"Has he arrived yet?" Foln sat impatiently on his brand-new yacht,
anxiously
awaiting the bounty hunter known as Zekk's arrival.
"Uh, no sir. He's an hour late," Foln's secretary told him. "Have you considered
that maybe he's-"
"Changed his mind? Yes, I have." He sighed. "I want to contact him. Something's
wrong."
The secretary handed him a commlink. "Here sir."
***
Kima Li awoke to find herself in the same cell on the same ship as before. At first
she panicked, looking frantically around at the confines of the holding area before
realizing that the hatch was open and she could leave anytime she pleased. Then she
remembered what had happened the day before.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
At first she saw black boots and then her gaze trailed up to see the black cloak, up
all the way until she saw the slightly amused face looking down at her.
"Uh, yeah I'm fine. She climbed to her feet rather slowly as the bruises and
discomforts that sleeping on a hard floor all night brought.
"I told you to take the couch," Zekk said.
"What, I feel great." Kima knew she was lying but her pride greatly outweighed
that.
"We're going to have to figure out what to do about this."
"About what?" Kima tilted her head slightly to the side, looking questioningly at
him.
"I'll explain, but do you want to sit down first?"
Kima walked over to the wall and leaned back against it.
"Fine." Zekk remained standing.
"So what exactly is the problem?" Kima asked.
"You. You're the problem. I'm not sure if you've noticed this but you're an
outlaw. A real one, which means that not only is Foln going to be after you but so will the
New Republic and as long as you're on this ship they'll be after me too. That enough of a
problem for you Ms. Li?"
Kima sighed. "I don't get it. Doesn't the fact that you used to be a Jedi give you
some sort of credence with the authorities?"
"The key phrase in there is 'used to be'. I'm not a Jedi anymore. I'm a bounty
hunter which puts me under suspicion right off the bat. I mean, what am I supposed to
say, that I have a gut feeling you're telling the truth?"
"What are you going to do about it then, turn me in? Shove me out the nearest
exhaust port?" Her eyes sparked with a challenging gleam.
"No. However, this whole business does need to be cleared-"
"Just then, D-1 rolled in bleeping something at Zekk.
"Ignore it buddy," Zekk said. "In fact, why don't you just off the comm. systems
altogether."
D-1 tooted an affirmative and then rolled on down the hallway.
"What was that all about?" Kima asked.
"Foln. I was supposed to give you to him a while ago and like I figured, he's
pestering me about my failure to deliver."
"I suspect that Foln's other bounty hunters have already began a search for this
ship so I'll have to get someplace where we can evade capture."
"What do you have in mind?"
Zekk sighed. "I'm thinking about it."
***
"He should be dead by now!" Darth Malik fumed. "He should be dead and the girl
in our possession."
"He's a better pilot than you think." Darth Omega countered. "He made it to
hyperspace before I could finish him off."
Malik shook his head. "This is not good. Zekk could be anywhere in the galaxy
right now."
"I doubt it," said Omega. "He's probably delivering the girl to Foln, which is a
good thing since Kima will be much easier to secure then."
"You are wrong Omega. I have been monitoring Foln's comm. signals and Zekk
has not delivered her to him. No, I think that he is thinking strategically and strategically,
the best place to go would be Coruscant."
Darth Omega frowned. "I will not ask how you came to that conclusion since it
seems entirely ridiculous."
"Nor will I tell you. Time should tell whether my theory is right. You're job is to
kill Zekk and capture Kima, not question my authority."
Omega winced at the scathing words. "Of course, master."
***
"Zekk? Zekk what?"
"I don't know." Foln said. "He owns a ship called the Lightning Rod and is
currently harboring a wanted terrorist from my world."
"Mr. Foln, if you could give me a physical description."
"Zekk is about 6' 2", dark hair about 20 years old."
"And this Kima person?"
Foln paused. "She's tall, maybe around 6'. Long, black hair, brown eyes."
The police chief sighed. "I'll put out an APB for the ship Mr. Foln. Who knows,
maybe these guys will turn up."
After saying a quick thank you, Foln shut off his commlink.
"Sir, the private investigator you asked for is here." Foln's secretary came to
stand in front of him. "Should I let him in?"
"Yes, yes." He said with a waving gesture. His secretary nodded and opened the
door to let in a middle-aged human in formal dress attire.
"Sit down. Please." Foln gestured to a white sofa across from him.
After taking a seat, the man took a short moment to polish his glasses before
taking some yellow papers out of his briefcase. "Thank you, Meester Foln for taking zhe
time to see mee."
Foln shot his secretary a covert look that inquired as to what kind of accent this
man had but the secretary came up empty, shrugging.
"Its uh. my pleasure." Foln leaned forward. "Now tell me, Mr. Veel what you
have found?"
Mr. Veel sorted through his papers once more, taking the time to rub the bridge of
his nose. "No vone has seen Keema or Zekk since zhe Star Destroyer eencident. I have
talked with all zhe necessary authoritees and I can also confirm zhat zhey haven't left zhe
sector."
"Hmm." Foln projected an aura indifference even as impatience threatened to
surge up out of him. "What do you predict that Zekk will do now? He has to know that
not only am I going to pursue him but the New Republic as well, something I would think that he wouldn't like."
Mr. Veel stroked his nose. "Are you sure, Meester Foln, zhat Zekk has betrayed
you? A look at Keema's files reveel zhat she vas very extensivelee trained in zhe martial
arts. Perhaps she overpowered Zekk and is now in control of zhe ship."
Foln raised an eyebrow. It was a possibility he hadn't considered. Smiling, he
leaned back. This was going to be a nice, long chat.
***
Kima wanted two things right now. One was a change of diet. She had been
eating Zekk's stale food rations ever since she'd been on the ship and frankly, she
couldn't understand how he ate the stuff. The other thing she wanted was a holovision
channel that wasn't showing her face every five minutes and talking about 'Kima the
terrorist's escape.' It made her sick.
She heard a slight sound coming from the training room that Zekk had set up in
his ship and lazily decided to go see him. It was better thjan wathing the Holovision.
Stretching, she walked down the hallway inside of the ship and turned. There was
the entrance that lacked a door and beyond that, Zekk, who was sitting cross-legged on
the ground, a long shadow being cast by a single lit frame in the otherwise dark room.
Kima was about to say something but then saw the chair that was hanging suspended in
the air in front of him. Leaning back against the doorframe, she opted to simply watch
him levitate things. It could be interesting.
"What do you want Kima?"
Even though Zekk was facing away from her and she'd been virtually silent, he
was still able to detect her, something that unnerved her a little.
"So.have you seen the news?" she asked genially.
Gently, the chair that had been hanging in the air floated down to the ground, the
candle winked out, and Zekk got up, turning to face Kima. "No, but I have a good idea
what the main story is."
"Hmmm." Kima wished that she was a better conversationalist. She had nothing
better to do than talk and here she was, at a loss for words.
"Did you need anything?" Zekk asked when she failed to say something.
"Oh, uh." she said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you have lights in
here?"
Zekk flipped on the light switch, illuminating the room. "That answer you're
question?"
"Yep."
"Okay." Zekk started to turn but Kima quickly added, "Do you want to spar?"
"What?"
Kima walked inside the room, motioning to the sparring gear hanging from pegs
on the wall. "You know, spar." Her eyes narrowed into a teasing look. "Come on, don't
tell me that with the fighting skills you have you've never sparred."
Zekk thought about it. He had used to spar. a lot back when he was in the Jedi
Academy. Oh the memories that rain of thought triggered. Memories of him and Jaina
and the playful stunsaber matches they'd had.
"You okay?" Kima asked when she saw the faraway look enter his eyes.
"I. yeah, I'm okay." He shook his head and then walked over to the pegs on the
wall, tossing Kima his extra tera kaasi sparring equipment.
"Let's go."
awaiting the bounty hunter known as Zekk's arrival.
"Uh, no sir. He's an hour late," Foln's secretary told him. "Have you considered
that maybe he's-"
"Changed his mind? Yes, I have." He sighed. "I want to contact him. Something's
wrong."
The secretary handed him a commlink. "Here sir."
***
Kima Li awoke to find herself in the same cell on the same ship as before. At first
she panicked, looking frantically around at the confines of the holding area before
realizing that the hatch was open and she could leave anytime she pleased. Then she
remembered what had happened the day before.
"Hey, is everything okay?"
At first she saw black boots and then her gaze trailed up to see the black cloak, up
all the way until she saw the slightly amused face looking down at her.
"Uh, yeah I'm fine. She climbed to her feet rather slowly as the bruises and
discomforts that sleeping on a hard floor all night brought.
"I told you to take the couch," Zekk said.
"What, I feel great." Kima knew she was lying but her pride greatly outweighed
that.
"We're going to have to figure out what to do about this."
"About what?" Kima tilted her head slightly to the side, looking questioningly at
him.
"I'll explain, but do you want to sit down first?"
Kima walked over to the wall and leaned back against it.
"Fine." Zekk remained standing.
"So what exactly is the problem?" Kima asked.
"You. You're the problem. I'm not sure if you've noticed this but you're an
outlaw. A real one, which means that not only is Foln going to be after you but so will the
New Republic and as long as you're on this ship they'll be after me too. That enough of a
problem for you Ms. Li?"
Kima sighed. "I don't get it. Doesn't the fact that you used to be a Jedi give you
some sort of credence with the authorities?"
"The key phrase in there is 'used to be'. I'm not a Jedi anymore. I'm a bounty
hunter which puts me under suspicion right off the bat. I mean, what am I supposed to
say, that I have a gut feeling you're telling the truth?"
"What are you going to do about it then, turn me in? Shove me out the nearest
exhaust port?" Her eyes sparked with a challenging gleam.
"No. However, this whole business does need to be cleared-"
"Just then, D-1 rolled in bleeping something at Zekk.
"Ignore it buddy," Zekk said. "In fact, why don't you just off the comm. systems
altogether."
D-1 tooted an affirmative and then rolled on down the hallway.
"What was that all about?" Kima asked.
"Foln. I was supposed to give you to him a while ago and like I figured, he's
pestering me about my failure to deliver."
"I suspect that Foln's other bounty hunters have already began a search for this
ship so I'll have to get someplace where we can evade capture."
"What do you have in mind?"
Zekk sighed. "I'm thinking about it."
***
"He should be dead by now!" Darth Malik fumed. "He should be dead and the girl
in our possession."
"He's a better pilot than you think." Darth Omega countered. "He made it to
hyperspace before I could finish him off."
Malik shook his head. "This is not good. Zekk could be anywhere in the galaxy
right now."
"I doubt it," said Omega. "He's probably delivering the girl to Foln, which is a
good thing since Kima will be much easier to secure then."
"You are wrong Omega. I have been monitoring Foln's comm. signals and Zekk
has not delivered her to him. No, I think that he is thinking strategically and strategically,
the best place to go would be Coruscant."
Darth Omega frowned. "I will not ask how you came to that conclusion since it
seems entirely ridiculous."
"Nor will I tell you. Time should tell whether my theory is right. You're job is to
kill Zekk and capture Kima, not question my authority."
Omega winced at the scathing words. "Of course, master."
***
"Zekk? Zekk what?"
"I don't know." Foln said. "He owns a ship called the Lightning Rod and is
currently harboring a wanted terrorist from my world."
"Mr. Foln, if you could give me a physical description."
"Zekk is about 6' 2", dark hair about 20 years old."
"And this Kima person?"
Foln paused. "She's tall, maybe around 6'. Long, black hair, brown eyes."
The police chief sighed. "I'll put out an APB for the ship Mr. Foln. Who knows,
maybe these guys will turn up."
After saying a quick thank you, Foln shut off his commlink.
"Sir, the private investigator you asked for is here." Foln's secretary came to
stand in front of him. "Should I let him in?"
"Yes, yes." He said with a waving gesture. His secretary nodded and opened the
door to let in a middle-aged human in formal dress attire.
"Sit down. Please." Foln gestured to a white sofa across from him.
After taking a seat, the man took a short moment to polish his glasses before
taking some yellow papers out of his briefcase. "Thank you, Meester Foln for taking zhe
time to see mee."
Foln shot his secretary a covert look that inquired as to what kind of accent this
man had but the secretary came up empty, shrugging.
"Its uh. my pleasure." Foln leaned forward. "Now tell me, Mr. Veel what you
have found?"
Mr. Veel sorted through his papers once more, taking the time to rub the bridge of
his nose. "No vone has seen Keema or Zekk since zhe Star Destroyer eencident. I have
talked with all zhe necessary authoritees and I can also confirm zhat zhey haven't left zhe
sector."
"Hmm." Foln projected an aura indifference even as impatience threatened to
surge up out of him. "What do you predict that Zekk will do now? He has to know that
not only am I going to pursue him but the New Republic as well, something I would think that he wouldn't like."
Mr. Veel stroked his nose. "Are you sure, Meester Foln, zhat Zekk has betrayed
you? A look at Keema's files reveel zhat she vas very extensivelee trained in zhe martial
arts. Perhaps she overpowered Zekk and is now in control of zhe ship."
Foln raised an eyebrow. It was a possibility he hadn't considered. Smiling, he
leaned back. This was going to be a nice, long chat.
***
Kima wanted two things right now. One was a change of diet. She had been
eating Zekk's stale food rations ever since she'd been on the ship and frankly, she
couldn't understand how he ate the stuff. The other thing she wanted was a holovision
channel that wasn't showing her face every five minutes and talking about 'Kima the
terrorist's escape.' It made her sick.
She heard a slight sound coming from the training room that Zekk had set up in
his ship and lazily decided to go see him. It was better thjan wathing the Holovision.
Stretching, she walked down the hallway inside of the ship and turned. There was
the entrance that lacked a door and beyond that, Zekk, who was sitting cross-legged on
the ground, a long shadow being cast by a single lit frame in the otherwise dark room.
Kima was about to say something but then saw the chair that was hanging suspended in
the air in front of him. Leaning back against the doorframe, she opted to simply watch
him levitate things. It could be interesting.
"What do you want Kima?"
Even though Zekk was facing away from her and she'd been virtually silent, he
was still able to detect her, something that unnerved her a little.
"So.have you seen the news?" she asked genially.
Gently, the chair that had been hanging in the air floated down to the ground, the
candle winked out, and Zekk got up, turning to face Kima. "No, but I have a good idea
what the main story is."
"Hmmm." Kima wished that she was a better conversationalist. She had nothing
better to do than talk and here she was, at a loss for words.
"Did you need anything?" Zekk asked when she failed to say something.
"Oh, uh." she said the first thing that came to mind. "Do you have lights in
here?"
Zekk flipped on the light switch, illuminating the room. "That answer you're
question?"
"Yep."
"Okay." Zekk started to turn but Kima quickly added, "Do you want to spar?"
"What?"
Kima walked inside the room, motioning to the sparring gear hanging from pegs
on the wall. "You know, spar." Her eyes narrowed into a teasing look. "Come on, don't
tell me that with the fighting skills you have you've never sparred."
Zekk thought about it. He had used to spar. a lot back when he was in the Jedi
Academy. Oh the memories that rain of thought triggered. Memories of him and Jaina
and the playful stunsaber matches they'd had.
"You okay?" Kima asked when she saw the faraway look enter his eyes.
"I. yeah, I'm okay." He shook his head and then walked over to the pegs on the
wall, tossing Kima his extra tera kaasi sparring equipment.
"Let's go."