Keyn moved quietly through the dark, deserted streets

Disclaimer: Star Wars wouldn't be this great without George Lucas. Okay, so it does belong to GL. But all of us can hope to add on to it. ;) Keyn, Shen and the Senator are mine.

Acknowledgements: Jesus, Padawan Nik-ka (my Apprentice and partner in Introducing Mr Pink Hair), my sis, my bro (who memorised the whole conversation between Qui and Shen in Chapter 4), my rabbit Panther, Orin (who writes great sonic stories, check her out), my parents, reviewers, just about anybody else, I guess.

Okay, here goes, maybe this chapter will answer some of your questions:

Chapter 5

Keyn moved quietly through the dark, deserted streets. In Mos Eisley, no-one in his right mind stayed out late at night – it was simply too dangerous. But Keyn had had to meet a Rebel Agent who wanted a human specimen for testing. After some discussion, the bounty hunter had agreed to deliver Obi-wan the next afternoon.

The bounty hunter was alert and wary, expecting trouble every minute. Still, the assassin's attack caught him off guard. The assassin was a large, muscle-bound human. He leapt and landed heavily on Keyn, driving him to the ground.

Suppressing a yell, Keyn twisted away and staggered to his feet. In the dim moonlight, he recognised his attacker as the gunman in the cantina. Probably on the Rebels' payroll, too, the thought flashed through Keyn's mind.

Taking advantage of the time Keyn would need to recover, the assassin aimed a kick at his opponent. Keyn ducked just in time, and gasped with pain – the assassin's initial attack had taken a heavy toll on him. He tried his best to brush away the pain, knowing that he was fighting for his life.

Keyn launched a kick at his opponent, catching the assassin in the stomach. Keyn's attacker staggered backwards. Keyn leapt forward. Though he lacked weight and brute strength, he was agile. He hoped fervently that it would be enough to tip the scale.

The assassin straightened up and aimed a punch at his opponent. Keyn dodged it, but failed to anticipate the assassin's other fist, which was slammed right down onto his head. Keyn collapsed form the shock, his head throbbing painfully.

The bounty hunter gathered his wits as he scrambled to his feet, dodging yet another blow. He delivered a powerful kick to his attacker's shin.

Keyn and the assassin continued trading kicks and blows. They were both evenly matched, neither was losing or gaining, but presently, Keyn could see that his attacker was tiring quickly.

The bounty hunter took advantage of it. Keyn charged and feinted to the left. The assassin moved to intercept him, but the bounty hunter changed tack, dodging right. Keyn kicked with all his strength.

The blow hit the assassin squarely in the chest. He flew back with the impact, and Keyn brought his fist down heavily on the assassin's skull, effectively knocking him unconscious.

Keyn collapsed with exhaustion, pain surging through his whole body. He couldn't think straight at all, and it was impossible for him to get up. Keyn didn't know just how badly hurt he was, but he knew he couldn't just stay where he was, he had to get up.

Then, the vision came. The raw power of the Force ripped through his mind, sending jolts of pain through every nerve. Keyn curled up and gritted his teeth. He'd had visions before, but none as powerful as this.

The image sprang unbidden to his mind. Hundreds, no thousands, of people suffering in the grip of a deadly epidemic. Their pain coursed through him. Faces, too many to remember, flashed before him, contorted in agony. Then, the face of Senator Jy'are, pleading with someone, "Please, spare my people."

More pain hit him. White-hot, pulsing, throbbing. The Force flowed powerfully through him, then it began to ebb. The people cried out in desperation, but no-one could do anything. Keyn's pain worsened until he blanked out. Then, the Force let him go, and he awoke with a start.

Keyn was drenched in cold sweat, his heart hammering wildly. He managed to stagger to his feet, and he leaned against a wall for support. The vision and the fight had barely lasted two hours, but it seemed like an eternity.

He took a deep breath and gathered his strength. Somehow, he made it back to his ship. He slid open the panel, stumbled in, then collapsed on the cold metal floor. The access panel slid shut behind him, and he was dragged into unconsciousness.

The small passenger ship orbited Tatooine slowly. Qui-gon and Shen sat silently at the controls, pre-occupied with their own thoughts.

"Where will we land?" Shen finally broke the silence.

Qui-gon activated the ship's onboard computer and a list of spaceports appeared on the screen. "Wherever feels right, I suppose," the Jedi Master replied.

Shen fixed his eyes on the list, and touched the Force. He let it guide him from spaceport to spaceport. None of them felt right, until he reached the last entry on the list. The Bothan looked up at Qui-gon, and the look in the Jedi Master's eyes confirmed his feelings.

"Let's go to Mos Eisley," Qui-gon nodded to Shen.

The Bothan piloted the ship out of its orbit, then began requesting for a landing space.

In about half an hour's time, the Jedi's craft was set down in Docking Bay 34. As he powered down the ship's systems, Shen asked Qui-gon, "Where do we start searching?"

The Jedi Master thought carefully, "I've never been to Tatooine, but I've read that Mos Eisley is a hideout for criminals, bounty hunters, mercenaries and such. They probably congregate somewhere … perhaps a cantina or a bar."

"Sounds good," Shen responded.

"Watch your step though," Qui-gon cautioned, "Things can get pretty violent around here."

"Don't worry," Shen remarked dryly, "I'll keep out of trouble, hopefully."

Qui-gon raised an eyebrow but didn't reply. He led the way down the boarding ramp.

The streets were bustling with activity. Creatures of every shape and size could be seen. Qui-gon threaded through the crowd easily, Shen a step behind him. The Jedi Master was seized with an urgency to find the bounty hunter and rescue Obi-wan. Shen sensed it, both in himself and in Qui-gon. Who knew what the hunter would do with Obi-wan?

At last, they stopped outside a cantina. It seemed to be quite a popular place, judging form the number of creatures inside it. Qui-gon turned to Shen, "Be careful."

Shen nodded and followed Qui-gon in. The Bothan tried not to stare at anyone, or anything, for that matter. He didn't want to offend anybody or risk getting beaten up.

Qui-gon Jinn walked up to the bartender, a medium-sized, heavily-built human. The bartender turned to the Jedi.

"What do you two want?" he said gruffly. Qui-gon and Shen had hidden their lightsabres in their robes so as not to be recognised as Jedi.

"We are looking for a bounty hunter, Keyn," Qui-gon answered evenly. "Do you know where he is?"

The bartender shrugged, "Last time he was here, he nearly got into a fight with a mercenary. You wait, Keyn will come sooner or later." The bartender placed two drinks on the counter and pointed to an empty table. Qui-gon slid a few coins over the counter, took both mugs, and left for the table. He hadn't ordered the drinks, but wasn't going to argue with the bartender over them.

"What do we do now?" Shen asked in a low voice.

Qui-gon shrugged. "I guess we wait for our bounty hunter."

Keyn walked cautiously through the streets. He was even more watchful than ever - he didn't want to get bushwhacked by some assassin again. He was lucky to have escaped the last one.

Obi-wan, hands bound together, walked in front of the bounty hunter. Obi-wan didn't know where he was going, but he had a bad feeling about it. The feeling of Mos Eisley he got through the Force was a dark one. Everyone seemed to be hiding secrets. The Apprentice wondered if Qui-gon was nearby. He reached out for the Bond … and felt the glimmer of Qui-gon's presence. Before it was cut off abruptly.

"Don't even try…" Keyn said in a dangerous voice. Obi-wan felt surprise ripple through him. Who was Keyn, anyway?

The pair met a tall, dark-skinned man at an empty warehouse.

Keyn handed his captive to the Rebel Agent. Obi-wan felt the knot of fear in his stomach tighten. At least, Keyn hadn't shown any interest in killing him, but the dark-skinned man seemed ready to be-head Obi-wan at any moment.

"How much for this one?" the Rebel asked Keyn.

The bounty hunter shrugged, "I'm not taking anything for him. He's Jedi, so your masters may want him."

The Agent nodded, glad he didn't have to pay the bounty hunter anything. He grabbed Obi-wan by the shoulders and shoved him into the warehouse. The Jedi winced in pain, but drew on the Force for strength. He had to be strong.

Keyn turned and headed for the Cantina. He knew bounty hunters rarely let anyone off for free, but Obi-wan was a Jedi. Much as Keyn resented Qui-gon, he'd only wanted to get rid of Obi-wan, and not earn anything from him. Because, the Jedi used to be his comrades and friends. Keyn felt he owed at least that to them. But he vowed never to get tangled up in their matters anymore. Obi-wan was solely Qui-gon's problem now.

"Hey Keyn, two guys waiting for you," the bartender told Keyn as he entered the Cantina. He gestured at a nearby table.

"Know who they are?" the hunter asked, eyeing Qui-gon and Shen cynically. He couldn't recognise them because of their hooded cloaks. Their backs were turned to him.

The bartender shrugged. "Don't think they're smugglers or the like."

Keyn prepared himself for trouble, then approached the table. He didn't know what to make of the two strangers. One of them turned and Keyn immediately recognised him as the Bothan Jedi.

"Qui-gon Jinn," Keyn said quietly as Qui-gon faced him. "Took you so long." Shen read contempt and anger in the hunter's voice.

"Perhaps so," Qui-gon's voice was neutral. "I've come to look for my Apprentice."

"Never thought a coward like you would ever get another Apprentice," Keyn's tone was still even, and dangerously low.

"That's in the past. Obi-wan isn't part of it!"

"He is, now," Keyn's eyes blazed with anger. "You dragged him into it." Shen looked, first at Qui-gon, then at Keyn. There was some unspoken secret between them.

"You're holding my Apprentice. I've come to rescue him," Qui-gon struggled to control his emotions.

"Not anymore. I'm done with the Jedi. I'll tell you this, I don't have Obi-wan Kenobi." Shen could tell Keyn wasn't lying.

"Where is he? What have you done to him?" Qui-gon let his anger and frustration creep into his voice.

"What do you care? You left my Master to die. You ran away." The words hit Qui-gon like a blaster bolt. The Jedi Master fought to control himself.

Keyn shook his head angrily, "I'm done with you, Qui-gon. Go look for your Apprentice, if you aren't such a coward!"

Shen watched the bounty hunter leave, then turned to Qui-gon, wondering if Keyn had actually been telling the truth.

"He's hiding something," Qui-gon sighed.

"Why wouldn't he help? He doesn't seem to hate Obi-wan," Shen asked quietly.

"He doesn't hate me either," Qui-gon said, "but he won't forgive me for what I've done."

Shen didn't probe, sensing Qui-gon's reluctance to discuss his actions. "Perhaps if I tried persuading him?"

Qui-gon shook his head. "I don't know. I never really knew Keyn."

"I would have to try," Shen said quietly.

Qui-gon nodded. "I suppose. If you can find him. I'll meet you back at our ship."

Keyn sat down on his bunk, thinking. The pain from his wounds and bruises was intensifying as the painkiller's effects died off, but he didn't really care.

The bounty hunter thought about the painful memories meeting Qui-gon had evoked. Keyn knew Qui-gon wasn't solely responsible for Thyren's death. Keyn blamed himself, and the Rebels. The Rebels had been planning to release a deadly virus on Rinsiel. The Council had sent three Jedi to stop them. None had shirked their responsibilities.

Qui-gon and Thyren had found the storehouse used to store the virus. Keyn wasn't clear as to exactly what had happened, since he'd been creating a diversion, but he roughly knew that the virus was accidentally released. Qui-gon had run out and shut the storehouse, but it hadn't been enough. Thyren had been left inside, and he had used the Force to gather the virus into his body. Keyn knew, through the Bond, that his Master had died a painful death. But he had saved a whole population from dying.

Keyn never forgave anyone - himself, Qui-gon, the Rebels - for his Master's death. After he was knighted for his bravery in the mission, he left the Jedi. He couldn't stay among them anymore. Because he was different. Different in the way he perceived the Force, different in the way he drew on its power, different in the way he was connected with it. Thyren had helped Keyn fit in and hone his Force skills, without his Master, Keyn was lost and devastated. He never connected with the Force again, but the Force still found a way to deliver its visions.

Now, Qui-gon wanted help. Keyn knew he wouldn't give it. It meant a partnership. Keyn wouldn't trust Qui-gon, not anymore.

Yet, something troubled him. The Rebels were planning to use an epidemic to gain power. Keyn knew his Master had given his life to save the people of Rinsiel. The bounty hunter recalled his vision - People suffering … dying. Keyn knew he couldn't let the Rebels carry on with their plan, they had to be stopped, again. His Master had died for the cause, and Keyn knew, to honour his sacrifice, he had to fight the Rebels again.

He retrieved the information disk from a locker, slotted it into his ship's computer. It was encrypted - he'd expected that. He needed someone who could break the code. As a bounty hunter, Keyn knew how to hack into computers, but he hadn't learnt code-breaking. He didn't trust slicers to break the code for him, especially if he had to pay them.

Much as Keyn hated to admit it, he'd have to ask the Jedi if they could help. And even then, he couldn't just do it alone. He needed partners who wouldn't backstab him. Although Keyn didn't forgive Qui-gon, he knew the Jedi was, at least, trustworthy.

The bounty hunter got to his feet slowly, pain arcing through his whole body, reminding him he'd barely started recovering from his run-in with the assassin. He injected the painkiller into his bloodstream, then left his ship.

I guess you could try bugging me to motivate my writing, but the next chapter's gonna be out in about one or two weeks (I haven't even started, so there isn't a preview). Thanks for any reviews. They're most welcome.