A/N: Okay next chapter is up, no long note this story, just like the thank the people who review, who are the same four as the last time, so at least I have some loyal readers. Thanks guys I truly appreciate it.
Disclaimer: Star Wars is owned by Disney and LucasFilm.
Chapter 2
This man did not know how to shut up was the impression he was getting from Dral Rahm. The entire walk back he didn't stop his ramblings from subjects that varied from how he wanted to be untied, how they got lucky in their capture of him, asking Sabine out after he finished with "The Shape", and a larger variety of subjects Ezra didn't care to think about.
Sabine had thoroughly ignored him ever sense she asked him her two questions. The name drop was hard to miss, Atin Wren. It had to be a member of her family, which Ezra now realized, she never spoke about to anyone.
But she wasn't just ignoring Dral though, she was barely responding to him or Zeb when they tried to engage her in conversations.
"I'll tell ya, this sucka' ain't gonna know what him, I can trap anything." Dral boasted loudly, shifting his gaze towards the rebels, who were all walking behind him, keeping an eye on him.
Ezra himself did not think much of bringing this guy along, he was all for leaving him in the grass field they had encountered him. But it was his job to hunt and capture dangerous individuals, so maybe he could bring something to the table, they were good at stealing and blowing things up, but out right capture or elimination of a target had never been their modus operandi, they weren't bounty hunters of assassins.
Still he was loud, annoying, crass and unimaginably arrogant for a man being marched to an unknown location with his arms tied behind his back. He also was pretty sure he hadn't bathed in a significant amount of time, he was unshaven and Ezra thought he could smell something distinctly unpleasant about him.
Frankly Ezra has had enough of allowing outsiders into the group, Zann was a singularly bad experience and his hired muscle was not an overtly pleasant experience either. If it were up to him, this wouldn't of gone past the failed ambush.
Well this was not going at all how he planned. Dral had planned to find Wren and bring him in for the reward the Hutts had placed on his head for reason's Dral himself neither know about or really cared to. The fact that the man had been thought dead for so long hadn't lead to a drop in the bounty, the Hutt's wouldn't let anything go by their very nature.
Dral had made hunting him something of a hobby, always on the lookout for him. He had the equipment to track him where ever he was, and brining him in when no one else could, well that wouldn't exactly hurt his reputation either. But the situation had back fired on him spectacularly, he ended up chasing a ghost and got himself captured.
Truth be told he hadn't seriously planned on going after the "Shape" when he had arrived on world. From all accounts the man was a highly dangerous maniac with no sense of remorse and apparently very well protected as several accounts told him the man tanked a large number of blaster rounds without any real affect on him. No he didn't need that much of a head ach, but now he had to make something out of the trip, and the fact that these locals would be more likely to let him go if they thought he had plans to remove the killer.
But Dral had always prided himself on his ability to roll with life's punches and adapt when things went south, which was more often than not.
The group he had attacked was a boring lot, and any attempt try and draw them into a conversation or get a rise out of them was meet with silence, or at most a grunt or single word. But if they had information on the "Shape", it was worth giving them a visit, might make the job easier. He was fairly certain if he wanted he could make an escape, maybe a sixty forty split in his favor, but that was still fairly close to it not going his way, and given his luck today, he wasn't about the test his luck again, besides he'd lose that information.
Their ship came into sight but given the flat area, it was still some time before they actually got to it. The young boy, Ezra he thought he was called went in to get whom he assumed their leader.
Kanan just about hit the roof when he found out that Ezra, Zeb and Sabine had dragged another person of ill-repute to the ship. Tyber had been a singularly disastrous experience and he doubted a bounty hunter would be any better. What's more Kanan didn't doubt for a second that the man would try to claim the bounty on their heads.
But he had learned to trust is crew mates decisions, they would never do anything to intentionally endanger the group, and they were all generally excellent decision makers on tough choices. But he was thinking, getting a look at the man, that maybe this time the other's may of made a poor decision.
Kanan wouldn't judge a person on how they looked, but the expression on his face did not convey a sense of confidence in him. He looked like a hundred other smug thugs Kanan had seen in his life. Then there was the fact that this man had a great deal of mileage on his body. He was younger than Kanan, close to Sabine age if he had to guess, but his face look prematurely aged and had a large burn on the right side of his face that looked like it had never healed properly.
"So." he began approaching the bounty hunter "You're going to go after the "Shape" and claim the bounty."
Dral smirked "That's right, I'm gonna hunt him down, take him in, and you have some information that can help me."
Kanan was half tempted cut him free and let his go after the thing, but this currently the only solution presenting itself at this time, and Kanan was hoping that maybe Dral had some equipment that could detain JV-FR13, if he knew what to expect.
"Well, we can give you some tips. For one, you aren't going to be able to gun him down or otherwise physically hurt him."
"Yeah, the holonet says something about advanced body armor or something like that."
"Or something." Kanan said looking from Dral's face to each of crewmates faces, all of them darkening at the memory of JV-FR13 unique durability.
"Look, mate, before you continue, can you cut me free?" he said smirking again "Not that I don't appreciate your unique brand of hospitality, but my arms..." he finished with a shrug.
Kanan nodded to Zeb, who grunted and untied the cables subduing him.
Stretching Dral looked Kanan in the eye and said "I don't really want to hunt this guy, he's gonna be a lot of trouble, but your little friend over there." he gestured to Sabine "got me her by chasing after a dead man's signal, I need to make up the money somehow." he finished, not noticing Sabine wincing at the words "dead man."
In the sitting room on the Ghost, everyone looked on as Hera worked the projector, bringing up the data on JV-FR13. While the crew of the Ghost all stood or sat around the table, Dral had been forced to stand with his back to the wall, all he weapons and equipment left in the cargo bay.
"Blasters are next to useless." Hera said as Dral only half listened, making a wheeling motion with his hand, making it clear he wanted her to get on with it. "Excuse me, is this boring you?"
"Yeah, you are, I don't needed to know how to take 'em down, I need useful information, what does think like, what area's he haunts, what, if anything, motivates him, things like that so I can find him, I know how to catch my prey, but I need leads to find him."
"If you go after him without knowing what he's capable of, he'll kill you." Zeb bluntly stated.
"Yeah, whatever, I've heard the same line a hundred times 'So and so is the most dangerous so and so on the planet' it's just the locals all getting worked up over a more than normally talented killer." Dral's tone one of irritated boredom.
Hera was tempted to let him try his luck, but as obnoxious as he was, she didn't think she had it in her to intentionally send someone to their death, at least not a non-imperial.
"Okay, well here's what the holonet isn't saying." she said pulling up more in depth information on JV-FR13. "He is not just a normal madman or crazed killer, he is a genetic experiment gone wrong." She pulled. "He's essentially blaster proof and can quickly heal from almost any injury." to emphasize her point, she pulled up lab tests done on it, complete with video files. "So those stories of his "body armor" are just stories, and in fact the locals have it right this time, he really is blaster proof."
Looking up from the control panel, Hera noticed the smug look had vanished from Dral's face, replaced by one that looked like his jaw was so tightly clenched shut, and some of the color had drained from his face.
"That...can't be right" was all he said at first. Hera didn't know what was going on in his head, but she was pretty sure the revelation that at least one of the stories circulating around his target was true, and that in turn opened the door to the other's, and she didn't doubt that had unnerved him. He was clearly a confident man, but that confidence clearly did not hold up in face of the unknown.
"It's right, we've seen it first hand, you can't blast him into piece and collect the reward."
Dral put his thumb under his chin and his forefinger over his mouth, thinking. "Okay, let's say this is all true, then the only option available is to catch him in trap." he rubbed his chin again "I have something on my ship that might work...wouldn't normally use it, but in this case...it might work."
Hera hated it when people were vague, and was about to ask for clarification when Dral started to make his way to the ships exit.
This day was not at all turning out like he planned. No Wren, a humiliating capture and finding out he was now looking at facing a genuinely un killable target. He could do it, or at least he probably could, but damn, he wasn't sure if this was at all worth it.
As he made his way into the cargo hold and started picking up his equipment he heard a voice "I hope your planning going to get whatever it is you have on your ship to catch that thing and cutting and running."
Looking up from his task he saw the young Mandalorian girl, Sabine, he was pretty sure was her name. He hadn't really bothered to pay attention when these people talked to each other. "Yeah, maybe I am, but that thing ain't human girly, I might be able to catch him, but damn, how did something like that end up on Lothol? The Empire doesn't have any genetic labs here." He noticed her gaze shift from him to the floor for a fraction of a second, but he caught it. They were involved in some way, that's why they had bothered to help him at all.
He hadn't told them he knew they were the locale rebels that the Empire was hunting for, but he guessed he already knew, the holonet was full of picture of them, expect for her of course, she always wore her helmet in every image circulating of them, smart of her to hide her face.
He considered trying to take the bounty on them as well, but he wasn't equipped on taking out or trying to capture more than two or three people, and his earlier encounter didn't make him think his chances were too good.
But they were responsible in some way for the "Shape", he was certain of that, Sabine's shifting gaze, the fact they were sharing very sensitive imperial information with him. Guilt was the only thing that could motivate them to do that.
"Maybe I could take him, but one mistake and I'm done, I'm gonna a need more than the Moff's bounty on him to give it a try." he had them, guilt could lead to desperation, but it could also lead to a more a payday. "You rebels, have to have some connection that could help ...compensate me for my trouble."
Sabine was taken aback at the comment, from her understanding the bounty the Moff's had placed on the "Shape" was quite substantial, and here this guy was trying to extort more out of the deal.
"We can arrange something, if you pull it off." Hera's voice came from behind Sabine, making her jump in surprise.
Dral grinned, showing his copper teeth. "Excellent, well I'll be off to my ship, get what I need and..."
"You aren't going anywhere alone, until you fulfill your end of the bargain, I don't feel comfortable letting you run around unattended."
Dral's smirk faded, he hated having clients assian people to watch him. He wasn't going to do anything other than grab his equipment and come back, it was't like he was going to run off, even if he did, what did they care, they hadn't paid him yet.
They were probably scared he'd turn them over the Empire if he went anywhere alone, and they were probably right, but not until after they paid him.
"Well I won't have you flying your ship to mine, so unless you don't mind hoofin' it, I'm going alone."
"I'll go with you." Sabine said jumping down to where Dral was.
"Hah, I knew you couldn't resist me, my natural charm..." he was cut off by a quick jab to the diaphragm , quickly shutting him up.
"Shut up and walk." she said to him as she walked past him down the ramp.
Dral didn't respond in anything more than a series of grumbling curses that were not quite understandable.
"I'm coming to." Ezra shouted running after them, Dral didn't do anything other than snort.
For the first half hour of the journey was uncomfortably silent. Ezra wanted to talk to Sabine about what she had heard Dral say, but the bounty hunters presence made it awkward.
Ezra somewhat relieved that Sabine spoke first.
"Atin Wren, who's after him?"
Dral looked her up in down before answering "Couldn't tell you lovely, Hutts want him, didn't tell me why." Looking her over again he said "Why do you care?"
Sabine didn't answer , but Dral seemed to be on the trail. "You know him or somthin'?"
She still didn't say anything. Dral turned from her and to Ezra "What's her name again?"
Ezra was a little irritated at this, and he noticed Sabine make a face at this "Her name is Sabine, haven't you been paying attention?"
"Oh I have, but you miss understand me, what's her full name, her last name."
Ezra wasn't sure if he should tell him that much and glanced over at Sabine for a clue. A quick shake of her head told him what he needed to know.
"None of your business, ugly."
"Ohhh, name calling, well what do you expect from an eleven year old." Dral said smirking again, and Ezra was certain he had intentionally made the "mistake" on his age to try and get a rise out of him.
"I'm fifteen smart guy."
"Really? Your small for your age, a bit of a runt really."
"You two can shut up now, if you aren't going to say anything constructive than keep quite."
Dral and Ezra looked at her for a moment, a bit taken aback by the sudden scolding.
"So, why are you interest in Atin? " Dral said as they continued their march. Sabine didn't respond, but Dral didn't need her to.
"He was your father wasn't he." He said nonchalantly as they walked. Sabine and Ezra both stopped dead in their tracks.
"How did you know?" she said, irritation clear in her voice.
"I did my research on him girly." Dral said turning back to look at her. "I know he was married and had a daughter, who would be around your age, and you happen to look a lot like his wife. Really wasn't hard once you started reacting every time I said his name."
Ezra however felt a pit in his stomach, he didn't know anything about Sabine's family, but the fact her father was wanted by the Hutts, well that didn't exactly make him feel great.
Dral spoke again "So you'd be Sabine Wren, then." he looked from her to Ezra, their faces telling him he had certainly made them uncomfortable. He was certainly having more fun on this walk than he had intended.
Sabine could tell Ezra wanted to talk to her about what he had just heard, but she wasn't about to talk around Dral. He was the most obnoxious man she had ever meet, he was gross constantly spitting and cursing, and he looked and smelled like he hadn't bathed in a few days.
She was also sensing a mean streak in him, she was sure he was getting enjoyment out of the distress he was causing them. Then there was his never ending and clumsy flirting with her, which again she was certain was just his attempt to irritate and aggravate both her and Ezra, who got agitated every time he said anything to her.
"So Ezra my boy, have you ever asked Sabine out?"
Sabine felt her face flush at this, and she turned to look at Ezra, whose face was just as red.
"Shut up Dral!" Ezra shouted, picking up a stick throwing it at him, which he caught.
"I'll take that as a no, or else you have and she shot you down."
"Shut up Dral!" Sabine shouted this time, throwing a rock at his head, this time he wasn't quick enough and it his with a loud "thunk", making him curse in pain.
"Touchy aren't you, I was just asking, I mean he clearly..." he stopped the faint smile on his face falling and the color leaving his face. He turned pale and looked around, like he had heard something.
"What is it?" Ezra said in a whisper, clearly spooked by the sudden change in demeanor. Then he heard the vocie again. "Run away, get away." it said like a whisper in his ear.
"Dral...Ezra? What is it?" Sabine did an excellent job at masking the concern in her voice.
"Something's out there." Dral said drawing his blast.
Sabine looked to Ezra from confirmation, and he nodded grimly. "It's him."
"What have you two got in terms of weapons, anything heavy? I've just got my non-lethals, I can't take on much now."
"No, just a pair of hold outs." Sabine said looked to Ezra hopefully, but he just shook his head.
"I've got nothing."
"We're gonna have to run for it."Dral said, a bead of sweat running down his temple "It's that thing, "The Shape." he was whispering now.
"How can you tell? Ezra asked. He could sense it's presence, but Dral wasn't force sensitive, how could he know what it was.
He just pointed off into the distance, and Ezra just saw a massive shadow in the distance.
It was the boy and the girl. They had brought him her, the man was telling him to take them, the boy in particular was especially deserving of his justice.
He had stalked them for some time now, but the boy and the big man both had noticed him. It was time to act, time to kill.
A/N: Okay Chapter 2, please leave a review. The more reviews I get the quicker I update, although give this update is coming in so quick after the last, I guess that's not saying much,
Oh, well at any rate please review.
