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The Dance to Die For
Part 1
Written by Sailor Bothawui
The Shadow ran down the dark alley, not risking a glance behind her. Blue eyes frantically scanned down the junky alley looking for any obstacles that would be in her way. She slowed as the darkness closed in around her, her mind on one thing only: find a hiding spot. She spun around and looked up, there in front of her and to her left was an opening in the side of the decaying building. She took a deep breath, looked to see if she could tell anyone was watching her, and then started to scale the wall to the opening. She had lost her footing a couple of times when the concrete crumbled beneath her foot, but managed to haul herself up to the dark hole. She squeezed her furry body into the opening and felt herself fall a distance before she was laying on some sort of solid surface. Her long ears picked up voices and sounds out in the alley; she tried to keep her panting silent as she willed her beating heart to slow down.
"Are you sure she came this way?" a rough masculine voice called out.
"I'm sure of it. I saw her race `round the corner myself," a non-descriptive voice answered.
"Well, look at this..." She barely heard the clacking of shoes on the pavement.
There was silence and a whisper that stood the hair on the back of her neck on end. "Blood...her blood."
Inga clinched her eyes shut and wanted to whimper, but knew better of it. She could feel the newly made wounds as they talked about them. She wished that they would go away.
"She m'st be aroun' here somewheres then, she co'ldn't of vanished into thin air," a slurred voice piped in.
"Well, even if we dun find her, her wounds will take care of her." The masculine voice rang clear and seemed to hang in the air.
"Let's stop wastin' our time then. There are other bounties to take care of." The plain voice was heard right under her hiding spot.
"Next time, Oket, don't let the target out of your sight. Either finish the job, capture the target..." The rough voice challenged.
"I know..." the voices faded away.
Inga let a soft moan escape her lips as she struggled to sit up in her cramped spot. She managed to sit with her back against the outside wall, and rested her bent legs against a wall beside her. Tears ran down her cheeks as she checked her wounds.
Her outer left arm was singed with a lightsaber. *A lightsaber, who would have known that someone still carries a weapon of legend around. At least he wasn't very proficient with it.* She took a shaky breath.
She moved on down her left side, taking inventory. Her left calf shuttered and started throbbing. She could still move her toes, but wasn't sure exactly what happened to her calf. She fished for a small light that she had put in a belt pouch. She clicked it on as she aimed it at her calf and bit her lip against the sight. She took the light in her mouth as she ripped part of her shirt off and made a temporary bandage around the deep bleeding gash.
She looked at her other leg, and found it was still intact. Up the right side of the body and she stopped and felt the older wound on her stomach; at least it had stopped bleeding. She continued on up her body and still felt the thin wire that had wrapped around her neck. Her body coughed at the memory. She gently probed her head and face; she felt her fur brush many cuts and gashes on her face. The Bothan rubbed the spot, on the back of her head, where a bump was forming. She didn't even think of all the bruises that she had collected.
She sighed as she placed the turned off light back in her belt pouch. She was too drained to try to heal any of her wounds; she felt her eyes begin to droop as her arms relaxed and fell to her sides. Her mind then began to wander, remembering how she got in her current situation.
"You can do this?" A figure stood in front of a large picture window, silhouetted by the setting suns.
"I should be able to." The furred being transferred her weight to stand on her left foot.
The dark figure turned to face the bounty hunter, the corner of his mouth twisted up, but faded as he stood with his back to the landscape. "Good."
"Want any proof brought back to you?" She slightly tilted her head.
"None." His shoes clacked against the floor as he strode across the space to reach his chair. He lowered himself down into his chair then looked at the black clad girl standing in front of him. "I trust a bounty hunter's word."
Blue eyes narrowed as she half turned away from the seated figure. "Balmorra?"
He nodded slowly as she started to back out of the room; it was bad manners to turn ones back on an employer on this planet. He took a breath and opened his mouth as to say something, but hesitated and closed it. The hunter thought she caught a small smirk as she closed the door to his room.
Her mind raced back toward the present as her right calf muscle suddenly tightened. She bit back a yell as she quickly reached down and tried to rub the cramp out. As she eased the pain of the muscle; her thoughts turned back into the past.
The Bothan found herself navigating toward the planet, Balmorra. Her paw reached out and located her datapad that was sitting in the chair next to hers. Blue eyes looked down at the entries she had pulled up; one was about the planet and another was on the bounty she was after. She sighed as she popped her neck. It seemed so easy. Go to the loft located in the bin factory housing, make sure her target was there, gas him with a special kind of gas, then leave. No killing, no item retrieval, no proof.
Part of her was screaming that this was all wrong. That she should drop it and move on. The other part of her told her that this would be easy money, and that not all jobs have to be complicated.
She picked up a small canister that was given to her. It held the gas she would use on this job. She never asked what it held, but he told her that it would do something to the target that only he would know about and that the gas would not kill. She sighed as she deposited the datapad and the canister back onto the chair. She would be docked in a few short minutes.
Realization came slowly back to the wounded girl as she knew she could not stay cramped in the small space. She took as much as a breath as she could handle, then started up toward the opening to the alley.
Inga lowered herself carefully down to the paved street and stood leaning against the concrete wall. She closed her eyes as her paws held wounds that stung. She tried to think of somewhere safe that she could receive help. The Embassy was instantly pictured in her mind, but she shook her head. She didn't want to endanger her friends any more than she had to. She already knew that she would have to stop there at some point, but the less she could spend there the better. Her mind was frantically racing through her options, and she soon settled on someone she could trust.
She rocked back onto her feet and tried to cling to the shadows as she headed toward her destination, memories still fresh in her mind.
The Shadow crept up the empty stairs and flattened herself on one side of the doorframe to the loft. The floorplans were imprinted on her brain for she had scoped the place out in the bright afternoon. She rested her paw on the canister to make sure it was in easy reach as she checked the door. She found that it easily gave way to her touch. She eased into the room, senses alert for anything.
She threw her paws up over her eyes as a bright white light illuminated her face. She heard two distinct voices taunting her. Her throat tried to swallow a lump that formed as she headed back toward the slightly ajar door. Laughter rang into her ears as she passed through the door and into the hallway.
She was then faced with several large creatures blocking her every exit. Her mind wheeled as the creatures closed in on her. A clear voice rang out and everyone stopped in their tracks. She spun and faced the speaker.
He was taller than she was. His skin was blue, his black hair was slicked back into a small tail, and his red eyes calmly looked her over. She noticed that he wore a clean white shirt, sharp black pants, and his shoes showed no scuff marks. He held himself erect, his hands clasp behind his back and his eerie eyes held her blue ones.
He cleared his throat. "You may not remember me, but I have not forgotten you."
Inga furrowed her brow, half trying to remember, half trying to figure out what she should do next. She didn't like being encircled with no clear way to retreat. She backed up against the wall; the being in front of her took steps to close the empty space.
"I can see you do not remember me, as I would have thought. You might, however, remember an associate of mine. I had finally trained him well enough for my purposes before you came along and ended his life. Yes, I do recall that." His voice was steady and calm. "He just happened to meddle in the wrong things. Yes, I do realize this, but if you could have given him a few more days, we could have worked something out, bounty hunter."
She looked at his emotionless face, wondering where this was going. He coolly continued. "Now, you might think back and see if you can picture a smallish guy, long brown hair, kind of hunchbacked, with a sort of odd hobby? Yes. I see it dawning in your deep blue eyes. He was precious to me as I don't just train anyone. It has taken me a few years to figure out who you were and how to take care of you, little Shadow."
Inga tried to keep her panic to herself. This was one of her worst fears come to life; someone taking revenge on a past bounty. A small part of her had to congratulate him for the way he pulled it all off. A set-up. She wondered how far back and how far in the future he had planned this. She glanced at the large beings that encircled her and saw the guns and various weapons they held. There was nothing she could really do right now, but wing it.
She suddenly took a step away from the wall and performed a sweeping bow in front of the blue being. She kept herself bent but let her head snap up and look into the red eyes. "I must congratulate you, as I am impressed. You have done a fabulous job in what you have done here. I must speculate that this has been planned even before the beginning of that fateful meeting back in that fourth floor office space."
The blue being's smile widened as he slowly inclined his head. "Indeed. It is fabulous isn't it? This whole plan. I wondered if you would appreciate the beauty of the whole, and it seems that you have. You have surprised me yet again."
Inga slowly stood up straight as she continued to look into his eyes. "May I ask a question?"
He looked up and down her stout frame and nodded. "I don't think it would hurt."
Behind her mask, she smiled. "Can you tell me what species you are? I have not met anyone quite like you. And since you know my name, would you be so kind as to indulge your name to me?"
The black haired man chuckled with appreciation. "Of course. There are few like me, as I am a Chiss. No, I can see the question in your eyes already. I will not tell you my home world. It has been a Chiss secret and will remain so. And you may call me Cilek."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd of large beings. Cilek waved his left hand and all fell quiet. Inga caught movement on her left and wasn't quick enough to dodge a club to her middle. She doubled over and fell to her knees. Cilek's face showed disapproval as he stepped to face the being.
"And what do you think you were doing? I didn't tell anyone to move or to strike." His voice was calm, so unlike his facial features.
"Doin' yas a favor, the little slime were manipulatin' ya. Ya has..." a blast came from nowhere and hit him square between the eyes. He immediately collapsed.
"Now if anyone thinks they have any bright ideas that they came up with on their own, dismiss them immediately, or you will share his fate." He turned and knelt by the fallen hunter. "I am truly sorry. He forgot his place." He held his hand out for her.
Inga looked into his red eyes and slowly took his hand. The Chiss helped her up as he looked around at the beings. "This is my word. My servants will let you pass unharmed," he made eye contact with everyone and then continued, "and we may dance another day."
The Bothan took his features in once more as she inclined her head. "I thank you and I look forward to the dance." She smiled behind her mask.
"As will I." He smiled as well and raised his hand. Where he pointed, the servants moved to create a path to where the hunter could escape.
Inga had stopped for the countless time to catch her breath. She leaned against a nearby pole as she tried to regain the necessary strength to continue onward. Her blue eyes blinked and tried to focus on the path in front of her, she managed to make out where she needed to head when her eyes unfocused again. She grimaced as she propelled herself away from the metal pole and drug her furred feet down the street.
She didn't care anymore if anyone saw her or not. She was almost to her destination and she barely had any strength left to try to hide. She finally found the door that she needed and slumped against it and on down to the ground - she couldn't stand on her feet anymore. The wounded and dying Bothan gathered the rest of her strength to reach up and press the button that would alert the person inside that she was there. Her eyes then closed as her memories took over.
Once she left Balmorra on her ship, she slumped back against her chair. *That Chiss, Cilek, is quite a guy.* She closed her eyes as Ol'Reliable took her away from the planet.
It was a month later when she received a note:
*Little Shadow,
You might appreciate my next move. I have been up countless hours to work out all the details. You are to come and meet me in Kalarba. I'm sure you can figure out where - you're a smart little Bothan. I would tell you not to be armed but that would be foolish of me to say. Instead, I will tell you to be prepared for anything.
Your Dancing Partner.*
Inga flipped her blue and purple hair behind her shoulder as she set the parchment on her desk.
"Didn't think I would run into you so soon." She muttered as she grabbed one of the many bags that rested on the floor. She heaved it up on her bed as she plopped down next to it and started to unpack some of the contents.
She soon heard two feminine voices approach her opened door.
"Kitty!" a high pitched shrill filled the former office space.
"Hello, Suri." The Bothan never looked up from her bag.
"What is Inga up to?" Blue eyes looked to her doorway. Argent was leaning against the frame as Suri rested an elbow on the bright clad girl.
"I'm packing." Paws reached into the pack and pulled out some small devices and laid them onto the bed.
"Well, Argent and I are going shopping. We wanted to know if you wanted to come too." Her cherry red lips upturned into a grin, showing perfect teeth.
"Sorry, but I have business to attend." The furred girl sighed as she stood up to walk across the room to gather some supplies.
Argent walked in, upsetting the balance of the dancer, and looked around. "Argent thinks you could clean up. What's this?" She picked up the note that the hunter previously read.
"Business." She walked back over and reorganized her pack with the new items.
The purple haired girl spun as she entered the room to look at the 'business'. "Your dancing partner? I thought you didn't know how to dance and that's why you wanted me to teach you."
"Argent knows!" She raised her hand high in the air above her multi-colored head.
A few silent minutes passed as Inga raised an eyebrow. "Yes?"
A frown crept across Argent's face. "Argent doesn't know."
The hunter shook her head. "Suri, I know ballroom dancing and other formal dances. I need you - want you - to teach me the dancing you know." She attended her bag once again.
Argent furrowed her brows. "Inga is being set-up. Inga must be careful."
Suri's eyes lit up as she bounded over to her furry friend. "No! Kitty must stay here and be safe!" Slender arms wrapped around the short being.
"No, I have to go and I already knew it was a trap. He's testing me, again." She tried to shrug the girl's arms off, but failed. She finished packing with some difficulty.
"Again?" Two voices chimed in together.
Inga flicked her ears back. "I don't need stereo. Yes, we've had a run in before. I enjoyed it, well, somewhat." She stood up with a dancer on as a backpack. "You two go shopping and have fun."
Suri put her weight back on her feet and tightly squeezed her friend. "Come back to us." Blue eyes looked back and locked onto grey eyes.
"I will. Now go find some good stuff!" She shouldered her pack and shooed them out the door.