Chapter XI: The Hunt is On
Blurs. That is all Aurra could see around her. She had been spending the past fifteen minutes on the run, the Dark Side her source of power, making her body push harder than it had ever before. All turns looked the same to the Sith Lady, and it was only because of her brutal training that she didn't run into someone or something. She could not afford to. She knew that the two Jedi were on her tail, tracking her down like some sort of common criminal. She could, by no circumstance, be caught by the two Jedi, especially the silver haired one. I have to get off planet, and report to my Master. He will know what to do. Too bad her ship was still half a city away from her. And she knew that even the greatest of Sith Lords could not keep up this constant pace for that long. If only she could find a way to stall the Jedi long enough to get away. The answer hit her, she knew it would take all of her control over the Dark Side, and more, but it would be the only chance. She would have to face off the two Jedi Knights, but she would do it in the hanger bay in which her starship was located.
"Come on Anakin, you can do it! Keep up!" Raza yelled behind, keeping his senses open, as well as maintaining that super human speed in which every Jedi knew. The only problem was that enhancing ones speed normally lasted for a few seconds, not for several minutes like Raza had been doing. It taxed him greatly, and his mere force of will kept him able to maintain the connection to the Force, but what worried Raza more was the taxation on the younger Jedi. "I am!" replied Anakin, sweat dripping down the sides of his forehead. Even at his Trials to become a Jedi Knight, he had not had to focus or exert so much strength. If he ever survived this mission, or this night for that matter, two things would happen. First, he would need to spend a week in bed just to be able to crawl again, and after he was able to walk again, he knew that he would be stronger. That thought alone kept him able to match speeds with Raza. "We are closing in on her! I feel it," with a calming sigh Raza slowed down to a normal jog than eventually went into a full stop. Anakin quickly followed suit and stood beside Raza, panting and dabbing his head with his already sweaty tunic. "She is in there?" asked Anakin, indicating to the large hanger bay with a mere glance, for that was all the strength he had at the moment. "Yes. Can't you feel her?" he asked giving Anakin a look that seemed to say "are you dumb?" "I am sorry, but-I-am-rather.tired," he stated, finally bringing himself to his full posture. "Well do not worry, if you are tired, than she most definitely is, after all, she is just a mere Force-Adept. You are the "chosen one" remember?" he said with a slight wise-ass smirk. "Alright then, so what are we waiting for?" he asked already in start of going into the hanger. That is, until Raza grabbed him by the arm, stopping him. "She obviously lead us here for a trap. Her ship is in there, and she knew if she tried to blast off, we would simply put a tracer on her or something of the sorts. So, she is in there waiting for us." "Then what do you propose we do?" "That is simple Young Jedi. I will walk in and fight her, you just make sure she doesn't get onto her ship." "Understood." Without even as much as an acknowledging nod, Raza set off into the hanger, walking calmly, trying with all his might to not keep from falling to his knees in pure exhaustion. Anakin would never realize that he was their only hope to keeping Aurra on planet.
The hanger was a typical hanger, and it had typical Alderranian features. Inside, Aurra stood before a rather small vehicle, it seemed to be of Corellian design, and probably had little weaponry and was just designed for speed and maneuverability. "Master Jedi, an honor to meet you again," Aurra mock-bowed, her slate colored arm out to the side to show just how much mockery she was bestowing upon the Jedi. "Lady Sing, the honor is all mine," replied Raza with as much sarcasm as he could muster, also giving her a mock-salute. The two stepped closer towards each other, ending up in the center of the hanger. Anakin appeared in front of the small Corellian vessle while Aurra walked. "I see the child is to watch my ship for me? Awe, I am touched by your sincerity Jedi." "I am glad Lady Sing, now shall we continue were we left off?" he asked the 32cm cylinder already in his right hand. "Let's," replied the Sith, her own lightsaber already in her hand. With two echoing snap-hissing sounds, the crimson and lavender blades came to life, connecting together in the first parry and block of the duel. Raza was first to recover from the previous block and brought down his blade towards the Sith's head. This simple assault was quickly blocked off by her crimson blade, doing so by holding it above her head in a horizontal angle. With a swing of her heel, Aurra brought around her blade towards the Jedi's open right side. However, to her dismay, Raza placed a well-placed block to meet it. Inverting the handle of his blade so that it pointed towards the ground to do so. Not bothering to invert his handle once more, Raza merely brought up his inverted blade at a bent vertical angle in an attempt to slice the Sith from the right side of her waist to her left shoulder. Aurra's only defense for this maneuver was spinning around in a full circle, extending her crimson blade just so that it was out before her. Luckily, her unorthodox move worked and knocked the Jedi's blade away, and in doing so caused the Jedi to slightly loose footing. Using this to her advantage, Aurra inverted her blade so that the crimson tip pointed towards the Jedi's open neck, thrusting it downward to poke it through his throat. However, his senses were attuned enough to give him ample warning and therefore he used the sheer power of his legs to propel himself forward in a no-handed flip. Luckily, the blade went right in-between his scissors kicked legs and Raza felt part of his tunic singe away the touch of the crimson blade, thankfully that was the only thing that burned. Another run of luck was that in mid motion of his flip, the last leg up managed to kick Aurra square in the chin with the back of his heel, throwing her to the ground. When the two regained their footing and stances. They started again, parry duel, parry duel. Each one waiting for the other to weaken. And to Aurra's dismay, she felt herself weakening too much to handle the alien Jedi Knight. It was clear whose saber skills were superior. She just needed a few more seconds, and then all would be fine. Of course, her plan took an unexpected turn when she heard the other Jedi yell that she was a fake!
While the duel had been going on, Anakin did exactly as he was told. He stood guard before the small Corellian vessel. His boyhood curiosity of machines took the better of him and caused him to climb atop the ship to inspect it. And that is when a real surprise hit him. Just to the side of the Corellian ship, was an even smaller faster ship. And this ship caused a slight ache in his heart for it reminded him of his wife dearly. It was a Nubian fighter. The real surprise however, was the pilot of the yellow-silver fighter. Aurra Sing was inside of it, and seemed to be in a meditative state of some sort. Anakin quickly did a double take and turned towards the duel to make sure Raza wasn't just fighting air, (which he wasn't) and back to the ship. That is when it hit him! The Aurra Raza was fighting was a doppelganger. He had read about this ancient Sith technique only in the most encrypted of the Temple's archives. It was a spell to create an exact replica of the Sith in which summoned it, and depending on how much concentration the Sith placed in it, the realer the doppelganger became. And according ot how hard Aurra was perspiring, concentrating, and muttering Sith Spells, it was apparent that she was putting all she had into this doppelganger. "Raza! She is a fake!" Anakin yelled towards the duel, and to his surprise, both combatants stopped abruptly, each having his own looks upon his face. Raza's of surprise and Aurra's of satisfaction. Aurra's smile of satisfaction quicly transfigured itself into an insidious and mocking laughter that filled the entire hanger. That laughter quickly diminished as the doppelganger of Aurra began to dissipate back into wherever it came from, still leaving the eerie laugh to fill the hanger. In a vein attempt, Anakin leapt off the Nubian fighter, his body an exquisite example of an acrobat as he tucked himself into a perfect ball, that appeared to drop something out of it onto the Nubian fighter. When Anakin landed in the place where the doppelganger was, he was not surprised to find nothing there, expect his own anger at letting this happen. "Nice duel Jedi! Too bad it will never happen again! For I am afraid I am leaving a little surprise for you!" and with that mocking laughter she threw an object onto the wing of the Corellian vessel. Rather quickly, the Nubian fighter rose from its hibernation, and ascended up into the night sky, however, neither Jedi's attention was on the fleeing ship, but rather the detonator that was clicking itself down to zero, on the Corellian vessel. Turning around to run out the exit as fast as they could, the two Jedi had their backs turned when the world around them exploded in bright light and flame.
"Master, I will be arriving with the next two days, with the information required," Aurra spoke into the com-link as her Nubian fighter prepared to enter hyperspace. "Excellent my Apprentice, you will be rewarded for your efforts," with no more said between Master and Apprentice, the Nubian fighter streaked into hypserspace, unaware of the small barley-visible tracker attached to its hull.
Blurs. That is all Aurra could see around her. She had been spending the past fifteen minutes on the run, the Dark Side her source of power, making her body push harder than it had ever before. All turns looked the same to the Sith Lady, and it was only because of her brutal training that she didn't run into someone or something. She could not afford to. She knew that the two Jedi were on her tail, tracking her down like some sort of common criminal. She could, by no circumstance, be caught by the two Jedi, especially the silver haired one. I have to get off planet, and report to my Master. He will know what to do. Too bad her ship was still half a city away from her. And she knew that even the greatest of Sith Lords could not keep up this constant pace for that long. If only she could find a way to stall the Jedi long enough to get away. The answer hit her, she knew it would take all of her control over the Dark Side, and more, but it would be the only chance. She would have to face off the two Jedi Knights, but she would do it in the hanger bay in which her starship was located.
"Come on Anakin, you can do it! Keep up!" Raza yelled behind, keeping his senses open, as well as maintaining that super human speed in which every Jedi knew. The only problem was that enhancing ones speed normally lasted for a few seconds, not for several minutes like Raza had been doing. It taxed him greatly, and his mere force of will kept him able to maintain the connection to the Force, but what worried Raza more was the taxation on the younger Jedi. "I am!" replied Anakin, sweat dripping down the sides of his forehead. Even at his Trials to become a Jedi Knight, he had not had to focus or exert so much strength. If he ever survived this mission, or this night for that matter, two things would happen. First, he would need to spend a week in bed just to be able to crawl again, and after he was able to walk again, he knew that he would be stronger. That thought alone kept him able to match speeds with Raza. "We are closing in on her! I feel it," with a calming sigh Raza slowed down to a normal jog than eventually went into a full stop. Anakin quickly followed suit and stood beside Raza, panting and dabbing his head with his already sweaty tunic. "She is in there?" asked Anakin, indicating to the large hanger bay with a mere glance, for that was all the strength he had at the moment. "Yes. Can't you feel her?" he asked giving Anakin a look that seemed to say "are you dumb?" "I am sorry, but-I-am-rather.tired," he stated, finally bringing himself to his full posture. "Well do not worry, if you are tired, than she most definitely is, after all, she is just a mere Force-Adept. You are the "chosen one" remember?" he said with a slight wise-ass smirk. "Alright then, so what are we waiting for?" he asked already in start of going into the hanger. That is, until Raza grabbed him by the arm, stopping him. "She obviously lead us here for a trap. Her ship is in there, and she knew if she tried to blast off, we would simply put a tracer on her or something of the sorts. So, she is in there waiting for us." "Then what do you propose we do?" "That is simple Young Jedi. I will walk in and fight her, you just make sure she doesn't get onto her ship." "Understood." Without even as much as an acknowledging nod, Raza set off into the hanger, walking calmly, trying with all his might to not keep from falling to his knees in pure exhaustion. Anakin would never realize that he was their only hope to keeping Aurra on planet.
The hanger was a typical hanger, and it had typical Alderranian features. Inside, Aurra stood before a rather small vehicle, it seemed to be of Corellian design, and probably had little weaponry and was just designed for speed and maneuverability. "Master Jedi, an honor to meet you again," Aurra mock-bowed, her slate colored arm out to the side to show just how much mockery she was bestowing upon the Jedi. "Lady Sing, the honor is all mine," replied Raza with as much sarcasm as he could muster, also giving her a mock-salute. The two stepped closer towards each other, ending up in the center of the hanger. Anakin appeared in front of the small Corellian vessle while Aurra walked. "I see the child is to watch my ship for me? Awe, I am touched by your sincerity Jedi." "I am glad Lady Sing, now shall we continue were we left off?" he asked the 32cm cylinder already in his right hand. "Let's," replied the Sith, her own lightsaber already in her hand. With two echoing snap-hissing sounds, the crimson and lavender blades came to life, connecting together in the first parry and block of the duel. Raza was first to recover from the previous block and brought down his blade towards the Sith's head. This simple assault was quickly blocked off by her crimson blade, doing so by holding it above her head in a horizontal angle. With a swing of her heel, Aurra brought around her blade towards the Jedi's open right side. However, to her dismay, Raza placed a well-placed block to meet it. Inverting the handle of his blade so that it pointed towards the ground to do so. Not bothering to invert his handle once more, Raza merely brought up his inverted blade at a bent vertical angle in an attempt to slice the Sith from the right side of her waist to her left shoulder. Aurra's only defense for this maneuver was spinning around in a full circle, extending her crimson blade just so that it was out before her. Luckily, her unorthodox move worked and knocked the Jedi's blade away, and in doing so caused the Jedi to slightly loose footing. Using this to her advantage, Aurra inverted her blade so that the crimson tip pointed towards the Jedi's open neck, thrusting it downward to poke it through his throat. However, his senses were attuned enough to give him ample warning and therefore he used the sheer power of his legs to propel himself forward in a no-handed flip. Luckily, the blade went right in-between his scissors kicked legs and Raza felt part of his tunic singe away the touch of the crimson blade, thankfully that was the only thing that burned. Another run of luck was that in mid motion of his flip, the last leg up managed to kick Aurra square in the chin with the back of his heel, throwing her to the ground. When the two regained their footing and stances. They started again, parry duel, parry duel. Each one waiting for the other to weaken. And to Aurra's dismay, she felt herself weakening too much to handle the alien Jedi Knight. It was clear whose saber skills were superior. She just needed a few more seconds, and then all would be fine. Of course, her plan took an unexpected turn when she heard the other Jedi yell that she was a fake!
While the duel had been going on, Anakin did exactly as he was told. He stood guard before the small Corellian vessel. His boyhood curiosity of machines took the better of him and caused him to climb atop the ship to inspect it. And that is when a real surprise hit him. Just to the side of the Corellian ship, was an even smaller faster ship. And this ship caused a slight ache in his heart for it reminded him of his wife dearly. It was a Nubian fighter. The real surprise however, was the pilot of the yellow-silver fighter. Aurra Sing was inside of it, and seemed to be in a meditative state of some sort. Anakin quickly did a double take and turned towards the duel to make sure Raza wasn't just fighting air, (which he wasn't) and back to the ship. That is when it hit him! The Aurra Raza was fighting was a doppelganger. He had read about this ancient Sith technique only in the most encrypted of the Temple's archives. It was a spell to create an exact replica of the Sith in which summoned it, and depending on how much concentration the Sith placed in it, the realer the doppelganger became. And according ot how hard Aurra was perspiring, concentrating, and muttering Sith Spells, it was apparent that she was putting all she had into this doppelganger. "Raza! She is a fake!" Anakin yelled towards the duel, and to his surprise, both combatants stopped abruptly, each having his own looks upon his face. Raza's of surprise and Aurra's of satisfaction. Aurra's smile of satisfaction quicly transfigured itself into an insidious and mocking laughter that filled the entire hanger. That laughter quickly diminished as the doppelganger of Aurra began to dissipate back into wherever it came from, still leaving the eerie laugh to fill the hanger. In a vein attempt, Anakin leapt off the Nubian fighter, his body an exquisite example of an acrobat as he tucked himself into a perfect ball, that appeared to drop something out of it onto the Nubian fighter. When Anakin landed in the place where the doppelganger was, he was not surprised to find nothing there, expect his own anger at letting this happen. "Nice duel Jedi! Too bad it will never happen again! For I am afraid I am leaving a little surprise for you!" and with that mocking laughter she threw an object onto the wing of the Corellian vessel. Rather quickly, the Nubian fighter rose from its hibernation, and ascended up into the night sky, however, neither Jedi's attention was on the fleeing ship, but rather the detonator that was clicking itself down to zero, on the Corellian vessel. Turning around to run out the exit as fast as they could, the two Jedi had their backs turned when the world around them exploded in bright light and flame.
"Master, I will be arriving with the next two days, with the information required," Aurra spoke into the com-link as her Nubian fighter prepared to enter hyperspace. "Excellent my Apprentice, you will be rewarded for your efforts," with no more said between Master and Apprentice, the Nubian fighter streaked into hypserspace, unaware of the small barley-visible tracker attached to its hull.