Chapter 25

Some people have asked if I'm dead. All I have to say about that is that this chapter was written from a space between spaces.

I would like to thank my reviewers, those who added my story to their alerts and favorites, and to all anonymous readers.

Disclaimer: I don't own Star Wars or Prototype.

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Voren lifted his face, letting the shadows dance across his skin. Jolee was at the other end of the room, stirring the pot resting over the fireplace. It was morning, but it was still as dark as when he closed his eyes the night before. Canderous sat at the table cleaning his heavy-repeater, once in a while glancing towards the old man as if he expecting a betrayal. Voren enjoyed having Canderous around, he had just the amount of paranoia to pick up things others wouldn't.

He rose and joined the Mandalorian at the table, taking the time for a quick breakfast before setting out.

"Bindo mention Czerka was stationed north-east of here." Voren informed just outside Jolee's house. "Let's stay on the path."

"Is the walking corpse really coming with us after this?" Canderous crossed his arms and glared at him. "We don't even know anything about him, and he was more stubborn than Carth about answering questions."

Voren adopted a more serious pose. "I sense no deception from him, no will to cause us harm."

"And your senses are always right?" Canderous asked, his tone filled with irony.

"No," Voren admitted, "But this time they are."

"Come on," Voren continued, "Let's deal with these slavers."

Canderous sighed. "Guess we'd better."

They set out in silence, heading down the only path viable in their direction. As they moved closer to their goal, the beat of paws against a path entered their auditory senses. Thankfully, no creature attacked. Voren could see bright light through the trees ahead, campfires of Czerka. The team moved closer and scouted the area. Four people guarded the perimeter surrounded by sonic emitters while the captain remained in the middle. He had seen all he needed to, now he just had to decide their next course of action. Going up to them and explaining the situation was preferable, but ineffective.

"Why don't we just take care of them like we did before?" Canderous asked.

"That was a mistake." Voren stated, trying to block out the carnage he'd caused.

"A mistake that felt damn good I bet."

Indeed, Voren thought, that was the problem.

Voren made a motion for Canderous to wait here, while he snuck closer in the shadows. Coming up close to one of the emitters, Voren reached out with the force. Sensing the complex workings of the machine, with a small push of will, the machine began to hiss before powering down. He repeated the process on the second emitter, and backed away to where Canderous was waiting for him in the shadows.

Now they only had to wait, the emitters where there to make sure no creatures enter the camp, with them gone a pack of Kinrath would soon attack their new prey. That was the plan, at least. A bone-chilling roar echoed over the camp, vibrations traveled up the sole of their feet as a massive beast approached. It resembled a rancor, except for the numerous spines growing out of its back and its tusk-like projections attached to its mouth. The beast wasn't comparable to the rancor back on Taris, only half in size if he had to guess, but there were other reasons Voren felt a sting of fear. It was a Terentatek, a Jedi killer. Twisted by the dark side and given a taste for Force enriched meat, a Terentatek is a Jedi's worse enemy due to its hide being immune to the force.

"Don't move," he said, gesturing towards the abomination.

Nodding in understanding, Canderous pointed his repeater at the beast and watched it charge through the Czerka camp, killing two guards before coming to a stop. Fearing for their life, the remaining guards fled the site. The terentatek grunted and whipped its head left and right, nostrils sniffed the air. A few moments later, the beast lumbered off into the forest. No words were spoken as they made their way back to Jolee's hut.

The old man was sitting just outside the house, waiting for them. "Welcome back, I take it you've done as I asked?"

"The Czerka camp has been cleared, they won't be back."

"Yes, I could feel it as you walked closer," Jolee smiled, "And I don't sense the smell of death on you. You spared them."

Voren shrugged. "We didn't have to do much; a beast took care of it for us."

"Indeed," Jolee mused, "Good work, very creative."

"Will you help us find the map now?" Canderous asked, impatiently.

"Yes," the old Jedi replied, "I know the hidden paths to get there. You wouldn't be able to find them on your own. Besides, there's a Czerka repulsor field blocking the way. Luckily for you I was there when it was installed, so I know how to get passed it."

"And on the other side?" Voren asked.

Jolee smiled, "Ancient answers. And just maybe a Wookiee you were seeking, hopefully he's in a good mood."

Wasting no time, Jolee went inside and collected a small backpack. "Let's get to it then."

As the old Jedi had said, he guided them through several hidden paths they wouldn't have found on their own. The noises of the forest died down the further they went. Jolee walked up to a small clearing just ahead of the others.

"Look over there." Jolee said, pointing towards one of the trees to the side. "Look at the markings. No creature I know of makes marks like those."

It was a peculiar sight; it must have been a very heavy creature to create such large markings on the tree. If he didn't know any better, the markings seemed similar to footprints. Voren froze, finding Canderous's grey eyes staring back at him. Both of them thought the same thing.

Alex.

The freaking guy could fly; it wasn't too farfetched to think that he could wall-run as well. Voren shook his head; every day was a school day when concerning Alex. He keeps doing something new all the time. He didn't like it one bit. Either Alex is hiding his abilities from the group, or he's gained new abilities during their journey together. The latter was far more disturbing, the problem was figuring out the truth. Both were possible with Alex, the man is a natural-born liar and only tells the truth when it serves him in some unknown purpose. He would need to keep a closer eye on Alex from now on.

The three companions could see a bright red light up ahead; they had finally arrived at the force field.

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The rush of memories was immediate and exhilarating, a lifetime of experiences flashed before his eyes. Memories of a middle-aged politician on Coruscant, then of an underground weapons dealer finishing a sale, the process repeated itself several times over. The last memory, however, was very familiar. Through the eyes of a small creature, Alex could feel both pain and fear as he saw himself clobber down with his fist. Of course, there was no real pain, only the memory of it. Rusan had been alive for a very long time, taking his time to live several different lives. Alex got the sense that he wasn't happy with any of them, as if Rusan was trying on lives like clothes in the hope of finding the perfect set.

Rusan was much like himself, a shapeshifter displeased with his lot in life. The main difference had been that Alex possessed a superior will to change himself and those around him, while Rusan had been content with changing lives when he grew bored with his current one.

The physical change became clear soon after, there were no rush of increased strength or agility, but Alex knew he had evolved even further. Concentrating, he forced his biomass to change with the image of a Tach in mind. His body convulsed, drawing himself in. Compressing every part of his body, Alex shrunk to half his original size and began to take on the shape of the small primate. But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't force himself any closer to the original creature. Letting go of the process, he soon reverted back to his usual body. Taking on the form of an animal wasn't the problem. The difficulty lied in compressing his large amount of biomass; he simply had too much for imitating a Tach.

Alex grinned, it was fortunate then that he was in a forest with all kinds of creatures.

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AU

Wow! It's been over a year since I updated this story. A lot of stuff has happened, but I'm now back in the world of fanfiction. Anyway, here's a small update.