The Huntress vs Rex Nova ( bounty mission )

THE HUNTRESS vs Rex Nova

Bounty One-Shot: Nr 1

Music: SHUM by Go\_A

https://youtu.be/sDeMfL8Ib9A

~\*~

Bounty Details

Kill contract

Target: Rex Nova, Cerean Male, leader of the poaching cartel the Black Hand.

Location: Felucian Jungles.

~\*~

With the target details in her hand, the Huntress left the palace behind her. She was relieved to get away from those foul smelling guards. But outside it wasn't much better, the warm humid air was almost suffocating, nothing like the fresh air from home. The mists lay as a grey blanket over the grim marshlands, only showing the shadowy outlines of the people in the streets. Ziyal felt excited about the task at hand, it would be good practice for her skills and at the same time she would see new places and learn about new species.

As she approached the platform she could see through the thick mists that someone was lurking next to the Nightshade. As she moved closer she recognized the shape of the dock hand. "Hey!" She yelled when she noticed he had his hands on the glass dome as he peeked into the cockpit. Instantly the reptilian jumped up in shock. "You are back?" He asked almost as if he expected she never would. "Yeah. And I paid you to watch my ship, not to smudge the glass." The Sephi said as she stopped before him. "Hey, don't blame me, we don't get many solar gliders here" he said with a nervous chuckle. "Did you get what you needed?" He then asked. "Yes, I got my target" she said waving the datapad in front of him. With a smirk he replied "how exciting" and stepped back from the starfighter "you better get going." "Wait a minute, i paid for an hour" she said as she pointed at the sign with the prices.. his big round eyes grew even bigger and he began to chuckle "well, you're not getting your money back girl." Her face changed, a flirtatious grin appeared "oh I know.. but you can help me by answering some questions." "Eh.. ok? What do you want to know?" He asked unsure how to respond to her..

"First, If I'm to find someone in the jungles of Felucia, where would you suggest I begin?" She asked without hesitation. The dock hand looked at her in disbelief "Is this your first bounty?" Ziyal tried not to blush out of embarrassment and sharply responded "No… and what does it matter? Just answer the question." "Ok ok, no need to get aggressive. There are four major cities you can try. The capital; Kway Teow, then there is Har Gau, Jiaozi and Niango. But I'd first try in Jiaozi" he said and leaned in "the shadiest types can be found there." He whispered as if he didn't want anyone to overhear. "What can you tell me about the Felucians?" Ziyal continued to ask, and again he looked at her with disbelief "what rock did you crawl out from under? You come to Nal Hutta and don't speak Huttese. You look at me like you have never seen a Rodian before. You don't know anything about Felucia.. how are you a Bounty Hunter?" The Sephi said nothing and just stared at him with piercing eyes.. "the Felucians you don't need to worry about.. well maybe the ones in the jungle." He said as he shook his head in disapproval. "It's the Acklay, Rancors and Sarlaccs you should worry about.. and the fact that the jungle itself will try to kill you."

She smiled, he obviously didn't know she was from Dathomir, there was plenty on that world that tried to kill her and had failed. "I can handle myself. Tell me about Cereans" Now a smile appeared on the Rodian's snout "what a minute. You are going after Rex Nova aren't you?" "You know him?" The Huntress wondered how he knew. "Everyone on Nal Hutta knows him, that bounty has been up for months. Many have tried already and were unsuccessful.." he said as he folded his arms and leaned against the Nightshade. "You could just give up now and have a drink with me." He added. But Ziyal's unimpressed expression made him instantly stop talking. "So what do you know about the Cerean I am looking for?" "Well Cerean's are smart, that's why they  have such big heads.." the Rodian joked, but quickly he returned to being serious "I'd still try Jiaozi first. Members of the Black Hand use the space port there to smuggle their poachings off world.. you could recognize them from their tattoos.. That's all I know from the few that had tried to get to Nova before you." Ziyal nodded, she had enough info to start her search. "Excellent.. I better go" she said and pressed the button to open the cockpit. The Rodian jumped up the moment he felt the glass dome move.

As she climbed into the cockpit, the dock hand leaned in to have a better look at the controls of the old fighter. "It was nice talking to you" He said. "I will be back" Ziyal replied with a confident smirk on her face and strapped herself in. "When you do, just ask for Teebo the good looking Rodian" he said with a wink and stepped away from the nightshade as the dome of the cockpit closed again. Ziyal laughed and reached for the controls for the engine. As usual the nightshade began to tremble the moment the engines turned on. Slow and steadily she used the thrusters to lift off the ground. Teebo had stepped off the platform and watched her take off. The thick mists began to block the view as she went higher. The city below faded away, and when she emerged from the thick mists she took the Nightshade up to the stars.

~\*~

The Nightshade dropped out of hyperspace in the Thanium sector. Ziyal looked at the navigational computer, Felucia wasn't far now. She was excited to set foot on another new world, curious what it looked and felt like, but mostly she looked forward to starting her hunt for Rex Nova. With the red fan blades unfolded, the Ginivex-class starfighter moved smoothly through space, and in no time she saw the colourful world of Felucia. As it drew closer, Ziyal pressed the button for the fan blades. With a soft humming sound the solar sails began to fold again and the Nightshade shifted to the normal engines. Instantly the Ginivex-class starfighter began to tremble and rumble loudly "the first thing I'm going to do with the credits is to fix these kriffing engines."

Moments later, the Nightshade jolted as it broke into orbit. Using the navcom she made her way to the surface, to the Jiaozi as Teebo had recommended. Ziyal's eyes widened in amazement as she saw the vast jungles below. The datapad the Hutt had given her contained some info about the jungle world, but it was nothing compared with seeing it with her own two eyes. She took the Nightshade lower, and glided over the tops of the massive fungi. "These can feed a village" she said as she remembered the Felucian glasscap omelet she ate not long ago at the Kaas City Cantina. In the distance she noticed lights and smoke. "That must be Jiaozi" she said and turned the fighter in the right direction.

Ziyal took the Nightshade to the local spaceport, and again used the few credits she owned to pay the manager of the hangar. After asking directions, the Sephi left the spaceport and made her way to the cantina. The air was as humid as on Nal Hutta, but here it smelled much more pleasant. Even Though it was still early, the streets were buzzing with activity, again she saw many new species and wondered what their kind was called. The Huntress decided to use her unfamiliarity with the jungle world to her advantage. Because no one would suspect someone with so little experience in the galaxy, to be a bounty Hunter.

The Cantina wasn't far from the space port, all she had to do was follow the smell of spice and alcohol and the sound of Jizz music. The doors slid open and she stepped inside. There weren't many patrons, but it was still early. She walked to a seat at the bar and instantly the hammer head bartender approached her. "Greetings traveler, what can I get you?" the strange man said in stereo, then she realized he had two mouths. Ziyal smiled, "Greetings, I am quite hungry." She said, which was true, "can i get an Omelet with Felucian glasscap mushrooms." The man nodded his large head "an excellent choice, anything to drink with that?" "It is still early so just a Caff" she replied. Not much later Ziyal was enjoying her breakfast.

After finishing it, Ziyal turned around and noticed more patrons had arrived for breakfast. Ziyal didn't have enough credits to bribe the bartender or anyone else for information about the Black Hand, therefore she had to use her own eyes and ears. Sephi, naturally had a good set of ears, she could easily hear someone speak across the room. But Ziyal wanted to make sure she wouldn't miss anything and decided it was time to use one of her spells. She turned back to the bar, and as the bartender moved away to greet another customer, the Huntress softly began to recite the Ears of the Chiroptix spell. Her whispers were so soft that no one would be able to hear her summoning the ichor to increase her hearing. Only those who actually paid attention to her might notice a translucent greenish mist that spiraled up from her hand to her ears, but anyone there would probably think she was just smoking a spice laced cigarette.

Her ears tingled as the Ichor did its work, instantly she could everyone in the room, and without having to look she could paint a picture from the sound vibrations. There was nothing out of the ordinary, but Sephi was patient, she could wait all day if she had to. "Another caff?" The bartender suddenly asked. His loud stereo voice ringed in her ears. "Yes please" she replied and put some credits on the counter. The bartender took the credits and refilled her cup. Instead of going to serve other customers he lingered "and what brings you to this part of the galaxy?" he asked. "I am a hunter" Ziyal replied.  "A hunter?" The bartender looked a little confused at her. "Yeah, I heard there is some interesting game on Felucia." That explanation put the hammerhead at ease,  "yes, yes indeed" he laughed as he grabbed some cups to clean. "And what will you be hunting?" "I'm not sure yet, what would you suggest?" She deflected the question back to the bartender. "Well I'd suggest a flying Ripper, they are native to Felucia and quite a challenge." This answer sparked her genuine curiosity, "a flying ripper?" "Yes, they are large predators that hunt the jungle canopy but they are also often found in shallow creeks." Before he could tell her more a new customer tried to get his attention and then he walked away to greet them. 'Rippers, Sarlacs, Rancors.. I have to watch my back wherever I go' she thought as she brought her focus back to the room.

Her ears twitched as she listened to all the patrons. Most seemed to be workers of the space port, there were some early travelers like herself, but other than that no clues to Rex Nova or the BlackHand. Ziyal took a cup of caff, and brought it to her lips as she glanced at the mirror behind the bar. 'Teebo was right' she thought, 'there are some shady looking types.' Then suddenly after a few minutes she picked up on something.

~ "Did you get the tusks?" "Of Course I did, I brought the whole kriffing beast." "The customer just wanted…" "I know, but we could sell the hide to anyone else. And I know someone who would buy the heart" ''where is it now?" "Still at the port, I need a drink before I face the boss.." ~

Without moving from her seat at the bar, Ziyal listened closely to the conversation that was happening in the far corner of the cantina. She tried to get a glimpse of them in the reflection of the mirror, but their backs were turned.

~ "what about those cerulean drochs?" "What about them?" "I heard the boss talk about sending a shipment to Ziost." "Ziost? Why does anyone want a bunch of bugs." "Apparently they can literally suck the life out of you." "Oohw..I'm not going near that shipment then." "You better get moving, the boss doesn't like to wait." "Yeah, you are probably right." ~

The Huntress could see them get up in the mirror. And as they walked to the exit she recognized that one of them was a red skinned Twi'lek. The other one was a human with medium lenght blond hair. "Will you come back to base?" The human asked the Twi'lek, but he shook his head "No I'm waiting for Keevan, he is supposed to arrive today with those sand bear gallbladders." The human looked at him with raised eyebrows "yeah don't ask, it's supposed to have medicinal properties" the Twi'lek explained. "Well, goodluck with that, I'll see you later I guess..." "Yeah, you too goodluck" the Twi'lek tapped him on the back as they exited the Cantina. Ziyal waited a moment, and then also got off her seat. The bartender waved at her "good luck with those Rippers" She thanked him and left the cantina.

~\*~

Without hesitation or looking if she could see the two men, Ziyal walked back to the space port as the human had already mentioned the shipment was still there. While walking back, she thought about her next move. The Huntress had no transport or time to get one and that was a problem. She had an idea though, but for that to work she had to get close.

Inside the spaceport she instantly recognized the blond human, he was standing at the ramp of a freighter where droids were busy unloading large cargo crates. Ziyal moved closer and noticed a speeder was being prepared for him. 'Kriff' she thought, knowing she had to act fast, before her lead would leave the hangar. Luckily for her, the Nightshade was parked behind the large freighter giving her an opportunity to get close to the human and tag him. But first she needed to get the tag ready and therefore she had to step out of sight so that no one would see her using magik. Casually she stepped behind a pile of crates that would give her enough cover to get the tag ready.

She drew her Nightsister dagger from its sheath on her thigh. All she did was prick herself in her left index finger, enough to draw a single drop of blood as that was all that was needed. Using telekinesis she suspended the thick red drop above the palm of her left hand as she slid the dagger back into its sheath. For Bloodmagic she needed to channel the Darkside, she focused on the scars of her past and began to chant the words of the Bloodtrail spell. Almost instantly the single drop of blood began to move, swirling above her hand and it began to get a green glow.

'Now or never' she thought as she closed her left hand with the drop inside and with some sas in her step, she began her stride across the platform. She went straight towards the blond man, who noticed her at once as she approached. Looking her up and down he smirked at her "hey beautiful" he said as she walked past him. Without saying anything she smacked her left hand on his ass cheek "hey!" He shouted in surprise and turned towards her as she continued to walk towards her ship. Glancing over her shoulder with a flirtatious smile she saw that the blood stain glowed lightly as it was absorbed by the target. She could see he wanted to follow her, but luckily for her a droid holding a datapad blocked his way as it began to ask about his signature..

The Huntress returned to her ship and unlocked the cockpit. With a soft hum the glass dome opened and she reached inside to grab her energy bow and placed it on her back. After collecting her weapon and securing her ship once more Ziyal walked to a side exit, to avoid the blond male. Now that he was tagged, she could find a speeder of her own. further down the street she found a speeder rental and got herself one for her trip through the Felucian jungles.

~\*~

While she was still bargaining with the shop assistant of speeder rental, she had sensed that her lead was on the move. "I'll  take this one" she quickly said and pointed at the XK-13 speeder bike. "Excellent choice, how long will you be renting it?" "A day" Ziyal responded impatiently and took out the credits. "It was a pleasure doing business with you, '' the shop assistant said and handed her the key. "Stay on the path, otherwise you might end up in a sarlacc pit." He added as she got onto the bike. "Thanks" and Ziyal switched the engine on and took off.

Ziyal focused on the trail, and began her journey. The trail left town to the east and led straight for the fungus forests. As soon as the speeder entered the thick jungle she could feel that she was being watched from every direction. The sounds of the city faded and made place for the sounds of the jungle;  birds, insects and the rustling of leaves. Amazed by the tree-sized mushrooms, Ziyal couldn't help but wonder which one were edible and which were poisonous.

For several hours he followed the trail along a narrow path that zigzagged between the giant mushrooms. Along the way she had heard several predators nearby, but luckily with the speeder she was fast enough to get past them without drawing attention. Finally she sensed the lead had stopped and therefore Ziyal began to slow down and watch for anything out of the order. Her sensitive ears picked up the sound engines and several voices. At once she thought it best to further on foot and scout the area.

After hiding the speeder bike in the undergrowth, the Huntress slowly moved into the direction of the sounds but suddenly picked up on a different sound much closer to her. Soft beeps came from her pocket and quickly she grabbed the source. It was the biometric device the Hutt had given her and instantly a smile appeared on her face. "I guess mister Nova is close by" she softly said and switched the sound off. As she continued her way she found a ridge that seemed to surround a larger area. Hoping to find a good vantage point on the top she began to walk up the slope of the ridge.

Indeed, when she arrived at the top she could clearly see the open area on the other side. There was an old farm, with high walls surrounding it and watch towers on each corner. 'This must be their hideout' she thought as knelt down to have a look. From where she was kneeling she saw a glimpse of the blond human entering the site through the main gate. The walls however were too high for her to look beyond. She scanned the area with her eyes and found a large Mushroom tree to the south of the farm, but to reach it she would have to cross the open area.

Slowly she descended the ridge, hiding in the low bushes. At the foot of the ridge she paused and took a deep breath. She would use a spell of Concealment, but unlike her other spells this wasn't one from the Nightsisters. This was in fact a Sith spell, the only one she knew, thought by 'Mother'. Mother had told her that long before Ziyal came to Dathomir, a Sith crossed their land. She was wounded, and in exchange for the Nightsisters help, she taught them the Sith spell of Concealment. For Sith magic, Ziyal had to focus on the Dark Side again, channelling her pain of the past as she began to recite the words of the Spell. She knew the words by heart, but it was different from other spells she knew and therefore it took a little before she was fully cloaked.

As fast as she could, Ziyal moved across the open area. Avoiding rustling any bushes or bending the tall grass she approached the large mushroom tree. When she finally reached it she had to find a way to the top. Unlike normal trees, mushrooms have no branches but they do have a soft trunk. She took her Nightsister dagger and began to cut footholds into the trunk. It was slow but effective, and after several minutes she reached the top. Now she had to cut her way through the cap. "Kriff" she mumbled, knowing that her dagger wouldn't be of much use now. Then realized she had a different weapon now that she could use, a lightsaber. After putting the dagger back its sheath, she grabbed one of her bronze lightsabers and held it above her head to avoid anyone noticing it when she switched it on. Instantly the magenta burned into the cap. With a swift circular motion she cut a perfect round opening. After switching it off again she used telekinesis to push the round piece she cut free up onto the cap, that way it wouldn't fall and make any noise.

Carefully Ziyal climbed through the hole onto the cap of the Mushroom. She layed down and crawled to the edge from where she could oversee the farm. The spell of Concealment began to wear out, but now that she was high above them she didn't have to worry about it. From the top of the mushroom she could see the speeder bike of her lead on the courtyard. He was standing next to it talking to a man with a long head. "That must be Nova" Ziyal thought as she watched them. She could simply take him out with her energy bow, but that would alarm the others. She decided to wait and take the time to observe their base and see everyone's movements.

~\*~

By nightfall the old farm had quieted down. No one had left, and only the red skinned Twi'lek from cantina had arrived with his partner. All this time Ziyal had patiently watched the hideout and came to the conclusion that she would have to use the cover of night to infiltrate. But first she had to take out the guard in the watch tower closest to her. She lifted herself up to a kneeling position, and grabbed her bow. For a moment she waited to be sure the guards were looking the other way before switching on the plasma generator. It had to be a quick shot, as the energy bowstring would be visible at night. Quickly she drew back the glowing bowstring and instantly a plasma arrow formed. Then she took a deep breath in as she aimed and let go when she exhaled. The glowing arrow shot across the pitch black sky into the head of the guard. As he dropped the plasma arrow faded.

The moment the guard was down, Ziyal climbed down the mushroom tree and used the cover of night to approach the wall of the old farm. To her relief she found that the walls were so old that they were crumbling, providing plenty of footholds for her use as she climbed over. At the top she jumped from the wall onto the roof of the main building. Hiding behind the chimney she knelt down and took the bow of her back again. If she wanted to enter the main building she would have to take out another guard. Again she waited until the coast was clear before turning the plasma generator on. As quick as she could she drew, aimed and shot the guard before cutting the energy of the bow off agsine. Quietly she placed the bow back on her back and snuck towards a roof window. Her ears had already picked up on the sound of snoring, so she knew she had to be extra quiet when she carefully pulled the glass hatch open. As she peeked inside she noticed there were two individuals sleeping. Carefully she lowered herself into the room, and snuck to the door. Quietly she opened it and slipped onto the hallway. Using her sensitive ears, she listened at each door to make sure no one was awake before opening it and checking if it was Rex Nova.

Slowly she pushed one of the last doors open, and there he was, sleeping peacefully. On her toes she stepped inside and closed the door behind her. As she approached she recognised the tattoo on his shoulder, but then she noticed something else. He wasn't alone, there was a woman lying next to him. 'Kark' she thought, because this could be a problem.

If she killed him first she would wake and alarm the others and If she killed her first, he would wake and alarm the guards. But then she remembered the lightsabers she had. She took one in her hand and held it horizontally above them. But then Ziyal hesitated, this was not how she was used to killing. Never was she this close to her target and seeing the innocent woman next to him made her think that maybe this was a mistake. But then she remembered how much she wanted to prove herself, how else was she going to become the greatest hunter in the galaxy?

She switched the lightsaber on, the magenta blade hummed and crackled, casting a pink glow around the room. With one swift motion she separated both their heads from their bodies. It was quick, painless and quiet. It was perfect. The Huntress switched the lightsaber off and grabbed the head of the Cerean. 'Kriff, why didn't I bring a bag?" She thought as she looked around the room with a slight panic. Then eyes fell on the pillow on the bed, 'it's better than nothing' she thought and grabbed it. She ripped it open and pulled the filling out before stuffing the head inside. Now it was time to leave.

Ziyal decided the best way to leave was the way she came in. So she snuck back to the room with the open roof window and pulled herself onto the roof again. Then using the shadows of the night as cover she made way back to the wall and began to climb down. With the two guards dead, it was much easier for her to cross the field and return to her speeder on the other side of the ridge before any would notice their leader was dead. All she wanted was to get back to her ship and return to Nal Hutta to claim her reward. But first she had to cross the jungle, and at night things looked different. If it wasn't for the bioluminescent fungi, the forest would have been pitch black. The colourful glow was enough for her to find the narrow path that would lead back to Jiaozi.

~\*~

Her eyes flung open when she heard the alarm of the Navcom. The Nightshade had entered Hutt Space and dropped out of hyperspace in the Y'Toub system. Ziyal rubbed her eyes and took the helm to navigate the Ginivex-class starfighter back to Nal Hutta. Having slept most of the way back, she was full of energy and ready to face the Hutt.

The moment the Nightshade touched down, the Huntress saw Teebo approach. He had a smug grin on his face and waited for her to open the cockpit. "Back so soon, I didn't think you would give up that fast" he chuckled as the glass dome opened. "I'll buy you a drink, at least one of us made some money on that bounty" he added. "What do you mean?" Ziyal asked as she unbuckled herself. "We placed a bet on your success… and… I won, because I expected you to come back within a week… empty handed ofcourse" He explained with an arrogant tone. "Ahh ok.." she reached behind the chair and grabbed the pillow containing Nova's head. "Hold that for me" she said as threw it at the Rodian dock hand. The moment he felt what was inside, the smile on his face disappeared. Without saying anything Ziyal climbed out of the cockpit. Then, as the glass hatch closed again she looked at him with a smile "maybe I'm the one that should be buying you a drink." Then she grabbed the pillow and walked away. Teebo didn't move, he was in shock to find out that she had been successful in her task he didn't even ask for her to pay for parking.

Moments later she stood before Hutt again "Greetings great Zorbo" she said and pulled the head out of the pillow, holding it up for everyone to see "I come for my reward Rex Nova is dead"

~\* End \*~

(( Ziyal was awarded the maximum 600credits for her successful bounty ))