I'd like to give thanks to the talented Author Karen Traviss, who inspired this story, with her books, Hard Contact and Triple Zero.
Thank you for giving my little fiction a chance, while not finished I hope to be working on this story to the most of my abilities, if there are terms and or Star Wars references you are unclear of, check out the glossary at the bottom of each chapter. The Star Wars Wiki is also quite useful.
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CHAPTER ONE
The room was hazy with the after effects of a concussion grenade, Lizean was thankful that a early morning breeze pushed the sparse amount that still clung to the air out of the cramped space. Of course this was thanks in part to the massive hole gaping in place where the door of the small hut had been, had. She hoped the renegade would stop running now. Then again he really didn't have any other choice, she stood menacingly before the windowless room and the only exit was behind her.
"Time to stop running and except the futility of this all." There was a vicious calloused tone to her voice, this had gone on for hours and she was sure the prey was as equally exhausted as it's predator.
"You don't know," an agitated voice challenged, "what you're dealing with…" Not a moment later a familiar vmpph followed by a beam of yellow green ignited, shedding an eerie light on the room.
Lizean was amused. "And I heard Jedi weren't suppose to let their anger fuel them. Oh well, what do I know?"
She could finally see his face lighted by the blade, his brows were pushed down hard and beads of sweat ran off them. She couldn't help to note that his features, though, quite handsome for a cowering Twi'lek. Judging from his shaky features, he couldn't have had been more then a basic year younger then her. She had already determined that he was a padawan earlier, it made sense.
Though, she was giving too much thought to it already. She raised her arm, gauntlet in a straight line to his face. "This is your last chance Padawan," the grin under her helmet was sly, "They want you dead or alive, and it doesn't make much sense to throw away your life like this."
The Twi'lek, a Rutain with bright blue skin stared into the Mandalorian's flaming orange T-shaped visor. He was like a cornered animal, frightened, crazed and ready to strike. And then he did.
He lunged out with the blade in a straight line, his speed was incredible and if it weren't for the spike projectile that plunged deep into his shoulder he would have stricken her.
The young Jedi howled in pain and tittered back onto the wall, smearing bright red blood down as he slumped. The spike was projected out of one of four openings on her gauntlets, the slugs themselves being about 15 mm thick and 60 mm long, with intricate linier patterns lining the circler shaft. Its range couldn't exceed 20 meters effectively but Jedi and the like always had a more difficult time deflecting heavy projectiles in close quarters. They were Lizean's personal favorite tools.
Just for precaution she aimed and shot him again in the other shoulder just a moment later. The projectile this time had sprung open along the artistic groves that lined it and formed something similar to a stake mid flight. He squealed and his right hand loosened the grip on the saber. It rolled onto the ground next to her and his breathless groan, that followed, sounded suppressed.
Lizean looked to the saber, which she didn't bother to un-ignite and kicked it at the hilt, she was sure out of the Jedi's reach. Her heart pounded in her ears as she squatted down before him, feeling the duel nerf hide holsters at her thighs stretching tight.
"I told you not to."
The Jedi looked up, struggling to stay conscious, his body slumped; the only reason his was still kneeling was the fact that the cortosis alloy nail was holding him to the wall. It was silent in the dusty hut for only an instant, and then he smiled. Lizean studied him but instead felt her stomach knot when she heard the slight scraping of durasteel on permacrete behind her. She bolted upwards while unsheathing the vibroblade stashed to her belt and lunged. She felt the contact; she watched the lekku severe and the blade rip through the boy's neck at an angle.
What she didn't feel was the intense burning in her hips as she fell to the side, her eyes were drawn to the green glow that seemed to be jutted straight through her.
She cursed with a stifled breath as her body finally reacted.
Lizean had underestimated the padawan and let her guard down; he had seized the moment, aided by the force, to spear her with the blade she so carelessly forgot about. Now she would pay the ultimate price and for a moment her vision blurred, she was in pure agony with this realization. She had killed not only herself, but also her unborn child.
She jerked hard into her fall and the blade slipped out. As she landed her vision blurred and now she was the one struggling to stay alert. As a last effort she slid her hand to her helmet opening the comlink to her brethren.
Moments passed and she felt tired, is this what it's like to die?
Yet her thoughts were interrupted. Instead she heard something like footsteps, two pairs and voices. She first felt pressure on her abdomen and then a brighter pink light through her wincing eyelids, her helmet was off now. She was lucky that her comrades were only but a quarter klick away when this happened. Alerted by her pain stifled grunting over the comlink.
Wait.
This couldn't be real, this couldn't be real, could it? This haven't happen, not again. A dream, just a..
She sat bolt up right. Her face was dampened and she was panting, it took a few moments before the young woman's vision focused on the room around her.
"You were tossing in your sleep again." The man's voice was gruff but concerned. Lizean didn't know though whether it genuine or just pity. He sat on a warn Nemodian armchair in the corner of the hotel room, suited up from the neck down in his traditional scarlet red Mandalorian armor. His helmet rested at his feet where an assortment of packs and dismantled weapons also laid, his hands occupied a datapad, which he had looked up from to study her.
"I'm fine," she huffed and didn't mean to sound offended but it was just in her nature.
His dark complected features left forth a whisper of a sigh; his pale gray eyes focusing back down into the datapad. "You know you shouldn't beat yourself up so much about it. Alit ori'shya tal'din." Family is more then blood.
She paused, her legs hung over the bed now and she was quiet. Her weary gaze focused on the drab shapes of speeders backlit through the drapery over the large paned widow that lined the other side of the room. An awkward placidity hung until it was broken by the familiar purring and slightly obnoxious gurgling of the large cat like animal that had been sleeping next to her. Lizean hushed the Nexu runt and pet her back lovingly along the spine of the animal.
"I think it's sleeping in a real bed." She stood slowly, "Allows the subconscious to creep up on a person too much." She lingered there for a few moments, in her jumpsuit, unclasped down the middle, her small undershirt easily revealed and also the jagged oval abrasion above her left hip, pinkish and indented with scar tissue.
As she turned to walk to the 'fresher his eyes lingered on the scar and he recalled the incident more then 3 years earlier.
They had found her less then a few minutes after it had happened, luckily. She was so close to death that her husband had taken a memento from her body and said his last goodbyes when they slid her into the bacta tank. It was even luckier that she emerged after the two-month soak. But not all news was reputable as she stumbled free from the nourishing blue fluid. She learned of her husband's death only mere days after hers and a comrade pushed a blood red scrap of cloth into her hands. They explained his distressing concern for Lizean and that it might have been thus that taxed him on the difficult bounty.
Her clan attempted to make her as comfortable as possible but it seemed the only comfort she found was returning to her work as a mercenary. Though she was never the same afterwards.
Hoda slowly shook his head, stood and followed her steps, stopping at the door. The Nexu filed into the room past him, the beast's head nearly reached her hips. He leaned into the frame while watching her still. Lizean stared into her flushed face shakily, the only way she ever got it off her mind was working. But they were here for a break, they paid well enough for a nice suite on the entertainment district on Coruscant and the owner even let them take Lizean's animal in no less. This night was here for them to relax after months of hard work. The tall man stepped forward, eyeing the Nexu which had jumped onto the counter and now sat there facing him.
"Well seeing how sleep's not coming too easy." He hinted as she turned to him, placing her weight on the raised basin. "Care for a drink instead?"
A small smile crept onto her lips and she nodded. He returned the grin and stepped out to allow her to get dressed.
They had known each other since they were children and Hoda couldn't stand seeing her like this. She had always been enthusiastic in her work with a good-natured sarcasm but her mentality had been slipping the past few years. Family is the very most important thing Mandalorian culture and the loss of her baby had wrenched at her soul. Like all Mando'ades, they are prepared for their loved one's deaths. They collect a memento, say goodbye and recite the names of said loved ones at night so that they forever exist in their hearts. But to be torn from the life of a child and a life partner, to actually move on, even for a Mando'ade, would be considerably difficult.
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Glossary: Mandalorian, Mando'ade, Mando : A "race" of nomadic warrior like people, where family comes before blood lineCoruscant: A city planet in the inner core of the Republic
Twi'lek : A colorful race with twin head tails and hairless bodies
Rutain : Twi'lek skin type (blue to green)
Lekuu : Twi'lek head tails
Ner'vod : (Mando'ade) My Brother/Sister/Sibling
Kama : (Mando'ade) Traditional Mandalorian "butt cape"
Nerf: A staulky cow like animal used for meat and it's hide
Duros : A gray skinned, bulbous-headed alien race with bright red eyes
Cortosis Alloy : Cortosis, a very expensive and rare ore, resistant to light sabers which is then mixed with a number of other metals to strengthen it
Klick: Slang for Kilometer
Nexu: A large feline with multiple eyes and large powerful fang lined jaws, commonly used for police work and as property guardians