saw it was one hour past midnight. Not unusual for her, she had a few empty bottles and her eyes were bloodshot. She concentrated hard and she managed to swallow on of the mint sweets she often ate with her alcohol. Immediately afterwards, she belched noisily. The barman without comment refilled her glass

[Force Master Hunter]

The bar was dark inside and the music was quite loud, but not uncomfortably so. He found himself a seat that had a view of most of the bar as well keeping his back covered. Under his cloak, he carefully undid the holster straps of his weaponry, scanning the bar for any potential interference. Disturbingly, this place seemed to be a hangout for just about every top crim Hunter could remember from death mark and bounty lists that were circulated between brokers and the various Bounty Hunters they hired.

What was Cross doing in a place like this?

Hunter realised he had underestimated Cross again. He had never bothered going into this bar on the initial surveillance, content to wait outside and not draw attention to himself. Here was obviously a criminal safe haven that no self respecting law officer would dare come near and where everyone watched each others back while inside. A neutral zone if you will where outsiders were unwelcome.

Great. Just great. Except that now Hunter had added up the odds and now knew what he could face, his mind was running fast with what he could do. Especially as he now had spotted someone with dark curled hair, blue jumpsuit at the bar at the far end of the room just as the crowd had parted for a critical second. She was here.

He smiled mentally. Didn’t matter the opposition, he now knew what the set-up was and now saw the hand that held the jaws of the trap. Knowing how the trap worked was one part on escaping it totally.

Presume I have been spotted. Presume several unfriendlies. Presume heavy weaponry. They would be thinking I would be insane to try anything on. Fine. Lets them see just how insane I am.

He stood up and began to advance, now absolutely ready. Safeties were off and his reflexes were set on hairtrigger as well as one hand now grasping an not often used cylinder.

[A Nameless New Republic Tech]

(Bartender)


A small creature montioned the barman over and the hummed. The bartender looked up in the direction that the being pointed and then frowned.

“You sure?”

The thing beeped.

“Warn the others. Tell them Elieen’s wannabe assassin is in here and to be ready to duck”

A querying boop.

“No, not because of that hunter, to be ready to duck with whatever Elieen does. Why? Because…” Here the bartender lowered his voice and whispered something. The being beeped in surprise.

“Yes, I’m serious. Now go and tell everyone to take cover”. The being rolled off and the barman grasped a long thin piece of metal.

Just in case.

[A Nameless New Republic Tech]

(Several years later, an old Computer geek remembers)


I’ll remember that night in Romulon’s bar for as long as I live as I have never seen anything like it, before or since. I was sitting with another undercover slicer and we were arranging a deal when we saw him come in. Dark cloaked he was and he took a seat were only a true pro would. I wasn’t really knowledgeable about such thing s then, but now when I think of it, I could see the signs of a true professional on him. Assured, careful and when he acted, it was fast and without mercy.

But I get away from myself. Can’t you tell? Ahh, my days of bar fights are long gone and all I have are the memories of the good old days of youth. Eh? Good old days? Yeah, but these are good new days. I’m much richer and I pay people to do my heavy work now. Get back to the story? Impatient one aren’t you? Very well then.

(Load music)

It was 3am and the band on was a strange group called The Rage. Much different to the crappy wailers that we usually get, this played a string and drum based music that was raucous, but compelling. I believe the song was Bullet in the Head and it was rather appropriate for the events of the next 5 minutes.

I saw him looking about slowly, pausing at each person that was standing at or near the actual bar itself. Why was I watching? His behaviour wasn’t of the usual patrons. He had no drink and he rebuffed any attempt for anyone to seat near him. He also always had his concentration on the bar. The other thing was the bar heavies were all close to him as well. Why I didn’t know then but it was unusual – they were more likely to be harassing drunks and beggars, not sitting at one table, watching one guy.

What was his name again? Oh yeah, Hunter. I heard that name later as most of us did. He was then a Bounty Hunter on the up and up, having blown away a Jedi Master of some note and a few others. Still, at that time no-one really knew of him or else I doubt…

Well, I’ll just tell the story from the beginning.

The bar heavies knew he was after someone in that bar and were watching him. Thence, as he got up, 8 of them surrounded him, blasters drawn. He froze, but he didn’t seem surprised

[Force Master Hunter]

“Good evening gentlemen, what can I do for you?” Hunter asked

“You, come with us” snarled a big green … thing that Hunter had never seen before.

“Why? Don’t I comply to the dress code?”

“Very funny. One more word from you and we shoot now. Get outside”

Hunter glanced at the closest thugs and mentally appraised his chances right now. The patrons at the bar were making themselves conspicuous by making a point of not looking at the scene, meaning they didn’t want to be involved in what happened next. That told Hunter exactly what to expect.

He would be taken outside, steered to the nearest dark alley and killed. Or at elast that was the idea. Hiding a smile, that tried to get onto his face, he raised his hands, palms open and put them on his head. The cylinder slipped down his sleeve, unseen. Putting his hands up and surrendering. That seemed to make the thugs uneasy, but also gave Hunter a critical advantage. Hopefully….

A jab between his shoulders of a blaster told him he had succeeded. He began to walk out the door, with the thugs following.

[Elieen Cross]

She burped slightly and the fumes of the alcohol wafted up into the her nose. With an unsteady hand, she picked up another of the mints and swallowed it, watching the disturbance at the other side of the bar. A tallish man was being surrounded and was at present being marched out.

The bounty hunter!

[A Nameless New Republic Tech]

(The Bartender)

He inched closer to Elieen and placed the steel rod near her hand, then backed away. He wanted to be as far away as possible. Only he in this whole bar knew what Elieen was capable of and he wanted no part of it. He too watched as the bounty hunter was marched out the door, then looked to see Elieen’s hand reach out once more, rock steady, to grasp the rod.

A moment later and the unmistakeable sounds of blasters and the roar of something else. He saw Elieen’s arm muscles tense, then relax and the he decided to take cover while he could.

[Force Master Hunter]

He was right. Out the door and quick march to the nearest alley.

Inside the bar, the music changed to something ominous

<font color=red>This the bullet cold rocked yay
A yellow ribbon instead of a swastika
Yeah were all taking about your propaganda
Fools for the rules when the set come measure
Said it was blue when the blood was red
That was how you got a bullet blasting through your head
blasting through your head
blasting through your head
Taking a shot at the living dead</font>

Around him the thugs circled like sharks, stares cold and hard. Hunter deliberately went as slow as he could as the occasional jab in the back by a blaster to keep him moving. The bystanders all averted their eyes and stepped out of the groups way. Hunter saw that the alley was just like he would have expected – dark, rubbish strewn, even had the clichéd hobo with the drink of it’s choice sprawled out on the pavement. He almost laughed. What was it about dark alleys, rubbish and drunks anyway?

“This will do” grunted one of the thugs.

“Do what?” replied Hunter.

“Shut up” was the retort.

<font color=red>Stood and watched while the feds cold cetralised
Sorcery on the screen, You were mesmerised
Celluar phone, cellular deathtone
Corporations turn you to stone before you realise
They load the clip in onicolour
They pack the nine, fire into prime time
The sleeping gas, every home is like Alcatraz
And mother fuckers lost they’re minds

Just victims of the inhouse drive by
They say jump, you say how high?
Yeah
Just victims of the inhouse drive by
They say jump, you say how high?</font>

One thing the bounty hunter knew, this was not some shooting in a firefight, or revenge attack. This was basically straight out murder and it took a truly hardened criminal to just pull the trigger. Even harder when doubt was placed in their minds.

“I have a thermal detonator up my sleeve” he quietly announced. “You want to shott me, go ahead. However, about a second later you will all become puffs of dust. I wont care, I’ll be dead then, right?”

A seconds silence, then sharp inhales. You didn’t need the Force to read what was on the thug’s minds now.

“Bantha poodoo. Your bluffing” said a voice from behind him

“Yeah, well what if I’m not? It’s up my sleeve right now”

<font color=red>Just victims of the inhouse drive by
They say jump, you say how high?
Just victims of the inhouse drive by
They say jump, you say how high?</font>

Strange how the silence dragged on. Hunter knew he had them wrong footed and the thugs were at present processing the options they had.

<font color=red>Check it out

They load the clip in, Onicolour
I said they pack the nine, they fire into primetime
The sleeping gas, every home was like Alcatraz
The mother @#%$’s lost they’re minds
No escape from the mass mind rape
Play it again Jack, they rewind the tape
And then paly it again, again, again
Until your mind is locked in
Believing all the lies that they’re telling ya
Buying all the products that they’re selling ya
They say jump, you say how high?
Your brain dead, you got a @#%$ bullet the head!

Just victims of the inhouse drive by
They say jump, you say how high?
Yeah
Just victims of the inhouse drive by
They say jump, you say how high?</font>

He could recognise the song now, with the only other sound being the nervous shuffing of feet. He slowly took his hands off his head, which made the thugs point their weapons anew. He shook his head in discouragement

“Bad move”.

He allowed both hands to fall down to his sides, while the cylinder in his sleeve dropped neatly into his hand. He held it up for inspection. The cylinder was a Class B Detonator, uncommon but easily recognisable. It’s tiny beeping could now be heard clearly. Muted swearing told Hunter all he needed to know of the thug’s collective surprise – surprise, consternation, shock, anger, you name it, they were probably feeling it. Hunter boldly stepped outside the circle as they all stood there, frozen.

“Drop the hardware”

No response.

“I SAID, DROP THE HARDWARE!”

Rapid clatters.

“Now clear off.”

Sounds of footsteps quickly receding. He grinned as the music began to get purposeful, in a way matching the mood he was in. Switching off the droid beacon call (Wouldn’t they be a touch uset to know they got faked out? He thought), Hunter’s hands ducked inside his cloak as he walked back to the entrance of the bar. The doorbeings obviously weren’t expecting him back at all, thence they were slow to the draw.

Hunter wasn’t. The rail guns seemed to leap out of their holsters and fire.

BLAM!

A Rodian hit the wall hard with a smoking hole in the chest, followed in rapid succession by a human and a Twil’lek. Hunter ran at the door, smashing aside some small being with the butt of the other rail gun, now drawn and armed for use.

“HEY! NO GUNS! NO GU…. Blech….eee….” Aother armed hood joined the bodycount as Hunter swivelled and fired. Now, where was Elieen Cross? Still at the bar? Hunter moved further in, blazing at anything that even looked like a threat, as screaming beings hit the floor or made for the nearest exit.

[Elieen Cross]

She turned as the first sounds of gunfire echoed outside, then as it got closer and the screams and howls started, she picked up the metal rod, and staggered drunkenly into the crowd, which was torn between running, fighting and watching. Who was this maniac willing to come blazing into a place like this?

[Force Master Hunter]

<font color=red>Standing inline
Believing the lies
Bow down to the flag
Got a bullet to the head</font>

It didn’t really surprise him that the music kept going. Nor that some patrons were too clearly either drugged out or too involved in what they were doing to notice the war breaking out around them.

<font color=red>Standing inline
Believing the lies
Bow down to the flag
Got a bullet to the head</font>

He looked over the crowd, pausing only to shoot back as a blaster bolt screamed overhead. Hunter kept moving, making the bar then looking around. She hadn’t gone far. He knew she was somewhere close. A particularly dense crowd stopped his view, he fired into the ceiling, the explosive tip blowing a huge hole, covering the crwod with debris. They ducked or stampeded for the exits.

[Elieen Cross]

<font color=red>a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head</font>

She saw him, standing boldly in the centre of the floor, returning fire as some of the more hardened criminals stood their ground. Even with some of the heavy blasters she knew most of them carried, it paled into the weaponry the bounty hunter was using, seemingly some sort of mini explosives launcher. @#%$.

His back was turned to her. She ran at him, metal rod raised, all trace of drunkenness long gone.

[Force Master Hunter]

He fired, blowing a table that had been used for cover to pieces, then firing again. Smoke curled from the barrel

THWACK

He staggered and nearly fell as something hit him on the back of the head. What the…?

He turned and barely missed being hit again.

<font color=red>a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
a bullet to the head
Your got a bullet in your @#%$ head!</font>

The back of his neck screaming in pain, he wheeled again as the unexpected attacker swiped again. Almost too quick for the eye, the attacker spun, them thrust outwards again, catching Hunter in the sternum. He grunted, almost winded as one of his weapons caught the worst of the blow. He dropped his guns as the attacker, smaller than what he was and seemingly quicker, swung for his head. Hunter eacted out of instinct, stepping into the blow, snapping a hand to where the other had a handhold, used the other onto the end, then spun around, leveraging the rod free of the other and sending it spinning away.

He got a clear view of his attacker as …she??? reset her stance, then came at him again, raining blows on the surprised bounty hunter. A round house punch, then jabs, then a brutal kick, Hunter backpedalling as he was forced to defend.

[Elieen Cross]

Anger clear and cold, she gave the bounty hunter no chance. She set him up with a few body punches, lowering his defences. She spun out a kick which he reeled back from, then she leapt up, spinning and smashing a heel onto the bounty hunter’s jaw and crashing him flat to the floor just as the song ended.

Nice timing, she thought as she turned and made herself scarce.

[Force Master Hunter]

Two weeks later

[Force Master Hunter]

Hunter sat at the terminal, fingers flying over the keys as the display window scrolled text almost too fast to understand. Unlike the place where he slept, which was almost pathologically clean, ordered and well lit, this little area looked like a disaster. A single high powered computer terminal sat on a desk, the small room littered with food scraps and drink containers, dark, lit only by the 65 cm monitor. Papers and notes were scattered in piles, code snippits and printout were in a overflowing basket. On the desk slept a purring cat, alongside the writing tools and a open data pad. Hunter himself was dressed only in cargo pants, his well-muscled torso visible, laced with the physical evidence of his trade. A particularly vicious looking scar on his chest writhed as his fingers continued their dance, tapping with a speed and accuracy that would be hard pressed to be matched anywhere. He also was markedly changed in attitude, no longer calm and assertive, but nervy and jumpy. It always happed when he dug into the underworld of computer networks and he went into the slicer identity he called Ne0. No ordinary citizen would know or understand how this quasi world sprung to life when he entered it, only the ones who danced in the data streams that connected the computers and memory banks of the Republic.

He played a game with the authorities in the past, keeping one step ahead of the chasers, divining into databases and taking information he needed, leaving no trace or a deliberately confused trail as he saw fit. He even had associates in this world, ones he never met in the flesh, only known by their aliases and the secret meetings he might have in the networks. Tonight was no different. Flighting through an old Imperial data collection, he found a sniff of an old ally.

Phr3ar! Greets!
Ne0! How are you?
Tonight? Not as good as I like
Hard slice?
You could say that. Your in an odd place.
The same could be said for you. Didn’t expect anyone to be here
Looking for something but it seems to have been deleted

Hunter tapped out another search string as the other slicer went silent. He paused as the result scrolled up the page – interesting. Phr3ar going quiet spoke a lot for what Hunter had said. Information he had wanted had been deliberately erased.

Ne0?
Yeah?
What were you looking for?

Hunter had a think. Normally, he would never tell anyone… but right now… he decided to take a chance

Anything on a Dante Gumal. Imperial Guardsman. Commonly known today as Fire Blade.

More silence.

Oh man. Ne0, if I knew I wouldn’t well now use in complaining. Did a job here a week ago for Dexter, you know Dex?

Hunter certainly did. A slicer agent, who secured jobs for the best freelancers and bid them out.

Yeah. Did a job on the Bothans for him.
Dexter had a client. Found out later that it was a Sith. Wanted all records for Royal guardsman destroyed.
25,000 credits to you if you tell me where you hid them.


You could almost hear Phr3ar’s surprise at the offer and the knowledge he didn’t delete the files. Hunter knew Phr3ar and knew the slicer never deleted anything – he just hid it better.

25,000? Now?
Tomorrow. In person.
You cant be serious.
I am. Lets just say that Fire Blade is worth more to me than that sums.
Okay. Where?
Address coming. And don’t bring any friends.
Deal

Hunter leaned back. Right now, Hunter had to consider this. Despite Lord Fire Blade being a blob of barely alive flesh, the rumours of his living seemed to have pushed some buttons somewhere. It wasn’t hard to guess who either.

He began to type again.

[Force Master Hunter]

On a planet somewhere on the Outer Rim, a message was received. A order was given. A few hours later, a cargo ship took off, bound for Coruscant.

[Venom]

The slicer hit the ground hard, his head bouncing off the floor as his now lifeless eyes stared outward. The gigantic Dark Jedi reached down and wiped the blood smeared pole arm off on the clothes of the dead slicer, his expression unseen behind the helmet that he wore. Near him, a Vog’on twittered.

“He had outlived his usefulness of course. Can’t have hired help disobeying orders now, can we?” He picked up a data pad, before swinging a massive armoured fist into the monitor, showering glass and sparks onto the floor. “Destroy this place and dispose of the body. The only evidence I want left should be black and the size of a coin at best.” The Vog’on moved to comply as Venom moved for the exit. So, this worm had not carried out his paid request and was even planning to sell to another scum. Well, Venom would deal with this… Ne0 tomorrow. Right now he had gained at least one highly important piece of information he had to act on. This Bounty Hunter who arrogantly called himself Force Master had made a critical mistake.

[A Nameless New Republic Tech]

On a planet somewhere on the Outer Rim, a message was received. A order was given. A few hours later, a cargo ship took off, bound for Coruscant.

[Force Master Hunter]

Hunter continued to type as text scrolled up the screen at dizzying speed. Unlike most, he distained the use of graphical interfaces or droids, preferring raw text. It seemed more real to him and also a good deal faster if you knew what you were doing. Still… after being at it for nearly four hours without a break, meant his eyes were starting to give out for the night. He still however went on, typing and jumping between networks as the trail lead him. Phr3ar was a good slicer, but he did leave a bit trail that could be followed. Hunter didn’t believe for a second the other slicer had been in the Imperial files at the same time by accident, Hunter suspected he had hit a tripwire and flagged an alarm. A bit of investigation found a clever trap that had indeed snagged his data track. Just a flag, not a trace. A trace would have been useless, it would have lead to a old Weewark on some dump elsewhere.

It had been a very well crafted tripwire, much different to the ones the Imperials or the Republic used. Hunter saved the code for later use it was so good, then went into the data networks to find some answers. He however was getting tired and the data trail was getting hard to follow. He needed some rest…

The line of text came up in bold green, flashing. Hunter still almost missed it, his tired mind comprehending almost too late. He hit freeze and the text scroll stopped.

“What the @#%$?”

Package in delivery

Package in delivery. Suddenly, his mind went to full wake state as he reread the line and realised what that meant. A cold hand seemed to grip him as he sat there, dumbfounded. His fingers exploded into action and five minutes he had his answer. My datastore was sliced, he thought. Safely well away from him, data he wanted to keep hidden was encrypted in a database in a shipping company. But someone had not only found it, they had opened it without disturbing Hunter’s tripwires. Ahhh @#%$. No prizes for guessing who either. Only they didn’t know that the action they had initiated had set off the failsafe warning.

Lets see…. After the warning, there would be 60 hours in transit. Not a real lot of time, but enough. Obviously Venom knew what the package was and where it was being kept in safekeeping, faking a delivery request. Venom would also no doubt be aware that there was only one place delivery could take place and would be there with his tame monsters. Fine.

Hunter had an unsettled score with Venom. He had been lead by the nose for long enough and to have Venom take matters into his own hands infuriated the bounty hunter once again. That barstard was going to pay for this.

[Elieen Cross]

She had finally come to a place of hiding in a place that suited her. It had taken her a week and it had also included some theft for credits for the currency to get it, but now she was somewhere quietly anonymous and the owners didn’t ask questions. A room with only one entrance and a hidden one way emergency exit, a computer terminal and a bed. Perfect. She sat on the bed, somewhat tired by her day’s activities, which had included a fruitless search for a decent blaster. Not being a particularly adventurous person, she never had a blaster as her line of work just didn’t need it, nor the neighbourhood she had lived in. Now, being a solitary female in a rough area, it made sense to be as armed as possible. Strangely, the device she had been given at the bar two weeks ago seemed to be an effective deterrent and Elieen had to admit, it made a rather effective weapon. 1.5 meters long, thin and long with a pointed tip at one end, a power pack at the other, it had a natural balance that allowed fast movement, with enough weight and hardness to be an effective club. Better, she had discovered a fire control switch, that allowed blasts of energy to course out of the tip, strong enough to stun, cut or blow holes through objects.

A most useful device. It also seemed to give the heavies a wrong impression that she was someone not to mess with. Again, fine by her.

She looked up at the ceiling, what her next step was going to be. Hiding forever wasn’t a real option she liked, nor was facing down a maniac with the type of hardware the bounty hunter after her carried. She would be the first to admit, she had got lucky and caught the hunter out and that it was not likely to happen twice.

He’s good, but not as good as you are

She shook her head. No, it was a fluke. What did a accounts datapusher have to offer against a hardened killer?

Your not really a clerk, are you. Not now. Not ever.

“I AM A CLERK DAMN YOU! I don’t belong in this underworld!!”

You keep telling yourself that, maybe one day someone might even think the same way.

She slumped, head in her hands. Why oh why wouldn’t that voice just shut up and leave her alone?

Because it’s the real you speaking. Your trying to deny what you really are.

“SHUT UP!!!”

The voice went silent… but she could tell it would be back.

[Venom]

Venom closed the door behind softly, his far bigger than human form seeming to fill the hallway as he exited. Inside was the room where Lord Fire Blade… if that slab of bantha meat could be called Lord Fire Blade. Venom had to admit that whatever the bounty hunter had used in taking the Imperial Guardsman down, it was highly effective. What had been one of the best fighters known was now nothing more than a slab of @#%$ on a coaster in a room deep in the bowels of Coruscant, kept alive by two pathetic droids. How the mighty had fallen. It definantly was Fire Blade too, genetic tests proved the issue beyond doubt. A ally once, Fire Blade was no better than the scum Jedi and to see him holed and barely able to live, it gladdened Venom.

“Do you want him terminated?” The Vog’on spoke in it’s own tongue as it too came out of the door”

“No…. no. I cant think of a better punishment for his lack of vision and loyalty than to rot semi alive like that. The droids told me the brain was okay, it was the body was incapable of supporting it. Let the mind live and suffer in it’s prison”

“As you wish. We have worked out where this Force Master Hunter might be”

That bought Venom to a stop. “You have? How?”

“The slicer we got rid of had done business with Hunter before and is associated with this Neo. Seems Neo does slicing work for him and Hunter uses the results. The files indicate All contact that Neo does is via this Hunter”

The obvious solution came to Venom’s head. Ne0 was really Hunter? That would be quite likely. Whatever, catching Ne0 could lead them directly to Hunter before the package arrived in 58 hours. A package Venom was most keen to get his hands on uncontested. “Very well. Set a trap for this Ne0 and presume Hunter will be close by tomorrow at the place indicated and continue preparations for the package arrival. I want this to go smoothly and not screwed up again. Clear?”

“Yes. What about Cross?”

Venom felt a frown on his head. Elieen Cross was part of the quartet that Hunter was to kill and she was still alive and gone to ground. Something about her survival and the fact she was involved in this at all deeply troubled him. Originally she was the data pusher Tohmahawk had used to set up the hiding of the package and it made sense to wipe out any person who could tell tales. Still… Venom had a bad feeling about Cross. Something about her just wasn’t ringing right. “We keep looking… no wait. I have an idea. I know a way to flush her out” He told the Vog’on what to do.

“What if she doesn’t read messages?”

“She will eventually. When she does, she will find that one and will have to react. Just like Hunter. Arrange it and set the bait”

The Vog’on turned to obey and beneath the helmet, Venom smiled. All the loose ends were coming together. Cross would be found and killed, the package would be his and Hunter rewarded for his insolence.

A most interesting few days coming up.

[Elieen Cross]

With her computer knowledge, it didn’t take much to set up a blocktrace as she connected for her messages. Bored, she had worked up the courage to check them, knowing quite well someone may have tried a trace. Thence, the block would make reading them safe…. She would think about sending when she needed to. 4 messages, 3 from the alien Alyee and one more she read first.

Ohhh….@#%$. It seemed the job she did for Captain Tohmahawk had turned and bit her. She sat back, in thought. What if… what if this was the source of her troubles? What if the box Tohmahawk wanted sent to a backwards planet was in fact something important? It seems it was and someone was out to find out what it was – or maybe preventing anyone from finding it. And she knew….

No choice lady. You know what it was and you know why it’s so important.

She did?

You do.

The voice hadn’t been wrong so far. Which meant she had some organising to do.

[Force Master Hunter]

The mall was quiet as Hunter quietly moved from doorway to doorway, staying to the shadows. Speed wasn’t real important, but stealth was. He continued down the mall, occasionally pausing to look around and allow his keen senses to roam, searching for anyone else that could be around. So far, nothing.

He was 2 hours early for the meting with the slicer phr3ar, two hours he was going to make sure was well spent planting a few surprises around the area. He paused at another door, quietly dropping something into place, then moving on. A crablike device was kicked under a bench. A bottle in a bin. Then Hunter moved to an alcove, looked up and fired a grappling hook gun upwards. A small klink could be heard as the hook flew over a railing and landed. He tagged on the thin rope, feeling the hooks grab, bite and hold. Going hand over hand, he hauled himself up to the ledge, swung over and dropped to a crouch. He wound the rope up, placing it in a neat pile beside him alongside his pack and a rail gun. A set of macrobinoculors he picked up, surveying the mall area. Still no-one about, that was not much of a surprise. This place was silent after dark and right now it was nearly 2 am. He had set the meeting for 3:30am and now all he had to do was sit back and wait.

Lets see now…. Phr3ar had undoubtfully found Hunter’s datastore, read it and sold the information. Venom obviously had gotten a piece of it and had called the package with the codes in the datastore, setting off the failsafe. How phr3ar had done it, that would be a question Hunter would be asking.. if phr3ar was still alive and if Hunter ever encountered him again. Somehow, he very much doubted either scenario. He also doubted that the proposed meeting was anything more than a trap – well, Hunter could play that game. Be interesting to see whom Venom sent. Some henchmen? Maybe even a Sith? More likely these pets he kept, Vog’on weren’t they? Either way, Hunter was ready and now ready to hide himself.

This was almost going to be amusing

[Force Master Hunter]

The cloaked figure seemed to scuttle up into the deserted mall, looking around furtively as it moved to a particularly dark part where a small amenities block cast shadow. He stopped near a bin, waiting nervously. A dark shadow seemed to detach itself from the wall, moving with inhuman silence before it spoke

“No further. Identify yourself”

“Ne0? Th-t-this is phr3ar. I-I-I got what you wanted”

“How can I tell you are who you claim?”

“I remember you telling me about the crack of the IRS d-base. Some girl named Trinity, remember? You said you de-ciphered the crack and found out who she was”

That’s interesting, thought Hunter. I did indeed tell phr3ar that, about two years ago. And no-one else. It’s possible I could be wrong, Venom may have left this grommit alive after all and actually got him to come here. “Fair enough. I have a question for you now. My data store seemed to have been sliced. Know anything about it?”

There was a frightened silence.

“Speak up phr3ar, I’m not patient. I have a gun and I’ll use it”

“I-I-I…. Y-y-eah that was me. Latched a tracebot to you once, found the store but not you. Took me a while to slice it…”

“And then you sold me out to the highest bidder no doubt”

“No. I gave it away”

“Don’t believe you”

“Don’t have to sucker. All you have to do is die”
From behind Hunter, a beast appeared, snarling and obviously furious. It stepped through the shadow that was supposed to be Hunter, then kicked the crablike holoprojector away. The cloaked human froze in shock.

“It’s a fake?”

“YESSSSSSS!”

The whole place was suddenly light up in light and the n sound as the bomb in the bin went off, remote controlled. The Vog’on was blasted through the amenities block, whine the human was blown to pieces. Flames and debris showered the area. From his vantage point, Hunter put down the remote control, picked up another device and placed a blue glowing ball in it. Below, several startled beasts that Hunter had seen take positions about an hour ago, began to look about for the attacker. Quite commendable speed too. But not fast enough.

Hunter took aim across the square and fired. The ball was hurled and a second later, hit a Vog’on square in the chest. Almost instantly, the Gungan energy bomb reacted with the Vog’on, producing an effect that annihilated the beast in a burst of fire. Another ball was fired, barely touching another of the Vog’on, but that was enough to set off the reaction. Another burst of fire and another beast gone.

Hunter stood up and this time pitched the energy ball. It’s target ducked in time, but the ball bounced and hit another of the monsters. By the time a fourth ball did it’s work, the remaining beasts had worked out where Hunter was and began to rush his position in rage. Hunter ducked behind cover.

The first beast scaled the wall with it’s claws, then flipped it’s way over the ledge, only to tread on one of the energy devices. It too detonated, leaving only a smoking black stain. The rest of the monsters advanced with a good deal more caution, to see that the ledge and the hallway beyond were scattered with about a dozen of the devices that were proving so lethal.

They dropped back to the ground, a group of seven that moved under cover as another ball decended from above and exploding, forcing the beasts to retreat again. Hunter peeked from his cover, grinning. So, he had been right. It had been a trap and Venom had invited his playthings along. He almost laughed, not many knew of the deadly interetction of the plasma in the Gungan grenades and the Vog’on and even they seemed to be unaware until now. Good. He had a few more balls to use and as he heard someone coming up the wall, he cocked the ballcaster, ready to fire. Absolute sitting bantha….

A hand appeared and with some surprise Hunter realised it was human. Even more surprised when the form of Venom himself was revealed. Hunter fired, but the Dark Jedi moved to dodge, the ball flying off into the darkness to explode harmlessly. The bounty hunter didn’t stop to think. He ran.

His footsteps dully boomed down the hallway, echoing in discord with the heavier thuds of the huge human, bedecked in the blazing red armour of a Royal guard who was giving chase – and if the echoes could be believed, catching rapidly. Hunter put on a burst of speed, but he knew the Dark Jedi, who had a good 2.5 feet taller and hence longer stride was going to get him. From under his trenchcoat, Hunter pulled out a rail gun, spun, slid and fired. The first shot went wide, but the second didn’t. Neither did the third or fourth, that stopped the oversized ape. Hunter saw that the bullets had punctured the breast plate and doen something major, but not enough to kill him. Hunter raised the gun, centred for the face plate of Venom’s helmet and pulled back the trigger again.

Click.

Venom fell to his knees.

Click.

Hunter swore. Misfire. And he had no backup weapon this time. Venom fell onto his face as Hunter saw the Vog’on were following, threw an energy ball to stop pursuit and ran, utterly livid. A perfect opportunity ruined by a jammed cartridge of a gun that until now had worked faultlessly. He smashed through a window and leaped from a outdoors stairway into the darkness of the night.

[Venom]

The Vog’on came out of the covert they had taken as the deadly ball bounced past them and to a stop several meters away and exploding harmlessly. Six that were left eyed off their leader who stared at the disappearing form of Hunter in impotent rage.

“Should we go after him?”

“No…. he has a means to destroy us too easily. We will have to figure out this defilement and how to counter it before we can safely be rid of it”

“What if he tells others? Other Unnamed ones may use this weapon against the Named.”

“I do not believe he will, or he would have already”

One of the beasts had bent down and was sniffing the fallen Venom. “He lives” The others turned to look. “Humans do not regenerate like us. We take back to place that droids are to fix”

“Should he not die, like all other defeated?”

“If he dies, can the Choosing take place? Will we have to wait 7000 years again?”. The was no answer needed other than to pick the huge human up and transport him away.

[Force Master Hunter]

Two days past. Dark Munn, the Bounty Hunter often known as Hunter, at least at this time finished his preparations. He was expecting a full reception committee at the place the package was being dropped off and hence was going there fully prepared. Unlike usual, he had taken out the body armour, complete with a half face visor-helmet, metal lined guantletts, weapons harness and his full compliment of guns, knives and grenade, plus a full sized sword that he had obtained not long ago. A thoroughly beautiful weapon, he had found out it was a legendary Jedi sword, built to the specifications that were used the years before lightsabres were invented. Rumoured to have the blaster deflecting abilities of a sabre, even able to resist a sabre, it was a impossibly hard blade that had an edge that could cut stone and steel in one swipe. It was light and sung through the air, seeming to have a life of it’s own. In some ways it did – if the stories could be believed, a Force Sword was forged and then imbibed with the Force by the most learned Jedi / Sith of all. The ways to this were long lost or so thought.

Hunter knew one Jedi had uncovered the secrets not a year ago, something he was sure the Jedi and Sith would kill to know, with the hilt being 4000 years old, but the blade barely 6 months old. Hunter had never used this incredible weapon before, but in his past, his weapons training had included sword fighting, thence the blade felt at home in his hands. He had created a leather sheaf that tied to his back, the sword too long to be holstered on the hip and it sat well behind his shoulders, out of the way until he needed it.

Glancing at the array of hardware at his disposal, his mind cast over what he would need… and the more the thought about it, the more he realised what he really needed. It was not the Uz’is, the shot gun, the subbies, or the blasters. Neither the .50 caliber hand guns, the neuro darts or the thermal detonators. The vibro knives could be halved in number….

In the end, on his chest was the clips for the rail guns, plus both of the precious guns sitting in hip holsters. Semi carbine in size, both were bulky but with their firepower and rate of fire, made even the best blasters look petty. Plus, a pellet fired from the electro magnetics would pass 2500 m/s muzzle velocity and hence be damn near unblockable, if anyone could move that fast. Not even a Jedi Master could if fired within 200 meters. Point blank, it was a sure kill, even discounting the explosive tips most clips had. He tied the sheaf with the sword on his back, placed a vibro knife in a boot sheaf and then flung a trench coat over the lot.

He looked at himself in the mirror. With the helmet off and the sunglasses on, he cast a mysterious and yet handsome figure. He sighed as he turned, the illusion breaking as he did. Who was he kidding? He might have physical charm, but his demeanor was as cold as ice. He was hateful and revenge driven or so he liked to imagine, but this whole episode was bringing out sides to Hunter he wished he never had. He turned back to the mirror, this time taking the glasses off to regard his face and his eyes. They said the eyes were a window to the soul and these windows revealed ancient pain, wounds that never healed… and a heart of compassion and honesty. He shook his head and sighed. Two things that seemed to get him into more trouble than anything combined. Like now. Why had he not just ignored that tapping in his mind that nagged him how wrong this all was? Maybe he would be already enjoying his gains on some pleasure planet.

And hating every moment of it.

No, if he couldn’t look at himself in the mirror, he was nothing. And yet again, he had past that test. He smiled bitterly, placed the sunglasses on, turned and climbed out the window to the fire escape, into a cold and rainy night.

Perfect.

The Hunter was in his element and this night, this night of nights was truly his.

[Elieen Cross]

If Hunter only knew how close Eileen was…. She had stared incredulous as she saw a black clad figure climb out the fire escape of the roach motel opposite the dive she was staying and even more disturbed when she recognised the figure through the rain and the dark as he drew closer and then away. She reopened the heavy curtain to watch the departing man, then allowed the fabric to drop back in place. What were the chances of that, the man who had forced her into this situation where she seemed to be on the run from everyone, was only in the building opposite and had no idea she was here? Well, a minute ago she had no idea either.

Given this assassin was interesting in wiping her out, that would logically mean that he would know about the package arriving in two hours, how she had no idea. None of this was making any sense anyway.

Yes it is. You just don’t want it to, do you? You are just trying to hide from the past, aren’t you

She screamed at the voice in her head to shut up and for once it did. Damn it, more because that insistant voice was correct. She liked being Eileen, she liked the boredom and the fact no one shot at a datapusher. She liked having an alien for a best friend and to have a pet. Up to now, no-one wanted Eileen dead. Before she went to ground, every one and his bantha had a blaster pointed in her direction. She had gotten so set, she had forced herself to forget it all.

But now….

Now it was back. All of it. She knew who she was and she knew why. Tonight was one of the reasons she had to go under cover in the first place. Now… she was to surface again. On the bed behind were the weapons of her real trade. A DL-44 blaster, plus an effective holdout blaster. Good solid boots and a loose fitting jumpsuit that allowed full movement. And in prime position….

She picked it up. 1.5 meters of steel, pommel at one end carrying the power pack, the other pointed. Near the pommel were the controls, one for range, the other for fire level. Burnished and glittering in the light, it was a weapon that bought fear to the plebs and had served Eileen well in the past. She gave it a experimental swing, feeling the familiar weight in her hand and with a snap, she whipped the device outwards, the point stopping with perfect control just a centimetre from the glowpanel. With a second flick of the wrist, it was tossed on the bed.

Time to be ready.

A few minutes later, the window sparked and arced as Eileen used the weapon to cut the window out totally and fall away in the rubbish below. Still holding the Force Pike, she peeked out into the alley, then leaped out in into the darkness, with the smoldering curtains hissing as the rain spat into the now abandoned room.

[Venom]

Venom examined the barely sealed wounds on his chest. “Tell me, what did you have to do?”

The Gronk droid paused before answering. “The trauma caused by the projectiles, combined with shards of plastisteel shattered most ribs on your right side and destroyed the lung. You had no chance of survival without artificial replacement”

“You must have done your job well. I feel pain and some discomfort, but I am able to breathe and most muscular function seems intact. For such rapid work, you will be rewarded”

“Money will do nicely, Master. My counterpart and I have no interest in other rewards you may be able to supply.”

Venom grinned. “Very well droid. My allies will pay you in moment what we believe this has been worth. Is Lord Fire Blade still suffering?”

“Alas my Lord, no longer. The brain died and we could do no more to keep that alive”

“No matter, you did well to keep that scum in the maximum pain. Fore Blade was a traitor and traitors deserve all they can get”. As he spoke, the huge human began to put on clothes, mainly dark red in colour. He also began to speak to the Vog’on at his side in the beast’s own language. “Have we hired enough men?”

“Yes my Lord, although my brothers still think we would be best to handle the job”

“Which you are, which is why I am going to keep 2 groups of Named in reserve and allow Unnamed to die in disgrace if there is any tricks. I fully expect this Hunter to be there and I expect Eileen Cross to be there too. Cross, I doubt will be more than a minor inconvenience, but Hunter has already proven himself to be a major pest, thence we will prepare accordingly. The mercenaries will take the brunt of any traps, the UnNamed will have a chance to be to win honour. If that fails, you are there and by then I would expect the paths should be clear and no loss of Named will occur. Now. Let us go as the shuttle with what we want is arriving soon” Venom swept outside, picking up his belt and Force Pike as he did and Fregge the Vog’on wordlessly handed TDK-60M a credit chit. TDK read it as the beast likewise exited and then placed the chit in a datapad.

“How much TDK?” asked Gronk

TDK told him and there followed silence. With a 5 and that many zeros after it, there really wasn’t anything that could be said.

[A Nameless New Republic Tech]

A flash of lightning lit up the field as the shuttle left the private landing pad and a speeder took the large and bulky container slowly down the access ramp and then onto on of the large avenues of Coruscant. It moved towards an underpass and was stopped by a group of men, dressed in New Republic uniforms. The driver initially protested but he was convinced to abandon the vehicle when a large bore blaster was shoved into her chest. The area was badly lit and hid the fact there was someone watching close by

[Force Master Hunter]

It had been no problem following the speeder. Hunter had decided to follow the cargo at a distance to see what would be attracted to it and hence wasn’t surprise when the hijack happened a kilometre short of the correct destination. What did surprise him was the fact the hijack was done with humans and not Venom’s pets. No matter. If the Vog’on turned up, that would be fine. For now, he had targets and intended to bring them down. He tapped a message into a datapad, sent it and placed the datapad to one side. Drawing one of the rail guns, he sighted around the corner of the pillar he was behind, aimed at the person now climbing up into the speeder’s cabin, set the power of the electro magnetics for silent and fired.

The bullet was shot at below sonic velocity, thence to only sound was a pfft and a thin whistle as the projectile tore air and hitting the fake NR tech in the chest and detonating. Before the startled guards could act, another silent death fled it’s way to another target, blowing the shoulder off a hapless human.

“We’re under fire! Cover!” The mercenaries reacted fast, denying Hunter another clean shot. He fired again, this time at the engine of the speeder. He must got something important as it sparked and flared, detonating a rotor assembly onto the street. The repulsor lifts failed, slamming the speeder onto the ground. Hunter winced. Bit more than what he wanted, he hoped the cargo hadn’t been harmed, else all this was for nothing.

[Elieen Cross]

Eileen had earlier knocked out the speeder pilot and had taken the cargo drop disguised. Now, she was being forced out of the cabin at gunpoint, much like she had barely an hour ago to the real driver. Unlike him, she fully expected this.

But even she was startled as the outlaw that had taken her place suddenly flowered into a red splot. Another merc lost an arm and then the speeder motor broke apart. The outlaws all were scattering and taking cover, while she pulled out her own blaster and skidded to the leeward side of the cockpit, suddenly ignored. She winced as a loud crack and boom sounded out over the sporatic blaster fire and another human wail in agony. She had no idea who these abortive hijackers were, but there was no doubt who was the one now causing the mass confusion. Looked like she would be getting a visit from that Bounty Hunter again.

[Venom]

Venom put down the marcobinoculars slowly hardly daring to believe what was currently going on. The scripted trap had gone completely awry, sprung too early and with everyone out of position.

“@#%$”. And with the sounds booming out, that was becoming an understatement as the situation spun even more out of control. “Move the UnNamed in. Now, before this gets worse”

[Force Master Hunter]

Hunter drew the second rail gun as concentrated blaster fire ate into the pillar he was covering behind. He whipped the first rail gun around the corner and emptied the clip blind, the 15 shot burst rocking the area as each projectile detonated as it impacted on something. He released the empty clip, slamming another one home. Now with both guns fully loaded, he dropped and rolled, blaster fire heating the air above him. Setting for single fire, he fired 12 times, then rolled to his feet and ran, firing as he went. A completely stupid move and one that worked. He was unpinned and now free to advance, blasting anything in his path or anything that even looked hostile. A merc stepped from behind a pillar, to have a snap shot fling the suddenly lifeless body backwards. Hunter ran straight for the speeder, dived and gained some cover behind the cargo bay. Another few shots and the mercs seemed to lose interest for the moment. Good. He could now figure out the lock on this thing and get the hell out of here before the mercs regained courage or reinforcements arrived.

First things first…. Reload. He ejected the clips and was about to take out another two when he heard a footstep around the corner of the cargo. Slowly he raised the gun in his left hand and waited.

A figure in light blue emerged, woman. As Hunter took aim with the empty gun, Hunter nearly choked. Eileen Cross?!?!

“Hello @#%$. You appear to be empty”

“Really? And what makes you say that?”

Eileen gave Hunter a dirty look. “Don’t try that one with me buddy. I heard you eject your clips” She raised the blaster. “Got you cold it seems”

Hunter stared and then he noted something. “You have the safety on.”

“Suuurrrreeeeee. Your empty. Put the guns down and get the hell out of here meat head”

Hunter gave Eileen a look that could melt hull steel. He glared at her and then twisted slightly, firing the bullet that had been chambered all along and hitting the merc who had been trying to sneak up on Eileen. The projectile exploded leaving nothing to her than boots. She didn’t even turn to look, but instead calmly shot another merc dead between the eyes.

“Now your empty. Still believe I have the safety on?”

Hunter sized Eileen up. She didn’t know he had more weapons than just guns…

A blaze of blaster fire erupted and force both Eileen and Hunter to dart to the other side of the cargo. Eileen’s mouth was hard and thin as she returned fire. Hunter reloaded.

“Okay buster, whose side are you on?” snapped Eileen.

“Pardon?” replied Hunter as he too returned fire.

“Well, your not on their side and you seemed to like trying….. to shoot at me! What’s your game here?” She expertly tagged another merc with a shot to the chest.

“Me? I’m only interested in the package!”

“Package?!?!”

“Yes!”

Eileen ducked behind cover to regard Hunter with suspicion. “You don’t mean…” She dint finish. Hunter’s reaction was enough.

Hunter also ducked and stared back. “You know?!?”

“I was the one who set the release codes on this damn box so if your genuine, I’ll pass over the fact you made two good goes at shooting me. You help me get the package away and never try anything this dumb again and were even, got it?”

Hunter could only nod and then fired as a merc came around the corner. “We’ll discuss this later!”

“No later. My terms or nothing”

Hunter let rip another burst and cursed as the chamber clicked empty. He had two clips left and the party was only just warming up. He scanned the area from where the firing was coming from and in the smoke he saw some shadowy figures he didn’t like the look of. He reloaded then holstered the guns. Eileen gave him a querying look, which turned to surprise as Hunter drew the sword.

“Your kidding, right?” Eileen exclaimed

“No”

“I think you…. Misunderstood me. That sword… it’s not what I think it is?”

“Probably more. You have a deal. I’ll go deal with this mob, you get away”

“Good luck then”. Eileen began to rapid fire, scattering the area with blaster bolts as Hunter used the distraction to run from around the cargo bay, charging with the sword in one hand. A blaster bolt screamed towards him. The blade flashed and the bolt was deflected straight back the way it came. Moving, ducking, weaving, deflecting, he advanced, always towards the grey figures he could see approaching. One of them rushed forward, to be cleanly cut in half in a flash. Hunter continued to move, never staying in one place, always with some cover, but never long enough to be pinned down. Another Vog’on came at him, dispatched as fast as the first.

[Elieen Cross]

Eileen waited for the Bounty Hunter to get clear before turning her attention to the locks of the cargo carrier. Her fingers sped over the codes and the lock light clicked over to clear. She pushed the door manually open, and paused. Internally, the room inside was dark, though Eileen knew what was to be expected. There would be a refresher partition and a sleeping area. She could hear heavy breathing and also could also almost smell the fear.

“Are you my mommy?” The tiny voice was only a whisper, reflecting the fear the child must be feeling.

“No darling, I’m not. I have to take you away from here, bad men are coming” Eileen wasn’t exactly practiced in trying to give comfort, she just hoped it would work.

“Bad men that Mr Hunter keeps away from me?”

That bought out a startled laugh. She could ask about that later, but that could mean the Bounty Hunter had saved the child before and won the trust of the child. “Yes Jina, bad men who Mr Hunter kept away from you now. Mr Hunter’s doing that now”

A small shuffle and into the light came a small girl, blazing red hair and a face smudged from crying. In her hand she dragged a blanket. Eileen didn’t wait any longer, she bundled up the girl and picked her up. In her mind, she cursed Lady Mara Jade for ever having the girl, Jina Jade in the first place.

“Going some place?”

The voice spun her around and Jina gave out a startled cry. At the entrance of the cargo pod, were circled 4 huge grey beasts and one extraordinarily tall and bulky human, who Eileen knew would have to be the Dark Jedi Venom. Mentally, she cursed that she ever heard of that name of Jina Jade.

[Force Master Hunter]

Hunter himself was getting into a bind. The mercs had given way to Vog’on and some of the beasts were proving hard to handle. Sometimes a bit too hard, as evidenced by the bite on his arm that had rent the armour and a kick in the gut that still made Hunter short of breath. Fact was, he was beginning to feel the beasts were beginning to stalk him, getting ready for the final rush that would lead to his death. If only…

He fought the desire to grin as he felt a new group of people arrive. And if he was right…

“NEW REPUBLIC SPECIAL FORCES! SURRENDER AT ONCE OR BE KILLED!”

… He was right. The cavalry had come. The fight turned into a mass brawl as the Vog’on attacked, the NRSF, a squad of elite soldiers countered. A man, dressed in the uniform of an officer saw Hunter and jogged over as Hunter, now being ignored, caught his breath.

“Hey Skip! We came as soon as we got your transmission. Bearing up?”

“Damn you Nathan, typical of you to cut to the last moment. Your guys up to handling this lot?”

The big soldier grinned. “Oh I think so. Feel like joining the party again? The boys would welcome an ex-comrade in arms like you alongside”

“Sorry mate, I have to leave you to it. I’m chasing bigger game”

The key word of game made Nathan’s eyebrow lift. “Who?”

“Venom”

“HHHHOOOOweeeee! Good luck Skip. I better get back to whupping these bug’s butts.” Hunter nodded, saluted and ran off towards the speeder, where he suddenly picked up a worrying surge of emotion. He ran.

Nathan West watched Hunter depart and then turn back to his 2IC, who spoke first

“Was that who I thought it was? Skippy Vatenen? Did he call for the heavy action?”

“Yep, sure was. Lets give an ex NRSF what he wants”

“Major kick arse?”

“You got it. Now lets get these pests exterminated”

[Elieen Cross]

Eileen stared in fury as she stepped carefully out of the confines of the cargo bay, with Jina clinging tightly to her.

“Yes I was going somewhere. Now get out of my way fucknut”

“Really? It seems that the only place your going is an early grave. Now hand me over the girl and I might let you live”

“No”

Venom’s voice conveyed a sense of amusement. “Really? And you intend to stop me?”

“Go back in the room baby and hide . Mr Hunter will be coming soon” said Eileen quietly into Jina ear. The little girl was let down and she stumbled backwards like a malfunctioning droid. Eileen’s eyes never left the place where Venom’s would be in the folds of his cloak. She stepped into a fighting stance and gave Venom a rude gesture. “Come try me”

The Dark Jedi’s manner radiated humour as he waved for the Vog’on to step back, like this was going to be some sort of sport. With the speed born from the Force, he stepped forward and used his size and power to crash a backhand swipe onto Eileen’s temple. She staggered, but kept standing. “ Silly girl. Do you think someone like you could stop me?” He stepped again and smashed another blow, sending Eileen thudding into the cargo box, to bounce and fall roughly. Venom aimed a kick at her guts that lifted her off the ground, slamming her back into the box. He moved forward as she struggled to get up, backhanding her back to the ground on the back of the head. “Pitiful. Pathetic. You think you can stand against someone like me?” He laughed and stepped on her as he went to grab Jina from the box.

Eileen felt the pain. She felt the anger. She felt her whole world dissove. She felt her true self surface. Her eyes turned to orbs of fire as she spat blood. “Get away from her you prick!” she snarled.

“Oh?” questioned Venom turning. “And you can do anything about it?”

Eileen’s hand reached behind her back and she slowly tugged the polearm from behind her back. She used it help stand, feeling it’s cold steel giving her focus and she touched the Force once again. The pain began to recede as it’s power flooded her and she allowed the ancient energy to fill her. A Vog’on tried to rush her, but she pivoted and slammed the Force Pike’s pommel into it’s chin, belting the beast into stupor. She turned and faced Venom, who from the sense of the Force was suddenly not so self assured.

He seemed to speak, but before he did, a black figure jumped off the top of the top of the cargo box and into the mdist of the Vog’on.

“Stay where you are Jina!” yelled Hunter.

Eileen looked at Hunter engaging the beasts before turning her attention back to Venom. He was also slowly drawing his Force Pike and stepping forward. He extended the polearm, Eileen taking guard with the tip of her weapon touching his. They stared off for a moment before Venom attacked. He swung low, with Eileen blocking and stepping back. He attacked again, she defended, this time low. The Dark Jedi began to generate a rhythm, swing high and low, using the Pike much like a sabre, Eileen responding likewise. He began to use his greater reach and strength, driving the smaller human backwards as she struggled to defend. He grew confident and mis-stepped, and error so small no normal human could detect it. Eileen did, stepping into a blow, spinning and then smashing Venom across the face. She danced away as Venom rebalanced. They began to circle, feinting and probing for openings to their respective defences. Eileen stepped left, drawing Venom over and then struck right, hammering the Dark Jedi with a huge blow to the ribs. He grunted, before replying with a counterblow that swept the legs from under his opponent. She rolled away as Venom’s weapon gouged the ferrocrete.

She gained her feet, staring at the Dark Jedi as she did so. “Your getting slow Venom. Sure you up to kidnapping a little girl?”

He growled and attacked in the one movement. This time Eileen held her ground and parried.

[Force Master Hunter]

Hunter made short work of the Vog’on, the blade flashing and leaping as he did, not one of the beasts able to even get close enough to counter. He watched the last one fall, allowed his mind to relax. He turned as he heard a small footstep from the cargo box.

“Mr Hunter?”

He smiled at Jina. “Hey honey. You okay?”

For the first time of this terrible ordeal, Jina also smiled, shyly. “Yes Mr Hunter. Your all messy”

Hunter grunted. Yeah, with cloak rent and armour busted and a few bruises, he needed a good bath.

“Is bad men gone?”

He looked at where Venom and Eileen were battling in a frenzy, polearms flashing as light touched them. Hunter could hardly believe anyone would go toe to toe with that behemoth – still, there could only be one outcome to that fight. He picked up the little girl, shifting the sword and aloowing his favoured arm to be free, drawing one of the rail guns and sighting down the barrel. “Turn away Jina. Bad man about to be gone.”

He never got the chance to pull the trigger.

[Venom]

Eileen was losing and she knew it. Venom’s strength was too much and she could feel the constant blows taking their toll. Venom himself sensed her wilting, fired in one hard swing, reversed, swung even harder and building momentum, swung again. It was almost a flashback to a planet with no name, to another female opponent. The Force pike in Eileen’s hand snapped, both pieces flying away. Venom lunged, smashing Eileen to the side of the head and then lifting the Pike for the stabbing death blow, swung for the back of her head. Just like Lady Mara Jade not so long ago..

[Venom]

Venom’s stroke hit nothing but air.

[Elieen Cross]

She had already was moving despite the dizziness and the nausea. Deep set training waned her the blow was coming and she twisted left, the tip of the Force Pike passing her chest by a bare inch. A hand reached out and grabbed the pike, muscles tensed as she used the handhold to spring forward, firing a palm heel strike to the Dark Jedi’s abdomen. The strike itself was ineffective, but on her wrist a spring loaded knife sheaf activated, the blade of a vibroknife punched it’s way through armour, muscles into the delicate internal organs. With a flourish, Eileen ripped the knife downwards, the blade cutting everything in it’s path. Venom staggered back.

“Who… who… the ….helll… are…?”

“My name is Lord Fire Blade and this is my revenge!”

She stepped forward and slammed the blade straight into Venom’s heart.

[Force Master Hunter]

“What the …?”

Hunter had seen it, but his brain refused to believe it. Venom tripped and fell backwards like a tree falling, crashing backwards without further sound, with the hilt of the knife still marking the spot where the fatal blade had done it’s work. He allowed Jina to stand by herself and slowly walked over to where the woman was, gasping for air and kneeling beside her conquered foe. He still had the sword in one hand and the gun in the other as he stood over them both. He paused, then with the blade of the sword, pushed back the hood Venom wore. The dead Dark Jedi had a visor plate on, which Hunter bent down and removed. He was curious what this hidden fiend looked like.

“Charming, aint it?”

Hunter barely heard Eileen’s words as he looked at the face of Venom, revealed for the first time. It was a accident. Or a mistake, surely. Hunter had already killed this person not long ago. How in the name in the Force could this be? He turned to face Eileen. “I’m not seeing things, right?”

“No, your not. Now come on and get Jina out of here, more of Venom’s pets are coming and I don’t think they will appreciate their boss being dead”

He nodded, taking one last look at Venom’s face, reholstering the gun and then running back to Jina, picking her up and then bolting after Eileen. Even as he peapt off a ledge and hit the ground running, his mind was only just catching up with what he had seen.

Jedi Master Darth Turbogeek died in hut on a secluded planet, bullet to the head from Hunter.

The same face, younger and bigger, dead on the rain splattered concrete of Coruscant.

The sense of something bigger than he was, something way out of his control, the same sense he had gotten when he had encounter Jina Jade for the first time. Jedi and Sith with the same face? A Daughter of a famed Sith/Jedi? A woman who had turned out to be one of the deadliest fighters seen? The Vog’on? Just what the hell was going on?

He would be asking the woman he was following for some answers when they got clear.

[Gronk Droid]

Dawn and a knock on a door

A moment later, Gronk Droid looked at the patient on the table. Difficult. But only the best for the best payers

[Force Master Hunter]

The sun came up on the planet that Hunter had been to before, one with only a number and not a name. The wreckage of a recent battle was still visible, but not far away was a stream and some fresh grass, which he lay on. God, he hurt. But at least he was alive and for the first time in weeks relaxed. The sword was sheafed and lay by his side. The ever present rail guns were holstered and he was resting his head on a rock, using the remains of his cloak for a pillow. Jina Jade was nearby running and playing in the flowers, where small insects took flight to the sounds of her clear girlish giggles. He peered thought one eye at the little girl, watching her play.

“Quite a handful, isn’t she?”

Hunter, still looking at Jina nodded. “Yep. Rather changed the way my life was going I have to say.”

“No regrets?”

He glanced back at where Eileen Cross sat. “Plenty. If I had known how this Job would have end up, I would have told Venom to go ram his credits up his arse. Still…. “

“Yes?”

“Nothing. Tell me something. I blew Lord Fire Blade into pieces and handed thie bits to two droids. How can you be Lord Fire Blade?”

Eileen paused before answering. “Lord Fire Blade was my grandfather. My father inherited the title and when he died, I took the title for my own. I couldn’t grab Jina from the place she was hidden on Coruscant because … of other matters, so Grandfather wore the armour of the Imperial Guard once again. You got the right man when you nailed him”

“No hard feelings?”

“Nope. He was a prick anyway and besides, he was 92 and had a terminal disease. Going out in a fight would have been the way he would have wanted”

“92?!?!”

Eileen looked at Hunter. “Yes. He after all served the Emperor himself. And trained me too”

Oh great, I popped a geriatric, thought Hunter. Yet, he had killed the real Lord Fire Blade…. Which lead to another question. “Okay, but tell me something. You didn’t seem surprised Venom looked like that Jedi Master Turbogeek”

“Course not. Venom was a clone taken from Geek boy about 10 years ago. He was genitally mutated to be the size he was and then trained by Callista, just in case Turbogeek ever proved to be unsuitable for what he was to do”

A clone. Made by Callista? “Who’s this Callista?”

“Mad bitch. Trained Turbogeek as a Sith to take over the Galaxy, except he turned Jedi and did her a great deal of damage. I’ve been fighting my own private war with her for the last 8 years”

“That don’t explain jack to me. What does she have to do with Jina?”

“Nothing. I’ll just give you a word of advice Bounty Hunter. Don’t get involved further. Walk away, take Jina and go bury yourself in a hole and let the Galaxy pass you by. Your responsible for Jade now, consider that to be your punishment for trying to cap me. Got it?”

Hunter heard the flat finality in her voice and decided not to push it. “I’m not a Bounty Hunter. I was posing as one for cover”

“For cover?”

Hunter gave Eileen a flat, hard look. “None of your business”

Eileen snorted. “That makes sense. Your too idealistic to make a good scumbag. What’s your real name?”

“Skippy Vatenen, New republic Special Forces, Corporal when I choose to be”

“NRSF? And you did in Tohmahawk? Oh I bet you’ll be real popular with them.”

Hunter chose not to answer, silently watching Jade. He only broke his gaze as he heard Eileen get up.

”Well Vatenen, it’s been a pleasure. Good luck for the future and take my advice, okay?”

He stood up to accept the proffered hand, shaking it. “You too”

She walked away without anther word, going to the shuttle they had taken from Coruscant. A few moments later, the repulsor lifts fired up and the shuttle blasted for the sky.

Hunter watched until the shuttle exited from sight, then turned his head.

“Jina!”

She came running, a stream of red hair and a bundle of energy “Yes Mr. Hunter?”

“Just Skip Jina. Looks like I’m looking after you now. Where do you want to go?”

“Can I talk to mummy?”

Oh dear. “I’m sorry darling. No one can anymore”

“But I can see her. She’s standing next to that tree and she looks sad but she’s smiling at me”

Hunter looked and to his astonishment, he saw the shimmering image of a beautiful woman, dressed in glowing gold with the same flaming red hair as Jina. The vision turned to him and he heard it’s voice

“Thank you. I knew you would do it”

He saw a single tear on the woman’s face, her eyes lit with a fierce joy as she turned to look at Jina

And then she vanished.

“Isn’t mummy beautiful? She said she would always watch over me! She said you would too!”

I guess I will, thought Hunter, that I most certainly will, whatever came in the days, weeks and years ahead. He picked up the sword, then took Jina by the hand. “Come on. I know a good place where we can live for a while”

The both walked off, the tall figure of the Hunter and the smaller one of the child as the sun kept rising on what was becoming a truly beautiful day.

[A Nameless New Republic Tech]

A bolt of lightning blazed through the sky and a cloaked figure was outlined, standing next to the swollen banks of a creek as the rain crashed down, splattering mud onto her boots and dripping from her clothing. She unwrapped the parcel she was carrying and then placed down one long stemmed rose.. She watched the roses drift away before walking away as the rain pelted down. For the cloaked figure, there was much to be concerned of. But for now…. For now she realised her dreams had been answered and the desperate hope in her heart had been confirmed, he was alive. Her desperate tears and the years of pain could possibly be now over. Soon, she would find him again, when the time was right and then the final battle would have to begin. There was no certainty of victory but that was for the future.

For her now, she had found the one she had loved long ago. For her, the time of mourning was over.

Perhaps now she could forget that she ever had the need to learn to cry in the first place.










The End.













?






Far away, a hand curled. Eyes saw. A mind functioned again.

He stared at the ceiling.

No, it wasnt over, not now

Not by a long shot.







---/-\-@ @-/-\-----

“For tears are but the gems of a heart hurt in ways in can no longer cope with”