----------
Chapter 34
----------
Outer Rim - Month Twenty Four, Day Five PEF
Patience.
The word seemed to slide between the foliage, whispering its caution as one foot was carefully placed, and then the other, ensuring perfect balance on one before the shift of weight of occurred. Silence permeated the area around her as Asajj stalked her prey, careful to keep her presence not only masked, but the surrounding world as well. Her foot slipped as it sought purchase, sliding to the side and digging into the dead foliage that coated every surface of the world.
Give her the Coruscant undercity any day of the week.
Regaining her balance, she pushed forward, sliding low to the ground as she crept ever closer to her prey. Here, on a remote moon of an outer rim world without so much as a numbered designation, she'd found her quarry. The Alliance had been coached well in the hiding of their refugees and Asajj knew a good deal of that would have come from Padmé.
Much as she was loathe to admit it, her former partner had been meticulous to a fault and knew what she had been doing.
Not unlike herself; except Asajj's skills ran towards the hunt - and the hunt was what occupied her thoughts now. Just over the ridge in front of her lay the modest compound where her prey lay sleeping. A former Jedi Knight, stripped of their identity, with little to nothing to show for the thousands of years of loyal service they'd rendered to the now defunct Republic. Asajj relished the thought.
It was no more than the high handed, righteous, stuck up snobs deserved.
Easing her way carefully to the top of the rise, the Force Adept took in the scene below. Dawn hadn't yet graced this side of the moon and she was well versed to take full advantage of that fact. For the moment, she simply wanted to take stock.
Below her, nestled in a valley boasting both a defensible position and plenty of resources were the huts of the natives. Corralled into a small semi-circular pattern, they were nestled against the sharp drop of the sheer cliff face that Asajj had made her vantage point. As she watched, smoke began to rise from the chimneys of the huts and the strange domesticated animals that cultures seemed to crave from this world began to stir.
Almost directly below her - and over a mile down.
A feral smile broke across her face, a jagged slash of white in the pre-dawn darkness. This was it; she could feel the rightness of this village in her bones. The Force sung like an operatic singer, sliding through her veins with the muted presence of her quarry and it took a moment to reign in the powerful surge. Already masked, her own presence muted and distorted, Asajj knew it would only be revealed by a concentrated and focused Force check by someone more powerful than she. Vader or the Emperor would be capable, but none of the Jedi she'd yet hunted had discerned her presence before she'd chosen to reveal it.
It was enough to make her confident in her abilities. But until she was able to mask her presence from Vader, she would continue to practice on her enemies. Only when the Dark Lord himself was incapable of knowing when she was about, would she consider the skill mastered. Only then would she even consider seeking her freedom.
Shaking the thoughts away, Asajj took a knee in the same location she'd been occupying for the better part of the last two days and reevaluated what she knew of her prey.
The Jedi had a partner for starters, but what Asajj couldn't determine was if this partner had also been a Jedi. If that was the case, the presence of her target muted and distorted the other. Regardless, the mate would have to go before dispatching her quarry. Preferably in the same strike and preferably soon - the sooner the better. She hated worlds like this one on the best of days, and today not only felt like rain, but smelled of it.
Focusing back on the task at hand, she gauged how far off the dawn truly was with an experienced eye. An hour, maybe a little more. Enough time to reach the forest floor and dispatch the Jedi's mate - but also the Jedi? It was possible. The Jedi seemed to be a heavy sleeper - or at least a late sleeper - and the mate rose early. The only possible problem would be using the Force.
If the mate was indeed a Force user, Asajj would need to permanently silence her as soon as possible.
Considering her options, Asajj stared at the hut she knew housed the Jedi and their mate and came to one startling conclusion. If she used the Force moderately, as she'd been doing since trekking out to his place every day, a descent from these heights would be relatively safe. She'd simply have to watch her steps.
Her eyes narrowing, she stroked the hilt of one of her lightsabers with thoughtful fingers. The mate would be up shortly; dispatching it as it exited the hut would be a simple matter. Once that close, Asajj would be able to clearly read the life force signatures of both the huts occupants and, should the mate prove just to be another useless normal individual, their life would not be missed and her lightsaber wouldn't be necessary to eliminate them.
Shifting into a crouch; her decision made, Asajj carefully studied the walls of the gorge where the village was situated and planned her avenue of attack. Ledges, small caves and places where she'd be able to briefly pause were revealed in the pre-dawn shadows the way they wouldn't be during the day. Checking one last time to ensure the village still slept, Asajj gathered herself, enfolding her force signature about her like a cloak, and jumped.
Landing without mishap, she paused for barely a second to get her breath before launching herself into the air once more. Down and down she went, using the Force to enhance her muscles even as she cloaked her signature, sweat breaking out on her skin as she did. The dual pull was taxing, draining and exhilarating all at the same time. It pushed her to test her skills, to hone them into weapons she could use.
Except at the moment, they were a double edged blade, threatening to escape her grasp and reveal her presence to the Jedi somewhere below.
Landing on one of the ledges about two thirds of the way down the gorge, Asajj took to a knee and paused to catch her breath. Letting the Force bleed slowly from her frame, she maintained only the barest of masking abilities. She drew in deep, gasping breaths as her heart beat slowed back to normal, the adrenaline rush of such power fading as she released her hold by fractions.
Focused inwards, Asajj did something she hadn't done since her initiation to her abilities as a Force Adept; she lost track of time
Cleansing her body of the residual effects of the Force enhancements and regaining full control took longer than she expected and the sky was starting to lighten somewhere in the distance, false dawn threatening to give way to the real thing, when she opened her eyes once more. Shock drove her to her feet as she realized she was running out of time.
Looking down, she judged the distance - and stepped off the precipice where she stood.
Still cloaked in the Force suppression, she drew on her powers at the last possible second before striking the ground and rolled, absorbing and dissipating the impact. Or rather, that's what she attempted to do. Hitting the ground with far more force than she expected, burning pain shot up her arm and through her shoulders as she rolled and slid to a stop.
Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to sit up and look around - to ignore the agony that spread from shoulder to collar bone - and take stock of her situation. Her fall and landing, after several tense moments of observation, appeared to have gone unnoticed.
Only once she'd ascertained that she was still undetected, did Asajj look at her arm. Her shoulder and elbow had been dislocated by the impact with the ground. Gritting her teeth, she pushed to her feet, the humiliating injury fueling the fires of her rage and bringing the world into focus. Drawing on it as a source of power, she didn't bother to fix it; there wasn't any point until she'd finished her task and gotten away. No matter her stoic control, she would make some kind of sound when she reset them into their proper location - thus the time wasn't now.
Easing her way around the camp, Asajj snuck in behind the hut where she knew her quarry slept. Listening with every few steps, she eased into position. Lightsabers wouldn't serve her in this instance - not initially anyway - and so she used the skills honed over years of infiltrations. Silent as a shadow, one arm hanging uselessly by her side, she gauged each step, stalking her prey in a fashion that she hadn't used in many years.
As she did, the memory and physical imprint of the how resurfaced. Her body eased into the familiar rhythms even as her mind thrilled at the idea of using traditional methods, with a little Force assist, in taking down this prey. Pitting herself against the Jedi and its mate were almost a worthy challenge. If they hadn't been so contemptible, they would be.
Sliding closer, she eased around towards the main door of the hut, ever alert for signs of movement or life in the camp. Well aware that it would take very little to destroy the camp before the Jedi reacted, she nonetheless restrained herself. Her quarrel wasn't with people who'd been deceived to believe that Jedi were good and honorable; it was with the Jedi themselves. Once she'd eliminated the threat to their existence, these people could go back to their lives and she would continue with hers.
The camp was not her enemy.
Keeping that firmly in mind, Asajj inhaled deeply and braced herself for what she knew was coming next. A quick look around showed no activity as of yet, and a flick of her good wrist opened the flap to the hall the Jedi and its mate shared. Ducking inside, she held herself still for a long moment as her eyes adjusted to the dim interior. In the center was a primitive fire pit, the embers of a fire - banked for the night - and still smoldering kept the hut warm. No furniture marked the inside, but Asajj wasn't that surprised; her prey were from a fairly primitive culture and returning to those roots was less likely to draw attention to themselves.
A snort to her right drew her attention. Stepping towards it cautiously, Asajj eased open the skin that made the makeshift wall. A large pallet before her held both individuals, their pelts visible above the blanket that covered them both. This close, there was no mistaking her prey; only one of the individuals exhibited a Force signature - muted even in repose - but unmistakable. Easing closer, Asajj stepped between the wall of the hut and the pallet, her lips curling in a sneer of contempt. This Jedi would never wake to see another day.
Easing one of her lightsabers from her belt, she glanced across as the Jedi's mate began to stir.
Discovery would likely mean the end of Asajj - injured as she was, there was little doubt that the Jedi's mate would tear her limb from limb if given the opportunity. Clenching the fingers of her injured arm, she lifted it with a wince even as she channeled the pain into the Force. The mate made a sound of distress, glazed eyes opening as it fought against the Force's hold on its windpipe for breath. Thrashing, one hairy arm lashed out, catching the Jedi on the side. Ready for such an occurrence, Asajj dropped her Force cloak, lifting her lightsaber as she did.
The Jedi's eyes flashed open and locked on hers for a split second, recognition deep within their depths - and Asajj struck. There was no time and no room for the Jedi to maneuver as her blade arched in - and she read it in the depths of its orbs. That didn't stop it from reaching towards the edge of the pallet and the blade Asajj suspected was hidden underneath.
The furred head went flying as the lightsaber sliced through sinew and bone with ease. Turning the blade back, Asajj put its mate out of its misery before the lightsaber snapped off just as quickly as it had come on. Leaving them where they'd fallen, Asajj knelt and retrieved the blade the Jedi had attempted, even in its last moments, to retrieve. Tucking it into her belt, she stepped from the chamber of death back into the common room before easing the flap to the main door open and looking around.
Nothing stirred.
The Jedi and its mate had made no sound in death, and the hum of her lightsaber wouldn't have carried beyond the walls. In the clear, Asajj slipped from the hut. Without worry of detection from a Force user, she didn't mask her presence as she called on it to enhance her speed and strength. Focused, her attention no longer split, getting back to the top of the ravine was far easier than getting down it - a skill she'd have to practice later - and she landed at her vantage point barely thirty minutes after she'd left it.
Her mission accomplished, Asajj knelt on the edge of the ravine and surveyed the floor below her. Everything seemed as calm as the last time she'd examined it - but she knew better. Where there had once been a Jedi, there now lay a corpse. A smile crossed her lips before her gaze shifted to the arm that was hanging uselessly at her side, the throbbing from the injury beginning to penetrate her sense of triumph.
Tilting her head, her lips curled with a sneer of contempt; Asajj silently saluted the village and turned her back on it. She had an arm to set and a next set of coordinates to reach; with any luck, she'd have another trophy or two to add to her collection before contacting Vader. Focusing for the moment on getting back to the relative safety of her ship and seeing to her injury, Asajj was already reviewing what she'd done wrong and preparing for the next time.
The more tricks she had up her sleeve, the more dangerous she became - and the closer she came to a time when she'd be powerful enough to escape Vader's control.