Chasing Shadows (Sage)

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

"It will not take that long, I will be back by morning," J'ktal called back over his shoulder as he left the training room.

From there, it was a brisk walk to his own room, and a quick change into one of his Death-Shadow uniforms. A quick reset of his optical system fixed his eye problems, and the sharp jab of a hyopdermic needle into his arm relieved the discomfort he had been feeling. Snatching up a small pack of gear, and his katana, the gray mognoose took leave of his room and headed for the landing pads.

Instead of taking his whole ship, J'ktal only took the small, speeder-like runabout, and quickly was rocketing off into the evening sky.

Seventeen miles away, a long-hunted informant had been located. For several years he had eluded N.I.S.C. capture, and had caused significant damage by arraging terrorist activities against the Sultanal reign. Now he was marked for death, but not before certain information could be coerced out of him. That was how J'ktal fit in.

Locking onto his target, the Death-Shadow darted through the airborne traffic with incredible speed, having no thoughts to check behind himself.

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage raised the comm link to his mouth seconds after J'ktal left the training room.

"Nakka."

....

"Yeah?" an irritated voice came back.

"Ship in working order?" Sage asked quickly.

"Only if you don't try you fly it," Chewnakka replied scoffing.

"What's the problem?" Sage shot back, growing impatient.

"Well, for starters I yanked our hyperspace drive out and have it's pieces on the floor in front of me."

"Good Force... Can you do sublight?"

"Sure, I guess. No hyper drive shouldn't bother that," Chewnakka answered. "Assuming of course my wiring hack job didn't screw everything up."

"Fire it up and look for any outbound ships leaving the launch pads. Lock onto the first one you see and try and track his signature until I get to you."

"Fine. Just don't step on the hyper drive on your way in."

<center>* * *</center>

Sage waited a few minutes before heading for his ship. He arrived before long. The Jedi Master could scoot when needed.

"Nakka, what do you have?" Sage said briskly as he walked to the helm.

"Little speeder size ship left about 2 minutes ago. We should be able to keep tracking if we get moving. Now."

"Terrific."

Sage plopped in his seat.

"So who are we tracking? Rouge Jedi?"

"No. My Padawan."

Chewnakka rolled his wookiee eyes. "Oh, that's normal."

Sage gave him a cross look before hitting the accelerator. The ship had already been prepped by Chewnakka.

The Peace Maker II shot out into the sky, barrel rolling as it did. Sage brought it back under control after making a high arc. He made sure to keep it as high as possible, without breaking amphosphere.

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

When one's life is a constant of danger, small thrills did little to envigorate one's spitit. Thankfully, J'ktal knew to keep the small thrills to a minimum, and instead went for a few more dangerous stunts. Near his target, the mongoose cut his power completely and let the speeder do a killdive toward the curacrete pavement below.

Just before impact, he shot power back to his thrusters and yanked himself to a controlled stop. From there is twas only a simple course of street navigation before parking the speeder at a small lot and paying the attending droid.

In a city planet such as Coruscant, even the most bizrre of species didn't stand out, so walking down the street while cocking a semi-automatic pistol and attaching a silencer to it was just as common as a kid opening a soda. His katana bounced lightly off his hip as he climbed a set of stoop steps, and let himself into the building with a customized keycard. Security at the residential level was a cakewalk for one of his skills.

"Ready yourself, Mr. Kavash," he said smugly to himself, "The shadow of death is about to fall on you."

[Sage Hazzard]

"His trusters just went out!"

Sage's eyes widened and plowed the controls down, sending the ship into a nosedive. Even Chewnakka, a 2 meter high Wookiee, grabbed his arm rests and went into a animal growl as ground filled the viewport.

"What the hell? He just got back power. He's leveled out! Pull up, pull up!!!"

Sage didn't need to hear the suggestion. He jerked his controls to the right, sending the ship into a spinning dive. He jerked the controls up and to the left, coming out of the spin and carreening right in a ground brushing air slide.

"Sage, don't do that ever again!"

Sage's jaw was locked. Determined.

"What do you mean he got back under control? How close to the ground?"

Chewnakka looked over his readings.

"Um... about a meter closer than you."

Sage looked at Chewnakka in disbelief.

"Who the hell is this Padawan of your's? And are you sure he's a Padawan?!" Chewnakka said with his gaping maw for a mouth.

"He's very... talented,"

Sage pulled the ship up, gaining part of his previous altitude back.

"What's he doing now?"

"I think he stopped. Over there," Chewnakka pointed to an onscreen map.

Sage let go of the controls.

"Take over. Bring it down withen 20 meters. I'll go on foot from here."

Chewnakka took over from his chair, using the co-pilot rigged controls.

"Alright. We're close enough for you to do your jumping from heights thing."

Sage let himself chuckle at that before walking to the back cargo hanger.

He hit a intercomm. "Okay, Nakka, lower the door."

Chewnakka did so. Gathering the Force, Sage took a deep breath and leapt off the end of the ramp. He landing softly on the ground. Looking up he found the ship closing it's doors and gaining altitude. Getting high enough not to be recognized.

Now, to find his Padawan. Sage hoped he had enough contact with him to find his Force signature out in a crowd. The Jedi Master wasn't a Master at all things, and clearly not one at tracking by the Force. Never the less, he tried. Getting what he hoped was a feeling he headed off.

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

J'ktal strode therough the halls of the cheap apartment complex, and favored the stairs over the elevator. In case he should need to escape in a hurry, he needed to know their condition anyhow. That, and the elevators in such dives often smelled worse than a public restroom. His tail did not swish idly, instead flowing in rhythm to his steps, and the tight vinyl-ish suit he wore creaked only slightly as he walked. Holstering his pistol, the Death-Shadow instead drew a small knife and a set of electronic lockpicks before tapping his left temple and opening the door to the sixth floor.

The carpet was stained with dirt, wine, and various liquids best not mentioned, let alone smelled by one of his enhanced olefactory senes. What paisley print it ones had was long faded into a muddled mess of faded wash, and it barely padded his booted footsteps. All J'ktal knew was the building number, and what floor his target would be on, but not the room number. Once on the sixth floor, it fell to intuition. There was no way Mr. Kavash would pick a room by the elevator, he would prefer not to be passed that often. He would also not choose a room by the stairs, just in case someone tried to ambush him from behind the doorway. No, he would pick the one room that seemed the most out of the way, and also had a window to the outside. Seeing traffic pass was often comfort enough to know that there are other people out there that mask your presence.

On a whim, J'ktal picked the first door of the two that seemed right. Within seconds the lockpick did it's magic, and his knifeplade was enough to silde back the chain lock to let him in. A high-pitched creak of the door hinges was enough to alert Mr. Kavash, so J'ktal neglected closing it and ran straight through the apartment looking for him.

The living room was a shambles, and the kitchen appeared to be only suitable for cooking up a new disease rather than rood, but both were empty of life. That left the bedroom. Finding the door locked, J'ktal kicked it in and burst inside. Still nobeast, but there was a light from under the bathroom door, and the sound of a bad shower being turned off ran in the assassin's ears. Privacy was of little concern as J'ktal forced the bathroom door in as well, and found Mr. Kavash standing naked, and still drippign wet, in the shower stall.

"Put something on," The Death-Shadow instructed him. "I will at least afford you that dignity." Leaving the bathroom, J'ktal returned to the bedroom whee he sat on one edge of the unkempt bed, pulling his pistol out once more.

Hakim Kavash was a portly Nehantite in his early fifties. Stress had caused his fur to gray prematurely, and he had never been by any means a handsome fellow. When he emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel, J'ktal promptly shot him in the left thigh.

"Graaagh!" The fat mongoose yoweled as he toppled to the floor in pain clutching the bleeding wound. "What was that for? Who are you?"

J'ktal was standing over him immediately, aiming the pistol squarely at his forehead. "I am Death-Shadow Captain J'ktal Anajii, and that was for the bombing of Asqanuul. I have questions for you, Mr. Kavash, and if you answer them right, I might not shoot you again."

"Please, please not the gun!" Hakim whimpered.

With a rare smile on his stoney face, J'ktal nodded and holstered the weapon, drawing the small knife instead. It posessed only a two inch blade, but that was enough for his purposes. "Have it your way. Now, let go of that leg before I put another hole in it."

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage blindly went into an apartment building. He was going off his instincts now, though keeping his eyes open to factual hints.

He found the elevator. Once inside he hit the button for the top most floor.

Sage, open to the Force, felt a tingling around the 4th floor. Trying to sense his Padawan kept him open to emotions and thoughts of others. He was hit with a sharp and agonizing feeling of pain. Was it his Padawan, or someone in close proximity to him?

Sage hit the emergency stop button and tried the manual door release. Unfortunately the door release didn't work. Drawing his sabre and cutting an opening, he stepped onto the closest floor. A look a the inscription beside the elevator and he found he was on the 6th floor.

He slowly walked along the hallway, sabre drawn, when he saw an open door. He entered.

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

Looking at the wound, J'ktal shook his head. "It is only flesh, nothing serious. Of course, you will never be able to run again, but that is a small price to pay for your life. I would wager it hurts, though," he said calmly.

Holding back tears, Kavash nodded violently and cried, "Yes it bloody hurts! You shot me in the leg, you devil!"

"Death-Shadow," J'ktal corrected him. "Devils would have shot you a little further up, and a bit toward the center. I am not that cruel, yet." From his belt pack, J'ktal withdrew a small hypodermic needle and jabbed it into Kavash's leg, injecting a yellowish liquid. "Pain killer, it will work for about two minutes, and then the pain will come back, though with an added kick. Lovely drugs the Labratory comes up with now. But you know all about that, is that right?" He said, crouching down over his victim. "Tell me, about the Jafaq incident, do you feel regret?"

"W-what incident?" Kavash stammered. He was rewarded witha quick knife jab to his leg near the bullet wound. He could feel the instant pain, but the local antisthetic kept him from sensing the hurt that would follow.

"Jafaq, a chemical compound was released into the well there. One developed while you worked for the Labratory. Within two years that whole village will die. But do not worry, I think you'll be going a little faster, and far less painfully."

"I don't know what you're talking about!" The graying mongoose protested.

Without even a blink, J'ktal slashed out across his arm, leaging a shallow, but painful gash. "Lie to me again and that will be your gut," the Death-Shadow warned. "Now, an antidote was formed for that compound, what is it, and where can we find it?"

Clutching his bleeding arm, Kavash almost laughed, "You're going to kill me anyway, why should I tell you. Garfife won't let me in even if I do admit to having anythign to do with that, which I don't!"

"Who said I would kill you?" J''ktal asked, quite honestly, his cold pink eyes lancing a freezing glare into Kavash's. "My students need a crimial to practice interrogation and torture techiques on. And, with so much surface area..." he traced the knifeblade over Kavash's ample stomach, "I think you might last them a few months, if they obey orders. Tell me, have you ever wondered what your muscular system looks like?"

"You wouldn't," Kavash looked at him in horror.

"I most defnitely would. Now, the antidote, please. What is it?"

A steely resolve came over Kavash, and he looked back into J'tkal's face with hate. "There is none. Those beasts will die, just like the rats and the dogs in the Lab. But, I suggest you don't take your agression out on me. It was your master that ordered it."

"Liar!" J'ktal shouted, hammering a fist into Kavash's face, following it with a few more blows. "I have proof otherwise. You and your cell have comitted murder, and I am here to see that justice is done."

Standing back up, J'ktal grabbed up his pistol and shot Kavash twice more, once in the other thigh, and once in the shoulder. Then he discarded the pistol and siezed Kavash by the loose skin and fur on his chest, hauling him up and across the toom to the window, pressing the wet mongoose against it hard, threatening to break the glass. "When Garfife created all there was, he waited to make us. He waited until the time was right. And then he made us imperfect. But, to a select few he gave his favor. We became the Death-Shadow, his perfect agents. I am not wrong, Kavash, and I cannot be faulte for anything I do to you, for your sins have warranted such treatment. How many have died at your command? How far were you willing to betray your Sultan? How much did you expect to get in exchange for your twisted soul?"

Kavash, cringing in pain, snarled, "The satisfaction that your kind would feel shaken. You think you are all powerful, the chosen few. But you're nothing more than the product of beainwashign and opression. You are nothing, boy, and soon you will find your order shaken to the core."

Snarling in rage, J'ktal slammed Kavash's head sideways through the glass, cutting his face badly before throwing him back to the floor. "You will not shake us, low-born!" he barked, "For as long as there is evil, the hand of garfife will guide us, and we will find you. May He have mercy on you, at least more than you deserve."

Stepping forward, J'ktal drew his katana and held it in both paws. Touching it to Kavash's neck, he pulled it back and readied hismelf for a killing strike. "Too bad I gave you that painkiller, I wanted you to feel yourself die."

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage could hear the sound of glass breaking. He kept a slow step as he rounded the corner. He ducked his head into the kitchen. Finding nothing he took a look around the living room. He turned his attention to the door. He could see the sides of the door, near the hinges, was splintered. The door was only open a slit though. If someone kicked in the door it was reasonable it could slam against the wall, then swing back. Yes, that must of been it.

He slowly walked towards the door, sabre still ignited. Then, he placed his hand on the door...

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

Kavash only looked up in comtempt as J'ktal swung down hard, cleaving his head from his bady, and cutting a deep swath across his chest in the same maneuver. Wiping the blood from his blade on the bedsheets, The death-Shaodw sheathed it and gathered up the other weapons he had let fall adound the room. A small, monogrammed letter was left beside the body, though not so close that it would be ruined by bloodspill.

"Fool," he said as he looked back at the body, then opened the door, slightly surprised to see Sage standing there. His surprise was short-lived though as he normal, cold disposition took over again. "Master Hazzard, I did not expect to see you here."

[Sage Hazzard]

Edit: Double Post

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage wasn't surprised at all.

"J'ktal..." Sage said in all seriousness. "... move out of the doorway."

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

"That was my plan," the Death-Shadow replied, stepping past Sage, and starting for the exit as if strolling through a park in summer.

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage stepped inside the room. What he found would send shivers up normal people's spines. Sage though had seen worse. Sage had done worse. Even so, he knew the horror of it.

What caught Sage's attention most of all was the bedsheets. It had the blood stain in the shape of a sword. Not only had J'ktal killed this man but he took the time to wipe his blood off. Clearly, this would not do.

He brought his commlink up to his mouth. "Nakka, I want you to hover directly over my Padawan's transportation. Tractor it if you have to but do not let it leave."

Sage turned and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

"J'ktal!"

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

"Walk with me," J'ktal replied without looking back. Heading for the stairs, he continued, "I take it you are not pleased with what you saw back there. Why does it not sit well with you, Master Hazzard?"

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage quickly was walking beside J'ktal. He tried to keep a calm tone.

"Well..."

Why didn't it sit well? Sage himself had massacred Sith, simply for practicing the Dark Side. He'd hunted them and killed them without regret. In his days before becoming a Jedi he killed foriegn government leaders under orders from a rogue Naboo militia.

"... J'ktal, just tell me why. Why kill him?"

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

"So others would not go to hell, Sage," came a very concise, yet cryptic answer.

Pausing in the stairwell, J'ktal turned and faced Sage. "I have made no attempt to hide what I am from you, Master Hazzard, and I will not do so in the future. Mr. Kavash used to be a scientist, but found the Rules to be too confining for his liking. He has been responsible for coutless deaths, and many political upsets. He was marked for death, and I was selected as his executioner. I gave him the chance to live, but he was not wise enough to take it."

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage was confused by his reaction to this. He was actually relieved. Sage would actually do similar more than likely. Still, Sage always thought of himself as a martyr, and took the role gladly. He never liked the idea of others having blood on their hands.

"J'ktal, my responsibilities as a Jedi would normally be to take you in, to turn you over to the Council. However... I won't do that. Not now. Call me a fool J'ktal but I think you can be a great Jedi one day if you only try."

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

"I am sure that I could be, as long as you do not try and stop me, or follow me when I made it quite clear that you should leave things be," J'ktal instructed. "I have had a life before this one, Master Hazzard, and it is one I can never give up. I could no sooner give up what I am than give up my soul and my afterlife. I am a Death-Shadow, Master Hazzard, and some days that might put me out of the Jedi's good graces, but first and foremost, I am Garfife's chosen, and will be no less."

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage sternly looked J'ktal in the eyes. He was clearly impassioned in his speech.

"I have taken oaths. I have taken responsibilities. When a Jedi is assigned a Padawan, that Padawan is his responsibility. A Master must know what happens to his Padawan, so to know how to guide them and mentor them. If you had been caught, and brought before the Council, I would have been shamed. I would be brought on trial for not stopping you and not be allowed to train another Padawan ever again! Because I'm being watched by the Council as well. Because I've done the same things you've done here tonight," at this point Sage lowered his voice. "Do I not have a right to be aware of all things that could affect me? Would you expect any less from an apprentice of your's?"

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

"It is not a right," J'ktal contested calmly. "It is a priveledge. Anything you know about me must be aquired by work on your part."

Coming a step closer, the mongoose set the safety on his pistol and snapped the holster shut. "If anything, the council would only be able to punish you for lack of research. When I take on a student, I make sure to learn all I can about him from external sources, then I question him to make sure the information lines up. If I ever, ever have a feelign of mistrust, I will follow him, and if it turns out that he lied to me, he would be sorely disciplined. It was for that reason I did not tell you where I was going. I needed to test you, and the committment of a Jedi Master to his pupil. You did follow me, but not close enough. If I did anything wrong, you should ahve been there to stop it. While I recognize your concern, you must realize my own."

[Sage Hazzard]

"Well, I would have followed you closer if I didn't almost kill myself trying to save your butt on that engine cut. I was about to tractor you to safety until you flipped back on thrusters. I almost crashed and had to swearve off to stop doing just that. You see, that's where the Jedi differ from the Death-Shadow clearly. I would die trying to save my Padawan, where as you would rather play tag all day and see how good of a tracker I am."

Sage sighed and shook his head.

"I don't wish to discuss this any further. I'll just leave it with this. I will earn your trust, because it is obviously crucial so I can stop you from doing mind numbingly self-destructive acts. But I won't play by your rules to earn it. I'll play by my own."

They had reached the bottom of the stairwell now. Sage passed through the doors first. He would let this pass, as frankly he would have killed the man himself. But he would keep an extra eye on his new Padawan, for J'ktal's own good.

[imported_J'ktal Anajii]

What a good response. J'ktal was pleased, though he wouldn't show it. Sage had acted with integrity, while still showing compassion. J'ktal would have to lighten up, but not quite yet. After all, Sage seemed like a fellow who could use a little more excitement in his life.

The mongoose made his way casually down the stairs and exited throught he front door, pausing to smell the dirty air. Then, it was a brisk walk to his speeder, and back to the order. HE had dispatched a known criminal, made more money than most men would see in two years, and also gained a better understandign of his master. It had been a good night out.

[Sage Hazzard]

Sage spoke into his commlink.

"Okay, Nakka, forget the speeder. Come pick me up."

"You sure, Sage?"

Sage paused.

"Yes. I am."

With that, Sage's ship disengaged it's hover and departed for the tracking signal the Jedi Master's commlink had embedded in it.