A/N - Well, Ivy, you might not be too far off with those nasty little thoughts running through your mind. Anyway, here's the chapter we've all been waiting for. The hunt is on.
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Cat and Mouse
With a smirk briefly crossing her face, Keilana walked silently away from her room, carefully shutting herself out of the Force as she went. Since she had discovered she could do so, the bounty hunter had been practising on dampening her appearance in the Force to the point were she could become invisible to those who wielded it. She had even tested it around Mara Jade and, much to her delight, the woman had given her a look of confusion and the question was on her lips when Keilana allowed her Force presence to come back. It felt good being able to do something that confused the Masters so, though, it was going to feel much better with those three million credits nestled safely against her breast.
Before rounding the first corner, Keilana pressed her back against the wall, which was a little difficult with the two blasters crossed there, and peered around it. There was someone in the hall. With another quick glance, she could see that whoever it was was not moving and, in fact, had already disappeared inside a room. Thinking about what she had said to Jacen earlier that day, Keilana checked once more and continued on her way, her boots making no noise against the carpeted floor.
The rest of the way to the lifts Keilana was met with no resistance and indeed by no other person. She lurked around the edge of the wide, circular room, making sure to stay within the shadows as she moved toward the other side of the room. Once there, she looked both up and down the transparent lifts and quickly decided against that mean of transportation. Anybody could see her and the alarm would quickly be raised. Pressing against the wall once again, Keilana glanced around the room before her eyes feel upon something on the other side. It looked like the outline of a door, but with the coats of paint covering it, it was hard to be sure. With another glance around the room to make sure she was alone, Keilana sprinted silently to the other wall. Once sure she had not been seen or heard, she started to examine the wall. Running her gloved fingers over the indent, she nodded and pulled a tool from her belt which she attempted inserting between the wall and the indent. It didn't work. Pursing her lips and trying a bit higher, she was met with success.
The thin tool slid smoothly between the wall and the door.
A smile blossomed on her lips and Keilana made short work of opening the ancient door. Its hinges were rusted shut and made a horrible sound as she opening it. Slipping in and hoping no one had heard the result of her carelessness, Keilana pushed the door shut without another sound.
Just inside the door there were a set of stairs, some going up and another set going down. Walking to the railing, Keilana looked both ways, becoming slightly dizzy from the sheer height. After a shake of her head, she headed toward the stairs going up and started taking them two at a time.
She had moved two stories before the sound of another being reached her ears. Sprinting around the corner and pulling her pistol from it's holster, she flattened herself against the steps, peering down to the landing just below her. However, when the lift speed past the wall, she was able to relax slightly and continue on her way. Replacing the pistol, she jumped up and moved up until there were no more stairs. Luckily enough, she was only one floor down from the one the Skywalker apartment was on. Pausing just inside the door, Keilana closed her eyes and used her primitive Force skills to reach out to the room beyond. It was empty—except for
she muttered. That Solo girl seems to turn up in all the wrong places.
It was true. Jaina Solo had just walked through the room and was waiting patiently for a lift. She could not sense Keilana and did not know of the danger that lay just to her left. Despite that, Keilana chose not to strike. Knocking out too many Solo's would not be a good thing and possibly end up giving her away.
So, she waited in the dim stairwell for Jaina to move on to her next destination and then waited several minutes after she was gone. Reaching out further and into the surrounding hallways, Keilana determined that no one else was around and slipped out of the hidden door, paint chips falling into her hair as she went.
The next few minutes went by without incident. There was no one around, for it was rather late at night, and the hall lights had been dimmed. However, just to be on the safe side, Keilana drew her blaster from it's thigh holster and peered around the next corner, her blaster resting on her shoulder. Walking toward her, unsuspecting and alone, was a single female alien. Her face was wrapped and her hands gloved, making it impossible for Keilana to tell her species. The only indication of gender was the slim frame and the soft swell of breasts; the furred tail was all that gave away that she was of another species. Snarling and hiding behind the corner, Keilana caught a snippet of the woman's hushed conversation into a comlink held up to her hidden lips.
There is something I think she's No, I don't knowseen her Came the woman's rough voice. Unable to determine what this woman was talking about, Keilana turned her thoughts away from it. She had a decision to make and quick. The options ran through Keilana's mind quicker than an antiqued podrace and she picked one even quicker. Stepping full around the corner, Keilana lashed out with a powerful upper cut with her right hand, coming in contact with the woman's jaw. Her head snapped back before she brought it to glare at Keilana, her mouth ajar and spouting foul comments. The curses stopped, however, the moment she laid eyes on the woman in front of her. The alien's eyes widened just before they rolled back into her head, her body crumpling to the ground. Her comlink rolled across the floor and a faintly familiar voice echoed through it uttering words of surprise. Not wanting the idiot on the other end to draw attention to her work, Keilana smashed the rather large model beneath the heel of her boot before dragging the unconscious alien across the floor and stuffing her in a conveniently placed laundry cart. Before continuing on her way, Keilana threw one last sheet over the lump of the female's body.
It was not long until Keilana found the flight of stairs that led to the Skywalker's floor. Glancing around, she took them two by two and then flattened herself against the floor. After placing her ear to the carpet and using a primitive way of checking for others, Keilana rose to her feet and crept down the hall, one gloved hand trailing on the wall, the other held over her blaster. Now was the time that she had to be extra careful. One wrong move and she could kiss the three million good-bye. Pursing her lips at the very thought, Keilana cleared her mind and began focusing on the immense task at hand. She rounded corner after corner, her pace slow and steady, until she was in sight of the Skywalker's door. A smile curved her lips.
Putting one hand into one of her pouches, Keilana withdrew at least a dozen flat objects which she placed in equally distanced spots around the hall. If simply glanced at, they would be invisible. Only Keilana would really know that something was there.
Retracing her steps back around one corner, Keilana stood on her toes and pushed at a ceiling grate that was just within reach. It took several minutes but she eventually worked it open enough for her to lift herself through. The grate was then replaced and Keilana moved back down Luke's hall, pausing at another grate. Lowering herself to her stomach, Keilana managed to find a position from which she could watch the door, though no one in the hall could see her.
It took another ten minutes before Keilana was sure no one was going in or out of the Skywalker's apartment. In fact, she could feel them in their apartment. They were still and therefore asleep, as far as Keilana could determine. She dared not reach out too far with the Force lest one or both of them realizing that she was near. However, after a moment's thought, Keilana reached out and mentally pushed Luke, hoping to wake him. She knew it would not wake him completely, but at least now he had been disturbed from his once peaceful dreams.
With another Force prod, Keilana activated one of the devices she had placed around the hall. A faint crashing sound echoed through the hall followed by muttered curses and angry shouts. Keilana could not help but smile. These were left over from another of her bounties, though, with a few modifications, she could use the Force rather than a hand held remote to activate them. Pushing at another, the sound of slightly louder cursing came to her ears as well as the sound of heavy footsteps. She only hoped it would be enough to wake Luke and lure him out into the hall. And surely enough, after a few more pokes and prods of the Force and the same amount of noise coming from the hall, a dishevelled, half-clothed Jedi Master stepped through the door of his apartment.
Scratching at his pillow-worn, blonde hair, Luke looked from side to side down the hall, a yawn interrupting the baffled look on his face. He could have sworn, moments ago, that a herd of bantha driven by an angry swoop pilot had been tramping through his hall. The curses and footsteps outside his door certainly had been loud enough to be so. However, much to his surprise, there was no one there.
And Keilana watched on from her balcony seat. There was a smile playing on her lips and a grin in her eyes as she prodded one more time, the faint sound of running echoing toward Luke. This caused the Jedi to turn sharply to the left before retreating inside his apartment. Keilana was not happy. What was he doing? Was he just going to leave it be?
Just about ready to knock on Luke's door with a blaster rifle, Keilana had to suppress her sigh as the man came back out, a loose tunic covering his chest and his lightsaber hanging from the belt he now wore. Nodding and rising silently to her feet, her posture stooped in the cramped ventilation shaft, Keilana set off the last sound chip and began to follow behind the Jedi as he made his way down the hallway, following the men that did not actually exist.
After a few corners and nearly losing sight of him through the randomly placed grates, Keilana decided she needed a better way of forcing him where she wanted him to go. She already had him heading toward the mess hall, a difficult task in itself. It was several floors up from her goal room, but that would have to do for now. Besides, once he was in the mess hall, she could make her appearance. Then the fun would really begin.
To put it bluntly, Luke was confused. Something loud and obvious had woken both he and his wife up, but now there was no one in sight. There were no longer the sounds of running or even walking anymore. All there was was this incredible urge to get to the mess hall. He was not hungry nor was he thirsty for something other than water. He felt that if he made it to the mess hall he would find exactly what he was searching for. Shaking his head, Luke decided he must have really missed it this time and missed it by a long shot. Mara told him that this paranoia of his was getting out of hand but tonight he just could not control it. Perhaps if he went to the mess hall this odd feeling of being watched would disappear. He knew it sounded crazy but he just could not shake it.
Pausing for a moment, Luke touched the wall and looked up at the ceiling. Was that the sound of footsteps? Taking a few steps forward he thought he heard it again. Now he really was going crazy. Sighing and taking another step forward, he could have sworn he had heard scrambling. Looking once more to the ceiling, Luke's eyes landed on a grate in the ceiling and beyond that There was something looking back at him. Blinking and looking closer this time, Luke realized that the pair of black eyes that had been watching him were gone. There was no more sound coming from the vents in the ceiling nor was there the feeling of being watched. It felt as if a great load had been taken off his back. He slowed to a halt and was about ready to turn back to his room when suddenly a great crash resounded through the halls. Something was in the mess hall.
Turning that way and sprinting down the passage, Luke skidded to a halt so as not to run into the slowly opening doors. Once there was a gap wide enough for him to fit through Luke stepped into the dark room, his eyes momentarily blinded. After a few seconds, however, Luke thought he saw the eyes once again, this time coming from a shadowed and hooded face, a face that was peering at him from the other side of the hall. Reaching out with the Force, Luke recoiled one step and stared forward. The figure simply stared back.
Yuuzhan Vong? Here in the Academy? Luke felt his jaw drop, but for a split second, he could not do a thing about it. It was not until the hooded figure turned and fled from the room that he came back to his senses. He had to go after it. No Yuuzhan Vong dare threaten his students!
Not even bothering to pull his lightsaber from his belt, Luke took off at top speed after the shadow, leaping over tables as if they were hurdles. He had to catch it. There was no telling where it was heading and no knowing what it planned to do once reaching its destination. Skidding around a corner, Luke just caught a glimpse of the figure before it disappeared around another corner. Whoever this creature was, it sure knew the Temple. So far it had managed to avoid every dead-end while working it's way steadily toward a flight of stairs. This did not sit well in the pit of Luke's stomach.
Once reaching the steps, Luke's lungs were screaming for a rest, they needed air. It was then he realized, again, that he was not as young as he once had been. This shadow he chased, however, was in very good condition indeed. It had not slowed it's pace through the halls and now was flying down the steps three at a time. There seemed to be no stopping it, and at that no catching it either. Conserving his energy, Luke took the stairs at a slightly slower, less insane pace. The figure seemed to sense this. Pausing at the bottom of the grand staircase, it looked back up at Luke, it's black eyes catching what light there was. However, it was not enough light to make out any details. Luke could not tell how tall it was or whether it was male or female. There was nothing but those two cold, black eyes; eyes that seemed to dance with delight and shine in a light deadlier than Luke had ever known.
And then it was gone once again. It flit out of view, only to become visible once more while passing a window. All Luke could make out was a great sweeping jacket and a large hood that covered its hair and face. Two objects crossed the shadow's back but from this distance Luke could not make out what they were. Weapons, he was sure of that much, but what kinds of weapons, Luke hadn't a clue.
Upon reaching the floor, Luke took off once again. He willed his legs to go faster and drew in energy from the Force, but he still could not catch up. Whatever pace he was setting, the figure in front of him matched, even without glancing back. It knew when he slowed and again when he sped up. This caused a new thought to form itself in Luke's mind, but it horrified him so that he quickly shook it free. Clearing his mind and pumping his legs as fast as they would go, Luke stopped paying attention to where he was running. All he knew was that he had to stop this creature.
Windows became lightened blurs and disappointments as he passed them. Even in a hall brightly lit by two of Coruscant's four moons, Luke could not see who it was he chased. All he could tell was that it was good at whatever it was trying to pull off. It knew the Temple like the back of its hand—better even—for there was no slack in pace when it came to corners or bends. It seemed to be leading him somewhere, rather than him chasing it, but he buried that thought right away. Like Mara said, he needed to control this paranoia that had grown in the past few weeks.
After an interminable amount of time, Luke skid to a halt. He was in front of the medical ward. He was not exactly sure of how he had gotten there, for it would not have taken very much time to get here from the mess hall. He must have been led in a great spiral he was not aware of. To his right were the tall windows looking out over the city and to his left the doors and windows of the medcenter. In the light of the two moons, Luke could just make out the figure further down the hall. It had stopped to turn and look at him, its head cocked and its clothing moving slightly. Its face was still shadowed by the hood and its eyes still looked upon him in that light that frightened him so. This thing was feral; a beast ready to kill; a hunter leading its prey to certain doom; a flower so sweet that Luke could not ignore its perfume.
Reaching out once again, Luke still could not feel it in the Force. He thought of the Yuuzhan Vong, but it did not fit as it had before. No, whoever this was was of a different species, but even that felt wrong. Indeed nothing about this felt right at all. This shadow felt too close to be anything but human, too close to be anything but Jedi, but the thought frightened him so much he did not want think on it any longer. Why would one of his own hunt him? What had he done? What force would tempt them to do this? He was not even sure any longer whether he was the one chasing or if he was the one being followed. The shadow that he chased seemed too patient to be running from him, stopping when he stopped, slowing when he slowed and et cetera. What game was this—thing playing?
It was then the horrible thought surfaced again. Was he the one who was really being chased? Was this all some perverted, twisted game of tag? It had been said that the best trackers were able to follow from the lead.
As soon as the thought came it was chased away again for he had no more time to think. The figure before him had turned once more and had started its sprint back down a hall that began to narrow, the windows to the outside world disappearing to cast the hall in complete and utter darkness. All that kept Luke oriented were the patter of running feet and his own, ragged breath. Soon enough, Luke heard the sound of a set of doors hissing close that warned him a wall was coming up. Slowing, Luke put one hand out and was quickly met by a cool wall. When he found the doors, he realized they led to a lift that was currently in use. Cursing and looking at the passages that split to either side of him, Luke cursed louder and waited for the doors to open to allow him access.
There was a blinding light an eon later when the doors finally parted to allow Luke to step through. The car was empty with only two buttons; one to go up and one to go down. Luke stepped in and looked at the buttons. How was he supposed to know which way the figure had gone? Looking closer, Luke noticed that the up arrow was ruined. Was this a purposeful act of sabotage? A clue so that he knew where to go? Unsettled, Luke hit the button and car lurched down. Luke's stomach leapt into his throat, nearly causing him to wretch. The feeling quickly settled, though he still felt sick. Again he had the feeling that none of this was right, that he knew who he was following—or, indeed, the person who was following him. Through all these thoughts, the car quickly descended to another hallway, this one lit. Stepping out, Luke caught the sound of running and squeaking floorboards to his right and glanced in that direction, but the lights had flickered off.
Taking off down the hallway at top speed, Luke was momentarily blinded as the lights flickered on to maximum power but that did not stop his pursuit. Whoever it was had just turned down the far left passage where this one split. Whoever it was had short brown hair, a lean frame, and two blasters strapped across her back. Human. It was human.
She was human.
And she had waited for him again.
Luke felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach and attempted to quicken his pace, but the new hallway was pitch black. Once again he could not see a thing, but he kept running. There was a faint light coming from somewhere down the passage, another room, another chance to get a glance at this figure. This woman.
Then he was hit by a wall of dust that was impossible to see through. It had come a lot sooner than Luke had anticipated and he was not prepared. Attempting to wipe the dust from his eyes, which were watering horribly, Luke stopped to listen for the fall of feet against the marble beneath his, but it was not there. All he could see was dust and a faint moonbeam every once in awhile.
It took several minutes of lung clearing and standing still for the dust to settle so that it was no longer blinding. Straightening, Luke thought he caught the glimpse of someone through the thinning dust but he was not sure. Footsteps sounded behind him and Luke twirled that way, only to stir up more of the dust, making it hard for him to see once again. Then the thought of wielding his weapon crossed his mind. Cursing himself for not thinking of it earlier, Luke moved to grab his lightsaber from his belt. As he did so, the hilt of his weapon brushed past his fingers and disappeared into the dust. He simply stared at that spot for a moment, his jaw ajar, his eyes wide. It was not possible. Putting out a hand, the Jedi Master tried to call it back, but it would not come. No matter how little or how much force he put into it, the saber would not come back. Whoever this was had been trained.
trained by him.
Luke's breath caught in his throat as he tried once again to recall his lightsaber, but all he got was laughter. That laughter seemed to echo through the room and into his mind, but not only there. There was a flicker in the Force as well, a flicker that seemed to laugh—to laugh only at him. Spinning on his heel, feeling her at last, Luke reached for another weapon he carried, but she had been quicker.
With a blaster levelled at his chest stood Keilana, her hair grey with dust, her smile wide. It was then he saw those two shining black eyes full of cruelty and malice once again. Luke was too stunned to move, he hardly dared to breath. How could he not have sensed this? She had been sitting under his nose this whole time waiting to strike, waiting for that one, perfect opportunity and he had played along. He had taught her all she now knew and had not even been concerned that she could shut herself out of the Force. Why didn't he see? Was he so blind to the fact that not all people were good, to fall into this trap?
Again?
It was the movement of Keilana's lips that brought him out of his questioning and self-hate. They formed to say something that Luke only just caught as a beam of blue light arched toward him.
Tag, you're it.
