Prey
She ran. That was all she could do in the situation, the hunt had gone bad and she'd inadvertently become the hunted. It should have been simple but some low life in her network of contacts had sold her out to the mark. She'd put in the hours of reconnaissance required to make the capture with a minimum of casualties and bother. She'd arrived at the cargo dock at the time her contact had said Kareluss would be there and at his most open. And yet Kareluss had known she was coming, known how and known that to prevent her intentions he'd require a lot more bodyguards.
That was why she was now sprinting at top speed, strengthened and made faster by what measure of the force she could harness to aid her flight. On either side what portion of the immense structures she could make out appeared as a blur as she raced along one of the millions of under lit, junk lined and ultimately dangerous roadways that criss-crossed the under levels of Coruscant. Her heart was pounding, it's repeating thud almost apace with the rhythm of her booted feet hitting whatever surfacing material they'd decided on for this area, Durasteel, Plascrete, it all sounded the same when you were running for your life.
It had been the same on Dathomir. The grass on the plains sounded the same as the grass in the forests underfoot when the drumbeat of an over taxed heart and the deep ragged heavy breaths coming from lungs burning like the sun drowned out all other noise. She'd been running for her life then too, though not from a failed hunt or vengeful enemy. On Dathomir she had been running simply to survive.
Here on Coruscant, she was of course running to survive, but this was different to that time in her past. Here she had options, options like running until a better option presented itself. Once one did things would change but not yet for now she ran.
Back then they'd been no options. Exile meant death to the Nightsisters and Kesia had been exiled. She'd done the unthinkable, carried out the most forbidden of acts. She had killed one of her sisters. The innocence of an accidental death meant nothing to the elder Sisters. Kesia had killed. For this there was only one punishment, Exile.
She could have submitted to the will of the Elders but she had not she had fled. They had tried to stop her but she was schooled well in the force and its uses. Her bonds she had broken, the guards of her cell subdued through the use of subtle suggestion, force imbued witchcraft and at times the most forceful of means. When free of the Compound she had summoned the remainder of her strength and she had simply run as fast as her body would take her.
So much had changed since those times on Dathomir. She had changed physically and mentally. At the time of her exile, she'd been a slip of a girl, still growing and awkward. Only her training had kept her alive. Now she was a woman, her body honed by years of perfecting what martial art she knew. Her mind was sharp and her skills with the force had grown and been tempered razor sharp in the process. She would survive this night.
That first night had been the hardest, after running a great distance from the compound she had reached the edge of a great forest. Her flight from the Sisters would become easier but the dangers of the forest would outweigh the dangers from the sisterhood. She knew of the great Rancor tribes that wandered the forests of Dathomir and in her childish imaginings, linked with the fear enhanced sense of foreboding the force was filling her mind with that this forest would be home to one of them. Still she had entered the trees and settled a little way in. The drone of a Nightsister flyer nearby was muffled by the trees. They were close but her senses told her that the force was strong here, overshadowing her own presence within its embrace. They would not find her.
She'd dozed fitfully the slightest noise or out of place movement in the force enough to wake her, fearful of attack. She awoke finally, tired but alive and with a little more energy, enough to get her further away from her certain death. She rose and continued her escape, never letting up as long as she could continue. For miles she ran though the forest, by some luck or the interference of the force she came to a clearing unscathed and unmet by any of the forests denizens. He she slept. She woke before daybreak to the sound of something heavy approaching. Opening her eyes she knew her luck had run out.
Her pace unbroken, the buildings continued to whip by, they're inhabitants unaware of her passage. They would be aware of the amassed speeders behind her. The casualties had been kept low, the injuries had not. Kareluss' medical costs would be immense, if of course, he had any care for those in his employ, which Kesia doubted. A beep on her wrist guard signalled the proximity of the first speeder to gain ground. Her pace remained unaltered as she jinked right down a wide avenue littered with piles of debris from who knew where. They were gaining fast; her reserves of energy were nearly done as the blaster fire began. She would need to find cover.
Suddenly a Speeder appeared from an intersection ahead. It joined fire with the speeders behind. She leapt high as the blasters converged on where she had been moments ago. Landing softly, aided only in part by the force. She zigzagged across the open avenue into the nearest alley wide enough to allow her passage, but not wide enough for either a speeder or a clear shot. She leant up close against the alley wall and drew a blaster from its holster at her hip.
"Kesia. Kesia. " Said a familiar voice amplified by a sound module. It was Kareluss.
"Kesia Orr. The famed Bounty Hunter here at my mercy. Bryon Kareluss, me, the one that defied her and won. "He shouted, revelling in the moment of his self declared victory. "You shouldn't have taken the job Kesia. I know the how's and whys of any hit taken against me. No one has gotten as close I'll admit but all who dare ultimately fail, including you."
He was right she'd read what information she could on him. There wasn't much but there was a list of Hunters, both amateur and professional, whose careers him and his minions had despatched and it was long. There had been 47 attempts made in the last year, including two whilst she herself had been working to bring him down. This was a dire situation indeed.
The Rancor could smell her from across the clearing. It looked to be confused as to what she was but unafraid. It was approaching at a steady pace, its massive claws flexing in readiness to grab at its next meal. She tried to edge away to right but it picked up the motion and turned to face her again, caws flexing faster with what could have been agitation. She was unarmed. Her knife and training weapons had been taken from her before her trial. She had only her wits and the force.
The Rancor was closing on her, its stench preceding it. She stifled a gag, she wouldn't show fear despite the cries of her minds voice telling her to forget her pride and run. She wanted to but couldn't. The sharpest movement, the first signs of flight and the great beast would strike ending her life and bringing the death sentence the Elder sisters had pronounced to completion. She glanced briefly about her. There was nothing she could use that would prevent the Rancor's strike. So, her wits and the Force. A revelation came to her. She could fool the Rancor but it would take a lot of her energy. Her hands went through the motions of a simple illusion spell Sister Analiss had taught her during her training.
The spell complete she released the energy. The Rancor reacted as the illusion planted in its mind caused it to believe there was another person quickly running always at the edge of its peripheral vision. It flailed wildly at the illusion, stomping around the clearing in a uneven circle, roaring its displeasure. Cloaking herself in the force, Kesia melted away into the forest, moving cautiously until at a safe distance. At the point of safety she dropped the cloak and fled into the forest. She would reach the space port in three days.
The recollection of her past escape sparked an idea in her present. She could use a similar illusion to make her stand possible. The fingers in her free hand were making the required signs as she poured the energy of the force into the spells creation. As it began to work, she heard the cries of several of Kareluss' men as they thought they saw a figure running away always just in view but never enough to get a lock.
"Get her you fools! She's there! No, there! There! Damn you Kesia where are you."Demanded Kareluss; the frustration in his voice mounting. She peered out from the alley way. Shots were being fired in every which direction they could, each man seeing targets everywhere. Kareluss himself was turning about himself in the seating space in his speeder, pointing at a dozen places and ordering his minions to focus on one spot only for it to change as the illusion moved. Now was her chance.
She left the safety of the alley way and fired her blaster at the nearest speeder, the force expanding her senses and guiding her focus so she could aim true. She hit a power coil which shorted and overloaded causing the speeder to explode. She aimed again this time hitting a thug who'd jumped to street level. He fell.
The illusion was wearing off as she leapt high, propelled by the force, to land neatly on a speeders nose section. She fired twice dropping its occupants before firing on another and leaping to the final speeder, Kareluss's. As she landed the other speeder crashed down into a pile of scrap metal, un-expectantly giving her landing a hint of the dramatic.
"A Jedi, you're a Jedi." Said Kareluss, whimpering like a cowed Massiff. "It's the only way you could do any of that. The ISF will find out about you. And I'll be there to watch as they blast you away like the rest of your order." He added, stammering. She smirked
" Not a Jedi Bryon." Was her reply as she drew the weapon on her other hip and ignited the blade. A crimson flash and his driver and passenger thug were dead. Only Kareluss remained.
"A Nightsister." She said bringing the blade down.