Obi-wan crept down the alleyway with his hood up and three clones trailing behind him. Rex, Cody, and Gree were good, too good to bungle up this mission, which Obi-wan desperately needed to go smoothly. The door to the building they were going in was ornate and carved with various pictures of large cat-like animals.

"Perfect", Obi-wan thought to himself, "Exactly as Dex said it would be." He pushed on the door and it opened with a creak. The force rippled around him with life forms. Obi-wan gulped and moved quickly through. The doors slammed shut behind them. It was pitch black inside the building and the clones all turned on their headlamps. Obi-wan, however, didn't turn on his lightsaber. Dex had told him specifically, no show of weapons.

Obi-wan's whole being screamed with anticipation. There were large forms bellowing around them like a tide. Obi-wan couldn't see them in the darkness and no matter how hard he strained his ears, he couldn't hear them, but he could feel them. It was frightening.

Suddenly, he felt a ripple in the force and stepped back before large form hit him. He fell to the ground, a deafening roar filling his ears. He heard the clones armor clatter loudly on the concrete and their grunts of pain as the wind was knocked out of them.

If Obi-wan had not taken that step back, the beast's long claws he now felt pressing on his arm might have been in his face. The clones, at least, had helmets and Obi-wan hoped they hadn't been too badly hurt.

The thing on top of him seemed to be a large leopard. It was very heavy and its long fangs were an inch from Obi-wan's face. He could smell its hot breath on his face, a musky animal smell laced with blood and death. Then, Obi-wan heard a voice.

"Well Riptide, it looks as if we've caught some dinner. I know how much you like human meat." Obi-wan heard a large purring sound and a snap of fingers. Then, room was illuminated.

It was painted all black with silver carvings of cats all over, a lot like the one Obi-wan could now see was on top of him. There was nothing in the place at first glance but then Obi-wan noticed large black couch in the back of the room.

A woman with a large black hood over her face was lounging comfortably on her side. Obi-wan could not see her face, but he knew it was a woman by her voice. Her snow-white legs stretched out behind her and disappeared beneath a black cloak. She was wearing a black, strapless leotard with a chain of silver stars around her waist. Lying beside her with one great paw draped over her waist and another over her collarbone was the largest leopard Obi-wan had ever seen.

Its great paw was easily as big as Obi-wan's face and its great jaws could have torn him to shreds. The girl, Obi-wan assumed to be Shadow Slayer, scratched him under the chin and he gave another earth shaking purr.

"Now Jedi, before I have my boys rip you and your friends in two pieces, do you have anything to say."

"I'm not here to arrest you", said Obi-wan.

Shadow Slayer laughed and said, "Then why are you here, certainly not for tourism."

"I'm here with a job for you", Obi-wan managed to gasp out despite the weight on his chest.

"I'm in between gigs and on vacation right now", Shadow Slayer said, "It had better be something easy."

"I just need to talk to you", Obi-wan said. Shadow Slayer cocked her head.

"Let 'em up boys", she said after a moment of indecision, "You can eat later." The leopards got off slowly as if they sorely wished they could eat now and stalked away. The girl got up and threw back her hood. Obi-wan was surprised. Not only was she startlingly beautiful, but young. She looked no older then sixteen.

"Expecting someone older then?" she asked.

"Yes", said Obi-wan, "I assumed the master mind behind the murder of Senator Taro would be." The girl gave a growl.

"I hate senators, useless money stealers are all they are." She tossed her hair out of her hood and walked to his side. "Anyway, what is it you want from me?" As Obi-wan told her what he needed, he couldn't take his eyes off her soft, innocent looking face. Bounty hunters were normally the most disgusting, ugly creatures, the dregs of society. This girl looked of high breeding at the very least.

She had long, raven black hair and large, sparkling dark purple eyes. The enormous leopard Riptide licked a paw, but didn't take his amber eyes off the men. He seemed off edge as if nervous for her.

The most startling thing about her, however, was the pair of black wolf-looking ears coming from the top of her head and the long black tail that curved elegantly beside her ankles. "A Necorian, even worse", Obi-wan thought to himself. Necorians, were known in the galaxy, as one of those species pushed on the fringe of society. They were dangerous, deadly and unpredictable. It only seemed fitting to Obi-wan that the bounty hunter with the worst reputation out there had to be an outer rim monster.

"Hmm", the girl said after he was done. "Do you have a picture of this mysterious bounty hunter?"

"No", said Obi-wan.

"Well, can you tell me what he looks like?"

"He had brown hair all over his body, the head of an ox and the body of a bear."

"Now we're getting somewhere", the girl said. "The particular bounty hunter you are looking for is named Tookie Galkata. He is the last of a dying race of freak shows. I'm glad to see them leave. Anyone else like Tookie deserves to die."

"You know him', Obi-wan asked.

"Him and me used to be friends", Shadow slayer said mildly, turning around to face the wall and folding her arms around herself. "Do you remember Tookie, Riptide?" she asked the leopard. Riptide gave a large growl. "I thought you did", she said thoughtfully.

"Do you know where he is?" Obi-wan asked.

"No", said Shadow Slayer, "and I don't want to. If he's busy with your friend then he's not busy looking for me." Shadow Slayer walked up to Obi-wan and touched his face.

"He didn't like you very much did he?"

"No", said Obi-wan, "but anyway, how do we find this Tookie?"

"Beats me", Shadow Slayer said. "Find him yourself. But first, pay me two hundred keshels for all this info I gave you." Obi-wan sighed and opened up his bag. Shadow Slayer looked down at all the keshels in the bag with her eyebrows raised.

"Here", she said, "I'll make you a deal. How much have you got in that bag?"

"Four hundred."

"All right, for everything you've got in that bag, I'll find this bounty hunter for you, I mean I'll find where he is; I'll leave the apprehending to you. If anyone can find who he's working for, I can. Pay me after I find out what you need to know."

"Thank you", said Obi-wan.

"Here", she said, giving him a silver key, "come back in three days and if I don't have what you need, you can go somewhere else. Come in through the back door this time and the leopards won't try to eat you"

"Ok", Obi-wan said, and he and the clones melted out the door and into the pouring rain.