The Chronicles of Vash

[Darth Catharsis]

Chapter 1

Vash let out a long deep sight as he sat on the ground with his legs bent. His arms rested on his knees and his head was hung low. He stared at the ground in quiet contemplation of what he would do next. He adjusted himself slightly, causing his belt and lightsaber hilt to rustle a bit. The black leather belt had two different pouches on it. One was on the back of the belt and the other was on the right side. The pouch on the back was small and almost unnoticeable, whereas the one on the right was larger. Not so large that it was uncomfortable or constricting, but large enough that it could hold various items that Vash may need.

On the left side of the belt, hung his lightsaber hilt. The weapon he wore was the only thing on him that could be called elegant. The black handgrip extended from almost the bottom of the hilt to about two thirds of the way up and showed off the durasteel casing. The casing glinted when it caught the gleam of the sun sending shimmering beams of light in all directions. The only part of the hilt that had any color to it, other than black and grey, was the ignition switch which was colored a bright blue and a small ring of electrum finish just before the lens assembly. Vash guarded with his life and always kept it clean. It looked like it had just been constructed, but this was due to Vash’s constant obsessive care of the weapon.

Vash himself was a far cry from the look of his lightsaber. He wore a black leather tunic that had hints of reddish brown material underneath it. The tunic was old and worn out. It was dirty and unkempt. It was the same with the pants that he wore. They were old looking, like they had been through a thousand battles. The color of his pants matched the color of the material under his tunic. His robes were the same. Filled with holes and rips towards the bottom and packed with dirty and filth everywhere else. His robes also matched his pants in color, but it was near impossible to tell with all the muck covering them.

To the untrained eye Vash appeared to be human, but in fact he was originally from the planet Kiffu, which made him Kiffar. The only way to tell he was not human was the facial tattoo that he bore on the left side of his face. The Kiffar wore facial tattoos passed down from their mother’s side of the family to indicate clan affiliation. The traditional colors of the facial tattoos were red, yellow, and green, but Vash was different, his was solid black. The one black tattoo was nothing more than a single thick bar that started under his hairline and traveled straight down the left side of his face. It passed down his forehead, over his eyebrow, his eye and his cheek ending at the bottom of his jaw line.

His hair was dark brown and looked like it was a little too long and scraggily. His facial hair was also a bit to long. Not long enough to be called a beard, but long enough to feel rough to the touch. He was in his mid to late twenties, but years of training and battles made him look a bit older than he really was. The lines around his mouth and the wrinkles around his eyes were more prominent then they should have been at his age, but not noticeable enough to make him look like an old man.

He took another deep breath as he put his right hand up to his face. Placing his palm on his chin and his fingers on his cheek, he rubbed the short prickly hairs on his face. He looked up at the blue cloudless sky and winced a bit as the sun shown brightly into his eyes. He looked around in all directions and saw nothing but sand everywhere. Mostly it was flat land that his inquisitive gaze fell upon, but in the distance he could see rolling dunes. It was very hot and he began to sweat a little as the blazing sun mocked him.

His nostrils began to fill with the smell of smoke and burning electronics. As he realized what he smelled, he slowly and carefully stood up, favoring his right leg. The entire time he was sitting on the ground he had his back turned to the debris of his crashed ship. He turned around to look at the wreckage left in the sand. The ship bellowed smoke from the engine as it sparked and popped with loud noises. In that instant he knew that the ship would not be salvageable. He would have to wait for some one to come along and find him, or walk until he found a sign of life.

After several minutes of contemplation he decided that it would be better to just walk away from the craft than to wait for some one to show up. He shrugged his shoulders and adjusted his tattered robes. He grabbed his belt and made sure that his lightsaber looked pristine as ever as he tightened the black leather strap. He quickly snapped his head from side to side, cracking the tension out of his neck. After one last tug on his robes in preparation, he turned and began to limp off, away from the smoking, sparking ship.

To Be Continued

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[Darth Catharsis]

He walked for what seemed like an eternity. His leg injury that he had sustained in the crash hurt as he limped along the flat sandy terrain. It had been several hours since he had made the decision to start his long trek across the lifeless calm desert. As he walked the items in his two belt pouches jingled along with his lightsaber that swayed back and forth with each painful step. The sun blazed over head causing him to break out in a sweat. As if the pain in his leg wasn’t enough, the stifling dryness and heat of the desert began to take its toll on his mind and body.

He saw no signs of life as he continued to hobble across the expansive wasteland. The barren region was relentless in its oppressive overwhelming heat. He still carried on, though, as if the Force itself was sustaining him. His mouth was dry and his body required nothing more than a drink of liquid. Any liquid would due at this point. The overwhelming desire for sustenance pushed the pain in his leg out of his mind, overpowering his thoughts.

He carried on like this for several more hours. The crushing sensation of thirst was tremendous. If not for his Force training he would have already succumbed to either death or insanity. The sun was still high on the horizon when he finally saw something of interest. Off in the distance he could see what seemed to be a crater of some sort. He decided to head in the direction of the crater, since it was the only thing that he had seen all day that was out of the ordinary.

After about a standard hour of shuffling across the arid landscape, he finally reached the bowl like depression. He looked into the crater and saw a most awe inspiring sight. In the center of the crater was a fissure that had some sort of natural gas that seeped from it. This was not the amazing thing though. The amazing thing about this cavity in the planets crust was that the natural gas that seeped out seemed to harden as it hit the dry air of the desert. This reaction created what looked like a sculpture of glass.

It was a beautiful sight to behold. The glass sculpture resembled a plume of frozen water. The sunlight that hit it danced off in explosions of multicolored light. Like a prism, it cast bars of colored light across the ground. As Vash looked upon it he thought it must be the most beautiful sight in the entire Galaxy. He was amazed that he had found such an incredible natural formation. As he stood there gazing at the breathtaking sight the entire world seemed to melt away. No longer did his leg hurt, no longer did the heat stifle him, and no longer did his lips crack from the dry air. All that existed in that one brief moment was him and the almost indescribable beauty of the glass sculpture.

Suddenly he heard a voice from behind him call out. The voice was deep and very gravelly. He didn’t understand the phrase that was uttered but he did recognize the language as Huttese.

“Kung, Kee hasa do punyoo.” The voice called out. Vash quickly turned around to see ten Klatooine warriors standing behind him. They all had their weapons drawn. Each one held an old makeshift looking axe and none of them had any sort of blaster or technical item on them at all. Vash froze at the sight of the ten large guards. Their black sunken eyes seemed to look right through his flesh and into his soul. He quickly racked his brain, searching for any Huttese phrase that he might know. After a few seconds he came up with only one.

“Day Wonna Wonga.” He said in an unsure fashion. His voice was deep and just a bit raspy. He had the voice of a man that had a lot of life experience, but yet his voice was calming and smooth at the same time. As he looked around at the Klatooine warriors he noticed them looking at each other in wonderment. Suddenly one of the guards in the back stepped forward, putting his meaty pointy fingered hand on another soldiers shoulder and gently pushed his way to the front line. He seemed to be the leader of the guards that now held Vash hostage. The large Klatooinian leader spoke to Vash in Galactic Basic, questioning him.

“What do you mean, ‘Are you going to pay for that’?”

[Darth Catharsis]

Vash’s eyes lit up when he heard the leader speak Basic. For a moment he thought that he would not be able to communicate with any of the Klatooinians. His expression changed from surprise to relief when he heard the leader speak a language that he knew well.

“You speak basic.” Vash said, not as a question, but more as a rhetorical comment on the situation. The leader said nothing as he approached Vash. When he got close enough to Vash, his right arm jetted out forward, grabbing Vash by the tunic while simultaneously pulling out a small metal dagger. He put the knife to Vash’s throat before he spoke.

“You have disgraced our holy land by bringing your modern technology here.” the Klatooinian leader replied in an angry tone. He pulled Vash closer and tighter to him as he sneered. Vash was a man who stood at an average height, so when the Klatooinian pulled him closer they stared at each other eye to eye. The leader’s canine-like lip curled a bit just before he pushed Vash to the ground. Vash landed hard on his backside, a slight pain shot up his spine but quickly diminished. “It is not for me to decide your judgment though,” the leader continued, “you will be brought before the Ancient. He will decide your fate.”

As Vash sat there on the hot sand he looked down at his lightsaber hilt. He thought, that must be the ‘modern technology’ the Klatooinian leader spoke of. He looked at it for only a second before one of the guards took one large stride towards him, readying the heavy axe he held.

“Hagwa boska punyoo! Hagwa doopee!” the guard yelled at him. Vash didn’t understand what the solider was saying to him, but he had a good idea that it had something to do with his lightsaber. Vash looked around at all the armed guards. There were 10 of them, far too many to overpower and escape from. Vash decided that it would be better to just concede to their wishes.

Just before he started to stand back up he felt a hard hit right to the back of his head. Suddenly his vision went fuzzy, then black. It seemed like only a moment had passed when he slightly opened his eyes. All he could see was the blue of the sky and all he could feel was steady movement. He was moving fast but he could tell that he was laying on his back. His mind was hazy and he didn’t really grasp what was going on. A moment later he blacked out again. Another moment of darkness passed before he opened his eyes again. He still only saw the blue sky over head and he still felt the steady movement, but this time he heard the sound of an engine. Though it was a muffled sound he heard, he recognized it as a desert skiff. As his hearing came back a bit more he heard the graveled voice of one of the guards.

“Jeeska da sookee koopa moe nanya!” the phrase was followed by a few other guards laughing. It was the last thing that Vash heard before he blacked out once again. The third moment of darkness was just as fast as the prevous two, only this time when his eyes slightly opened it was a far different scene he saw. The blue sky was gone, replaced by dark stone walls and little light. As his mind began to clear up, he noticed he was in a small room. The scent of blood and sweat assaulted his sense of smell and a loud metal on metal crash rung in his ears. The dry hot air from outside was traded for cool damp air that surrounded him. He realized that he was laying on the ground, thrown haphazardly into a holding cell. He slowly began to get up, still favoring his pained leg. As he rose to his feet he heard yelling and a scuffle from down the hallway.

“Bona nai kachu, shag!” Vash heard the voice of one of the guards bark angrily.

“Da beesga coo palyeeya pityee bo tenya go kaka juju hoopa!” the other voice replied. The other voice Vash heard did not belong to a Klatooinian, but to a female. Her voice was feminine and attractive even through the anger she was expressing. Vash stood all the way up and hobbled over to the cell door that was constructed out of thick old dirty durasteel bars. He tried to look down the hallway to see if he could get a glimpse of what was going on.

[Darth Catharsis]

Vash tried to look down the dark dingy hallway to see what was going on. His range of vision was limited by the thick black bars that prevented his escape. He couldn’t see the events that were transpiring, but he could hear them. He heard the guard’s sinister snicker echo through the hall way. He then heard the female’s voice again. Her anger was still entangled in her words, but this time it sounded like she was asking a question.

“Hi chuba da naga?” Her voice was cold and hard. She didn’t sound afraid, either that or she hid her fear very well.

“Chuba.” the guard replied in a low slow menacing tone.

“Echuta!” the girl screamed with blazing fire in her voice. An instant after the phase was yelled by the girl a loud slap could be heard echoing through the halls. Vash pressed his face hard against the cold bars trying to get a better look down the hall. He still could not see what was going on though. After the sound of the slap he heard another sound, only this one was more like a thud. It was a deeper noise and didn’t reverberate down the hall as much. The noise was followed by two more flesh on flesh sounds, and finally a loud crack, as if it was the sound of a bone breaking. Then, silence.

Vash waited, listening intensely for what seemed like an eternity. His eyes darted back and forth and up and down not really looking at anything as he listened. The silence seemed to last forever, but in reality it was only a few seconds before he heard more noises. This time was different, though, the noises where not sounds of a fight, but a rustling sound. Since Vash’s physical vision was failing him, he decided to close his eyes and reach out with the Force. He focused hard as his minds eye traveled out of the cell and down the hall. He sensed the guard was laid out on the floor unconscious. He also sensed that the girl was a Twi’lek and she was going through the guard’s pockets. Vash could not sense all the items she looted from the guard, but he did sense that she grabbed his blaster.

Vash opened his eyes and the Force Vision abruptly disappeared. Suddenly he heard foot steps running out of the cell that the girl was in and down the hall. The sound of the fast foot steps resonated through the halls. He could tell she was getting closer to his cell as the foot steps got louder and faster. He moved back away from the bars so his face was no longer pressed up against them. He waited and listened as she got closer and closer.

Suddenly a flash of black and grey passed by his cell. The girl was running so fast that he merely caught a glimpse of her as she passed. Suddenly the foot steps stopped. Vash could easily sense that she had seen him in the cell and was now curious about him. She walked cautiously back towards his cell. He waited, also curious about her, as she slowly stepped into his line of vision.

Vash’s mouth nearly dropped open when his gaze fell upon the young Twi’lek girl. Her exquisite beauty was almost indescribable. When Vash looked at her he got the same feeling as when he looked at the glass sculpture that he stumbled on in the desert. The young Twi’lek wore a revealing black and white slave girl outfit that accentuated her flawless grey skin. The outfit was adorned with jewels and small chains that snaked their way around her buxom chest and slight, feminine biceps. The slit in the side of the out fit, along with the thigh-high black boots she wore, showed off her muscular smooth thighs. She also wore a black leather strap around her head that crisscrossed down her long thick Lekku. Her body was an almost artistic example of the perfect humanoid form. Her big brown eyes seemed to pierce Vash as the two beings stared at each other. He looked at her in awe and almost didn’t realize that she was holding a blaster in her right hand.

[Darth Catharsis]

The two stared at each other for a moment before the Twi’lek girl finally reacted. She lowered her head shyly as she looked at Vash out of the top of her eyes. She smiled slightly at him. After a moment of looking at him this way, she reached into her cleavage and produced the key to the cell. She inserted the key into the lock and unlocked the cell door. She pushed it open ever so slightly. The door opened just a bit before Vash grabbed it and whipped it the rest of the way open.

“Boska, an chess ko.” the pretty Twi’lek warned. Vash stood there shocked for a moment then he reacted. He stepped forward and grabbed the shapely Twi’lek girl by the arm, pulling her into him. He planted a long deep hard kiss on her lips. Shocked, the Twi’lek could do nothing but return the kiss. Vash suddenly pulled away looking the girl in her large brown eyes. She was slightly shorter than Vash so he had to look down at her to meet her eyes.

“Thank you, now let’s get the Hell outta here!” Vash’s stern tone and speed of the words indicated that he was serious. Still shocked, the young Twi’lek was unsure about how to react. Vash turned and began running down the long dark hall way. The girl paused for a moment then began to follow Vash. The two of them ran full speed down the hallway until they got to the end. At the end of the hall way was another hall that intersected the one they were in. They both stopped then Vash pressed his back against the wall and cautiously peered around the corner.

He sensed no presence and he saw no guards as he looked around the two corners. The young girl also pressed her back against the wall and slid slowly and cautiously towards Vash. He looked over at her then back around the corner again.

“I don’t think there are any more guards down here.” The Twi’lek girl whispered. Vash turned to her with a surprised look on his face.

“You speak Basic?” Vash questioned.

“I speak many languages.” she confidently declared, “Do you not speak Huttese?” she asked

“No.” Vash confessed, “My ship crashed on this planet, the only reason I know it is Klatooine is because it is full of Klatooinians.”

“Why did they put you in here?” she asked curiously.

“I’m not sure, I stumbled on a crater with what looked like a glass sculpture in the middle of it. Next thing I know I’m being attacked by ten Klatooinians. They said something about ‘modern technology’ and ‘holy land’.” Vash told her.

“That is the Fountain of Ancients in the Derelkoos Desert. It is a holy site dedicated to the Ancients. The Klatooinians believe that the Hutts are the Ancients. The elder Klatooinians decreed that everything near the Fountain has to be exactly like it was in the early days. This means that modern technology is not allowed within one kilometer of the Fountain.” She informed.

“That is why they threw me in here then, my lightsaber.” He surmised.

“You carry a lightsaber?” She inquired.

“Yeah, and I gotta find it before I can leave.” He said.

He turned his attention back to the corner that they were staked out at. Again he cautiously peered around it looking for any signs of life. As he glanced around the corner he began questioning her.

“Do they always keep the slave girls down here?”

“I’m not a slave!” she snapped angrily at him.

“Well you could have fooled me.” He said in a dead pan tone.

“I’m a victim of bad luck.”

“Whatever, listen, I have to find my lightsaber. You’ve been around here before, where do you think they would keep it?” He asked

“If it was a regular weapon they would keep it in the armory, but since it is a lightsaber, it is probably in the main entertainment room.”

“Well, let’s go then.”

“No, we can’t!” she exclaimed “That’s where Bagga the Hutt is. He’s the Hutt that runs the day to day operations on the planet.”

“Well, I guess I’m gonna have to pay Bagga a little visit then.” He said nonchalantly. “Go find a ship so we can get off this rock. I’m gonna go get my saber back.”

“I don’t want to go by myself.” She said sheepishly. Vash turned away from the corner and looked at her. He put his hand up and pointed at her.

“Wait a minute, two minutes ago you beat the poodoo out of a guard and were planning on escaping by your self. I don’t think much has change, other than you letting me out of my cell. Now, go find a ship so we can get out of here, if you have any problems, just use that blaster. You’ll be fine.”

Vash turned back towards the intersecting hall way. He closed his eyes and tried to sense movement or life in all directions. He zeroed in on a location that seemed like it was teaming with life and movement. He decided that it must be the entertainment room he was sensing. With out saying another word he dashed off in the direction of the room. The Twi’lek girl was left standing there alone.

[Darth Catharsis]

Vash ran down the hallway at breakneck speed. With the use of the Force he was able to dart down the hall so fast he appeared as nothing more than a streak of reddish brown. To him the hall itself looked as he did to any observer, a flash of dingy darkness. As he ran, he came to a set of stairs and bolted up them as if they weren’t even there. He sensed he was getting closer to the entertainment room so he slowed his pace and heightened his caution. As he slowly crept up to a corner his mind drifted back to his crashed ship.

The ship itself didn’t really matter much to Vash. To him it was just a craft that he used to get to different places in the Galaxy. He hadn’t been in possession of it for very long when it malfunctioned and crashed into the planet that he was now stranded on. He figured that the error in the navicomputer was most likely the result of sabotage by the former owner. The ship was a dark green Belbullab-22 starfighter that was manufactured by Feethan Ottraw Scalable Assemblies. He had won the ship only hours earlier from a shady spacer who placed a ridicules wager against Vash in a game of Sabacc. Vash was never a very accomplished Sabacc player, but with a few well timed mind tricks and the use of the Force, he quickly swindled the ship away from the spacer.

Sabacc was not Vash’s game of choice. He was a Dejarik player. Dejarik had a long history as a strategy game that started with the Jedi, but over time gained popularity with common people. A Dejarik board was circular and had black and white squares on it that denoted piece position. The pieces used were three-dimensional holograms that resembled different creatures from various parts of the Galaxy. Two players would take turns moving one piece at a time until a winner was determined. Vash enjoyed the sometimes slow pace of the game and the strategy involved. He thought that it was comparable to lightsaber battle, with every move he learned something about his opponent. He regarded it as a graceful game for intelligent thinkers, whereas Sabacc was nothing more to him than a card game for gamblers.

He had been sitting in the dark dingy cantina for awhile by himself when he was approached by the older looking spacer. The spacer asked Vash if he gambled to which Vash only replied with a groan. After some coaxing, the spacer finally convinced Vash to play a game of Sabacc with him. They had only played for about a standard hour, but in that time the spacer won several games and guzzled several drinks of Corellian whiskey. The two men hardly talked during the game, but Vash could tell that the spacer was getting exponentially inebriated. The spacer got to the point of drunken stupor just before he won a big pot. He jumped up in celebration which caused most of the other patrons in the cantina to take notice of him.

After he sat back down they resumed the game. The spacer was overconfident in his skills which lead him to start making rookie Sabacc player mistakes. After another hour of play, Vash’s luck had changed for the better. This fact, coupled with the spacer’s mistakes, had worked out in Vash’s favor considerably. Vash had won back all the credits he had lost to the spacer plus some. In the spacers anger he asked Vash for one final game. The stakes were all the credits that Vash had up against the spacer’s ship. He pulled out a hologram of the ship to show Vash he wasn’t lying about it. Vash was in need of a ship so he accepted the bet. Vash figured that the man had stolen the ship or won it in a game of chance. He knew that there was no way a regular old spacer would have such a militaristic ship. He didn’t feel bad about mind tricking the spacer into looking away as he used the Force to stack the deck. By the end of the hand the spacer had a Pure Sabacc. He thought he had the game won, what he didn’t know though, was that Vash held the Idiot's Array which was the only hand in the game that could beat a Pure Sabacc.

The old man was furious when he saw this. He jumped out of his seat as he slapped his glass of whiskey off the table and half way across the room. He shouted obscenities at Vash and even threatened to use his blaster on him. He started slamming his hands on the table and accusing Vash of cheating. One of the large Herglic bouncers had been watching the entire game and quickly walked over to the spacer. The bouncer told him that the game could not be rigged due to the dealer droid that could not be tampered with. The Herglic then escorted the spacer out of the cantina. The entire time this transpired, Vash did nothing except sit back in his seat with his arms crossed and a quiet sarcastic smile on his face.

Vash collected his credits then left the cantina. He walked quickly to the docking bay were the spacer had told him the ship was located. When he got there the spacer was taking his personal belongings out of the ship. The old man had calmed down quite a bit since he had left the cantina, but Vash could sense that he was still angry about losing his ship. He handed Vash a datapad with all the identification codes for the ship on it.

“I don’t know how you did it, but I know you cheated. Keep in mind boy, what goes around comes around.” the old man warned through his clenched teeth. Vash brushed off the spacer as he took the datapad and boarded the ship.

He blasted off into the starry night sky with a feeling of accomplishment. He had no reservations about what he had done. He figured the spacer wasn’t the most honest person to begin with and had deserved having his ship taken away from him. Vash engaged the Hyperdrive engines when the ship reached a safe distance away from the planet. He had been traveling through Hyperspace for about three standard hours when the Navicomputer malfunctioned. The ship immediately dropped out of hyperspace when this occurred. Vash tried to get the ship back on course in a panic. He had never flown a ship like this before and was unfamiliar with the controls. The Navicomputer failing caused a domino effect of other systems to fail and before Vash knew it, the ship had crashed into the surface of the planet.

Vash suddenly realized that thinking of the past events was counter productive and shook the memories out of his head. He had to get his lightsaber back and he couldn’t have anything distracting him from his goal.

[Darth Catharsis]

Vash pressed his back up against the wall and looked around the corner. He saw a large heavy wooden door with intricate carvings on it and what looked like Huttese writing. There were two Klatooinian guards standing on either side of the doors. Both guards were dressed in dark brown armor. The large armor plates were sewn together with thick pieces of twine. They also wore a large red sash that draped over their right shoulders and ran down across their chests, hugging their left sides. They both stood silently at attention as they held their blaster rifles in their hands.

These two guards were all that stood in the way of Vash’s entrance into the main entertainment room. He did not care about the lives of these two sentinels; he only saw them as obstacles. From behind the cover of the corner he lifted his right hand with his thumb, index finger and middle finger extended. He focused on the throat of the guard to the right of the door and slowly began closing the gap in between his fingers and thumb.

The guard suddenly grabbed at his throat and started choking. The other guard turned his attention to his counter part in surprise. Neither one of them realized what was going on. The choking guard dropped to his knees as his blaster rifle fell to the floor. Concerned, the other Klatooinian stepped over and bent down to try and help his partner. He put his blaster rifle down and patted his suffocating friend on the back in an attempt to dislodge whatever it was in his throat that was asphyxiating him.

“Choy! Choy choy!” the unaffected guard blurted out. Vash still hid behind the corner using the force to choke the Klatooinian. Suddenly Vash opened his palm and then slammed his hand into a fist. The guard’s neck broke with a loud snap. Vash had used a powerful Force crush to compress the guards windpipe completely closed and snap the bones in his spine all at the same time. The dead guard’s cohort was shocked to see his colleague die by some unseen force. He was so shocked that he hadn’t even become aware of Vash turning the corner and walking towards him. As Vash approached the grieving Klatooinian, he used the Force to retrieve the guard’s blaster rifle.

The rifle flew off the floor and into Vash’s hand. The guard noticed this and looked up. It was too late for the guard, though. Vash thought about the young Twi’lek girl and how she was almost brutalized by the Klatooinian guard in the holding cell. He imagined that it wasn’t that first time that it had happened and one of these guards probably had done the same thing.

With anger in his eyes and a snarl on his lips, he reared the rifle back and aimed for the guards jaw. Before he had a chance to react to him, Vash slammed the guard in the face with the butt of the rifle. This action knocked him out cold. Vash dropped the rifle on the unconscious Klatooinian feeling no remorse. He then stepped over the two defeated Klatooinians and pushed on the large heavy door.

[Darth Catharsis]

Vash pushed open the doors. They were heavy and moved slowly as he pushed them. Bright light from the entertainment room broke the darkness and washed over Vash’s face. It took his eyes a moment to adjust to the light, he winced as he continued to push the door open wider. As he opened the door he could hear the music from the band that was playing inside, as well as the garbled low roar of the crowd. Vash was a fan of music, but not this kind. He enjoyed subtler sounds, the band that he could hear was much harsher. It was definitely music made for a slave girl to dance too, not to relax too.

He walked slowly and carefully down the short domed hallway that lead to the main room. He kept his awareness high and stayed ready for anything that might happen. He passed under the arch and entered the room. It was a large circular room full of Klatooinian guards and commoners. There were also a few other species littered around the room. Among them was the Quarren Majordomo, Jeel. Jeel stood next to Bagga and slowly scanned the room with his eyes. Bagga was too engrossed in watching the two slave girls dance to notice anything else going on in the room.

Bagga was a large Hutt with a tattoo of some Huttese letters on his shoulder. His huge green eyes glistened and his tongue licked his lips as he watched. Hutts were hermaphroditic so their gender was determined by their personality. Bagga had a male personality and quite enjoyed watching the slave girl’s dance. He had been on the planet for quite some time overseeing its day to day operations and experiencing all of the hedonism he could. He was, however, nothing more than a middle man for the true rulers of the planet. The Hutts back on Nal Hutta made the real decisions of how the planet would be run, and then they would pass word on to Bagga so he could enforce their plans. He laughed and drank as he watched the slave girls, never paying any attention to any one else in the vicinity.

Jeel, on the other hand, did notice Vash when he walked in. Jeel was tall for a Quarren and stood at about 1.9 meters. He was just a bit taller than Vash’s 1.8 meter height. Jeel’s eye caught Vash standing just under the arch and he immediately walked over.

“Kee chai chai cun kuta?” Jeel asked in an accusatory tone.

“Listen, I don’t speak Huttese so give it a rest.” Vash casually said as he put his hands out in front of him. Jeel looked at him for a moment with a sneer on his small mouth. It was hardly visible through his facial tentacles. After a moment Jeel spoke again only this time he spoke in Basic.

“What are you doing here?” his voice was deep and croaky. He spoke with an accent so thick, Vash could hardly make out the words.

“I’m here for my lightsaber, nothing more, nothing less.” Vash answered fearlessly.

[Darth Catharsis]

The tall Quarren said nothing, he just turned and walked back towards Bagga. Vash didn’t care what the majordomo told the Hutt, as long as he got his lightsaber back. Vash’s eyes and senses quickly scanned the room. There were only five guards in the room. Two stood in very close proximity to Vash, one to his right and on to his left. One guard stood next to the band which was set up directly across from where Bagga sat on his throne. One was stationed directly across from were Vash stood on the other side of the room. The last guard was the Captain of the Guard, Drekk who stood on the opposite side of the throne near Bagga’s slug-like tail.

Jeel walked over to Bagga and whispered something to him. Vash was concentrating on the crowd so he was too preoccupied to use the Force to “hear” what Jeel was saying to Bagga, not that he would understand it anyway. Vash turned his attention to Jeel. His skin color was brighter than most Quarren’s, it was a bright tan-ish orange color. He was dressed in a white tunic with long wide sleeves and a large tan belt. On his lower half he wore a white robe bottom. Jeel had three large clawed fingers which denoted his particular subspecies. Claw handed Quarren’s needed less moisture on their skin to stay alive as opposed to their other two subspecies which needed an abundance of moisture.

Jeel had worked for Bagga for years, but not his entire life. Before he worked for Bagga, he lived on Mon Calamari as a con man. While on the planet he swindled many other Quarren and Mon Cal’s out of substantial credits and rare artifacts. After awhile he became know as a person of ill standing in many Mon Calamari communities. He decided that it would be in his best interest to leave the planet and search the Galaxy for other opportunities. For several years he traveled around making shady deals and defrauding many people. Through some underhanded contacts that he made over time, he heard about a position working for Bagga. He decided to take the job as a low level slave girl guard, but with use of his cunning and deviousness he quickly rose in the ranks.

Jeel and Bagga were friends, which was very uncommon for a Hutt and a majordomo. Bagga liked his ruthless style and the fact that he out smarted most of the visitors and guards on a regular basis. Bagga found it entertaining and Jeel saw it less as work and more as play. Jeel enjoyed being the majordomo because it was much easier than scouring the Galaxy for the next mark he could cheat, all the while running from the last one he cheated. He also enjoyed being surrounded by pretty girls all the time that were forced to do whatever he told them to.

As Jeel ended his short speech to Bagga, the Hutt's eyes opened wide as he looked over at Vash. Bagga raised his bulbous right hand and all attention turned to Vash. The two slave girls, one a blue skinned Twi’lek and the other a human with long black hair, stopped dancing and looked over. The band came to a disorganized halt with different instruments dropping out at different times. The guards readied their blaster rifles and aimed them at Vash. When the entire room’s attention finally fell on Vash, Bagga spoke in a deep booming voice. Jeel translated as the Hutt spoke.

“He wants to know who you are and why you dare to disrupt his personal time.” Jeel croaked in what barley could be called Basic. Vash walked to the middle of the room where the slave girls had been dancing. The two girls quickly moved out of the way and cowered next to Bagga. Vash found this odd, surly he couldn’t be as scary to these two girls as the huge gastropod that had enslaved them.

“You! You are the one that was captured near the Fountain of Hutt Ancients!” Drekk, the Captain of the Guard cried out.

“Indeed, in fact, as soon as I get my lightsaber back I’ll leave this forsaken planet and never come back,” Vash paused “I promise.” Vash then turned his attention to Bagga and answered his question. “My name is Quylus Vash and all I want from you is my lightsaber.” His tone was calm and collected.

The large obese Hutt laughed at Vash as did Jeel and several of the guards. Drekk, however did not change his demeanor at all. He seemed almost insulted that his Klatooinian brothers would chuckle at Vash’s transgression. Vash looked around the room quickly before he continued.

“If you don’t give my lightsaber back, I will take it by force!” Vash said with confident determination and anger in his voice.

[Darth Catharsis]

The corpulent Hutt laughed again as did most of the court. Vash’s anger rose as he stood there. Bagga reached down to a small square wooden chest that lay next to his throne. With one blubbery finger he popped it open and reached inside. From the chest he produced Vash’s lightsaber. The hilt, which fit Vash’s grip perfectly, looked small in comparison to Bagga’s chubby hand. Once again Vash’s eyes darted back and forth scanning the room so that he was absolutely positive of all the guard’s positions.

“What do you say Bagga, are you gonna give it back to me, or do we have to get ugly in here?” Vash questioned, slightly calmer than his last remark. Bagga looked over at Jeel and said something to him in Huttese. Vash couldn’t understand but he knew that Jeel would again translate for him.

“He says you must have great skill to escape the holding cells and make your way here,” Jeel paused “He could use a man like you for a job he needs done. Work for him and he will pay you by returning you’re lightsaber.”

“That is an interesting offer, you’ll have to let me think about it.” Vash replied. He put his head down and reached up to his chin with his right hand. He placed his palm on his chin and his fingers on his cheek. He moved his left arm up to the bottom of his chest and rested his right elbow on it. He rubbed the stubbly hairs on his face as a hush came over the crowd. He stood there for several seconds before he finally reacted. He looked up at Bagga with rage in his eyes as he screamed.

“No deal!”

Vash flung his right hand out in front of him using the Force to rip his lightsaber out of Bagga’s hand. The hilt flew through the air with such speed that it looked more like a blur than a hilt. Vash grabbed it out of the air and instantly ignited it. The saber ignited with an explosion of sound and the bright color of the violet hued energy blade. Two of the guards fired their blasters at Vash, but he easily deflected both bolts. He spun the saber in a figure eight deflecting three more blaster bolts. The Force tore through his veins and his conscious as it heightened his awareness.

He spun his saber around once in his right hand deflecting another blaster bolt then he spun it again as he passed it behind his back to his left hand. As he did, the blade caught a blaster bolt from the guard that was standing near the band behind him. The bolt bounced back and hit the guard square in the chest killing him instantly. Using the Force to guide his movements, Vash side flipped towards the guard on the far side of the room. The guard tried to blast him, but it was too late. Vash had cut off the barrel of the blaster rifle the guard held. Stunned by this, the guard did nothing but look at Vash in complete surprise. Vash used one quick motion to cleave the guard in two at the waist.

He turned his attention to the two guards that stood near the entrance to the room. The two guards let loose a barrage of fire at Vash. He had to concentrate carefully to block all the blaster bolts coming at him. After countless shots one of the bolts was luckily deflected back to its shooter hitting him in the jaw and ending his life. The other guard that was standing next to him looked over and broke eye contact with Vash. Vash used this distraction to Force Jump and somersault towards the guard. His feet hit the ground at the same time as his blade sunk into the Klatooinians left shoulder. Vash carried the momentum of his lightsaber through the guard’s chest and out his waist on his right side. He had just cut another guard in half, diagonally this time.

The four guards were dead and Vash was close to the door. He could hear the two slave girls screaming as he turned back around to face Bagga. The Force called out to him telling him to duck. Vash was never one to discredit the will of the Force, so he ducked slightly. As he did a blaster bolt hit the wall behind him right where his head had just been. Vash looked up to see Drekk holding a DH-17 blaster pistol. He was shocked at how close Drekk came to hitting him. He realized that he had worn out his welcome at the Hutts palace. Since he was already standing next to the entrance and he had his lightsaber back, he figured he would make a run for it. He turned and sprinted out the door before Drekk could get another shot off at him.

[Darth Catharsis]

Chapter 2

The grey skinned Twi’lek girl stalked carefully through the corridors with the blaster in her hand. She felt the all too familiar sting in the back of her head that she came to know as fear. She was unsure and confused, she had never been in this particular part of Bagga’s palace before. She cautiously and slowly made her way down the dark stone hallway hoping to run into either a part of the palace she recognized, or the main hanger where Bagga’s personal space craft was docked.

Her heart beat had increased and she could feel the uneasiness of slight panic course through her veins. Around every corner was uncertainty, the uncertainty of finding a guard, the uncertainty of being shot by a patrol droid, even the uncertainty of death. Even with all the fear and uncertainty clouded around her she knew that the only way out of Bagga’s clutches was to press on and find the ship. The ship was the only way out and the sole source of freedom. This fact was the only thing that helped her push through the fear and continue on.

She crept up to a corner and pressed her back against it, it reminded her of how she had seen Vash do the same maneuver earlier. With her SE-14 blaster pistol held up in front of her face, she warily peeked out from around the corner. A sigh of relief came from her as she saw no one around the corner. She dropped her hands and gingerly walked around the corner. She was glad there were no guards in the hallway that might take her life as she shot it out with them.

She was more scared of being shot than actually shooting a guard. In her travels down the long twisting corridors she had run into two guards since Vash had left her alone. The first one was completely taken by surprise as she crept up behind him and shot him in the back of the neck. The second guard was not so easy. This guard happened to see her as she looked out around one of the corners. A shoot out quickly ensued between the two.

The Klatooinian had seen her and instantly opened fire. The blaster bolt that he fired lit up the stone corridor with a red glow. The bolt narrowly missed her face, hitting the stone behind her it left a black scorch mark on the wall. She quickly ducked and rolled out from behind the corner. It was mere luck that that shot she fired hit its mark and dropped the guard to his knees. The shot had hit the Klatooinian in the stomach and made him double over. The gapping cauterized hole in his midsection smoked as his last breath was drawn in, and then exhaled with his last remaining ounce of life. Her heart pounded as she stood back up and looked at the dead guard laid out on the ground. Fear overcame her as she started to panic a bit, but she quickly pushed those feelings down. She knew if she lost control it could mean the end of her life. She paused for a moment then moved on to the next corner.

She gingerly walked around the corner and continued on through the twisting hallways until she finally came to a heavy blast door. She had an uneasy feeling as she approached it. It was the first blast door that she had ever seen in the palace and this meant only one thing. What ever was behind this door was very important. She again readied her blaster as she slowly walked towards the door. She took a deep breath in anticipation and paused for a moment. Her shaking hand rose slowly towards the small console that controlled the door. She pressed the button on the console and the door flew open.

[Darth Catharsis]

The door flew upwards revealing a short entry that opened up into a massive hanger. The only ship that sat in the hanger was Bagga’s personal star ship, The Hutta. “Hutta” in Huttese translated into “Jewel” which seemed to make sense as it appealed to Bagga’s materialistic nature. The 26 meter long YG-4210 light freighter sat in the middle of the hanger with only 3 Klatooinians guarding it. The ship was painted white and had two sections. The front section consisted of the first three quarters of the ship and was triangular in shape. The back of the ship, which was held on to the front by an access corridor, housed the three sublight engines.

The guards were alerted by the door opening and the young Twi’lek standing there. The first guard shot at her instantly upon seeing her. The guard stood 20 meters away from the opened door, so his quick shot was not very accurate. The girl jumped back as the blaster bolt hit the wall of the short entry way. As she ducked behind the thin corner next to the door, she could hear the boots of the guards running towards her. She quickly popped out from behind the crook and fired wildly at any thing that was moving.

Luckily she hit the closer guard in the chest causing his feet to lift off the ground and his spine to arch as he flew backwards. Her shots were unpredictable and erratic, this forced the other guard that had been rushing toward her to take cover. The guard jumped behind several durasteel containers as she fired randomly. She pressed her back up against the wall as she crouched down near the dusty floor. Her hands began to shake as panic set in. She was afraid for her life and it was starting to affect her. Her breathing was wild and uneven. She was so afraid that she jumped when the guard fired at the entryway. She knew that she could not be seen or hit from his vantage point and she was completely safe, but the fear had gripped her unfocused mind.

Frozen by fear all she could do was crouch down and quiver. The guard shot a few more times at the doorway causing her to jump again. There was a long pause of silence after the blaster bolts hit the entry way. Still she sat huddled in the corner not knowing what to do next. Suddenly she heard the all too familiar sound of thick boots slamming into the ferrocrete floor. Her mind raced but her body was paralyzed. The footsteps got closer and closer, louder and louder. She shut her eyes tight as if not seeing what was happening would some how make it stop. She opened her eyes as she heard the boot sounds stop. She looked up to see the Klatooinian guard pointing his blaster rifle right at her head. In that instant her entire life flashed before her eyes.

[Darth Catharsis]

She was born on Coruscant to a middle class family of Twi’leks. Her mother was a Rutian Twi’lek and her father was a Lethan Twi’lek. Both skin tones, blue and red respectively, were very rare in Twi’lek society and could probably explain their child’s grey skin tone. They named their new born baby Aavrahama, and raised her to best of their abilities.

In her younger days Aavrahama was quite a trouble maker. She would often play jokes on her school mates that would cause discipline from the school teachers. Being a smart little girl she always tried to talk her way out of situations. Sometimes this yielded results and sometimes it didn’t, but she always tried. Occasionally her parents would find out about her mischief and reprimand her. She tried to avoid this at all costs. She cared deeply for her parents and hated disappointing them.

In later years she clamed down with her antics, like most children do, and focused more on her school work. She did very well in high school and made many friends. There seemed to be two very different groups of people in her school, the intellectual kids and the attractive kids. The smarter of the two groups usually were the ones that got picked on by the others. The intellectual kids were less popular but always much smarter, whereas the attractive kids seemed to just skate through thinking that they could handle life on looks alone.

Aavrahama was one of the very few people in her school that was good looking as well as clever. This made it easy for her to be accepted by both groups of students. She thoroughly enjoyed her time in high school and when she graduated she was at the top of her class. In her time there, she had taken up a few extra curricular activates which made it much easier to get accepted into a good university. Her parents were very proud of her as was she when she got news that she had been accepted by Aldera University on Alderaan.

She traveled to Alderaan to attend the university, but she quickly learned that the students were much more cut throat than the ones in high school. She didn’t make many friends there but that didn’t really matter to her any more. She was older now and focused more on her studies. She took a particular interest in high technology and majored in computer sciences. With out the distractions of a lot of friends she was able to focus on her true passion, learning. She learned all that she could from datapads, datatapes, journals and her professors. Before she knew it, she was once again at the top of her class and it was once again graduation time.

She graduated from Aldera University and stayed on Alderaan for awhile. It perplexed her that she couldn’t find a job right away. She thought she would be a lucky catch for any of the many large companies that did business on the planet. She was, however, sorely mistaken. At first she took small odd jobs to survive, but she hated all of them. Often after she got back from whatever job she was doing that day, she would go to her small cramped apartment. There she would change her clothes and refresh herself. After that she would go out, traveling to one of many remote locations that she had stumbled across in her time there. She would sit for hours and look up at the sky, taking in the beauty and brilliance of the multicolored atmosphere.

This went on for several months. In that time she felt very alone. She hadn’t made many friends after she graduated so most of her free time was spent by herself. She was almost sick of this and prepared to leave Alderaan when she was surprised by a message from her father. In the message he spoke of a job that he could get for her at Republic Sienar Systems. She was elated by this news and gathered up all she could in preparation to leave the planet.

She took the first curser back to Coruscant with only on small hand bag that contained her belongings. The entire trip she was almost giddy with excitement about her new job and the prospect of using the knowledge she had learned. When the ship touched down she was reunited with her parents at the terminal, which added to her joy. Within several days she had found a small apartment to rent and moved in, excited about her new job.

Her elation quickly turned to distain when she started the job. She found out that she would be doing secretarial work for a middle manager in one of the business spires of the company. The mind numbing dullness of the job she had taken was no what she hoped for. She didn’t even get her own office, all she got was a desk with a computer console on it just out side the large glass doors that lead to her bosses lavish office.

While she worked she needed to keep her mind occupied, so she brought in a datapad with various computer games on it and downloaded them into her console. She would often play them when the boss wasn’t around. Soon she got tired of that and got more interested in Sienar System’s sorted past. She had learned that Sienar had for years been quietly supplying ships and weapons to groups of people that the republic deemed ‘less that desirable’. She wondered if these accusations were true and wanted to find out for her self.

One night she stayed late, after every one else went home, and sliced her bosses computer. Due to her advanced computer knowledge she had no problem slicing the console. She had learned that indeed Sienar Systems had been secretly supplying all sorts of technology to various factions for years. The corruption went back to a time before the War on Ruusan. She was amazed by this and decided it was time to leave the dishonest company.

[Darth Catharsis]

She went back to her apartment to gather her things. She was a bit frightened at the fact that she had done something that could potentially end up having dire repercussions. She decided that she needed to leave the planet that night. She had covered her tracks of the slice well, but she was still uneasy that Sienar Systems might find out what she had done and seen. She had very damaging information on the company and she wasn’t sure how they would react. Surly some one must have found out about it before, if not she would have never even known to look for the information. Had Sienar tracked them down? Had Sienar put bounties on their heads? Had Sienar permanently silenced them? These were all questions she asked herself, none of which she intended to find the answer to personally.

She never told her parents where she was going or why. She figured that if Sienar did come after her it would be safer for her family if they truly knew nothing of her whereabouts. After packing a bag full of different types of computer parts and tools, she headed to the nearest starship terminal. She bought a ticket to the first planet she could. Once leaving Coruscant for a second time, she hardly looked back at her home world. It would be until she was completely certain no harm would come to her and her family before she would ever return to Coruscant again.

For a standard two years she traveled around the galaxy, keeping a low profile. In that time she worked for some of the Galaxy’s seedier beings. She made a meek living as an expert slicer, slicing anything for anybody at any price. Sometimes the credits were good, sometimes they weren’t, but it was enough to keep her alive. Sometimes she worked for knowledge instead of credits. To her, sometimes knowing how to do something or get out of a certain situation was worth more credits than could ever be hoped for.

On one particular occasion she worked for an older man that had recently been relived of a few thousand credits by a young slick con man. She easily found the con man and sliced into his bank account, transferring the credits he had stolen plus some. The older man was thankful, but needed all the credits for himself. Instead of paying her, the old man taught her some very basic Echani techniques. This was very valuable to her, seeing as now she could defend herself against any unwanted attackers. For a lone pretty Twi’lek girl working with and for some of the scum of the Galaxy, this was precious information to have.

She kept traveling and was forced to learn many different languages since she worked for many different species throughout the Galaxy. It was always very important to her to know exactly what her employers wanted and needed from her. Since most of them hadn’t bothered to ever learn Basic, she had to learn their languages. She found it to be much harder and more time consuming than learning about computers, mostly because she didn’t have a natural flair for it, but she learned anyway. In the end, the hard work had paid off because she could take jobs that other slicers could not.

The last job she took was one for a secret organization of thugs on Klatooine that were tired of the old was and wanted to see the dispersion of Hutt control of their world. She traveled to Klatooine and met with the Klatooinian rebels. They wanted her to sneak into Bagga the Hutts palace and destroy his computer systems, which would wreak havoc on his monetary accounts and communication abilities with Nal Hutta. She accepted the job and headed for Bagga’s palace.

It was not long before she was captured trying to break into the palace itself. She was stripped of all clothing and supplies she had with her then thrown into the prisoner cells in the basement. Since she was very pretty and had an amazing shape, Bagga took a quick liking to her and had her dressed in a slave girl outfit. Not only did Bagga take a liking to her, so did many of the Klatooinian guards. They all watched and ogled her as she danced for Bagga on several occasions.

She had only been there for a few weeks when the guards brought in an unconscious man that was a bit older than her. She had noticed them throwing this man into a waiting cell as one of the guards brought her back to her cell one afternoon. To her he didn’t look like a dastardly character, but sometimes the worst people look the best. She paid it no mind as she was forced back into her cell.

The guard that brought her back was one that particularly had an interest in her. As the guard shut the barred door behind himself he tried to force himself on the young girl. After a very quick conversation where he let his intentions be known, she yelled a Huttese profanity at him. This caused him to rear back and slap her open handed on the left side of her face. Suddenly her anger and frustration came to a head as she remembered the Echani training she got from the old man. Surprisingly to the guard, she retaliated with a knee straight to his groin. The Klatooinian curled over in pain as she punched him twice in the face. One punch hit to the left side of his face, the other to the right. She followed that up but a spinning kick that cracked his jawbone and knocked him out.

She quickly rustled through his belongings to find a key to the cells and a small blaster. She took both items and unlocked herself from the cell. She ran down the hallway, not really knowing what to do or where to go. As she passed by one of the cells she saw the man that she had seen earlier, now conscious. She felt a strange attraction to him as she stopped at looked at him for a moment. At first she was a bit frightened by his facial tattoo but that quickly wore away. She unlocked his cell and the first thing he did was grab her and kiss her. She was shocked and amazed by his brashness, but excited by it at the same time. She closed her eyes and accepted his kiss. She closed her eyes for only a moment.

When she opened her eyes reality hit her like a flock of wild Hawk-bats attacking their prey. She had lost herself in thought for only a split second. In that time the Klatooinian guard that now had his sight aimed at her, spit out a command in Huttese. She dropped her blaster like he instructed as tears began to well up in her eyes. She looked up at him as he adjusted his aim a bit so his shot would be deadly. She new it was her time to die and there was nothing she could do about it except wait for death to come.

She looked up at him with fear in her eyes and in her heart. She thought of her parents, she thought of her old school friends, she even thought of the mysterious man she had just met under a standard hour ago. She knew that the last thing she would ever see was the guards green hairless feline-like facial features. She saw his clawed finger slowly begin to squeeze the trigger of his blaster rile. Then without warning, a purple shaft of light burst through the guard’s chest, killing him instantly. The guard dropped his blaster and fell to the ground. Behind him stood Vash, his lightsaber ignited and throwing off a violet hue of triumphant victory.

[Darth Catharsis]

Vash extinguished his lightsaber and hung it back on his belt. He looked down at the girl and could instantly tell that she was absolutely terrified. Vash figured that she had never been in a situation quite like this and it was finally getting to her. In that instant he felt bad for her. He couldn’t even begin to identify with what she was going through. She shook uncontrollably and didn’t even look at him at first. He fixed his still tattered robes then offered her his hand.

At first she didn’t even notice that he stood over her with his hand extended. Her gaze was pointed towards the ground and her eyes darted back and forth wildly. She still hadn’t come to completely understand that she was no longer in danger. Panic of losing her life still gripped her, and even though Vash had vanquished her adversary, she still felt the icy grip of dread.

“Hey.” Vash calmly and quietly called out to her. When she heard his voice she jumped, but looked up at him. As she saw him standing there the horror that she felt only moments before began to dissipate. She started to calm herself down as she took a deep uneven breath in, then a long hard exhale. She realized that her blaster was no longer in her grip so she searched the floor with her eyes. Knowing that she might need it again any minute, she figured it would be wise to have it back in her position.

She picked up the blaster off the floor and raised her hand to meet Vash’s slowly. He grabbed her hand and quickly pulled her to her feet. She noticed that the glint in his eyes probably meant that he was happy to see her still alive. Her assumption was right. Vash was happy to see the girl alive. He wasn’t quite sure why though. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that she was the only person, it seemed, that was not out for his blood. Maybe it was that she happened to be the only person he had met on this world that wanted to leave it as much as he did. Maybe it was the fact that she was very pretty.

Vash wasn’t sure of the reason, but he was sure that he had some kind of feelings for the young Twi’lek girl. Strong enough feelings that he knew he would not be leaving Klatooine with out her. She now started breathing normally as she calmed down even more. She realized that it was him that saved her so she was beginning to feel safe in his presences. Their eyes interlocked for a moment as the stood there silently staring at each other.

As they stood in the doorway which lead to the hanger, Aavrahama saw a quick glint of light out of the corner of her eye. It was almost the same kind of gleam that some sort of polished metal would throw off if hit by a beam of light. It was like the sudden refraction that catches ones attention enough to inspect what the device is. Then suddenly she realized, there were three guards in the room and only two were dead!

With all her might she pushed Vash back away from her as she too jumped backwards. The sniper blaster round that had been fired only milliseconds before separated the two as they both moved out of is way. The shot seemed to pass by both of them in slow motion as they both fell backwards. Vash hit his back up against the wall and pressed hard against it, flatting himself out so not to be hit by another shot. Aavrahama did the same as she hit her back on the opposite side of the thin corridor.

“It’s a sniper!” Vash said in an angry tone. He wasn’t angry at her though, in fact he was grateful that she had just saved his life. He was, however, angry at himself for not sensing the rifle round before it was too late. “Did you see where he is?” Vash asked in the same angry tone as before.

“Yeah,” she replied “he’s straight ahead. I saw the glint of the sun off his scope.”

“Good. I’m going to run for it, when I yell ‘go’ … you go! Run as fast as you can to the ship. Get in it and fire up the engines. Something tells me this hanger is going to be overrun with guards any minute.” Vash spoke with authority letting the girl know exactly what to do and when to do it. Even though they hadn’t know each other for more than a few minutes all together, she trusted him and she knew that he was looking out for her best interest.

Vash knew that the recoil from a sniper blaster pack quiet a punch. He also knew that the sniper himself would need a moment to recover from the shot and readjust his aim. Armed with this knowledge he quickly thought of what he had to do then executed his plan.

He ignited his lightsaber as he pulled it off his belt. Holding it vertically as he stayed pressed against the wall. He closed his eyes and focused on the Force. As he did he used it to imbue his muscles making him stronger and faster than any being could possibly be. When he opened his eyes he was ready to act. He dropped his saber down horizontally so that the purple energy blade could be seen through the opened door. Just as he suspected, another blaster shot came flying through the door hitting his energy blade. The instant this happened, Vash moved.

He ran out from his hiding spot with blinding speed. He headed straight towards where he thought the sniper was hidden at. There was a stack of durasteel transport boxes straight ahead. Vash knew that that must be where the sniper was. It was only a moment before his assumption was known. The sniper was, in fact, behind the boxes and now sticking his head out for another shot. As Vash ran toward him he swung his saber back and forth wildly. Half of the reason was to make sure that he was protected from the next blaster shot and the other half was to strike fear in the sniper.

His attempt at the latter worked, the sniper was scared and shot wildly at Vash as he approached. Vash easily batted the shot away, but not back towards the shooter. He didn’t have time to accurately position his blade so the bolt would bounce back at the sniper. His speed was amazing, he looked like nothing but a flash as he got closer to the sniper. The sniper was still recoiling from the last wild shot when Vash jumped over the boxes. He used the Force to assist and control his jump.

When Vash reached the crescendo of his jump his feet were pointing to the ceiling and his head was facing the sniper. He kept his body stiff and straight as he somersaulted over the Klatooinian. In one quick slash Vash ended all the fear that he had struck in the sniper only a moment earlier. The sniper dropped his rifle as his lifeless body slumped onto the ground. After landing on his feet Vash inspected his attack. It was well off its mark which disappointed him. Vash had meant to cut the snipers head clean off, but instead he had cut diagonally through the Klatooinians skull.