*Once upon a time, on a lone planet not so far away.... *
The piercing shriek of the first perimeter fence alarm rang through the midnight darkness for an approximated area of one square mile. Officers shouted to each other through comlinks in the confusion, quickly drawing together to form three to four man squadrons and discharging them to specified units.
Lieutenant Tarkes and his four soldiers ran to Unit 658-34, or to be more general, the lab, one of the most valuable rooms in the building. Haide, the only female in his group, led them through the brightly lighted hall, her X5-D Automatic Vapsion Rifle pointed forward, aiming lens pressed to her eye. The three other men were the same, not needing to glance from their scopes, trained to be able to use them in all circumstances.
With a fast motion of his arm, Tarkes signaled them to take up positions near the door; another team would be out in the room and another in the hallway as backup. Haide and Lyte stood on both sides of the door facing outward; Ranz and Garen standing aft of a huge window.
Tarkes reached down to his utility belt and detached his silver faced comlink from its loop. He brought it to his cleanly shaven face and with a grim state of mind pressed the communication switch. "Lieutenant Tarkes to Lieuten-"
TSSSSSS The comlink came in as static.
Grunting in disgust, Tarkes tossed the broken device aside and turned to his team. "Do any of you have a link?" He had to yell above the still shrieking alarm. They all shook their heads no.
Suddenly the lights in the hallway blinked rapidly and shorted out, followed by yet another shrilling alarm, signaling that the secondary fence had been breached. There were a few moments of utter silence, the team's breathes sounded harsh to each others ears, then gun shots from the around the corner broke the quiet and all five visibly jumped back startled. Abruptly, the sound ended with a last blast from one of the soldier's guns and a muffled yelp.
Lieutenant Tarkes was the first to recover. He ran forward to where the sound had come, but was stopped suddenly short by metallic clanging coming his way. Haide and Lyte ran ahead to cover their leader, Ranz and Garen filling in the gap to create a line across the hallway, rifles raised and aimed. The metal footsteps came closer and closer, until it seemed they would come into the open...the rifles were gripped tighter...and suddenly the steps stopped.
Another few seconds and no sign of the intruder. Still the soldiers kept up their scopes, though their grips were lessened somewhat in confusion. Tarkes swallowed deeply and looked side to side, not even daring to breathe. The lights were still short-circuited but the alarm seemed to be doing a fine job all by itself.
Tarkes felt an involuntary shiver run the length of his arms and flush his face. Finally he blinked and realized that he couldn't let his troops see him like this. Quickly, he turned around; a big mistake. Heavy metal dropped onto his shoulders, collapsing him to the plated floor.
Ranz was the first to turn around, but also happened to be the first of the four soldiers to be attacked. Ranz was impaled soundly into the far wall, his guts splattered through; a cloud of dust raised over the area.
Immediately, the rifles of the remaining three blazed into the hazy midst of the hallway. Haide stopped firing and the others followed suit, flipping on their nozzle lights instead; still these did not penetrate the dust wall.
Grrrrrrr
A growl floated from the darkness behind them. Spinning around, they aimed their lights into the darkness and Lyte's beam fell upon the body, or what was mistakable, of their lieutenant lying in more or less a puddle of skin, blood, and entrails on the floor. Quickly, he swung the light away and down the hall where the growl had come from.
But before he could even focus his flashlight, it was knocked out of his hands by a metallic tail. The impact knocked him to the floor and he was quickly set upon and his throat ripped out; a stream of blood squirting from the puncture. The "creature" then moved in to finish off the rest of the group, faster than any of them could see before they too succumbed to merciless deaths.
At the end, Haide was the only one still standing, her right arm hanging limply from its large bloody tendon. Her other arm still gripped her gun tightly, however, blood loss and shock overtook her and she fell meekly to her knees.
Finally the thing that had created so much destruction in only a few minutes, slowed long enough to come into the dusty light of the Vapsion Rifle. It was a silver robot with a long tapered head, its mouth filled with sharp makeshift teeth. Balanced by a long segmented tail, the organoid stood on two triple jointed legs ending in splayed toes. Long kinked arms hung steadily from its plated chest; whirring multifaceted blasters strapped to the tops of the claws.
Haide's throat caught as she stifled a scream; a long trickle of dark blood gushing out instead. As she tried to wipe the blood away as it continued to pour, she closed her eyes and lowered her head to her chest, waiting for death. It came swiftly in the hail of red fire wrought from the droids wrist blasters. Haide's desiccated body slid to the ground with a wet splash as she fell into her own blood. The gun dropped beside her; the light flickered once and died in the coagulated pool.
Obi-Wan's patience was ebbing as he continued to wait for GAT outside the perimeter fence. The alarms still rang ominously; the night was still as deep as ever. A few minutes ago he had seen the guards fanning throughout the building. He had no doubt that at least a dozen or so would come upon the assassination droid.and die in the process of trying to stop it.
The former Jedi Padawan rubbed his temples with the palms of his gloved hands. He was clad in black from head to toe, in order to blend more completely with the moonless night. Suddenly there were shouts and growls from behind him and he whirled around; unleashing his lightsaber from his utility belt at the same time. Its blue radiance lit the nearby leaves of trees and bushes.
A sharp yelp and cry of excitement answered the glow. Nek Battle Dogs, Obi-Wan thought. As if the feral beasts had heard his statement, they bounded out of the trees, feet in front of him, leashed closely by two Tasonite guards.
"Don't move!" one of them yelled, fighting with his dog but still managing to hold his gun steady. The other was focused solely on holding back his animal.
Obi-Wan frowned at the two and looked back over his shoulder for some sign of GAT; of which there was none. Sighing wearily, he turned back to the guards who were somewhat surprised at the intruder's calm demeanor.
The 18-year-old boy's eyes were an intense blue, startling in the night. His lean and angular face was clean shaven and perfectly clear with no scars or marks of any kind. A short but thick shock of dark brown hair was combed and gelled forward, you could even say partly spiked. It seemed to most women that this young Jedi was a gift from another galaxy, a present from the one who created all. Underneath the impressive looks was a cool attitude, battle quick reflexes, love, cunning, and of course an unbeatable cargo load of charm.
Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber in a small arc, deactivating it, and shoved it back into his belt. Now the two guards were left stunned. A Jedi would give up so easily? Apparently he was, as he had also raised his arms over his head in a show of defeat. One of the guards moved forward slowly, his dog pulling him forward, with energy cuffs open and inviting.
Gwwrrrrr
Obi-Wan smirked, the guard gave a sharp intake of air, the dog crouched, and GAT burst from the trees.
The liquid muscle underneath the thin blue and white striped fur of the Tasonite moved as if in slow motion through the long grass, propelling the two hundred and something pound feline-like creature on a standard forty-seven-mile-per-hour dash. It's huge paws extracted and grasped, again and again, churning dirt, gravel, and grass underfoot. A five and a half-foot long tail protruded from the animal's rear end, balancing the rest of the body. And at forefront of the creature were the narrow head, shortened snout and large ears of a Tasonite.
Easy enough, the sentient mind of the animal thought to herself as she turned slightly left and toward a pine of dead trees barren of leaves. But I'm not sure if. Her suspicions were answered by the long low grating of a Nubal's Horn; the ones used by the dog keepers.
The trees were only a few yards away.and now she could also hear the excited yelps of the Nek's gaining on her purposely-slow set speed.
"Wan---I repeat this Obi-Wan----Kato are you there?" The comlink that was fastened to her neck came in as mostly static.
"Kato here." She replied. "What's happening."
Whining into a working state, the comlinks finally matched frequencies. Barely. "I'm with GAT-----end-----property. Package--------- retained."
"I'm at a grove of dead trees, I don't have any idea of where." Kato answered, silently setting a reminder to get new links.
"Hurry-----guards coming----"
Giving up on the comlink, Kato had finally reached the wasted logs. There were no leaves on any of their branches and no sign that there ever had been. Twigs and rocks jutted from the normally flat landscape at odd angles.
"Rooarrrf!"
A Nek Battle Dog came out on Kato's heels, its ugly noduled head swiping the air back and forth; it's gaping mouth snapping together on her fur. With renewed energy, the Tasonite leaped forward and around, surprisingly fast, on the smaller canine. Her inch and a half-long claws dug through fur, skin, and muscle, into the dog's chest capacity itself. The animal squealed in pain, it's eyes practically exploding from its head. With a mightily strong show of strength, Kato yanked her two paws out of the dog, tearing off the skin and ligaments on both of its sides.
Leaping over the mauled, but still alive form, Kato Drant, Obi-Wan's partner and best friend, a rogue Tasonite and Jedi both, smirked to herself on her disgusting deed. Jumping onto a broken limb, she thrusted out two magnificently blue and white wings, twice the length of her own body, and flapped them hard as she lifted away into the air to meet Obi-Wan.
Kato landed in a dark grove of abandoned buildings on the dawning edge of a river. Folding back her sleekly shaped wings, she lifted her head high into the air. Smelling no immediate dangers, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was human. Tall and slender with draping brown hair to her lower back that was kept in a loose ponytail, she was beautiful. Her cat like eyes were emerald green on the clear expanse of caramel skin. Dressed in tight black leather pants and an equally snug and black soft turtleneck sweater, she headed for the closest building.
Reaching a rusted metal door she flipped up a piece of garbage on the floor and pressed a tiny button underneath, causing the door to slide smoothly open. Meeting her inside was the premium of household living rooms, newly stolen couches and coffee table, with a large vid screen against the far wall; the kitchen was spotless and smelled of sweet disinfectant; the bedroom down the hall was plush and well stocked. Stepping in and closing the door behind her, Kato headed straight down the hall to where she could take a refreshing shower. Stripping herself of her clothes, she stepped into the small cubicle with the metal hose and turned on the warm water. It flowed over her naked form and instilled itself in her hair, falling back down into a storm drain that emptied to the river. A few minutes later, she stepped out and dried herself off with a towel, then threw on some more comfortable sleepwear. It was, after all, still nighttime. After returning from her shared bedroom with Obi-Wan (the quarters they lived in were too small to allow more than one bed room), she made her way ambly back to the living room where she could see Obi-Wan's prone form splayed across the couch. The screen was on and focused to a Galactic News channel. Stepping around the couch, she smiled, realizing that her partner had fallen asleep, mouth open and clothes and boots still on. GAT moved subtly in the shadow of the doorway as he began to power himself down for the night. Shifting her attention to the screen, Kato waved a hand and used the Force to shut it off. The absence of noise woke Obi-Wan up quickly as he looked at her then back at the TV and frowned dejectedly. "I was watching that." He mumbled. "I'm tired too." Kato sighed as she fell onto the couch, sitting down over his splayed legs. Obi-Wan sat up a bit on an elbow and grinned. "That can't be possible." "Why not?" she asked, half closing her eyes. Obi-Wan reached out with his right hand, gently grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her onto him. Their faces were inches apart. "Because." He kissed her soft pink lips and shut his eyes, again falling asleep. Kato smiled a little bit and laid her head onto his chest, matching his breathing pattern. Then she too succumbed to the night.
Obi-Wan woke up groggily from a misty dream. The dark bags under his eyes portrayed how little sleep he had actually attained the last few days. Clearing into focus his crystal eyes surveyed the ceiling above. He sat up and realized that Kato was no longer with him. Frowning, he turned around to where he heard the scuffling of one of the kitchen chairs and saw her sitting there, a red square in her slender fingers. "Is that it?" he asked, as he got up and tried to wipe the wrinkles out his shirt. "Sure is." Kato said, kicking out a chair for him as he joined her at the table. He whistled shrilly. "A real Sith holocron. I never thought I'd see one of these as long as I lived." He smiled sheepishly. "Actually I have.with Qui-Gon." His mouth became a thin line on his face and Kato looked quickly back to the holocron. "Well we'll take it back to Si-Daro today and get our credits." She said quickly, changing the subject. "And in the meantime, I'm starving." Kato stood and pushed her chair back in as Obi-Wan took the device and looked it over carefully. GAT came into the kitchen and growled in a soft pitiful manner to his master. Kato chuckled and raised her eyebrows. "You hungry too?" "Gwwaaa!" "Okay, okay, don't get your system tied." With that, she proceeded with breakfast.
Gods, she is beautiful. Obi-Wan thought watching Kato pilot the Starlighter; a ship she had actually built herself from scratch. He had reclined himself in the pilot's chair while she was the one actually flying the ship in front of him, standing up. Swallowing a lump of held air; he looked up at the droid that she had stolen a few years back. GAT was also watching Kato, though in a more protectful manner. Obi-Wan knew that if he were to so much as look like he was about to hurt the girl, GAT would ultimately kill him in a few seconds flat. So yes, he had to be careful with her, which was hard to do in his case. A beautiful girl that he lived with, quiet and seducing, while at the same time dangerous and wild.well it was all he could do just to breathe many times. Obi-Wan slid a hand through his hair and as he brought it back down, he subtly touched her lower back and kept his hand there, steadying her at the controls. Kato's body tensed under his touch but slowly began to loosen again after a minute. GAT had taken a step forward at noticing his master's surprise and apprehension, but now he stepped back. Breathing a silent thank you that the droid had not killed him, Obi-Wan stood up behind Kato and wrapped her from behind. His hands grasped the controls for the ship over hers and he planted his feet firmly against the chair behind him. Kato leaned back on his chest and his head came over her shoulder so that he could also see out the viewport. "Are you okay like this?" he asked slowly in her ear, making sure that his lips brushed it a bit. She nodded. "I'm getting used to it already." The ship slid through space effortlessly, it's muffled engines only sounding like the gently lowing of an adult tusk cat. Kato closed her eyes for a brief second and her thoughts emerged.
"You see this Kato?" A big man asked, bending down on his knees to show the girl an expensive engine part. "If you twist this, before putting it on the muffler." with a small twist of his wrist, the man flipped a gear open. "It will go on easier." He finished, pulling away from the mechanism and handing it to the 6-year-old. "You see?" "Yes Daddy!" Kato said excitedly. "I wanna try it!" Kato's father took the part and closed the gear, then handed it back to her to open it again..
Kato's eyes flashed back open. "What's the matter?" Obi-Wan asked concerned. She wiped the damp hair out of her eyes and shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing." she said, looking down at the controls that she held in her hands.
"I can't do this!" Kato screamed. She threw the micro saw across the hanger and watched as it clattered off a storage bin. She was 15 now and alone. Alone that was except for GAT of course. He had always been there for her.as long as she cared to remember anyway. Sinking to her knees, Kato began to cry softly. She looked up at the unfinished hulk of the Starlighter; the ship she had began building with her father years ago.she thought at least. It was only a blur. Now she had come back to finish it, but it was impossible, she was terribly alone and didn't know what exactly she was doing. She had thought coming back to finish the ship would be easy, easier than training in the Force had been and especially easier than performing as a mercenary. But it proved to be more difficult than any of those things. Because of the memories. Clank! Clang! "Grrrr." GAT dropped the micro saw at her knees and growled to her to get up. She did so slowly and looked at her companion for an explanation. The organoid looked at her a second and turned toward the ship. His claws grasping a round the rudder like device and twisting it into place. Kato smiled, wiped away the tears, and picked up the tool. She wasn't alone. She opened her eyes again and recognized GAT's metallic snout practically pressed against her nose. Grumpily, she pushed his head away and leaned up on her elbows. She was on the floor of the ship, she realized. Why? GAT reached down and snagged the front of Kato's shirt in his teeth then gently rose her to her feet. Obi-Wan was across the room, on the other side of the pilot's chair. He tried to step around it, but the organoid swung around sharply, his eyes glaringly red. "Stop it GAT." Kato said, still dizzy. "What's the matter with you?" Obi-Wan scowled at GAT and leaned back against the wall, his hands tucked firmly into his pockets. "He thinks I hurt you." "Oh." She said, rubbing her head. "What happened?" "I don't know, you blacked out for a few minutes there, lucky I caught you before you hit your head on something." "Thanks, feels like I did though." "You should go lie down, I'll pilot for a while."
"Yeah, I think I'll do just that." Kato turned and walked into the hall, into one of the many bedrooms on the ship. It was small and the bed was hard, as it was on most space flights, but better than nothing was at the moment.
"I don't know what's wrong with me GAT." She said, an edge of fear in her voice as she lay down on the thin metal mattress and pulled a sheet over her. The droid said nothing, just kept a silent vigil by the doorway.
"Nothing's making sense anymore." She continued. "Obi-Wan is so nice to me.well I guess more than nice at times. But I still don't trust him.and it's hurting me inside. I can't trust any-"
"Rowwr."
"Okay, okay, I can't trust anyone except you. You were always there when I needed help.but I still feel like everything is revolving around me, like I'm not part of it.left behind. Everyone dies.except us."
GAT stared unblinkingly as she drifted into sleep.
The Starlighter banked heavily as the craft passed through the atmosphere of Aldaraan. It's bright blue moon winked at them from the other side of the beautiful planet and it's lush purple blue trees filled the crew's line of sight for quite a few miles.
"It's.amazing." Obi-Wan whispered to himself. He had never been to this planet before even though it had been pretty close to the planet Coruscant where the Jedi Temple was established. Quickly, the burning orange and red of passing through the atmosphere was subtly replaced with blue darkness as Obi-Wan lowered the craft further to the planet. Lights twinkled below, a small city on the outskirts of the forest. The computer console beeped as landing coordinates were sent to the ships navigation port. Obi-Wan gave his name and purpose of the occupants and was cleared to land. A few minutes later, he was strolling down the hatch ramp into the small square building that was the command center of the docking bay and requesting permission to stay an indefinite period of time, which he was granted. "This city can get pretty rowdy though boy." The manager warned him. "There is a favorite Sabacc tournament taking place two nights from now and the population is getting restless." "Thank you, sir." Obi-Wan said gratefully. It was good to know where his awareness should be placed. Since Kato was still sleeping, the young Jedi decided to explore around a bit. GAT also decided to come along; though Obi-Wan did wish the droid would stay and watch Kato, he could also do nothing to stop it. "Well, she'll be fine for a few minutes." He said aloud to himself. GAT grumbled a response and began walking. Strolling down a wide boulevard that branched into the main plaza, the pair ran into many people who seemed very cursory for some reason. Obi-Wan stopped an older woman and she peered at him angrily for disturbing her. "Ex-excuse me ma'am." He stammered at the look of despise on her face. "But I was wondering what all the rush was about." Slapping his well-meaning hand from her shoulder she ruptured in his face. "I'll tell you what we're hurry'n here for lad! The Sabacc tournament has been sabotaged by one of the city leaders! An outrage, a complete outrage! I come from all the way half other side of the planet, I do, and no bumbling city idiot is going to ruin my vacation!" Before Obi-Wan could think of a response, she was gone again in the crowds. Now that he did think about it though, he realized that everyone was heading in a certain direction. most likely the city council building, he supposed. GAT stepped past him in the direction of the building and Obi-Wan had no choice but to follow. Angry mobs were hard to get through but the determined droid made a path straight to the building's front gate where dozens of stressed security guards were trying to control the crowd. "Excuse me!" Obi-Wan's voice boomed over the noise. "I am a Jedi and-" Before he could finish, an officer grabbed him by the sleeve and with him into the courtyard beyond the fence. "Thank the stars, you're here sir. The council man Vaego is inside waiting." Without another word, the officer disappeared back into the streets to help his squad. Obi-Wan and GAT turned back to the building to see three beings advancing toward him, the human in the middle dressed in golden senatorial attire. To either side were purple cloaked figures, significantly tall and lean, but their faces were hidden. The senator reached out a large hand and shook Obi-Wan's fondly as the boy stood in dumbfoundedness of what was happening. "Nice to meet you Obi-Wan Kenobi, I am Senator Vaego Trambol, just call me Vaego." "Nice to meet you." the young Jedi said a bit apprehensively. He didn't know how the senator had learned his name. Vaego smiled warmly even though the crowd had gone haywire when they had seen him. "Who is this lovely droid of yours? An assassination droid I believe, no?" "Yes he is. This is GAT." Obi-Wan said, biting his lower lip. How much about them did the Senator know? A shadow fell over the small group and many people in the crowd screamed in terror. Kato alighted beside Obi-Wan with squinted eyes as she tried to digest the situation before she transformed into human form. Obi-Wan's mouth opened a bit, he hadn't expected her to be here. "And who is this pet?" the senator asked reaching to touch Kato's shoulder. She backed away warily and had to resist saying anything crude to the man who had just insulted her. Apparently he does not know everything, Obi-Wan assessed. Quickly, he made up his mind to answer for his friend before she could for herself. "This is Kato Drant, more a partner and friend than a. uh, pet." Nodding his head and still smiling, Vaego turned to his bodyguards. "I believe it is a bit noisy out here, lead Master Obi-Wan and his consorts inside please."
Obi-Wan laced his fingers together, then brought them back down to his lap for the third time. The plush chair he sat on was comfortable enough, it was the silence and persisting creaking of the old building that were making him so restless. He had been sitting in the large antechamber for almost ten minutes now awaiting the senator to return from 'urgent business' that had arisen as soon as they were showed inside the complex. Kato was still on her feet, uneasy with the idea of letting her guard down in a strange environment. She had her thin arms folded across her chest and an angered tone in her eyes and posture. GAT stood behind her, his grim countenance keeping at bay the attendants who had earlier served the group.
Calm down, Obi-Wan sent Kato via the Force. They had no way of knowing whether the room was bugged or not. She looked at him shrewdly out of slated eyes. I want to leave this place. She sent back. Don't you feel the tension? Obi-Wan nodded and bit his lip. He did feel it. He felt it getting stronger every minute that passed. And it didn't help that he still had no idea how the senator had known his name and that he would be coming. In fact, it was positively eerie. Looking back up, he realized his partner was surveying him, physically and mentally through the Force. Because they could not be sure of the room being watched from any number of vantage points, they chose to talk through their thoughts other than words. Before Obi-Wan could send Kato a reply he was interrupted. "I'm sorry friends." The booming voice of the senator of Aldaraan rumbled across the cavernous space, catching the groups wary eyes. Instead of his bodyguard escorts, he trailed a pretty young woman with auburn hair and soft defined features dressed in a light cloak. As she walked behind Senator Vaego, she kept her posture of the utmost straightness and with deft poise, seeming to float or drift rather than walk. "I'm sorry," Vaego apologized again as Obi-Wan stood up and bowed to the pair gracefully. "Apparently the problem was not as significant as my servants portrayed it. By the time I got to the Tech Dome, my daughter had already deleted the virus of their computers and waited for me. When I told her I had to get back to respected visitors, she request she come along." Obi-Wan looked again to the deft young woman with a pleasing face and golden brown eyes. Silently, he firmly reminded himself of his vow: he would not relent to any other woman but Kato, he would not be any type of player. So instead of letting slip a suggesting grin, he kept his lips in a thin line and his eyes on her own as he shook her hand. "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said by way of introduction. "and these are my partners Kato Drant and GAT." He said nodding in their direction. His handshake was firm and short. "Haily Trambol, nice to meet you." Her voice was sweet and normal sounding with a bit of humor at it's edges. No expression showed on her face but that of pure innocence.
The piercing shriek of the first perimeter fence alarm rang through the midnight darkness for an approximated area of one square mile. Officers shouted to each other through comlinks in the confusion, quickly drawing together to form three to four man squadrons and discharging them to specified units.
Lieutenant Tarkes and his four soldiers ran to Unit 658-34, or to be more general, the lab, one of the most valuable rooms in the building. Haide, the only female in his group, led them through the brightly lighted hall, her X5-D Automatic Vapsion Rifle pointed forward, aiming lens pressed to her eye. The three other men were the same, not needing to glance from their scopes, trained to be able to use them in all circumstances.
With a fast motion of his arm, Tarkes signaled them to take up positions near the door; another team would be out in the room and another in the hallway as backup. Haide and Lyte stood on both sides of the door facing outward; Ranz and Garen standing aft of a huge window.
Tarkes reached down to his utility belt and detached his silver faced comlink from its loop. He brought it to his cleanly shaven face and with a grim state of mind pressed the communication switch. "Lieutenant Tarkes to Lieuten-"
TSSSSSS The comlink came in as static.
Grunting in disgust, Tarkes tossed the broken device aside and turned to his team. "Do any of you have a link?" He had to yell above the still shrieking alarm. They all shook their heads no.
Suddenly the lights in the hallway blinked rapidly and shorted out, followed by yet another shrilling alarm, signaling that the secondary fence had been breached. There were a few moments of utter silence, the team's breathes sounded harsh to each others ears, then gun shots from the around the corner broke the quiet and all five visibly jumped back startled. Abruptly, the sound ended with a last blast from one of the soldier's guns and a muffled yelp.
Lieutenant Tarkes was the first to recover. He ran forward to where the sound had come, but was stopped suddenly short by metallic clanging coming his way. Haide and Lyte ran ahead to cover their leader, Ranz and Garen filling in the gap to create a line across the hallway, rifles raised and aimed. The metal footsteps came closer and closer, until it seemed they would come into the open...the rifles were gripped tighter...and suddenly the steps stopped.
Another few seconds and no sign of the intruder. Still the soldiers kept up their scopes, though their grips were lessened somewhat in confusion. Tarkes swallowed deeply and looked side to side, not even daring to breathe. The lights were still short-circuited but the alarm seemed to be doing a fine job all by itself.
Tarkes felt an involuntary shiver run the length of his arms and flush his face. Finally he blinked and realized that he couldn't let his troops see him like this. Quickly, he turned around; a big mistake. Heavy metal dropped onto his shoulders, collapsing him to the plated floor.
Ranz was the first to turn around, but also happened to be the first of the four soldiers to be attacked. Ranz was impaled soundly into the far wall, his guts splattered through; a cloud of dust raised over the area.
Immediately, the rifles of the remaining three blazed into the hazy midst of the hallway. Haide stopped firing and the others followed suit, flipping on their nozzle lights instead; still these did not penetrate the dust wall.
Grrrrrrr
A growl floated from the darkness behind them. Spinning around, they aimed their lights into the darkness and Lyte's beam fell upon the body, or what was mistakable, of their lieutenant lying in more or less a puddle of skin, blood, and entrails on the floor. Quickly, he swung the light away and down the hall where the growl had come from.
But before he could even focus his flashlight, it was knocked out of his hands by a metallic tail. The impact knocked him to the floor and he was quickly set upon and his throat ripped out; a stream of blood squirting from the puncture. The "creature" then moved in to finish off the rest of the group, faster than any of them could see before they too succumbed to merciless deaths.
At the end, Haide was the only one still standing, her right arm hanging limply from its large bloody tendon. Her other arm still gripped her gun tightly, however, blood loss and shock overtook her and she fell meekly to her knees.
Finally the thing that had created so much destruction in only a few minutes, slowed long enough to come into the dusty light of the Vapsion Rifle. It was a silver robot with a long tapered head, its mouth filled with sharp makeshift teeth. Balanced by a long segmented tail, the organoid stood on two triple jointed legs ending in splayed toes. Long kinked arms hung steadily from its plated chest; whirring multifaceted blasters strapped to the tops of the claws.
Haide's throat caught as she stifled a scream; a long trickle of dark blood gushing out instead. As she tried to wipe the blood away as it continued to pour, she closed her eyes and lowered her head to her chest, waiting for death. It came swiftly in the hail of red fire wrought from the droids wrist blasters. Haide's desiccated body slid to the ground with a wet splash as she fell into her own blood. The gun dropped beside her; the light flickered once and died in the coagulated pool.
Obi-Wan's patience was ebbing as he continued to wait for GAT outside the perimeter fence. The alarms still rang ominously; the night was still as deep as ever. A few minutes ago he had seen the guards fanning throughout the building. He had no doubt that at least a dozen or so would come upon the assassination droid.and die in the process of trying to stop it.
The former Jedi Padawan rubbed his temples with the palms of his gloved hands. He was clad in black from head to toe, in order to blend more completely with the moonless night. Suddenly there were shouts and growls from behind him and he whirled around; unleashing his lightsaber from his utility belt at the same time. Its blue radiance lit the nearby leaves of trees and bushes.
A sharp yelp and cry of excitement answered the glow. Nek Battle Dogs, Obi-Wan thought. As if the feral beasts had heard his statement, they bounded out of the trees, feet in front of him, leashed closely by two Tasonite guards.
"Don't move!" one of them yelled, fighting with his dog but still managing to hold his gun steady. The other was focused solely on holding back his animal.
Obi-Wan frowned at the two and looked back over his shoulder for some sign of GAT; of which there was none. Sighing wearily, he turned back to the guards who were somewhat surprised at the intruder's calm demeanor.
The 18-year-old boy's eyes were an intense blue, startling in the night. His lean and angular face was clean shaven and perfectly clear with no scars or marks of any kind. A short but thick shock of dark brown hair was combed and gelled forward, you could even say partly spiked. It seemed to most women that this young Jedi was a gift from another galaxy, a present from the one who created all. Underneath the impressive looks was a cool attitude, battle quick reflexes, love, cunning, and of course an unbeatable cargo load of charm.
Obi-Wan swung his lightsaber in a small arc, deactivating it, and shoved it back into his belt. Now the two guards were left stunned. A Jedi would give up so easily? Apparently he was, as he had also raised his arms over his head in a show of defeat. One of the guards moved forward slowly, his dog pulling him forward, with energy cuffs open and inviting.
Gwwrrrrr
Obi-Wan smirked, the guard gave a sharp intake of air, the dog crouched, and GAT burst from the trees.
The liquid muscle underneath the thin blue and white striped fur of the Tasonite moved as if in slow motion through the long grass, propelling the two hundred and something pound feline-like creature on a standard forty-seven-mile-per-hour dash. It's huge paws extracted and grasped, again and again, churning dirt, gravel, and grass underfoot. A five and a half-foot long tail protruded from the animal's rear end, balancing the rest of the body. And at forefront of the creature were the narrow head, shortened snout and large ears of a Tasonite.
Easy enough, the sentient mind of the animal thought to herself as she turned slightly left and toward a pine of dead trees barren of leaves. But I'm not sure if. Her suspicions were answered by the long low grating of a Nubal's Horn; the ones used by the dog keepers.
The trees were only a few yards away.and now she could also hear the excited yelps of the Nek's gaining on her purposely-slow set speed.
"Wan---I repeat this Obi-Wan----Kato are you there?" The comlink that was fastened to her neck came in as mostly static.
"Kato here." She replied. "What's happening."
Whining into a working state, the comlinks finally matched frequencies. Barely. "I'm with GAT-----end-----property. Package--------- retained."
"I'm at a grove of dead trees, I don't have any idea of where." Kato answered, silently setting a reminder to get new links.
"Hurry-----guards coming----"
Giving up on the comlink, Kato had finally reached the wasted logs. There were no leaves on any of their branches and no sign that there ever had been. Twigs and rocks jutted from the normally flat landscape at odd angles.
"Rooarrrf!"
A Nek Battle Dog came out on Kato's heels, its ugly noduled head swiping the air back and forth; it's gaping mouth snapping together on her fur. With renewed energy, the Tasonite leaped forward and around, surprisingly fast, on the smaller canine. Her inch and a half-long claws dug through fur, skin, and muscle, into the dog's chest capacity itself. The animal squealed in pain, it's eyes practically exploding from its head. With a mightily strong show of strength, Kato yanked her two paws out of the dog, tearing off the skin and ligaments on both of its sides.
Leaping over the mauled, but still alive form, Kato Drant, Obi-Wan's partner and best friend, a rogue Tasonite and Jedi both, smirked to herself on her disgusting deed. Jumping onto a broken limb, she thrusted out two magnificently blue and white wings, twice the length of her own body, and flapped them hard as she lifted away into the air to meet Obi-Wan.
Kato landed in a dark grove of abandoned buildings on the dawning edge of a river. Folding back her sleekly shaped wings, she lifted her head high into the air. Smelling no immediate dangers, she closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she was human. Tall and slender with draping brown hair to her lower back that was kept in a loose ponytail, she was beautiful. Her cat like eyes were emerald green on the clear expanse of caramel skin. Dressed in tight black leather pants and an equally snug and black soft turtleneck sweater, she headed for the closest building.
Reaching a rusted metal door she flipped up a piece of garbage on the floor and pressed a tiny button underneath, causing the door to slide smoothly open. Meeting her inside was the premium of household living rooms, newly stolen couches and coffee table, with a large vid screen against the far wall; the kitchen was spotless and smelled of sweet disinfectant; the bedroom down the hall was plush and well stocked. Stepping in and closing the door behind her, Kato headed straight down the hall to where she could take a refreshing shower. Stripping herself of her clothes, she stepped into the small cubicle with the metal hose and turned on the warm water. It flowed over her naked form and instilled itself in her hair, falling back down into a storm drain that emptied to the river. A few minutes later, she stepped out and dried herself off with a towel, then threw on some more comfortable sleepwear. It was, after all, still nighttime. After returning from her shared bedroom with Obi-Wan (the quarters they lived in were too small to allow more than one bed room), she made her way ambly back to the living room where she could see Obi-Wan's prone form splayed across the couch. The screen was on and focused to a Galactic News channel. Stepping around the couch, she smiled, realizing that her partner had fallen asleep, mouth open and clothes and boots still on. GAT moved subtly in the shadow of the doorway as he began to power himself down for the night. Shifting her attention to the screen, Kato waved a hand and used the Force to shut it off. The absence of noise woke Obi-Wan up quickly as he looked at her then back at the TV and frowned dejectedly. "I was watching that." He mumbled. "I'm tired too." Kato sighed as she fell onto the couch, sitting down over his splayed legs. Obi-Wan sat up a bit on an elbow and grinned. "That can't be possible." "Why not?" she asked, half closing her eyes. Obi-Wan reached out with his right hand, gently grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her onto him. Their faces were inches apart. "Because." He kissed her soft pink lips and shut his eyes, again falling asleep. Kato smiled a little bit and laid her head onto his chest, matching his breathing pattern. Then she too succumbed to the night.
Obi-Wan woke up groggily from a misty dream. The dark bags under his eyes portrayed how little sleep he had actually attained the last few days. Clearing into focus his crystal eyes surveyed the ceiling above. He sat up and realized that Kato was no longer with him. Frowning, he turned around to where he heard the scuffling of one of the kitchen chairs and saw her sitting there, a red square in her slender fingers. "Is that it?" he asked, as he got up and tried to wipe the wrinkles out his shirt. "Sure is." Kato said, kicking out a chair for him as he joined her at the table. He whistled shrilly. "A real Sith holocron. I never thought I'd see one of these as long as I lived." He smiled sheepishly. "Actually I have.with Qui-Gon." His mouth became a thin line on his face and Kato looked quickly back to the holocron. "Well we'll take it back to Si-Daro today and get our credits." She said quickly, changing the subject. "And in the meantime, I'm starving." Kato stood and pushed her chair back in as Obi-Wan took the device and looked it over carefully. GAT came into the kitchen and growled in a soft pitiful manner to his master. Kato chuckled and raised her eyebrows. "You hungry too?" "Gwwaaa!" "Okay, okay, don't get your system tied." With that, she proceeded with breakfast.
Gods, she is beautiful. Obi-Wan thought watching Kato pilot the Starlighter; a ship she had actually built herself from scratch. He had reclined himself in the pilot's chair while she was the one actually flying the ship in front of him, standing up. Swallowing a lump of held air; he looked up at the droid that she had stolen a few years back. GAT was also watching Kato, though in a more protectful manner. Obi-Wan knew that if he were to so much as look like he was about to hurt the girl, GAT would ultimately kill him in a few seconds flat. So yes, he had to be careful with her, which was hard to do in his case. A beautiful girl that he lived with, quiet and seducing, while at the same time dangerous and wild.well it was all he could do just to breathe many times. Obi-Wan slid a hand through his hair and as he brought it back down, he subtly touched her lower back and kept his hand there, steadying her at the controls. Kato's body tensed under his touch but slowly began to loosen again after a minute. GAT had taken a step forward at noticing his master's surprise and apprehension, but now he stepped back. Breathing a silent thank you that the droid had not killed him, Obi-Wan stood up behind Kato and wrapped her from behind. His hands grasped the controls for the ship over hers and he planted his feet firmly against the chair behind him. Kato leaned back on his chest and his head came over her shoulder so that he could also see out the viewport. "Are you okay like this?" he asked slowly in her ear, making sure that his lips brushed it a bit. She nodded. "I'm getting used to it already." The ship slid through space effortlessly, it's muffled engines only sounding like the gently lowing of an adult tusk cat. Kato closed her eyes for a brief second and her thoughts emerged.
"You see this Kato?" A big man asked, bending down on his knees to show the girl an expensive engine part. "If you twist this, before putting it on the muffler." with a small twist of his wrist, the man flipped a gear open. "It will go on easier." He finished, pulling away from the mechanism and handing it to the 6-year-old. "You see?" "Yes Daddy!" Kato said excitedly. "I wanna try it!" Kato's father took the part and closed the gear, then handed it back to her to open it again..
Kato's eyes flashed back open. "What's the matter?" Obi-Wan asked concerned. She wiped the damp hair out of her eyes and shook her head. "Nothing. Nothing." she said, looking down at the controls that she held in her hands.
"I can't do this!" Kato screamed. She threw the micro saw across the hanger and watched as it clattered off a storage bin. She was 15 now and alone. Alone that was except for GAT of course. He had always been there for her.as long as she cared to remember anyway. Sinking to her knees, Kato began to cry softly. She looked up at the unfinished hulk of the Starlighter; the ship she had began building with her father years ago.she thought at least. It was only a blur. Now she had come back to finish it, but it was impossible, she was terribly alone and didn't know what exactly she was doing. She had thought coming back to finish the ship would be easy, easier than training in the Force had been and especially easier than performing as a mercenary. But it proved to be more difficult than any of those things. Because of the memories. Clank! Clang! "Grrrr." GAT dropped the micro saw at her knees and growled to her to get up. She did so slowly and looked at her companion for an explanation. The organoid looked at her a second and turned toward the ship. His claws grasping a round the rudder like device and twisting it into place. Kato smiled, wiped away the tears, and picked up the tool. She wasn't alone. She opened her eyes again and recognized GAT's metallic snout practically pressed against her nose. Grumpily, she pushed his head away and leaned up on her elbows. She was on the floor of the ship, she realized. Why? GAT reached down and snagged the front of Kato's shirt in his teeth then gently rose her to her feet. Obi-Wan was across the room, on the other side of the pilot's chair. He tried to step around it, but the organoid swung around sharply, his eyes glaringly red. "Stop it GAT." Kato said, still dizzy. "What's the matter with you?" Obi-Wan scowled at GAT and leaned back against the wall, his hands tucked firmly into his pockets. "He thinks I hurt you." "Oh." She said, rubbing her head. "What happened?" "I don't know, you blacked out for a few minutes there, lucky I caught you before you hit your head on something." "Thanks, feels like I did though." "You should go lie down, I'll pilot for a while."
"Yeah, I think I'll do just that." Kato turned and walked into the hall, into one of the many bedrooms on the ship. It was small and the bed was hard, as it was on most space flights, but better than nothing was at the moment.
"I don't know what's wrong with me GAT." She said, an edge of fear in her voice as she lay down on the thin metal mattress and pulled a sheet over her. The droid said nothing, just kept a silent vigil by the doorway.
"Nothing's making sense anymore." She continued. "Obi-Wan is so nice to me.well I guess more than nice at times. But I still don't trust him.and it's hurting me inside. I can't trust any-"
"Rowwr."
"Okay, okay, I can't trust anyone except you. You were always there when I needed help.but I still feel like everything is revolving around me, like I'm not part of it.left behind. Everyone dies.except us."
GAT stared unblinkingly as she drifted into sleep.
The Starlighter banked heavily as the craft passed through the atmosphere of Aldaraan. It's bright blue moon winked at them from the other side of the beautiful planet and it's lush purple blue trees filled the crew's line of sight for quite a few miles.
"It's.amazing." Obi-Wan whispered to himself. He had never been to this planet before even though it had been pretty close to the planet Coruscant where the Jedi Temple was established. Quickly, the burning orange and red of passing through the atmosphere was subtly replaced with blue darkness as Obi-Wan lowered the craft further to the planet. Lights twinkled below, a small city on the outskirts of the forest. The computer console beeped as landing coordinates were sent to the ships navigation port. Obi-Wan gave his name and purpose of the occupants and was cleared to land. A few minutes later, he was strolling down the hatch ramp into the small square building that was the command center of the docking bay and requesting permission to stay an indefinite period of time, which he was granted. "This city can get pretty rowdy though boy." The manager warned him. "There is a favorite Sabacc tournament taking place two nights from now and the population is getting restless." "Thank you, sir." Obi-Wan said gratefully. It was good to know where his awareness should be placed. Since Kato was still sleeping, the young Jedi decided to explore around a bit. GAT also decided to come along; though Obi-Wan did wish the droid would stay and watch Kato, he could also do nothing to stop it. "Well, she'll be fine for a few minutes." He said aloud to himself. GAT grumbled a response and began walking. Strolling down a wide boulevard that branched into the main plaza, the pair ran into many people who seemed very cursory for some reason. Obi-Wan stopped an older woman and she peered at him angrily for disturbing her. "Ex-excuse me ma'am." He stammered at the look of despise on her face. "But I was wondering what all the rush was about." Slapping his well-meaning hand from her shoulder she ruptured in his face. "I'll tell you what we're hurry'n here for lad! The Sabacc tournament has been sabotaged by one of the city leaders! An outrage, a complete outrage! I come from all the way half other side of the planet, I do, and no bumbling city idiot is going to ruin my vacation!" Before Obi-Wan could think of a response, she was gone again in the crowds. Now that he did think about it though, he realized that everyone was heading in a certain direction. most likely the city council building, he supposed. GAT stepped past him in the direction of the building and Obi-Wan had no choice but to follow. Angry mobs were hard to get through but the determined droid made a path straight to the building's front gate where dozens of stressed security guards were trying to control the crowd. "Excuse me!" Obi-Wan's voice boomed over the noise. "I am a Jedi and-" Before he could finish, an officer grabbed him by the sleeve and with him into the courtyard beyond the fence. "Thank the stars, you're here sir. The council man Vaego is inside waiting." Without another word, the officer disappeared back into the streets to help his squad. Obi-Wan and GAT turned back to the building to see three beings advancing toward him, the human in the middle dressed in golden senatorial attire. To either side were purple cloaked figures, significantly tall and lean, but their faces were hidden. The senator reached out a large hand and shook Obi-Wan's fondly as the boy stood in dumbfoundedness of what was happening. "Nice to meet you Obi-Wan Kenobi, I am Senator Vaego Trambol, just call me Vaego." "Nice to meet you." the young Jedi said a bit apprehensively. He didn't know how the senator had learned his name. Vaego smiled warmly even though the crowd had gone haywire when they had seen him. "Who is this lovely droid of yours? An assassination droid I believe, no?" "Yes he is. This is GAT." Obi-Wan said, biting his lower lip. How much about them did the Senator know? A shadow fell over the small group and many people in the crowd screamed in terror. Kato alighted beside Obi-Wan with squinted eyes as she tried to digest the situation before she transformed into human form. Obi-Wan's mouth opened a bit, he hadn't expected her to be here. "And who is this pet?" the senator asked reaching to touch Kato's shoulder. She backed away warily and had to resist saying anything crude to the man who had just insulted her. Apparently he does not know everything, Obi-Wan assessed. Quickly, he made up his mind to answer for his friend before she could for herself. "This is Kato Drant, more a partner and friend than a. uh, pet." Nodding his head and still smiling, Vaego turned to his bodyguards. "I believe it is a bit noisy out here, lead Master Obi-Wan and his consorts inside please."
Obi-Wan laced his fingers together, then brought them back down to his lap for the third time. The plush chair he sat on was comfortable enough, it was the silence and persisting creaking of the old building that were making him so restless. He had been sitting in the large antechamber for almost ten minutes now awaiting the senator to return from 'urgent business' that had arisen as soon as they were showed inside the complex. Kato was still on her feet, uneasy with the idea of letting her guard down in a strange environment. She had her thin arms folded across her chest and an angered tone in her eyes and posture. GAT stood behind her, his grim countenance keeping at bay the attendants who had earlier served the group.
Calm down, Obi-Wan sent Kato via the Force. They had no way of knowing whether the room was bugged or not. She looked at him shrewdly out of slated eyes. I want to leave this place. She sent back. Don't you feel the tension? Obi-Wan nodded and bit his lip. He did feel it. He felt it getting stronger every minute that passed. And it didn't help that he still had no idea how the senator had known his name and that he would be coming. In fact, it was positively eerie. Looking back up, he realized his partner was surveying him, physically and mentally through the Force. Because they could not be sure of the room being watched from any number of vantage points, they chose to talk through their thoughts other than words. Before Obi-Wan could send Kato a reply he was interrupted. "I'm sorry friends." The booming voice of the senator of Aldaraan rumbled across the cavernous space, catching the groups wary eyes. Instead of his bodyguard escorts, he trailed a pretty young woman with auburn hair and soft defined features dressed in a light cloak. As she walked behind Senator Vaego, she kept her posture of the utmost straightness and with deft poise, seeming to float or drift rather than walk. "I'm sorry," Vaego apologized again as Obi-Wan stood up and bowed to the pair gracefully. "Apparently the problem was not as significant as my servants portrayed it. By the time I got to the Tech Dome, my daughter had already deleted the virus of their computers and waited for me. When I told her I had to get back to respected visitors, she request she come along." Obi-Wan looked again to the deft young woman with a pleasing face and golden brown eyes. Silently, he firmly reminded himself of his vow: he would not relent to any other woman but Kato, he would not be any type of player. So instead of letting slip a suggesting grin, he kept his lips in a thin line and his eyes on her own as he shook her hand. "I'm Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said by way of introduction. "and these are my partners Kato Drant and GAT." He said nodding in their direction. His handshake was firm and short. "Haily Trambol, nice to meet you." Her voice was sweet and normal sounding with a bit of humor at it's edges. No expression showed on her face but that of pure innocence.