Chapter 3

The room was dry, unbearably so. Borgan moved his frame through the doorway into the large room. The room itself was large, but the myriad computers and electronic components crowding the space decreased the functional area of the room to a small, centralized portion. Borgan moved into the middle of this area as the door automatically slid shut behind him. He turned and faced the back of the room where a small path between computer terminals and storage bins snaked up to an elevated platform on which a table and chair resided. The chair's high back prevented Borgan from seeing if anyone was occupying it, as it was turned toward the table and away from him. Borgan waited patiently, knowing that if the man he wished to speak with was there, he knew that Borgan was waiting. Few people had the nerve to let the giant wait and fewer still for whom the giant would then actually wait. This was the only man.

"I understand that we had a small altercation in town today," the chair said without turning around.

"Yes, it is taken care of. Ariela ran off to meet with a young man." Borgan showed no discomfort at talking to the back of the chair.

The chair spun around, revealing a slight old man holding an electro-stabilizer and solder rod. There was a curious expression on his face. "Does she admit to this?"

"No, she denies it vehemently."

"Ah," the man said as he spun back around to the table and continued working, "the most conclusive evidence you can have. I assume that you have found this unlucky boy and have removed him from Ariela's life."

"That is why I'm here."

The man spun around again, this time with his hands empty, and looked inquisitively at the huge man who stood before him. The older man rose slowly from the chair. Anyone who didn't know the man would say his slow movements were due to his age. If they thought this, they would be underestimating the most powerful man on the planet. His motions were slow and solid. They didn't have to be such, but the man was seldom in a hurry and felt no need for careless haste. "This boy is still at large." It was more a statement than a question.

"The man bested four of my men." Neither of the men in the room missed Borgan's slight correction. The older man had been referring to Jacen as a boy. Borgan simply told his superior that he considered this man more of an inconvenience than the usual boy who crossed Ariela's path. "He is a formidable foe."

The older man sat back down, still facing Borgan, and frowned slightly. "You have lost confidence in our strength. Do you really believe that this young man can cause us trouble?"

"I do not believe he can cause us any harm directly, but I fear his presence might negatively influence Ariela. If we allow him to live, it might instill a flicker of hope in the young woman. She is disobedient enough as it is, and we don't need to give her any extra motivation. Plus, this man seems to be battle-worthy. Such a man could attempt a rescue, and, while such an attempt will be easily crushed, it would draw unnecessary attention to us."

"Why have you considered anything other than elimination for this unfortunate soul? Isn't our policy the same with everyone? If someone is in the way, remove him. Why did you bother me with this?"

Borgan cleared his throat, showing no signs of discomfort at what some might have thought a rebuke. "In all other cases, we have intercepted and eliminated. In this case, he eluded our first attempt. He is now wary, and we must go to him. Although I expect no complications, I simply wanted to alert you to the change in methods so that if anything did go wrong, you would have previous knowledge."

The older man considered this and nodded. "Thank you, Borgan. You were correct in bringing this to my attention. You may go now. As always, I'll leave the details in your capable hands." He spun back around to continue his work on the table.

Borgan nodded in respect. "As you wish, Father."

The sound of stone on steel rang out like music. The man stroked the fine blade lovingly across the specially treated stone as a musician would play a stringed instrument or as a lover would caress his mate. He stopped and examined the edge of the wicked weapon as it glowed in the bright light of the room.

A chime at the door interrupted his examination. "Enter." The man turned in his sitting position to see Borgan's vast bulk fill the passageway. The smaller man quickly rose out of respect and held the knife as unthreateningly as possible. "Yes," he stumbled on the word.

"I have a job for you, Ethanz." The smaller man's eyes brightened visibly. Borgan reached into his pocket and removed the slip of paper he had taken from Ariela. "I want every member of this room dead by tomorrow morning."

Ethanz snatched the piece of paper from the giant's hand like an eager child receiving money. "Any special requests?"

"I would like you to consider him the most dangerous assignment you have ever had. He likely will be. You will cut no corners. I doubt I will be able to stop you from having your fun, but I want you to keep in mind the price of failure." Borgan didn't need to elaborate. "Accidental death, natural causes, suicide, I'll leave it up to you. I don't expect there to be more than one person in the room, but if there is more than one, kill them all. In particular, your target is a young man, mid-twenties, tall, with brown hair, and a muscular build."

"What has he done?"

Borgan's eyes could have melted steel. "That is none of your concern and never will be. You kill; I pay. That is all you'll ever need to know." With that, the large man spun on his feet and left the room, allowing Ethanz to concoct his evil plan.

Jacen collapsed on his bed. He looked at his clock and saw the reason for his hunger and exhaustion. It was late, and he hadn't eaten since breakfast. He had spent the entire day walking through the crowded city, enjoying the festivities after the parade. He hadn't bothered to find the meaning behind the celebration; he simply participated. He got up slowly and painfully. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he tried to locate the source of his pain. His whole back was sore, and his legs were stiff from walking. During the fight in the morning, he must have pulled a muscle and not noticed until now.

Jacen took a deep breath, calming himself as he tried to start a healing trance. He struggled for several minutes to get control of his wandering thoughts but to no avail. During the day, he had managed to not think of Ariela, but now that he was isolated from distractions, he couldn't remove her pretty face from his mind. He kept seeing her mouth the words "I'm sorry" over and over again. What did he see in her eyes? There was something there. Beyond the genuine concern for his well-being, she was conveying her regret for unknown terror. Getting beat up by a couple of thugs was a bad thing, but her eyes seemed to promise something more.

Jacen tried to shrug off these feelings, but his stomach, legs, and back were still crying out to him. Concentrate, he scolded himself. You're a Jedi, for crying out loud, get a grip. A few more minutes of struggle proved fruitless, and he collapsed backward on his bed again. Staring up, he watched the ceiling fan as it twirled around with an almost imperceptible hum. The solid wood blades were lined in gold trim and sparkled as the fan seemed to mesh into one semi-transparent disk.

Jacen sighed audibly. This was a great hotel. He sat upright. This was a first-class luxury hotel. They had to have extensive room service. He moved over to the end table by the head of the bed. There was a list of services, and Jacen nearly drooled as he looked over the possibilities. After thoroughly examining the considerable pamphlet, he called down to the front desk and ordered a feast and a massage. He'd get rid of these aches and pains yet.

Ten minutes later, Jacen emerged from his hot shower and found that his food and massage were waiting patiently for him. His food was steaming away on a varied assortment of plates and platters, while his massage was an attractive woman staring at his towel-clad body. Jacen smiled at the woman, and she looked toward a table that she had brought with her. "Would you like to get started?"

Jacen nodded eagerly and lay down on the padded table. Jacen knew this must be different for her. Her usual clientele were probably older men who were just stiff from arthritis. As much of a treat as it might be for her, he was enjoying it ten-fold. Her fingers moved inside, under, and around his tight muscles, massaging a soothing cream into his back. "Either you just tried to lift this building, or you have enough stress in your body for a man four times your age," she said, breaking the silence.

"I guess I've just had a lot on my mind today and hadn't noticed the amount of walking I had done until it was too late."

Jacen could feel her smiling at his back. "What could possibly occupy your mind so thoroughly?" she said with a tone of voice that told Jacen she already knew the answer. "She's a lucky girl," she added before Jacen could answer the rhetorical question. Jacen remained quiet as the woman continued her expert work. He could feel the tension run off his body like melted snow off a ton-ton's back. His mind relaxed, and he fell into an almost trance-like state. After a while, he realized he didn't feel fingers on his back and legs anymore. He rolled over slowly, amazed at how limber he suddenly felt. The tingling sensation put him almost in ecstasy.

Jacen swung his legs off the table and stood gracefully. He turned to the woman who was putting her creams and rubs away. "Thank you very much," Jacen said.

"The pleasure was all mine," she responded and meant it. She gathered her stuff together and left Jacen with his meal. Jacen stood in front of his huge feast, unable to get over how loose he suddenly felt. With the pain and stiffness gone from his body, he felt sleep starting to take hold. He looked longingly at the large, succulent pieces of meat and fresh bread. He sighed and covered the food with a heat shield. It would still be there when he woke up. With that, Jacen changed into a pair of mid-length pants and collapsed onto his bed in instant sleep.

Jacen's eyes opened slowly. He lay on his back and didn't move. The room was dark and quiet. A cool breeze blew in through the window and made a pleasant rustling sound with the curtains. Jacen was aware of another sound. It was a kind of munching sound.

"This meat is excellent." Jacen spun his head toward the unexpected voice, or at least he tried to. His head wouldn't budge. Now that he was fully awake, he tested his other motor skills. Nothing. He could still move his eyes about and managed to glance down at his body lying flat on his bed. Four thick straps were tying his body to the bed. Two were across his legs, one across his waist, and the last across his chest, securing his arms. Jacen tried to pull against the straps, testing their strength but found that the straps weren't holding him back. He just couldn't move his limbs, period.

"The bread was a bit dry," the intruder continued as Jacen woke up, "but the taste was exquisite. Oh, and the wine," he said as he took a long gulp, "is magnificent."

The man stopped his rambling and watched Jacen's pathetic grunting and groaning. "Now, what could it be?" he said, mocking Jacen's position. "Was the food poisoned? No, couldn't be; he wouldn't be eating it if it was." Jacen stopped his struggles and tried to glance at his curious visitor, playing the part of the captured rather than the capture. "Besides, I didn't eat any food. I just came back from my walk, took a shower, got a massage, and went to bed." Jacen figured it out without any help, but the now obnoxious man continued. "I've got it," he said, snapping his fingers and his face lighting up with false enlightenment. "The massage! That pretty woman was rubbing all those lotions into my back and legs. It must have been some kind of poison." The man got up from his chair next to the food cart and walked into Jacen's field of vision. "Don't worry; she had nothing to do with it. I wouldn't want you dying and believing that such an innocent woman could be a culprit in such a heinous crime." The man smiled maniacally. "It was all me."

Jacen watched as he moved out of his field of vision. He tried to turn his neck and got a little bit of motion, but not much. "Whhuuu-"

"You'd be amazed how much of your body's movement is tied into your back," he kept talking as he fiddled with something out of sight. "Why, by just rubbing some numbing agent into your spinal column, you are rendered almost totally paralyzed. Of course, when you get a professional masseuse to do it for you, you really can't go wrong. I doubt if you can move anything right now."

"Whhhoo-"

"What!" the man rushed over to Jacen's bedside as if the young Jedi were breathing his last words. Jacen abhorred the mocked concern he was getting but struggled on.

"Whhhoooo aaahhhrrr-"

"Who am I?" The man stood up, quite disappointed at the question. "Oh, I'm Ethanz Wrenk. My friends call me Ethanz. You can call me Wrenk." He walked back over to his unseen station and continued tinkering. "As I was saying, you are, for all intents and purposes, paralyzed.

"Now I know what you're thinking. 'But I don't want to be paralyzed. I want to move again. What about my smashball team back home?' To this I say, don't be worried. It usually wears off ten hours after initial numbing. You had the massage at eight, and it is two in the morning now. You have about another four and a half hours of immobility. But you shouldn't worry about that either, because as I see it, you only have about four more hours of life left. I guess, either way, your smashball team is screwed."

Jacen closed his eyes, blotting out this sinister assassin. He reached out with the Force and tried to identify the poison element. He prodded his limbs with the Force. It was like trying to free something from a block of ice. The Force flowed over his joints to remove the foreign agent and limber up the lethargic appendages.

Jacen opened his eyes to find Ethanz standing over him with a syringe filled with a green liquid. "You see, the idea is elementary. I have to make this look like an accident, but I want to have fun at the same time." The man was quick, too quick. He had the needle in Jacen's arm, empty of the green contents, and out again before Jacen could mount a defense.

"Whaat iss thaat-"

"What is that going to do?" Ethanz cut him off, surprised that he was regaining control of his facial muscles so quickly. "That is going to activate your muscles for you. You know, speed up the process. As your limbs become more limber, this," he held up the empty syringe, "will cause your muscles to spasm. Of course, it has been known to cause severe muscle spasms in some people. Heck, it causes severe muscle spasms in everyone. Your muscles will contract and expand so fast and hard that it is more than likely you will break a few bones. But that won't be a problem since I will throw you off the balcony when I'm done. They will be expecting broken bones don't you think?"

Jacen didn't want to tell the man that someone had seen him leap from his balcony the previous day and that he had landed quite unharmed, but he doubted that would improve his situation. As the Force melted away his paralysis, he felt his arm start to twitch.

Ethanz returned from his stash of the poison and saw his muscle twitching. "They were right about you. You are a fighter. You shouldn't start twitching for at least two more hours."

"I have always been a fast healer," Jacen said, hoping that his sudden vocal control would startle Ethanz enough for him to get loose.

Ethanz rushed over to him, amazed. Jacen located the buckle for the strap around his chest under his bed and opened it with the Force. As the belt went suddenly slack, Jacen reached out with his twitching arm and grabbed the shirt of his torturer. In the process, he knocked the new syringe from his hand. Jacen had been controlling the spasms through the Force but now allowed his arm to shake violently, throttling the man. Jacen searched for and released the other buckles through the Force and slowly swung his legs to the side of the bed, still throttling the man in his grasp.

Ethanz was not physically intimidating, and the slight man was not holding up well to Jacen's punishment. Jacen concentrated hard on his arm and watched as it slowed down, and the green liquid slowly dripped out of the needle hole in his bicep. Jacen stood cautiously, still very stiff. He'd just have to get another massage. Jacen held the man at arm's length, his feet dangling half a foot above the ground.

"Wh-who are y-you?" This time it was Ethanz's turn to have trouble talking.

"The wrong person to mess with, buddy. This is all about Ariela, isn't it?"

Ethanz hadn't been told what this was about, but he knew who Ariela was and that she had run away that morning and had to be caught. Ethanz also knew that he should keep as much secret from this man as possible if he valued his life. Jacen asked his question again and lifted Ethanz's head dangerously close to the fan above. The frightened man nodded his head furiously. "I just get jobs, and I carry them out, but yea, I know who Ariela is."

Jacen realized what kind of warning she had given him that morning a little better. He also understood what kind of mess she was mixed up in. "Where can I find her?" Jacen asked.

The man didn't respond but reached quickly into his pocket and produced a knife. The little man slashed at Jacen's arm. Before the knife cut home, Jacen threw Ethanz across the room. He hit the wall hard but came up into a practiced crouch. Ethanz eyed up his adversary. Jacen was clearly a man of incredible strength. He had fought against the numbing agent, broke the bands, rejected the muscle spasm, and the throw he had just performed on Ethanz was no love tap. But Ethanz could also see that Jacen had little to no mobility. Ethanz hurled the knife at the Jedi and charged after it. The small assassin was an excellent knife thrower and watched in horror as the blade seemed to take a 45-degree turn in mid-air and thud into the wall behind Jacen. Ethanz came up short and was then hurled back into the wall by a terrific Force wave. The smaller man was slow in getting up this time, and when he did, he saw Jacen coming toward him. In the eerie light of night, the Jedi appeared to be some type of zombie with his jerky, stiff movements.

Ethanz tried to run, but he felt a mysterious tugging on his body and was soon once again in Jacen's grasp. Ethanz had no more weapons, so he beat on Jacen's arm with his tiny fists. Jacen carried his prey like a foul-smelling piece of laundry out onto the balcony. Ethanz stopped beating on Jacen's arm when he realized his capture's intentions and hung on for dear life. In moments Jacen had the little man dangling precariously over free space.

"I will ask you once again. Where can I find Ariela?" Silence. "Pray, tell me soon. I fear my arm is getting tired." Jacen let his arm slip a few centimeters, and Ethanz scrambled for the balcony's railing with his feet, but Jacen lifted him higher. Actually, Jacen could hold him there indefinitely. He was putting little to no effort into the lift with his arm, relying mainly on the Force.

"I can't tell you," he said, looking Jacen in the eyes for a response.

"I understand," Jacen said and tossed Ethanz into the air and let go. He climbed about half a meter, yelped as he reached the peak, hung there for a brief moment, and plummeted as gravity caught hold of him.

"Whaaaa-"

Jacen reached down, lightning-quick, and grabbed a flailing arm. He hoisted the man back up past the railing like he was examining a Calamarian sea squid he had just caught. "What did you say?"

Ethanz paused, looking Jacen straight in the face, trying to discern this curious man who held his life in his hands. As an assassin, he often had to view people from afar, trying to judge their character and how they would respond under different forms of torture. He had to know where people's breaking points were. Would he be able to get any information out of them at all, or would they spill everything at the first prick of the knife? He looked into Jacen's eyes and saw everything. "You won't drop me."

"You will tell me where I can find Ariela."

"No, I won't."

"The way I look at it, you have two choices," Jacen said, reasoning with the man. "You either tell me where Ariela is, and I let you go, or you don't tell me where Ariela is, and I let you go. Either way, you won't have a life to return to. I don't know how gangs work over here, but from my experience, if you return to home base without killing me, you won't last too long, and you won't last much longer running the streets." Jacen paused, letting Ethanz think about it. Ethanz knew Jacen was right. He had lost this battle, and there was no return. "But, if you tell me where your gang is held up, I can go over there, wreak some havoc, rescue Ariela, and maybe make them forget about you long enough for you to get far away from here."

Ethanz burst into laughter at this last statement. "You think you can just waltz in, take whatever or whoever you want, and then walk out." He continued laughing. Jacen knew that a lot of it was forced laughter meant to make him lose confidence in this situation. It did the opposite. The Jedi glared at the small squid at the end of his line. Ethanz stared back into Jacen's eyes and stopped laughing. "You just might," he said under his breath.

"Or, choice three is that I throw you into the park across the street. The tree branches will break your fall and your bones, but it won't kill you. Then I can go downstairs and ask you again. I would much prefer that you tell me now and save me the trip. I want to go back to bed."

Ethanz no longer felt safe at the end of Jacen's arm. "Okay, suppose I tell you; what happens to me?"

"As I said, you go free and run as far away as possible. Think of it as a head start while I deal with your employers."

"Okay," Ethanz agreed, "on the north end of town, past the rundown district, is an old grav-rail station. You should be able to find it on a map. If you follow the tracks east for about three kilometers, you will come to a huge, abandoned warehouse. It's not abandoned. If you go down there and make some noise, you'll meet my employers soon enough."

Jacen stood there thinking about what he should do. "Excuse me," Ethanz said, trying to get Jacen's misdirected attention. "Uh, Mister."

"Yea," Jacen replied without thinking, "you can go now, thanks."

"Gee, your so nice," Ethanz said. "Do you suppose you could let go of me?"

"Uh," Jacen said, obviously occupied with other thoughts, "sure, sorry."

"Thank-" Ethanz started but was cut off as Jacen simply let go. A scream tried to emerge from the small man's throat, but it felt like he had left his voice box up on the balcony. He watched the ground rush towards him at an incredible speed. He uselessly tried to brace himself against the upcoming impact, but four meters above the ground, he impossibly decelerated and landed in an uncoordinated heap on the sidewalk, uninjured. He angrily glared up at the fifth-floor balcony, but Jacen was gone. Ethanz didn't stick around long on the ground. He gathered himself up, finding that he had left everything of value to him in the hotel. He toyed with the idea of trying to sneak back in and taking it all back. He toyed with this idea only briefly as he remembered who had just thrown him off the balcony. Being unhurt, he was able to laugh at the irony. The assassin looked around for any witnesses and hurried off into the night.

Five floors up, a very tired Jedi Knight went to sleep.

Ethanz found little shelter in the clean streets of Rencrin. He needed to get to a transport and get off this planet as fast as possible. He didn't believe that Jacen would actually chase him after he was done with Borgan. But then, he didn't think that the young warrior would last very long against Borgan in the first place. Jacen seemed to be incredibly strong, and with such a relatively slight frame and from the strange powers he had shown, he must have a few tricks up his sleeve, but no one got past Borgan. It wasn't Jacen he feared, though. When morning came, and Borgan saw that not only was Jacen still alive, but Ethanz hadn't come back, the streets would be crawling with people looking for him.

Before Ethanz could get a transport, he would need to get some money. There were two ways to get this done. He could steal it or return to his room back at the complex and get it there. Stealing it was a hundred times easier than getting in and out of the complex without being seen or stopped, but the assassin had no tools or weapons, and any place worth robbing would have security systems that he wouldn't be able to get past. The other option was to become a petty street thief, robbing pedestrians. This was a very slow way to build up money, and he didn't want to stay in town that long.

After a few moments of thought, Ethanz decided that the most direct route would be simply stealing passage aboard a transport. He could sneak on, steal a ticket, or even hide in one of the cargo holds. With his mind made up, he headed towards the nearest starport. The walk took about two hours, and light was starting to creep into the eastern sky. The port was only mildly busy at this early hour. He made his way into the building and through security. He was glad that he had lost his knife. Wearing it so often, he would have likely forgotten to hide it before going through security.

He found himself in an extensive, complex series of hallways and large waiting areas for departing and arriving flights. There were three other planets in this system that were habitable and ten others in nearby systems that were popular destinations for travelers. Anyone one of them would be fine. He took a seat in the waiting area and watched his surroundings, waiting for an opportunity to reveal itself. It didn't take long.

"Moaggy, could you take over here for a few while I go take a break?"

"Sure, Earn, just be quick, will you, and bring me back a hot cup of hocken."

"Sure thing." The two men parted, and Ethanz followed Earn at a distance. The employee went into the public refresher, and Ethanz saw his chance. The assassin entered the door quietly and positioned himself next to the stall in use. He heard the man groaning and wished he'd hurry up. Finally, Ethanz heard him flush and stand up. As the door to the stall unlatched, Ethanz braced himself. The door opened, and the assassin kicked it back closed hard. Earn gave a small cry and stumbled back. Ethanz sprang into the stall entrance as the door rebounded back open and gave Earn a matching welt over his other eye with a swift kick. The startled employee stumbled backward, barely holding onto consciousness, slipped on a wet spot on the floor, and banged his head into darkness.

After a quick change of clothes, Ethanz emerged from the bathroom and made his way to the first "employee only" door he could find. Through the door, he found himself in an extensive maintenance shed with small carts whizzing about, carting people's luggage from ship to port and vice versa. Ethanz found he was out of dress now and quickly slipped on a nearby pair of cover-alls. He found a cart and followed the other vehicles to the next departure. The ship loomed in front of him like a huge arrow getting ready to shoot into space. The place was crawling with workers, and he thought it would be no problem for him to simply slip into a cargo hold, lock it, and get free transport.

"Going somewhere, Ethanz?"

The assassin spun around and found himself staring at Herink. "How, where, what-"

"You weren't trying to run away, were you?"

"No, I, I just-"

"Jacen beat you, didn't he? It's okay; he beat me too. He is a tough opponent. He probably got the location of the complex out of you, didn't he? Well, now Borgan can deal with him himself. That was what he wanted anyway."

Ethanz gave a huge body sigh and visibly relaxed. Herink didn't fall for the feint, and as Ethanz turned and tried to sprint, the bigger man kicked his feet out, sending the assassin to the ground. "But that doesn't change the fact that you failed." Ethanz tried to struggle, but a lightning-fast, rock-hard fist sent him to meet Earn in darkness.

"This is flight 4-6-1 loaded and ready for take-off."

Ethanz woke, what seemed like seconds later, but he knew it was probably more like half an hour.

"Flight 4-6-1, you are clear for take-off."

Ethanz stood up and looked about. He seemed to be in a medium-sized room with no lights. A faint glow came from above, where a significant heat source seemed to be.

"Flight 4-6-1, we are flooding your box now."

"Thank you, flight tower."

Water came rushing into Ethanz's room, and he began to get a horrible feeling about his current situation. The room was about seven meters wide, four meters long, four meters deep, and quickly filled with water.

"Starting primary ignition now."

The heat from above was intense as Ethanz watched the outer rockets ignite. In his last conscious thought, he cursed Borgan and wished Jacen luck.

"Full ignition and lift off."

Herink watched from the observation deck inside the starport. The ship blasted off in a massive plume of smoke and steam, rising like a majestic bird against the backdrop of the sunrise. He was standing next to an older woman watching the departing flight with resigned sorrow. "Oh, I hope she comes back for a visit soon," she said. "I do so enjoy my granddaughter's company." The grandmother turned to Herink. "Do you think you'll see your friend again?"

"I don't think so," he replied and walked out of the building.