Seeker of Revenge

[Force Master Hunter]

He was angry.

No, anger didnt fully describle the hatred he felt. It didnt describe the lengths he fel the would be prepared to go. Pyr had been blasted into a vegetable, he had been defeated and it hurt. It made him rage against anyone. He felt the anger in the next contract killing - he had not only shot the prep, but had beatedn the hapless Rodian to a pulp to sate his rage.

He brimmed with it. The fire, the fury.

But, he knew too well, those who acted in anger ended up dead. He knew if he let his anger take him over, he would suffer a similar fate to Pyr. The Jedi he wanted dead had a cruelty streak and he knew, they were nto what they seemed. Evenstar, she may now put on that front of a mother and a Senator, but below was the sadistic killer. She hadnt killed Pyr, but instead sentanced her to a life of hell. There was Xazor Elessar, a wanted Jedi.

Then - then there was that man whom was the most powerful of all. He thought it was Turbogeek, somehow. That was stupid, Turbogeek was a hunk of ashes on a planet so far away, no one would ever discover what happened. It was some new an somehow unknown Jedi Master, a truly formidible one too. How this man of power had remained anonymous, was quite a question to ask. e had been digging, using his contacts and slicing ability to put together a puzzle. Chee had been of great help too - even finding an old set of records to cross check against.

There it was. Someone had modifyed the records - most likely this Marcus Q'Dunn whom had been listed years ago as a Jedi Master, in fact THE Grand Master. Now, no current record existed. What was even more interesting was the clean shaven and young looking man was quite different to the beared middle aged freak he had battled. Now he had a name, the trolling through the scanty archives that held that name (Wow, this was one hell of a erase job, Chee had said. Real professional) threw up an interesting picture. Unknwon up to about 30 years ago, he had been one of the first members of the Jedi, rising in rank faster than seen before, so powerful in fact he had been called Warlord. He even led the Jed.

How the hell had no one noticed this guy vanish????? Paladin wondered. One day, sitting pretty, the next... gone and all info erased off the databanks, with only isolated datadocs even with a hint! Jeez, this is incredible... why did he do that?

Only hint was a record of a Jedi dying at Arcan IV. Faked death? Why?

What it meant was that here was at the least a Jedi master, gone rogue. This was soemthign big - and, even in his anger, he had to admit a problem too big for him right now. Which was why he was also making a search of Sith Masters. Someone who might take an interest and train him.

Dalethria Mal Pannis, he had found. Hmmmm...... worht a try.

Now, how did one call on a Sith Master and not get killed?

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

This was one of her favorite times of the year on Meras. The weather had turned into spring, causing the temperature to rise and forcing some of the snow to melt around the estate. The foliage was beginning to sprout again after a long six months of frost, and the hired help was making sure that the grounds would be situated once the snow was completely gone. It was a difficult task to accomplish up here in the mountains. If the estate was at sea level, the grounds would have been cleared up by now, but due to the extreme conditions at this altitude, it made life interesting to keep her home up and running. Not that it was a big deal. With all of her resources, it was easy to buy all the help she could ever want to do the menial tasks fit for a peasant's hand.

Dalethria was personally overseeing the annual clean up of the Tarkin Estate, watching the help carry out her orders to tidy up the landscape. She wasn't worried about a mishap. The servants knew of their Mistress' wraith but also knew how generous she could be. It was more of a formality being out here then anything else.

"MOMMY!!!"

Well, then of course there was her daughter (http://sw-fans.net/forum/member.php?s=&action=getinfo&userid=949) playing outside. A much larger concern for the Dark Jedi then if the servants cut down the wrong tree.

She turned her head towards the direction of her daughter and shook her head, hiding her laughter with a hand. Her four year old had been exploring the grounds with Avagdu, a massive black wolf, for protection. Apparently the child had taken an interest in some sort of lizard. Aliandra was holding it by the tail, and the poor thing was flopping back and forth as she was running towards her. It looked like the lizard's tail would snap at any moment but luckily, it managed to stay intact.

Dalethria kneeled down to greet her daughter and noticed that the black wolf wasn't too far behind. "Well now. What have you got here?"

"Mommy!!!" Alia said proudly, and a bit out of breath. "Isn't it great!!!" She shoved the thing in front of her mother's face and grinned.

The thing smelled of every possible scent that could come from being outdoors. It was rancid and Dalethria had to look interested in the creature while trying to not vomit. "That's ... nice dear. I'm so glad you and Avagdu had ... fun." The wolf circled around the two of them and settled into a spot next to his Master. "You should head inside and get cleaned up for lunch."

She pouted, "But, but..." The child looked at the creature in her hand and shook it for emphasis. "Lizard!!!"

"Yes," she took the lizard from her daughter's hand to make her happy. "Lizard. Thank you. Now go get ready, okay?"

"Okay mommy!" She hugged her mother with a big grin and ran off towards the mansion.

The thing flailed in her fingers, wanting to be released. She glanced down at her wolf in disgust, "You have her bring me lizards? Isn't that your job?"

Avagdu whined and looked back and forth, hoping to be ignored.

"Crazy wolf." The Dark Jedi threw the lizard behind her back and made her way back into the mansion. The urge to take a bath to wash lizard off of her was overwhelming.

[Force Master Hunter]

How did one find Sith that didnt want to be found? The usual methods didnt work, detective work had only given vague hints, even bribery and underground contacts had suggested a vague reference. Even a data raid into NR Intelligence had been inconclusive.

"Are you sure you want to speak to this Sith? It is well known the sith control Corellia." Chee said.

"Pack of losers. If they were real, they would be doing more than sitting on their fat butts. Besides, I've seen what this Q'Dunn has done agaisnt their best - they are no match for him"

"I thought you had no idea whom this Q'Dunn was"

"I remembered" Hunter said grimly. "He was the Jedi Master that everyone was scared of. Even Turbogeek. No one really saw him, but he was the one who decided who would become a Jedi Master. that says a lot, does it not? He had authority to move contrary to the Council. I remember now. He did his best to stay silent, but he always popped up. Damn, how did that guy so effectively erase himself from existance?"

"He is or was a Jedi Master, Hunter. Who knows what one of them is capable of"

"A lot more than the present rubbish" Hunter replied. "That's probably why Natia and Xazor Elessar were sighted on security holos with that bitch Evenstar and this Q'Dunn. "

"Does it bear thinking that the mysterious father of Evenstar's child is this Jedi Master?"

"Yes, the logic runs true. That is why he was there to stop us at the Medical Centre. And that's why I need a Sith Master"

--

It was much to his surprise that some days later, he arrived out of Hyperspace, having trusted what seemed liek a dodgy set of co-ordinates and The Force, that he saw a planet right where The Force suggested there would be.

Damn. This Force stuff could be freaky.

But now what? That was a planet. He was looking for one person. He thought it was ridiculous - who the hell was going to find a Sith if they didnt want to be found?

Ask them?

wha...? Ask? Ask here while he was in orbit?

"Hello, I'm looking for Dalethria Mal Pannis. Oh yeah, like that's goign to work" he said out loud. "Heeeellllooooo Dalethria! Hi! Are you there? I'm a pee'd off ex Jedi Padawan looking for revenge. Ha!"

He began to laugh at this ridiculousness.

"How are you?" He asked of a dust spek.. "Are you the famous sith Mistress Dalethria? Pleased to meet you.... yeah right. As if. why was I stupid enough to follow the force here"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

The afternoon sky was slowly become darker as evening approached. Aliandra was napping in her room, guarded by Avagdu, while Dalethria was in her workshop. She was almost done polishing the outer casing when a call came from one of her more specialized servants.

Mistress? An unauthorized ship had just entered the system. The transponder is not recognized nor are the configurations of the ship on file here.

The casing was reflective and she watched herself narrow her eyes, "How long till they reach here?"

Probably within a half hour to enter the atmosphere, an hour or two to get here considering the difficulty in navigating the mountains.

"Very well. Contact that ship and find out what they want. No one comes to this system unless it is to come here. Ready the defenses just incase. Can't be too careful."

No, of course not Ma'am. I will set up the communication so you can listen in.

The connection was terminated, quickly followed by a new one.

Unauthorized vessel. Identify yourself and purpose here immediately or face the consequences.

Simple and to the point. Dalethria liked this one.

[Force Master Hunter]

And in the middle of the laughter at the absurdity of this all, the voice boomed out of the console, demanding to know what he was dioing here. He froze, surprised beyond words.

"Errr... hi" he said, lamely, recovering. "My name is... Force Master Hunter and I'm here to speak to a Sith Mistress by the name of dalethria mal Pannis, whom I am led to believe is here. I seek her knowledge in how to deal with a Jedi Master who's gone rogue... or worse"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

The man at the communications control had to go silent momentarily as Dalethria's voice laughed into his headset. Last thing he needed to do in front of this being, let alone his Master, was to crack up himself.

And indeed, the Mistress was enjoying herself all too well. "Force Master Hunter???" She almost fell off the workbench she was sitting on when that name came through. "By Kashalla that's a horrible name." Wiping away the tears, she composed herself, "Believed to be led here. Sigh. That is the only reason to come here as I said ... Very well. Reply to him that I don't wish to be disturbed over petty squabbles, especially from someone I don't know."

Yes Ma'am. He turned the radio back on to the frequency of the incoming vessel, Our Mistress does not wished to be disturbed over a stranger's personal grudge. You're advised to leave the area. He turned and nodded at one of his collegues who rolled over to another control panel and began arming the defense that protected the Tarkin estate. It was good to have a husband that specialized in all sort of weaponry ranging from a simple mine to an ion cannon that could reach a ship in outer space.

[Force Master Hunter]

"Even if the person I wish to deal with is named Marcus Q'Dunn? Does that name mean anything to you, Mistress Mal Pannis?"

He paused, getting ready for evasive manuvers if this didnt work

"A rogue Jedi Master is a problem for us all, not just me. Do you want another Palpatine, hunting us all? Even if you dont want to move from here, I seek your training, so I can deal with him. I was once a Jedi Padawan before I saw how the Jedi are really and I want to be trained in the Dark Arts"

[Dalethria Mal Pannis]

Q'Dunn. Meddling Jedi fool. This Force Master Hunter seemingly had an interesting point all of a sudden. There were those Jedi Masters that sat on Coruscant, meditating all day in hopes of being productive. Then there were the Masters that actually made a mark on the galaxy to deter the Sith in their expansion.

Mistress? How shall I respond?

He was waiting for further instructions, as was the servant manning the weapons.

"I'll take it from here, but keep the weapons ready."

Force Master Hunter heard the transmission cut on his end and a new one was established quickly. "So what part of the honorable Jedi training made you reconsidered your path in the Force and what part did this Jedi Master play in it." She had her attention and for his sake, he better keep it. He was a nice distraction while she finished cleaning her sabre. He had until it was done to prove his point.