It had been about a month since Galen had started his search, to no avail. He had started an unintentional fast and had lost some weight, he was approaching yet another planet, clear, blue, one or two continents.
It was emitting an intense feeling of a Force Bond, the area was permeated with the scent of Death. Both of the man, and of the actual act.
Galen crinkled his nose in disgust. There were no signs of active civilization, only ruins. They looked ancient, but Galen had an eerie feeling that they were not.
He looked for a flat place to put his fighter down, knowing somehow that this was not the end of his journey. But he was curious at the strong feelings that he was getting from the area.
He found a flat place and put his fighter down on the ground. He got out, collected his robe about him, his lightsaber, and then activated the Fighter's shields and the Self Defense protocol for his Droid. He tweeted violently and proudly. Galen smiled at its antics.
Galen started out North, heading into the Sun, holding his saber out just in case.
He traveled for several hours, over rocks, broken surfaces, and then over a lip to a valley.
The sun was getting lower and lower in the sky, making the sky look as though it had caught on fire from the sun dipping into the mountains that he could now make out in the distance.
He got out some lunch, and collapsed in the grass and ate the stale meat. He frowned at that, but he did need the food, of which he was running out. If he did not find Death soon he would have to go back to Kandar. That would not have been beneficial to his quest.
He thought about Arkadi, thought about his growing child, thought about many things, but then he had to move. Into the storm.
He finally got to another lip, a steep incline into a pit, he looked down into it curiously, approaching it cautiously. His lightsaber was out, his thumb on the activation plate.
What he saw shocked him.
In the pit was great bones, from beats of wars, and smaller bones from people, white and gleaming. A few corpses had burns and were disfigured. Their faces were twisted and contorted in pain and fear.
The cuts and the severed limbs were too precise.
Galen was hit by a blast of memory, he heard the sound of a lightsaber cutting and slashing, screams, and the calm laughter that he knew so well despite never hearing it.
Blaster shots were being fired and he heard the screams of shock as they were deflected right back at those who shot them.
He shook his head clear and stumbled back, falling hard on the rocks behind him. He winced, but got up and headed onto the fighter.
Another piece of the puzzle, another location that did not have Death's son.
Galen Zaun got to the fighter at night, his droid tweeted at him with questions.
"Not now, onto the next destination." He got in the fighter as the autopilot blasted them off.
Galen fell asleep in the seat and waited for the dawn.
An Unknown Location
Galen woke up with a loud beep from his droid's intercom.
He pressed a button and information raced across the screen. He pressed another button and smooth rich boiling liquid poured into a plastic cup.
He got it and gunned it down, burning himself but sending a jolt of electricity racing down his body clearing his mind.
He looked out of the canopy and saw a yellow gas giant.
Surprised, he looked down at the controls again and saw they were heading for an asteroid moon complex. He was relieved, and curious to see a mining colony constructed within its hollowed out bowels.
His com device sparkled to life and he had to press the controls opening his end of the channel.
"Republic fighter, identify yourself." A thick voice said annoyed, obviously at his mere presence.
Galen was slightly surprised, and worried, at that piece of information. They knew who the Republic was, but this was in unexplored space.
"This is Galen Zaun of the Jedi order, my weapons are unengaged and I mean you no harm." He spoke into the headset.
"Jedi." The Voice humphed. "State your intentions."
Galen's eyes widened and he shook his head away from the prying eyes of his accuser. He had no idea what to say here, because he did not even know if Death was here, and he was sure from the tone of voice that he would be observed.
He smiled wryly. "Sociological experiment. I have always been fascinated by mining operations, and since I am new in this area of space, and I have some time off, I decided to come along."
The voice grunted chagrined. "Alright, you are cleared for landing, bay five, if you raise your shields or charge your weapons we will destroy you."
The com clicked off.
"I don't doubt it." Galen said wearied.
His fighter rocketed towards the base, coasting over a freighter that was sitting on the outside of the facility. He landed, and it looked like the place was full of small ships, fighters, shuttles, corvettes, ships that was large enough to be gun ships. Galen narrowed his eyes at them to inspect them closer, they were unarmed.
The bay was huge, over a cubic kilometers of space.
He secured his fighter, but thought better of turning on his shields, he did bring his lightsaber though, and fastened it to where it could not be seen.
He made his way over to the airlock and went through it, nodding to the attendant droid.
It was a veritable babble of activity. It was crowded with a diverse mixing of species, some of them Galen did not recognize.
A mine cart with Ore was going down the middle of the bay full of the Ore that the facility was mining.
He looked skyward as a shadow crossed him and saw a boxy mining ship that shot out lasers slamming into the rock and cutting off large sheathes of ore.
"Want to buy some Gack?" Galen turned around and saw a woman was regarding him with her head cocked to one side, and her arms placed on her booth.
Her skin was slate gray, and she was wearing a white tunic, her eyes were shining intelligently.
He went over to her and looked into the pot that was being considered for purchase.
It was worms, crawling in the pot lightly.
Galen crinkled his nose in disgust. "No thanks."
"Well if you are sure baby." She purred at him.
He had almost forgotten why he was here, and had to clear his head, then he picked up the Force Scent again.
He pushed his way through the crowd and moved on over to the other side, there he continued pushing his way through the crowd eliciting squeaks and shrieks of protest.
He made it through to a side street, towards the back of the main compartment.
He looked around and saw another row of shops, venders, and living quarters. He followed the Force, all the way to the back, passing rows of Beings that gazed at him curiously.
He finally got back, and nodded at a Being, who nodded right back at him. He looked around confused, for a second, there was nothing to be seen here, in the least. Except the Being.
Galen stared.
He stared.
Galen blinked.
His big eyes blinked in return.
Finally Galen took a step forward extending his hand, the being recoiled. "My name is Galen Zaun, do you know of a Death?"
The being smiled and his eyes widened, but somehow Galen picked up a twinge of aggression. "And what business is it of yours Master Jedi?"
"I am a friend."
"Oh a friend." The Being said chuckling.
"I am looking for his son, I figure that you could help."
"So you are that kind of friend?" The Being chuckled again. "Death told me that you might come about one day."
"Well can you help me?"
"Yes I can."
"Well?"
"Well I do not know. I just know of a hideout that he frequented often on a planet a few light years from here."
Galen actually knew of the planet. "Thank you." he bowed and left, but he hesitated and turned back and saw the being looking at him curiously. "I need fuel and provisions."
"The fuel is easy, one of the things we mine here, free samples up to fifteen gallons. The food though, costs money." He handed Galen a pouch. "There is the Gack vendor." He smiled knowingly.
"Thank you, no." Galen smiled. The Being laughed heartily.
"Well in that case there is the frozen supply and protein vendor on the next level, very cheap, very efficient, provides full meals for a nugget, can last until this sun goes nova."
"I see." Galen said bowing again, expressing his thanks again before heading out.
He reached the protein Vendor and paid for nearly 100 of the packs, they truly were cheap and the pouch had plenty of money.
He placed them in the cargo bay of his fighter, and then blasted off. He felt through the Force the location, when he was satisfied he punched in the quordinates and then blasted into hyperspace.
Death's Hideout
He launched out of hyperspace hurtling towards yet another plant. A sun was shining in the distance bathing one side in light, but not the side that his landing zone was on.
He scanned the planet and discovered scattered settlements. A shack was off to the side about one hundred kilometers from any of the settlements.
He was surprised to see what looked like a shuttle off to one side of it, large enough to carry a team of soldiers, about fifty kilometers beyond the shuttle.
He landed his fighter in a patch of stable ground, and got out. It was pouring. He got out and established the standard security settings and loosened his lightsaber on his belt.
He went off in one direction quickly. Heading towards the out of the way hut where he suspected the junior Death was.
He traveled quickly, staying to the jungle and to the shadows away from any prying eyes. He did not know what he could find, but discretion was the best policy given what he saw from the air.
Despite the foliage he was making his way over land quietly, hardly making a noise as he found his way over the wet ground.
Suddenly it stopped raining. Galen looked skyward and saw that the stars were beginning to peak out beyond the clouds as the sky cleared.
A noise to his right snapped his head around catching his attention on the area he heard it from.
He made his way over to where he could hear what was going on.
He could clearly make out voices speaking.
"We are getting close." The first voice said authoritatively.
"Yes we are, less then a click." A second voice said simply.
"Why are we getting paid to hunt for a boy?" A third higher pitched voice asked.
"I do not know, but it is not our right to ask, let us just get paid and go. They want him alive, or dead, and we will get paid. No questions asked, all we know is that our masters want him."
"Besides it is an easy mission for forty thousand." A fourth voice said excitedly.
"Do not get excited." The first voice said disapprovingly, but let the third know that he was excited too by the sound of his voice.
"Yes sir." The man said, hardly chastised.
Galen could just barely make them out, as they started to move out again, cautiously, easily.
He darted and stayed to the shadows where he could not be seen, lightsaber now in hand and ready to go into action.
But he was not watching his step. A twig snapped.
"Hey what was that." A fifth voice said.
An emerald beam of light shot forth from Galen's hand as the slammed his activation plate home.
"A Lightsaber!"
"A Jedi!"
The voices sounded shocked.
Galen swung into action leaping just as they fired, the red and yellow bolts of energy shot past where his legs were.
Another wave of shots were fired, he swung his lightsaber down in an arch plucking them out of the air and deflecting one of them back at his opponent, knocking him down with a scream.
More shots were fired and he deflected them twisting and pumping his arms, swinging his lightsabers in perfect harmony.
Their 'leader' did a combat roll to one side just barely being missed by his own shots.
Galen advanced, he threw his hand out, using the Force to send one of the Bounty Hunters arching through the sky. He landed hard on a tree, breaking his neck.
That left just two.
They fired at him again, he jolted, deflected, and charged.
He slashed across one of their midriffs, and then lunged at the other one, dropping them both in the dirt.
The distinct sounds of blaster bolts being fired split the night air. He looked at the source of the disturbance. They shots came from the hut, light streaming out of one of the windows. This was followed by more blaster shots that pierced the calm night.
Galen ran towards it.
Death looked up shocked from the floor, a young boy, just barely old enough to comprehend. The pretty lady that his father left him with was down in the dirt, face down, a burn in her back from the man shot her.
He looked up startled, and flinched away from the smooth black barrel. The man holding it was indecisive, wondering if he should just kill the kid and be done with it, or if there was a way that he could have taken the kid out of there.
His indecisiveness was lethal.
Galen Zaun exploded into the room. He lifted up his hand and pulled back on it, activating the blade in his other hand.
The man flew right back into it, the green blade of energy piercing his chest and making him grimace in pain. Galen Zaun pulled it out cleanly, and for good measure slashed the man's head off. It rolled away, stopping at the base of a wall.
Death knew that he was safe, knew that this man meant him no harm at all, and that he had an odd familiarity about him, even though Death knew that he had never seen the man.
"My name is Galen Zaun, I am a friend of your fathers, I am here to rescue you."
The boy frowned. "Why? What happened?"
"Your father is dead. And soon you might be too, you need to come with me, your father sent me to protect you from the men who killed him."
"I see." The boy said getting up.
Galen took the boy by the hand and darted off through the trees, making his way to his ship before it was too late.
