The ship that entered Dantooine's atmosphere shone brightly, reflecting the
light from its surface. Inside it, Zeydan Utos-Rii engaged the landing
gear, and directed the ship gracefully into the only docking station on the
planet. Once there, he turned off the ship's engines, gathered what
belongings he had and proceeded to leave. Just before leaving though, he
took one long look around what he now called "his ship", and said quietly
with a slight grin, "Don't miss me...I'll be back, old girl."
He walked slowly down the ramp and was surprised to see such a large crowd of people milling about. He looked to his far right and saw a large star- freighter. 'Probably carrying the daily horde of tourists', he speculated. Immediately his thoughts were distracted by the steady gaze of a beautiful woman looking right at him. She had an alluring smile and the most striking violet eyes; it was almost as if she was drawing him towards her with those eyes. Instinctively, he became guarded and was aware that these feelings were not characteristic of himself. Something was terribly wrong - he could sense it. What was it that Master Estar had mentioned so long ago? "The cheapest trick in the book, Padawan. Distract your opponent long enough, providing sufficient time for the real attack to come from the right or the left. You won't even have time to think."
Zeydan reached for his saber hidden inside his coat, ignited it and whirling to the right managed to block the shot from a blaster just in time. Several more blasts followed, leaving him little time to contemplate where the shots were coming from. So he reached out with the Force. In his mind he saw about seven, no...ten assailants closing in on him. From all around. They were trying to trap him - he would have nowhere to hide if he didn't act quickly. He had a feeling that more would be coming, but some strange force was impeding his thoughts from finding out how many.
'No time to worry about that now...Quick! Back to the ship!' he thought. 'No, blast it...I'll be damned if I let them harm my ship! Make a run for it; away from all these people, and hope that I'll loose them that way!' Then, amongst the screams and wails of passers-by and tourists, Zeydan jumped over two of his would-be assailants and away from the docking station.
He ran flat-out not looking back, all the while using the Force to sense any oncoming danger in the direction he was headed. He ran in the alleys between some buildings, when he realized that he had entered Dantooine's town. He wanted to confuse his attackers, so he zipped through the alleyways in a haphazard manner. A few minutes later, he saw what looked like an abandoned warehouse and went in. He needed time to collect himself, to find out where he was and what in the world this pleasant little welcoming committee was all about.
The building was darker inside - with the sole light source coming from the large doorway. He walked in further, panting and muttering to himself. He was just about to seat himself on a crate, when it suddenly became much darker. Blinking, he looked towards the person blocking the light from the doorway. The silhouette was similar to the woman he saw at the docking station, except for the military-style blaster that she now held in her hand.
"Come out, Jedi. You know that your resistance is pointless." she cooed in a seductive voice, and then whispered something into a gadget that she held in her left hand. Most likely a com-link to summon her associates.
She couldn't see him! Zeydan grinned and backed away slowly into the darkened confines of the building. He noticed that she was hesitant to walk in further.
"You're trapped. Nowhere to flee, why not end this quickly and painlessly?" she said as she took a few steps inside.
'That's good, come inside...further...just a little more,' willed Zeydan with his thoughts, at the same time eyeing a switch near the doorway that probably was the control to opening and closing the door. He fervently hoped that she wouldn't back out - she was his chance to finding out who had organized this attack.
The woman immediately halted and Zeydan cursed inwardly. What was making her so blastingly scared? She needed an incentive - Zeydan gave her one.
He made a shuffling noise and her head then instantly jerked towards the noise source. Her eyes then narrowed as she cautiously walked towards him. Zeydan then flung a piece of rock as hard as he could that landed squarely on the control switch, causing the large door to come crashing down, the loud noise making her jump in the darkness that now enveloped her.
She coiled herself to make a sprint for the door, but before she could do so, Zeydan was behind her, pinning her arms behind her tightly, knocking her blaster to the floor. He sensed that mind tricks would not prevail in this instance - her mind was too strong. He would have to resort to coercion.
"Now let me make this quick and painless: answer my questions, and you can go." he said calmly, while kicking her blaster away from them both.
He continued. "Who set you up to this?"
"You're not even man enough to kill me! Where's your courage when you have to resort to luring me in instead of facing me?" she hissed. Her cool, seductive demeanor had vanished.
"Couldn't have you bail on me, could I now? I need to know." he emphasized how much, by tightening his grip on her arms. "Either way, you're in a sticky situation. But you're in luck - you get to decide how deep this goes. You walk out of here unharmed, your compatriots will most likely think you ratted on them, even if it isn't true. They'll kill you - it's as simple as that. You tell me, I'll let you go, and you can get as far as you can away from them. The only difference between your two choices is that one of them allows you to live. To have a better life than the one you have now. I figure that you're smart enough to guess which option that is."
At that moment, their attentions were drawn towards the doorway. From outside they heard scuffling sounds of many feet and voices together.
"Arya! Open this door if you can hear me or we're gonna blast it open!" shouted one voice.
Zeydan felt her body relax as she hung her head.
"Listen carefully; you're obviously a rookie in this dangerous game you're playing, Arya. Too young to know who to trust. Is that the sound of a forgiving voice? Are these the type of people you call your friends? Walk away from this. Start a new life while you still have one left!" he whispered.
She spoke back in a small childlike voice. "Our leader. Mehrkem...You want General Mehrkem."
That wasn't the name Utos-Rii expected to hear. Mehrkem was unfamiliar to him.
"Who put him up to this? Does he have any associates of his own?" He asked hurriedly - pressed for time.
"We're not supposed to know...but I've seen him frequently in the cantina, talking with someone...with Swan-something..."
"Sven. Dylar Sven."
She nodded but didn't speak. He heard some metal clinking against metal outside the door, and then loosed his grip on the woman, grabbing her hand instead and pulled her quickly to the back of the warehouse. He ignited his saber, and with the aid of the bright blue glow it emitted he saw a sealed window. He walked hurriedly over to it and began to cut open a large hole. In a few seconds he had finished, and kicked out the cut-out metal with his foot. The sunlight blinded them for an instant, but they both leapt through the hole at the same moment that a loud blast sounded throughout the building.
They stood outside for a few seconds, each contemplating their next move. Zeydan looked at her for a second before speaking.
"Don't let them find you. You can go your own way now."
She nodded with a sad yet determined look as they both parted ways and ran in opposite directions.
He walked slowly down the ramp and was surprised to see such a large crowd of people milling about. He looked to his far right and saw a large star- freighter. 'Probably carrying the daily horde of tourists', he speculated. Immediately his thoughts were distracted by the steady gaze of a beautiful woman looking right at him. She had an alluring smile and the most striking violet eyes; it was almost as if she was drawing him towards her with those eyes. Instinctively, he became guarded and was aware that these feelings were not characteristic of himself. Something was terribly wrong - he could sense it. What was it that Master Estar had mentioned so long ago? "The cheapest trick in the book, Padawan. Distract your opponent long enough, providing sufficient time for the real attack to come from the right or the left. You won't even have time to think."
Zeydan reached for his saber hidden inside his coat, ignited it and whirling to the right managed to block the shot from a blaster just in time. Several more blasts followed, leaving him little time to contemplate where the shots were coming from. So he reached out with the Force. In his mind he saw about seven, no...ten assailants closing in on him. From all around. They were trying to trap him - he would have nowhere to hide if he didn't act quickly. He had a feeling that more would be coming, but some strange force was impeding his thoughts from finding out how many.
'No time to worry about that now...Quick! Back to the ship!' he thought. 'No, blast it...I'll be damned if I let them harm my ship! Make a run for it; away from all these people, and hope that I'll loose them that way!' Then, amongst the screams and wails of passers-by and tourists, Zeydan jumped over two of his would-be assailants and away from the docking station.
He ran flat-out not looking back, all the while using the Force to sense any oncoming danger in the direction he was headed. He ran in the alleys between some buildings, when he realized that he had entered Dantooine's town. He wanted to confuse his attackers, so he zipped through the alleyways in a haphazard manner. A few minutes later, he saw what looked like an abandoned warehouse and went in. He needed time to collect himself, to find out where he was and what in the world this pleasant little welcoming committee was all about.
The building was darker inside - with the sole light source coming from the large doorway. He walked in further, panting and muttering to himself. He was just about to seat himself on a crate, when it suddenly became much darker. Blinking, he looked towards the person blocking the light from the doorway. The silhouette was similar to the woman he saw at the docking station, except for the military-style blaster that she now held in her hand.
"Come out, Jedi. You know that your resistance is pointless." she cooed in a seductive voice, and then whispered something into a gadget that she held in her left hand. Most likely a com-link to summon her associates.
She couldn't see him! Zeydan grinned and backed away slowly into the darkened confines of the building. He noticed that she was hesitant to walk in further.
"You're trapped. Nowhere to flee, why not end this quickly and painlessly?" she said as she took a few steps inside.
'That's good, come inside...further...just a little more,' willed Zeydan with his thoughts, at the same time eyeing a switch near the doorway that probably was the control to opening and closing the door. He fervently hoped that she wouldn't back out - she was his chance to finding out who had organized this attack.
The woman immediately halted and Zeydan cursed inwardly. What was making her so blastingly scared? She needed an incentive - Zeydan gave her one.
He made a shuffling noise and her head then instantly jerked towards the noise source. Her eyes then narrowed as she cautiously walked towards him. Zeydan then flung a piece of rock as hard as he could that landed squarely on the control switch, causing the large door to come crashing down, the loud noise making her jump in the darkness that now enveloped her.
She coiled herself to make a sprint for the door, but before she could do so, Zeydan was behind her, pinning her arms behind her tightly, knocking her blaster to the floor. He sensed that mind tricks would not prevail in this instance - her mind was too strong. He would have to resort to coercion.
"Now let me make this quick and painless: answer my questions, and you can go." he said calmly, while kicking her blaster away from them both.
He continued. "Who set you up to this?"
"You're not even man enough to kill me! Where's your courage when you have to resort to luring me in instead of facing me?" she hissed. Her cool, seductive demeanor had vanished.
"Couldn't have you bail on me, could I now? I need to know." he emphasized how much, by tightening his grip on her arms. "Either way, you're in a sticky situation. But you're in luck - you get to decide how deep this goes. You walk out of here unharmed, your compatriots will most likely think you ratted on them, even if it isn't true. They'll kill you - it's as simple as that. You tell me, I'll let you go, and you can get as far as you can away from them. The only difference between your two choices is that one of them allows you to live. To have a better life than the one you have now. I figure that you're smart enough to guess which option that is."
At that moment, their attentions were drawn towards the doorway. From outside they heard scuffling sounds of many feet and voices together.
"Arya! Open this door if you can hear me or we're gonna blast it open!" shouted one voice.
Zeydan felt her body relax as she hung her head.
"Listen carefully; you're obviously a rookie in this dangerous game you're playing, Arya. Too young to know who to trust. Is that the sound of a forgiving voice? Are these the type of people you call your friends? Walk away from this. Start a new life while you still have one left!" he whispered.
She spoke back in a small childlike voice. "Our leader. Mehrkem...You want General Mehrkem."
That wasn't the name Utos-Rii expected to hear. Mehrkem was unfamiliar to him.
"Who put him up to this? Does he have any associates of his own?" He asked hurriedly - pressed for time.
"We're not supposed to know...but I've seen him frequently in the cantina, talking with someone...with Swan-something..."
"Sven. Dylar Sven."
She nodded but didn't speak. He heard some metal clinking against metal outside the door, and then loosed his grip on the woman, grabbing her hand instead and pulled her quickly to the back of the warehouse. He ignited his saber, and with the aid of the bright blue glow it emitted he saw a sealed window. He walked hurriedly over to it and began to cut open a large hole. In a few seconds he had finished, and kicked out the cut-out metal with his foot. The sunlight blinded them for an instant, but they both leapt through the hole at the same moment that a loud blast sounded throughout the building.
They stood outside for a few seconds, each contemplating their next move. Zeydan looked at her for a second before speaking.
"Don't let them find you. You can go your own way now."
She nodded with a sad yet determined look as they both parted ways and ran in opposite directions.
