Chapter 2
The town of Hellian had weather just as the shuttle pilot had suggested, hot and absolutely humid. The bustling marketplace wasn't that helpful either as the large crowd of people could emit enough heat to roast a bird, Rethren hated it but could only move on since this is the point of no return. She's far too into the mission now and can't go back until she's finished, especially now since a child's life could be at stake.
As she continue further through the marketplace, the crowd grew thicker and thicker as the deeper she goes. She began to notice that after every merchant stall passed by, the merchandise being sold becomes more and more conspicuous, including the crowd surrounding the stalls. Keeping to her suspicions, she closed her eyes and sniffed at the air, using her hunter's training from childhood along with slight enhancement of the Force to heighten her sense of smell. Moving past the smells of the aromas of street food, fruits, and mechanical oils - there was a certain off-smelling odor within the air, faint, but it's there. She pinpoints the slight trace of the smell, turning on her heel in a full circle to a distinct crowd surrounding a vendor stall behind her. Only able to catch a small glimpse through a small sliver of view in the strangely tight crowd, she saw it and it was as she suspected, Spice. In it's red, notorious form.
Rethren could only clicks her tongue knowing that she could do nothing about the planet's ethics. But she could only guess that this is what a "Crime Planet" is like, and she can't afford to unnecessarily bring attention to herself, or she could lose time and the child's fate could be sealed. Grudgingly, she walked away, reminding herself of the mission at hand and that this was not the time to lose focus. A few moments later, she eventually reached the rendezvous point where she was supposed to meet the Watchman, but he was nowhere in sight.
"Where could he have gone…" she whispered to herself as she looked around, worried that something could have happened to the Watchman. Then out of nowhere, Rethren could feel a metal barrel pressed against her back and someone grabbing her by her arm. From the back of her left ear, a rustic and sandpaper-like voice enters her ear within a form of a whisper.
"Move and I'll paint the dirt with your insides, Jedi." The man holding the blaster to her back warned as he pulls back the blaster's hammer, charging his weapon's energy output to create the next shot more powerful. Understanding her situation, Rethren quietly nods without turning back to the man. Playing along and try to keep a bad situation from going worse.
"Do as I say and you get to live a little longer, the boss wants to have a few words." He presses his blaster against her back again, signaling her to move. She complied, following their instruction and leaving the marketplace and towards the downtown area. Rethren and her armed captive eventually reached into an empty alley way, at the end of the way stands five men - all armed, as well as a lone cloaked figure. All the armed goons seemed to have a disgusting-like grin on their faces, the cloaked individual simply walked to Rethren, body movement indicating they were observing her, studying her.
"I hope my compatriot wasn't too aggressive… Mister Arig could sometimes be crude, but his efficiency to do a job always satisfies my demands." The cloaked figure spoke.
"So kidnapping a young woman with a blaster to her back and forcing her into a dark alley way, where a group of suspicious men are waiting with giant and disgusting grins on their faces like they are about to do something very criminal." Rethren returns the snark, mainly in attempt to hide that she already knows her current situation will make her mission twice as harder. She shines her best fake, but still convincible, to her kidnappers who are all but slightly fazed at the description she had spoken. Turning back to the man holding the blaster to her back, flashing her wide eyes as she turns her deceitful and charming smirk to him. "Now tell me, Big Boy, am I right? Or am I right?"
He barely budge a brow as he keeps his stern face, "Sorry lady, but I'm not all for the whole interspecies revolution, but my men on the other hand… well, they might."
A sickening thought just rolled through her mind upon hearing the disgusting words and looking at the rest of the group. Some part of her just simply want to vomit then and there, but she had to keep herself in control. All this was interrupted as the cloaked man bursted an order for them all to quiet as his communicator began to ring. He pulled out the device from within his cloak and in hand, activating the comm - an holo image of another mercenary appeared.
"Sir, we found the boy. He bolted as soon as we spotted him and we're in pursuit." The holographic mercenary reported. He was holding his blaster rifle at the ready, his body language screams "Capture or Shoot to Kill" to Rethren. She have to make her move, now more than ever.
"Get on with it then! Capture the child and bring him to me alive, even if you have to shoot his legs to do so." The cloaked figure barked his order and then deactivates the communicator. "Apologies for the sudden interruption, young lady, but it looks like I just found the thing that both you and I are looking for."
The mysterious figure turned on his heel as he began to walk away, not before turning to his men and give one request to them.
"Dispose the Jedi. Now, preferably." The stranger ordered as he walks into the shadow of the alley way, the men hold their weapons to the ready, the leader of the mercs presses the blaster barrel to her back hard.
"Such a shame, you're were quite the pretty little thing for a disgusting alien." he whispered into her ear as his blaster pistol revs into a complete charge. Then out of nowhere the cloaked stranger is thrown out of the shadow and slams into the right wall of the alley, zipping past Rethren and behind her. Then came a storm of small debris, trash, garbage cans, and rocks - all slamming the four henchman - knocking each one of them out cold.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Rethren using her dominant hand to strongly grip the mercenary's arm that is holding her in a choke hold, while she simultaneously swing her left hand towards her back and grabbing the blaster barrel - shoving it's aim away from her back side before it could fire. With a complete swing of motion, she uses her opponent's body weight against him, throwing him over her shoulder and into the ground. She then straightened her left arm into a ninety degree angle and slams him in the chest with her elbow, following up with strong punch down towards the perfect middle between the man's stomach and groin - forcing the wind out of him and knocking him out.
After making sure that the man was unconscious, she turned around to find another figure - one wearing a well tailored set of leather armor, with a leather cowl turned over his head, and a yellow-blade saberstaff wielded in his dominant hand behind his back. The man was using his free hand to use the Force and blasting his dark cloaked opponent with a stream of force winds - keeping him at bay. This only made him upset as he pulls out and activates a red-bladed lightsaber and shooting a string of Force Lightning to combat the Force powered gust.
Deadlocked into a stand still, Rethren could only watch in amazement to see two foes powerful in the Force, keeping each other at bay and showing a powerful display of Force mastery in their own and separate ways.
"Should have known you would show yourself, Basda! I knew you couldn't keep away from your defeat, Jedi!" The now revealed Dark User yells as he struggles to upkeep his purple lightning.
"And you were a fool to have think I would've let you get off so easily, Feris." The leather armored Jedi returned, he intensified the output of his Force usage - strengthening the gusting wind tunnel into a more powerful air storm, knocking the Sith off his balance and pushing him back as it overpowers him. Well timed, the Jedi flashes out and then reappearing behind the off balanced Sith, already in the middle of a pivoting spin. Displaying grace and mastery, the Jedi makes two connected and large swing of his saber staff, and his yellow saber easily cuts through his opponent's back: in between his shoulder blades and at the lower back. Severing the Sith's spine in both places, causing extreme damage, before he collapse to the ground - without uttering any sound nor making anymore movements after.
The Jedi in leather armor deactivates his weapon and rehooked it to the back of his belt before pulling down his cowl. A Rodian appears underneath the hood and leathers, he turns to Rethren, observing her with his large galaxy-like eyes before speaking.
"You must be the young Knight that I hear so much from Melvis. You're not that bad at handling yourself, which is good since she could not stop talking about you." The Rodian Jedi introduces his first line of conversation. Curiosity is written all over Rethren's face as she is puzzled at the appearance of her rescuer - this IS the first Rodian Jedi that she had ever encountered in her life.
Picking up on her puzzled look, he could only chuckle, "Don't worry, child. I know it is confusing to see my kind among the Order's rank because of the Purge, but we are here. Even though it is rare these days." he fixes the strap to his armor on his left arm, "My name is Basda D'Willin. Master of the Order, Watchman assigned to this sector, and let's not forget old friend of your master. Pleasure to have finally meet you, Rethren Cruachan."
She could only utter only a simple "Pleasure to meet you too," trying to hide her amazement - knowing that it could be offensive to the Rodian. "Master D'Willin, since you're here… are you the one I'm supposed to meet?"
He nods as he pulls his leather cowl over his head, "Indeed child, that I am."
"If you would give me the courtesy, Master. But why would a Master, as powerful as you, request assistance from me to finding a child?" She couldn't help but ask the one question burned into her mind.
D'Willin only turned over his shoulder to see if the rest of the alley was cleared, "Do you often question the terms of your missions assigned by the Council, Knight?"
"N-No, Master. I don't… But I can't help but wonder why need me for this when you seem very capable to handle this on your own."
He chuckles, "Ah, child. One thing you learn from this life is that the Force does it's will in very mysterious ways. And the only thing we CAN do is to brace ourselves and hopefully get through it alright." Seeing the even more confused look on Rethren's face, the Rodian Master simply motions his suction cup-like finger to her, "Come, young Knight. We still have a lost child to find." He walks off.
Still unable to understand the situation, she sighs and nods, following the Master. Hoping the boy is still safe by the time they find him.
Further into the downtown district of Hellian, night has fallen over the town and a ray of moonlight partially shines a dark alley way as a young boy - nine years of age - is illuminated and back against the wall behind him. He could only try to push himself further into the brick wall as two mercenaries - both armed with rifles set to stun - slowly approaches the boy.
"Okay, kid, you could stop running now. We're not here to hurt you, we only want to help…" The mercenary who reported to the Sith over the holocomm said as his partner is moving towards the child's right side to prevent him from escaping. "We just need you to come with us, that's all. You won't get hurt and we can help you get home."
The boy remains silent, his face still unseeable due to the alley's shadow that is casted over him. He could only grip the wall at his back, shaking nervously. The men could easily see this as they made their move. The leader of the two approached the boy closer, and kneeling down on one knee to get to the boy's level. "Now, there's nothing to fear. We we're the good guys and we can hel- H… Huh… ?"
A small sound of flesh piercing and blood squirt is heard. The man slowly and shakily moved his eyes down towards his side, finding a small vibroknife in his left side and underneath his rib cage. In shock, he also finds the boy's hand holding the grip of the knife as well, he looks to the child. He could only let out a small sound of pain in reaction before the child pulled out the knife, then reverse gripping it, and finally sliced the man's throat from end to end. All in one single motion.
Blood rushes out of the mercenary's neck, drenching the boy during it's process. The man collapses to the floor dead, and his partner hastily stepped back and attempting to ready his rifle - but he was too late. To his surprise, the boy had already jumped and grabbed the merc by the armor plating on his chest and pulling himself closer as his bloodied knife is rushing underneath his grappling arm. The boy quickly stabs the knife into the his neck, and then twists it with all his might to prevent the man from uttering a single word. Choking on his own blood and the knife planted into his trachea, the man collapses to the ground as well, and no longer moving.
The boy removed his knife from the deceased's damaged neck and only holding it tightly in the palms of his hand, muttering a line to himself quietly:
"... Rule thirteen… Never sever the head of the snake… end it's life… by a blade to it's throat…"
The clouds roll over and passes the moon, it's light shines brighter and wider over the alleyway, and underneath the blood cover the boy's face - only his cold and deadened eyes is seen through the darkness.
- Chapter 2 end.