27 BBY - Talos, Azterri

"It's much bigger on the inside." Zam's soft whisper came through the ear bead. "I was expecting just a tiny space like the stalls outside. It probably has a back door or- he's here."

"Be careful, Zam," Cye said as she led her new strill companion into the tight alleyway behind the main buildings. "Don't let your guard down."

"Hi there, I saw your sign and I wanted to get my fortune read." She sounded cheerful, youthful, and gullible. "Don't worry," she said with a metallic jingle, "I brought credits."

"I've been expecting you," a male voice replied. His tone was gravelly and serious. Cye contemplated sprinting back around to the main entrance, stealth be damned.

"You knew I was coming?" Zam asked, playing innocent. "I'm already impressed."

"Yes, I saw you on my security camera standing outside." The serious tone was gone, replaced with a joking wry laugh. "I simply didn't want to rush out to get you."

Cye let out the breath she was holding and nearly gagged on the stench of the strill combined with the filth piled high in the alley while Zam giggled along with Dardua Waikali. The plan was still going forward. They exchanged some pleasantries and he invited Zam to the back room where he said they would perform the reading.

She took out a small handheld scanner from her jacket pocket. It didn't have the versatility of the sensors in her helmet's rangefinder, but it was programmed to seek out heat signatures. With a push of a button the scanner activated. A small holoscreen flickered to life, showing a grainy image of what was on the other side of the wall in front of her. Fuzzy, body shaped outlines came into view as she slowly progressed down the alley. Most were alone or standing in larger groups. It took a minute before she picked up the outlines of two people.

Cye could tell by the way the smaller one sauntered into the backroom that it was Zam. The other figure was taller by a half a head with a slight hunch to their shoulders. They sat down facing each other.

Dardua Waikali's smug expression as he handed Cye over to Death Watch burned in her memory. Incandescent rage blazed white hot in her gut. There was nothing more she wanted in the entire galaxy than to watch the life fade from his eyes.

The strill nudged her leg, making a strange gurgling, purring sound. It seemed to sense Cye's anger. She patted its head, and it stared up at her with a look of eager understanding.

"Soon." She started walking again, this time for the door that would open closest to the backroom. "Shekemir, Oy'ika."

Zam's voice cut in once again as Cye took out her tools to pick the lock. "So how does this work? Do you look at my hand, or do I pick out cards or something?"

"No, just ask your question and focus on it," Waikali replied. "The rest will come."

It was a standard lock, but adrenaline was making Cye's hands shake. She couldn't afford her nerves to slow her down, but she paused anyway. It was better to do a thing right the first time than to try and fix mistakes made in haste. She had been patient up to this point. She could wait a few deep breaths more.

"When will I die?"

The question lingered without answer. Longer than it took for Cye to steady her nerves. Longer than it took for her to easily dispatch the lock and override the minimal security system attached to it.

"Only one with the carelessness of youth would ask such an absurd question." The stern tone Waikali used belied the almost sadistic purr as he continued. "You should pick something else. No one has ever truly appreciated knowing their end. I assure you that you won't be any different."

"Zam, just pick a different question." If the Jedi scum really was as gifted in premonitions as Zam said he was, Cye didn't want to know the answer either. She unlatched the door at last and slowly pushed the door aside just enough to squeeze through. "I'm in. Distract him with something else."

"I appreciate your concern, but this is what I want to know." Zam doubled down, answering both Cye and Waikali at the same time. "I'm not worried about the answer, simply curious. I figured if anyone would know it's you. Am I wrong?"

Cye glanced at the strill, waiting dutifully for instruction. "Pare ogir, Oy'ika," she said as she held her hand flat to the ground the way she'd seen Walon Vau instruct Mird. The stinking creature cocked its head to the side, but remained where it sat. "Jate. Ara'novor."

She hoped the strill would recognize the commands and remember to guard the door. If it were trained decently before it had been locked away and starved, Cye was confident it would follow through with blocking the exit if anyone other than her attempted to leave. She could hear the murmuring of voices further into the building and the words being spoken in her ear piece as Zam and Waikali continued their discussion.

"If you insist." The sneering grin Cye heard as he spoke made her blood boil. "Focus on your desire, and it will be foreseen."

Everything about this felt wrong. She had no idea why Zam would ask something so- final. Cye didn't have a thought about when she would die. She cared to live long enough to pass along what she could to Boba. Death wasn't something that she dwelled on. She'd seen so much already. She'd sent more people to their end than she could count, and the names on her list of remembrances grew longer every cycle. She didn't want to know when she'd have to add Zam's name to it.

Better get in there and finish the job then.

Cye crept through the space, paying attention to each turn for potential cover and entrapment. It looked as if Waikali also lived there, based on the small food prep stations and what looked to be a narrow bunk tucked away behind a curtain.

"You walk a very dangerous path."

Cye could hear the Jedi's voice clearly in the room beyond. She took the ear piece out and tucked it away to avoid distraction. Her hand settled around the comfortable grip of her blaster. She inched forward, channeling her anger to stay controlled and focused on the task at hand. There was no option for failure. Jango had succeeded with his target and so would she.

"Ah, yes. The life of a bounty hunter. I see now. So often cut short. You will not be an exception."

"Quit being a tease, old man." Zam sounded flirtatious, but Cye had been around the woman long enough to hear the doubt in her voice. If she hadn't wanted to know the answer then why the hell had she asked it? "Unless you really don't know?"

"It's your arrogance that will be your downfall. Would you like to know how you will die? It's far more interesting than when ." A chair grated across the floor with a quick squeak. "Ah, ah, ah. You don't want to shoot me."

"I don't want to shoot you," Zam replied in a dreamy haze. Osik!

"You want to know how you will die."

"I want to know how I will die."

"You take on a job over your head," Waikali crooned. He was enjoying this. Cye peered around the corner into the room. Zam was on her feet, frozen in place with her blaster halfway out of her holster, her eyes glazed over staring blankly at the Jedi. His mouth had curled into a mocking grin, his eyes alight with glee at the power he had over Zam. It made Cye's stomach turn. "You fail by the way," he added with a chuckle, "and decide to try and make up for the loss by killing a Jedi instead. You die in the arms of your enemies, alone and in pain, killed by someone you love and respect."

Cye moved like lightning, whipping the blaster up and firing bolts in quick succession. The first two were placed to distract, and open up a weak spot in the defenses of the Jedi, just as she'd been trained to do since she was eight years old. The surprise on Waikali's face was satisfying, but nowhere near the expression she planned to beat into it once she got close enough.

Instead of drawing and blocking with a lightsaber, the bastard ripped Zam through the air, using her immobile body as a shield. The third blaster bolt hit the Clawdite just below her shoulder. The force of the hit that seared her flesh still wasn't enough to snap her out of whatever trance he'd placed her under. Cye bellowed with rage, closing the distance as she sprinted towards them before the Jedi could escape through the front. She leapt over Zam as she collapsed to the ground. If this was the death he predicted then it was already too late to change it. The loss stoked her rage, and she swore he would pay for it.

Waikali cleared the table with a spinning overhead leap. The theatrics of the Jedi weren't lost on him, despite having left the order behind. Cye held out her arm and activated the whipcord that was coiled around the arm of her jacket. It shot out like a viper, striking the Jedi at his knees and whipping around his legs. With a quick jerk she sent him face first towards the floor. His cheek hit with a satisfying crack against the polished stone tile. She raised the blaster and fired, hoping to cripple him further with shots to his legs.

His lightsaber flared blue in his hand as he rolled out of the way from her shots. He cut the line with a quick slash and untangled his legs to free himself from the slack. He was more practiced than she expected. She bared her teeth in a venomous sneer. This was going to be a challenge, and she was going to enjoy every second of it.

"You don't want to do this," Waikali said with an air of confidence that Cye would make him regret. He started backing up towards the front exit. "Your friend tried to attack you, you should finish the job."

"Ne shab'rud'ni, jetii," Cye growled as she pulled a thermal detonator from her pocket and threw it over his head. It stuck to the far wall just over the archway leading to the main hallway. Then she switched her blaster to rapidfire mode and started firing. She wanted him as distracted as possible so he couldn't do anything about the explosion that was going to seal off his exit. He deflected the bolts with ease, as expected, but they were without direction. None of them were sent back to her. Perhaps he was a little rusty after all.

"Stop! Stop firing!" His eyes were wide with panic. The blaster was starting to overheat in her hand, but she kept firing as the detonator ticked down. When there were only two lights left she stopped firing and dove for cover before the explosion rocked the building to its foundation. The polished floor cracked as the walls and ceiling collapsed in a rumbling heap.

"Sooran, shabuir!" Cye roared as she emerged from cover. The Jedi was scrambling, his lightsaber several meters away from where he was thrown in the explosion.

"Wh- who the frell are you?" he blathered. His eyes darted from her to Zam to the destroyed exit to the small corridor where Cye had come from. "Who sent you? I can pay you triple!"

"There's no amount of credits that you could pay me to spare your life," Cye replied, every word dripping with malice. "I've waited a long time for this." She snapped the blaster up and pulled the trigger, but it had finally fused together from overheating. She threw it aside with a growl. She didn't need a blaster to finish him off.

Waikali seized the moment to summon his lightsaber and charge her. He swung in a wide arch and Cye easily plotted his movement and momentum to roll under the swing before it had a chance to hit her. She pulled the vibro-blade from her boot and jumped to her feet. It came to life in her hand as easily as any lightsaber, gently humming at a pitch that brought a fierce grin to her face. All she needed to do was get past his guard. She recognized the stance he took, a defensive pose from Soresu. His shoulder was setting a little too low, and the grip on his lightsaber too choked forward.

"I remember you." His face turned from wide eyed confusion to shocked recognition. "You're the girl. From Galidraan." Good. She wouldn't have to tell him herself.

She didn't give him a chance to process the new information. She launched herself forward on the offensive, aiming just short of his arm. She noted t1he distinct flinch of his shoulder as his body corrected for the mistake in his form. She dodged left as he swung to parry a blow that never came. Instead she extended her arm as he followed through, slicing cleanly through his thumb while scouring a deep line in the metal casing of the lightsaber.

With a shriek his grip on the weapon loosened. It slipped from his remaining fingers as he tried to follow up with a backswing. Cye narrowly avoided the searing blade as it fell to the stone floor, blackening the toe of her boot. She couldn't avoid the Force enhanced kick that came after. She wished for a helmet as the back of her head slammed into the wall. The kick had ripped the wind from her, and the sound of the air returning to her lungs was like a jai'galaar as it was swooping down on their prey.

Blood oozed from the stump of his thumb as Waikali attempted to wield the lightsaber with his off hand. She relished the fear in his eyes0. They danced around each other, watching every step, looking for an opening. Cye poked and prodded, enjoying the way he squirmed to keep her distant.

"What's wrong? Can't see in my head, shabuir?" Cye sneered. "You can't make me your puppet, Jetii scum."

"I'm sure you were someone's little plaything though," Waikali shot back as they circled the debris cluttered floor. "I knew exactly what they had planned for you, you know." His sadistic smile began to curl upwards again as the heat of shameful rage expanded from her gut. "I wish I had been there to hear your screams. Or caused them. Did you even try fighting back? Or did you like it? I always wondered that."

If he was trying to get a rise out of her he succeeded. He knew. She had always assumed the Jedi had at best, turned a blind eye to what had happened to her and Jango after Gallidraan. But deep down she believed they knew she was going to be sold into slavery, beaten, raped, and worse. To hear him openly admit it though- the searing fury was nearly blinding.

Nearly.

His words may have fueled her anger, but that only cleared the way for her to end the game she'd been playing. She punched her bicep, breaking the seal on the separated bags of chemicals that had been painstakingly sewn into her jacket. She hoped the protective thermal liner would be enough to keep her arm from roasting as the chemicals superheated inside her sleeve. He could deflect her blaster bolts, but there was no deflecting fire.

Waikali took the motion as the opening he needed to attack. He leapt in the air much higher than he should have been able to, his arms extended above his head to bring down the saber in a powerful blow. Cye tugged at the edge of her sleeve, pulling it back enough to expose the nozzle of the concealed flame thrower. She could only use it once, so she needed to make sure that it would strike true. That meant opening herself up to get him to commit to the reckless move that left him exposed.

Bright orange flames projected from her sleeve in a sweeping, burning arc that struck Waikali across his torso and face. He screamed and lost his lightsaber as he tried and failed to protect his eyes from the searing heat. She ducked just in time to keep the blade from burning a hole into her skull. The scent of singed hair and burnt flesh rose from both the Jedi and Cye as the chemicals dripped onto the back of her hand. She peeled out of the jacket as the sleeve smoldered and Waikali writhed on the floor. His hand shot out, fingers reaching for the lightsaber once more. His screeching was music to her ears as she smashed his hand under her boot.

"Oh no," Cye purred, "We're done playing with your toys." With a couple swift slices she cut the tendons of both ankles so he couldn't try to run either. He screamed and tried to kick her away, but only managed to slip on the blood that began to pool at his feet. "I'm done with mine too." Her tone exuded cold malice as she deactivated the vibroblade and tucked it away. "I've waited a long time for this. I want to take it slow. And you're going to feel every second of it."

His thumbless hand formed a fist that connected to her thigh with a limp thud. The man certainly never trained for strength without the aid of his sorcery. He was simply weak and cowardly, using his Jedi powers to take advantage of others to get what he wanted. His teeth were just as weak, shattering to slivers as she kicked his jaw.

"Hewp. Stahp hrrg." He could barely form words as he begged. Cye slammed a balled fist into his diaphragm with a sharp crack. The air left his lungs as bits of teeth and blood flew from his mouth. The quiver of his chest as he struggled to suck in a breath was intensely satisfying. She reached for his neck, intent on never allowing him to inhale again.

Long, misshapen fingers coiled around her leg and yanked her backwards. Her balance left her and she fell forward as she was dragged away from Waikali. Cye took out her vibroblade once more, ready to take on the new threat with cold efficiency. She twisted in their grip, ready to strike.

What she saw confused her for a split second, giving her a precious moment to stop herself from slashing into Zam's arm. The clawdite had shapeshifted in a way she'd never seen anyone try, not even on holovids. She stretched her arm to an unnatural degree, and her fingers continued to lengthen and coil tightly around Cye's leg. Her vibrant golden eyes were dull and lifeless as Zam acted on the whims of the Jedi. The blaster wound kept her other arm immobile, thankfully. Cye had no doubt that Zam could have done the same with the other if it weren't injured. Then she'd be in a lot more trouble.

Cye had seen Jedi mind tricks work before. It was always temporary, usually lasting only a few minutes. She couldn't wait that long. Zam's arm wrapped around her like a python, squeezing her legs and hips in a crushing embrace. She didn't want to harm Zam, didn't want to cause anything that would make Waikali's prophecy come true.

"Zam!" Cye gasped as the clawdite pulled her closer. "Snap out of it, cyar'ika. This isn't you! The Jedi is controlling you!"

It was difficult to take a breath as Zam's arm continued to loop around her, constricting her waist. Cye managed to keep her arms free but that wouldn't help her if she couldn't figure a way out of Zam's grip. Waikali was crawling away, slowly pulling himself towards the back of the building where Cye entered. She was running out of time.

Her discarded blaster was almost within reach. She stretched out, hooking the barrel with her finger. It was still hot from the rapid fire and singed her skin, nearly burning her finger print away. Still she held onto it, dragging the blaster close enough to grasp with her other hand.

Her ribs were on the verge of snapping under Zam's continued pressure as she wrapped her shape-changing arm tighter around Cye. Her breath came in shallow gasps to the point where Cye tried to hold as much air as she could in her lungs to leave a buffer against being crushed entirely. Zam made no response, or even acknowledgement of what she was doing. If Cye couldn't make this work Zam would have to answer to Jango. She didn't want to put either of them through that.

Cye pulled the charge pack out of the blaster. She pried the handle casing up to expose the wiring for the firing mechanism. With practiced fingers she ripped the wires out and twisted the trigger feed to the spark pin. Once that was engaged Cye pressed the blaster directly against Zam's arm, making sure to contact as much of her exposed skin as possible. Then she clenched her teeth together, pressed her tongue as hard as she could against the roof of her mouth, and reinserted the charge pack.

Tingling shockwaves made Cye's body simultaneously rigid and shaking as the closed loop sent an electrical pulse through them both. Her jaw spasmed and her eyes felt like they were going to rupture behind her closed eyelids. Shorting out a blaster was designed to incapacitate, but Cye had forgotten just how much it hurt when every muscle she had contracted all at once.

Zam jerked violently, constricting hard enough for at least a couple of Cye's ribs to crack before she went limp. It hurt to draw in a breath, but at least she was breathing. Zam's body began to retract and reform itself to her natural state. Cye untangled herself from Zam's arm and scrambled up to check her pulse. It was there, rapid but strong. Thank the stars clawdites were made of sterner stuff.

"I'm sorry, cyar'ika," Cye whispered before placing a swift kiss on her slate green forehead. It was strange to see her in her natural form, but she could see the gold in Zam's eyes as they fluttered open. "I'll be back. Stay here. Don't move, alright?"

Cye pushed herself up to rise. The muscles in her legs howled in protest as she stood. She couldn't stand straight without a stabbing pain at the base of her ribs, so she stayed hunched over, favoring her left side as she stumbled in the direction Waikali had gone. It was easy enough to follow the trail of blood, weaving through the cramped living space before heading for the rear exit. Had he already escaped? Cye tried to pick up the pace but her body refused.

A highpitched shriek followed by a bestial growl was music to Cye's battered ears. The strill was doing its job. Whatever ancestors were watching over her, they made sure vengeance wouldn't slip through her bloodied fingers. Waikali was halfway out of the door, his arm locked in the jaws of the strill. The beast shook its head, gnashing its teeth, turning the flesh above his wrist into a meaty pulp. Cye watched him twist and writhe, failing miserably to break free from the strill.

"Oy'ika!" Cye called to the strill. "Gev!"

Immediately the strill dropped Waikali's arm and sat blocking the doorway. It's jaws dripped with gore, it's expression disappointed yet curious about what was to come. The Jedi cradled his mangled arm as he choked out heaving cries of agony. She braced one arm against her ribs, gripped Waikali by his leg with the other, and dragged him back into the building. He slurred through his broken teeth, the words unintelligible, but their meaning clear enough. He was sorry, begging her to stop.

"It's too late for that, Jedi." Once he was back inside she dropped his leg and knelt on his torso, pinning both his arms against his chest. "You stole my life from me," she spat as she leaned over him, pushing her elbow against his throat. Tears of rage, of the years and innocence lost welled in her hate filled eyes. "You stole the life my brother deserved." Cye leaned her weight forward, putting more pressure on his throat. He tried to shift under her, to wriggle free, but in his weakened state the Jedi couldn't call upon his power. "You took our family, our aliit from us."

Waikali's legs kicked helplessly as she dug her elbow into his neck. His tongue flopped around inside his shattered mouth like a fish out of water. The color of his face shifted from a melted, glossy pink to red to mottled purple. His eyes bulged from his blistered head, their crystal blue now surrounded by bloodshot red. He searched wildly, looking anywhere for anything that might help him as she crushed his throat. His movements began to slow. His eyes rolled around, more aimless than searching. They met her steady glare, and in his eyes Cye saw horror, disbelief, and anguish as his mind came to grips with his imminent demise before the light finally left them. They rolled back and his body shuddered in his final death rattle before going still at last.

Cye kept pressure on his neck for another minute, staring into his lifeless eyes, watching for any sign of deceit before finally letting go. Then she took out her vibroblade and stabbed him, once in the throat and twice in the chest. She wanted, no- she needed to make sure that there would be no chance to bring him back from hell. Then she rolled off of him and practically collapsed beside his corpse. She laid there, staring up at the ceiling, not carrying that his blood soaked her clothing. It was done.

She let the tears flow then, washing down her cheeks freely as she smiled. One more Jedi crossed off of their list, and one of the worst of them as far as Cye was concerned. It was over, time to recover and celebrate.

"You look like you exploded out the wrong end of a bantha."

Cye turned her head enough to see Zam standing in the archway to the main rooms. She was back in her preferred human form, the edge of her lips curled in a smirk with Cye's ruined jacket tied around her waist. "I thought I told you to stay where you were."

"And miss the grand finale? Who do you think I am, sweetie?" Zam came forward and held out her good arm to Cye. The Jedi's lightsaber was clipped to her belt, peeking out from under the jacket with each step. "Come on, we need to get out of here before Saba's crew sends some goons out to check on that explosion. Can you walk?"

Cye nodded as Zam helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?" she asked, worried about more than the blaster bolt. "What he told you. That was a lie. You know that, right?"

"We can talk about that later once we're rolling in credits and drinking top shelf cocktails," Zam replied quickly as they limped out the back, leaning heavily on one another with the strill following dutifully behind as they made their way home through the backstreets of Talos.

Mando'a Translations:

Shekemir, Oy'ika - Follow, Little Hunter

Pare ogir - Stay there.

Jate. Ara'novor. - Good. Guard (block) [a specific location]

Osik! - Shit!

Ne shab'rud'ni, jetii. - Don't fuck with me, Jedi

Sooran, shabuir! - Contemptuous and triumphant comment - like *suck on that, motherfucker!*

Cyar'ika. - Sweetheart

Gev! - Stop it!

Aliit - Family