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**Que?**

The stars.

Man had been trying to reach them since their brains first evolved the capacity for imaginative thought. Myths were created to explain their presence, their purpose. Whole schools of study were formed to gather information about life outside the protective atmosphere of the planet. The idea of other planets, whole other solar systems undiscovered was tantalizing. In days of yore, the idea that man would be able to traverse the velvet blackness of space with impunity boggled the mind. Now man had conquered the achievement, soaring the stars with their intergalactic brothers. The impossibility of man to travel through the universe had been, like everything else that had faced by man's curiosity, vanquished. Now, man was faced with the challenge of exploring their newly acquired territory. Centuries had passed since the first flight to space, and they had only seen a fraction of what awaited them. Many thought space was an area of mystique and transplendent beauty.

Kiana found them rather boring and lifeless.

Long since a veteran of space travel, Kiana had left behind her awe of space quite some time ago. Where once it was a place of tranquility and peace, to her it was now a silent and merciless threat. She had seen many casualties in her travels; people sucked out of air locks, bays torn open by enemy fire, flinging everything unfortunate enough to be in the general area into the dark abyss. Kiana now acknowledged and respected the destructive power of space, and wisely feared it.

She sat back in the pilot's seat, closing her eyes. The droid had assured her that it would see them safely to Tatooine, but since astromech droids were very rarely programmed with a sense of self, Kiana had a sense of skepticism about the droid's abilities. After all, how could you trust your safety to a machine that routinely popped out of its port side cubicle to cavort about a space craft hurtling too fast to even believe to fix any damage caused in a possible firefight, while said firefight is still going on around it? Kiana had no choice, however, and was forced to accept the droid's assurances. But nothing said she had to enjoy the experience.

Kiana let her gaze lose focus, drawing into herself as she tried to relax in a meditative state. Many Jedi were able to quickly and easily ease their minds to a state of quiet introspection during space flight, but Kiana always had to trick herself into it; catching herself off guard. She directed her thoughts along the path of the mysterious kidnapper, then gave them almost free reign from there.

Why carry off a padawan? It simply did not make sense. One obvious point was that the abductor wanted a force sensitive child, one already somewhat trained, but if there was nothing else, why slip into the most dangerous place for an intruder to be? Why risk entering the Jedi Temple in order to carry off a single child? Kiana had learned very little about the missing padawan, and what tidbits she did know spoke nothing to her of the novice's importance. Yet, there had to be something about that specific padawan that made him so desirable. What was it, and why was it so important to implement him into this dark man's plans?

Kiana frowned. That subject actually took her away from her goal, filling her with frustrated impatience. She had never been forgiving with riddles she did not know the answers to. There was nothing she could do in her current situation, however, so she left the problem alone. The answer would come in time.

Only, Kiana mused, it was likely to be three minutes too late to be of any use. That seemed to be the theme around unknown information.

The droid blipped, and the navscreen in front of Kiana filled with text, letting her know that everything was going fine. Thank you for the update. I don't care, you infernal talking trashbox! Tell me when something isn't fine! Then I'll care! Kiana fumed. Now she had to start all over.

Kiana closed her eyes, taking a deep breath as she willed herself to stillness. She began a mental checklist of cantinas she would visit, according to notoriety and location to her landing point. She would have to keep a low profile. The Jedi robes were too ostentatious, so she had packed a change of clothing more suitable for the locale. Hopefully, there would be many strangers willing to chat over a casual drink, and those same talkative individuals would also have mountains of information she needed.

A cynical smile crossed Kiana's features. While she was wishing, why not simply wish the man in black robes, the missing padawan, and the rest of that man's entourage were sitting there, sharing a relaxing drink from their escapades? And that they would realize the consequences of their actions and peacefully present themselves to the justice of Jedi law? They could all toast to the dark man's newfound redemption, and the Jedi Council would be so impressed, they would immediately appoint her to their order on the spot.

The thought caused another frown. What if she found the padawan? The Jedi starfighter was a single-seat ship. What was she to do in the event that she actually managed to track the boy down? Blast the man who took him. What could he possibly want with the padawan? Kiana had yet to accept an apprentice; she found all adolescents intolerable. Vile, hyperactive little lickspittles--she'd stab herself in the foot with her own lightsaber before she took one. If she had such a view on padawans, and she was a Jedi dedicated to the Light Side of the Force, she could only imagine the desperation that drove a man probably linked to the Dark Side to force the interaction upon himself.

A desperation to do what, though? Conquer? Destroy? Change? But if he was powerful enough to taunt the Jedi by casually walking into the temple and spiriting away one of their students, how would the boy benefit him in the slightest? Did he have some hidden power the Jedi had failed to notice? Was he actually a key to some hidden plan? Or was it simply a move to flaunt the dark one's own abilities? Somehow, Kiana couldn't imagine that was it, so that left the possibility of the boy having something special about him--

Kiana abruptly realized she was back on this topic again, and gave a long sigh. This was going to be a long trip.

The cave was small, cool, and dark. Tucked into the base of a rather insignificant mesa, it would remain unnoticed unless someone came actively looking for it. It was also a perfect fit for a one-man space vehicle, say, for instance, a Jedi starfighter.

Kiana hummed to herself as she shed her robes, tossing the tunic and trousers down on top of it. She stretched mightily, loosening muscles that had grown stiff from being cooped up in the pilots seat. Also, she admitted privately to herself, it had been a long time since she had wandered around sans decent clothing, and the experience was quite liberating.

A small beep from the droid brought Kiana back to her senses, and she flew into her clothes as if speed could erase the embarrassment of being peeped at by a droid. "Don't you have any common decency?" she snapped, her fists resting on her hips as she glared at the thing. The droid made a disparaging noise, flashing a red light at her. Kiana, unable to understand and therefore unable to retort, harrumphed and set about to stowing her gear and applying the finishing touches to her ensemble.

Anyone looking at her would not see a capricious, somewhat negative, slightly bookish Jedi, sent on a mission of grave importance. They would see a young woman, out on her own for the first time in her life and not quite sure if she enjoyed it or not. A dun-colored top stretched to cover her torso, the sleeves reaching down to her wrists to protect her from the sun, with a small, thin, loose-fitting green vest to accessorize. On the inside of the vest was a small, secret pocket, designed to enable its wearer to covertly carry a lightsaber. A clunky tan utility belt would hold her necessities--credits, a canteen of water, and a blaster--and her legs were adorned with light brown pants. Kiana wiggled her toes inside the soft boots she wore, making sure they weren't pinched.

"Well? How do I look?" she asked the droid, twirling slowly with her arms outstretched.

Another very rude-sounding noise. Kiana scowled at the thing, dropping her arms to her sides as she clenched her fists. "Like you'd know anything! I bet you can't make it past a loose lugnut without having to be hosed off!" she said irritably. She turned on her heel and stalked out of the cave, grumbling to herself about droids and their personality programming.

The second she left the shadow of the cave, the intense heat assailed her, almost physically driving her back into the shadows. This location had been carefully picked, partly because of it being well-hidden, and partly due to its location to Mos Eisley. Kiana was very conscious of her not having any land transportation aside from her own two feet, and did not feel like trekking a ridiculous distance to the smuggler's port. As it was, she could see the city shimmering in the distance, far enough away that no one would really notice a small ship setting down, but close enough by that it was within comfortable walking distance. She twisted, giving the droid a stern look. "Guard the ship. If anyone comes by... I don't know, give them a very mean beeping or something," she said imperiously, slightly lifting her nose into the air. The droid buzzed at her as she headed out of the cave.

Again, the heat was almost too much to believe, but Kiana's abilities allowed her to cheat a little. She took a deep breath, concentrating as she dissipated the heat that reached her skin. Within moments, she was at her normal temperature, and actually quite comfortable. She would have to stop this trick once she reached town--one, because people might notice a woman new to the planet that didn't sweat, and two, any Force-sensitive individuals would notice her instantly. She despised being sweaty, but there was no choice for it.

Kiana frowned. There seemed to be a lot lately that she absolutely hated doing, or putting up with, but was forced into complying by outside circumstances.

Squaring her shoulders, Kiana began her trek towards the city, recalling her list of cantinas to visit.

***

Never in her life had Kiana been so grateful for shade. She stepped into the Mos Eisley Cantina, heaving a sigh of relief. From just the front gate to this place, she felt she had sweated out most of her bodily fluids, including blood, spit, and tears. She managed to sidle up to the bar, selecting a seat among a trio of empties, on either side of which sat a young Aqualish and a Rodian. Both ignored her, though the bartender did spare a moment to hand her a cool mug. Gulping it with relish, Kiana allowed herself a few moments of peace as she formulated a plan of attack. The bartender was a good bet; bartenders usually had mountains of information, and if you managed to find a topic they knew nothing about, they could easily direct you to one who did. From the barkeep's swarthy appearance, he looked all too willing to talk to a pretty face. At least, Kiana hoped her face was pretty. If not, then her minimal ego had been lying to her all these years.

Her approach decided, Kiana took another fortifying gulp of liquid, then waved the bartender over, praying for luck.

Kiana sat back in her seat, chewing on her lip thoughtfully. Her fingers drummed a cadence on the bar as she digested the information she'd received. Or rather, verification of a lack of information. Damned bartender couldn't even tell her who to talk to. Maybe this plan wasn't the smartest after all... or maybe the bartender just had no idea. He certainly seemed willing to please, especially "such a pretty patron" as her.

Making a soft noise of disgruntlement, Kiana lifted the mug to her lips, taking a generous pull of the Jawa juice. She could not for the life of her think of a time when liquid had been more refreshing. What she'd give for a nice, cool forest to search in, or perhaps even a grassy plain.

The bartender sidled over to her, slowly wiping a spot on the counter. Seeing he had something to say, Kiana leaned forward, resting her elbows on the bar. "Miss," he said in an undertone, not moving his lips, "do you perhaps know the group in the booth behind you? They seem awfully interested in you."

Rather than turning around, Kiana cast her mind back to when she had first entered the bar, recalling every face she had seen. Nothing in particular spoke out to her; just the usual gamut of space travelers. Her eyes darted around the area in front of her as she leaned back to expand her view. Finally, she found a vaguely reflective surface--she had no idea what those metallic canisters hanging around the bar's central pillar, but they were useful in this instance--she caught sight of several blurs clumped together. The details were sketchy, but it was enough of a general shape that she could tell they were at least close to humanoid, and one was dressed--

Only a desperate remembering of her Jedi training kept Kiana's spine from snapping ramrod straight. Instead, she calmly worked her shoulders, as if she'd been casually stretching out cramped muscles. Meanwhile, her mind was stretching out, trying to feel for any sense of the Force. For a moment, nothing caught her attention. Then--there!

Kiana slowly lifted the mug to her mouth, taking a hard swallow. Light, there was a whole group of them! All quite strong, as well! How could she have missed them?! She lowered the mug, setting it firmly down before anyone could hear it quiver against the bar. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, willing herself to calmness. The soothing feeling washed over her, and her mind focused, whirling rapidly for a plan. "Thank you, barkeep," she said in a low voice. The bartender nodded, just the barest inclination of his head. Kiana upended her mug, draining the last of its contents down her throat. She paid her credits owed, then stood.

She managed a modest belch as she easily moved towards the door, slipping her hand underneath her vest to scratch at her armpit.

Kiana was almost out of the cantina when her head began to spin. She stumbled slightly, but managed to regain her balance with only a few stares.

What...? Need to get back to... back to where? Why? she thought to herself. She pressed a hand to her head, willing the confusion to pass. More than likely, it was heat exhaustion--even though she'd finished off her canteen just before entering the cantina, and had refilled it and drank another one while she conversed with the bartender--but there was a slight chance it was... something else.

But what? Kiana wracked her mind for the answer as she wandered through the town. Mos Eisley was rather small, by her standards, but she got lost three times in the next fifteen minutes. Mostly because she'd convinced herself that her destination lay in the opposite direction, and had turned around and headed back the way she came. When she passed the door of the cantina the third time, she sat down in the shade of a nearby building. She closed her eyes, blocking out the noises of the street. What was she trying to remember? Why had it been so important to leave the cantina?

She wanted to go back in, but some unnamed instinct within her shrieked that it would be a bad idea. But... why?

Kiana's brow furrowed as she began to retrace her steps. She had landed in the cave... come to town... entered the cantina... talked with the barkeeper... then... the bartender... said something. Something dangerous. Not to her, but... a warning? Yes, a warning. She remembered the feeling of tension. Then... Light, it was on the tip of her thoughts! She took a deep breath, focusing all her being on remembering. She had found something important, and she was not going to let it slip by her on pure forgetfulness!

Each memory came grudgingly, as if they were credits pulled forcefully from a miser. She was... looking. At something. A bright, shiny thing of metal. It was attached to the bar. She hadn't wanted to look behind her... why? Danger. It had been dangerous to turn her head. Someone behind her... the metal thing, it reflected images... She'd seen... a group. Humanoids... or the vague approximation. It had been fine, and then... Black.

Not just the blankness of memory, the black image in her mind meant something. Especially to her. It had been black..... the clothing had been colored black. What kind of fool would wear black clothing in the desert? They would keel over in a minute... unless... unless something kept it cool. The Force. The blackness was a man dressed in black, and a Force user. Many men used the Force. The feeling of dread she distinctly remembered warned her that the Force-using man was not her ally. Whatever her mind had forgotten, her instincts would not be so easily fooled. They knew danger, and that man was dangerous.

Her ship! She would contact Coruscant from her ship, and they would be able to council her. Kiana heaved herself to her feet, clinging to the image of blackness, and the feelings attached to it as she began walking towards the cave.

The trek back was the longest Kiana had ever known. Every step was a battle to retain her memory, and quite frequently she forgot where she was, and where she was going. It was easy enough to get lost in the desert if you didn't know where you were going. Fortunately, Kiana's sense of vertigo only lasted a few moments, and she would begin towards the cave again. With every mile, however, the black shape became more indistinct; less important. Kiana was nothing if not stubborn, however, and kept herself moving and thinking. Her thoughts focused solely on the blackness, letting her feet guide her towards her ship.

When she spotted the dark hole in the distance, her heart leapt with joy. Despite her exhaustion--she'd been ignoring her canteen in order to keep ahold of her memories--she picked up her pace to a jog, then, as she got closer, to a run. She nearly threw herself into the shadow of the cave, stumbling heavily before she hit a wall, using it for support. "Dr... droid!" she said hoarsely, her throat parched. "Contact the Council! Or anyone--" she swallowed, her fingers plucking at her canteen, "--anyone who could relay a message to the Council!"

The droid whooped and beeped in response, and Kiana gratefully slaked a bit of her thirst, careful to only take small sips to restore the moisture in her mouth.

A bleeping noise alerted her to the droid's success. There was a brief internal struggle--she only barely remembered something black, but the word "man" became attached to the image, as well as vaguely remembered importance--but she made it up to her cockpit with her message. "Listen to me!" she snapped, not waiting for the greeting from the other end, "Contact Coruscant, specifically, the Jedi Council. Tell them Jedi Knight Kiana Rothan--remember that name! Kiana Rothan!--has located a..." Blankness.

"Come again, Mistress Kiana. What have you located?"

Kiana cursed inwardly, her thoughts eluding her. "Tell them... my mission! I have found something... important to the mission! Blackness.... something.... something black... a.... a man! A man in black robes! Tell them I have found a man in black robes on Tatooine! Tell them it's... it's important! Get this message to them as fast as possible, do you understand me?! Jedi Council, Jedi Knight Kiana Rothan has located a man in black who is important to my mission!" she shouted.

There was a frightening pause, pregnant with static. "Jedi Council, Jedi Knight Kiana Rothan has located a man in black, important to her mission. Copy that, Mistress Kiana. We will deliver the message with due haste," the man assured her. Kiana gave her thanks, signing off before slumping back into her seats. She finally gave up her memories, letting out a sigh of relief.

She sat there a while, resting. The mental battle had taken more out of her than she had cared to admit. The droid chirped curiously at her, but she ignored it. She lifted her canteen to her mouth, taking a satisfying gulp.

There was a soft, barely audible scraping sound. Kiana would have discounted it--small creatures flocked to the protective shade of caves, as a relief from the sun--but then the droid started making noises. At first, it was curious, almost questioning. It paused, as if waiting for an answer, then repeated the noises. Again, no answer. Suddenly, the droid began shrieking, as if in fear or pain. Kiana bolted upright, her fingers around the hilt of her lightsaber before she knew it.

"Threat: Be silent, astromech, or I will remove your mobility circuits and leave you in the desert to desintegrate from the exposure."

The metallic voice made Kiana go very, very still. She had heard of assassin droids before. Everyone had. They were supposed to have been disassembled, their production forever halted, but apparently this one had missed the notice.

Kiana removed her lightsaber from its pocket, but refrained from igniting it. Not yet... not until she was out of the cockpit. Which would be extremely difficult without getting shot by the droid's amazing reflexes. Kiana quickly reviewed her options, and became very distressed when she discovered there were pitiful few.

Finally, she decided there was only one thing she could do. Moving as silently as possible, she gathered her legs under her, then heaved herself upwards.

That jump may very well have saved her life. Just as she exited the cockpit, the assassin droid appeared on the wing, firing into the control panel--right through the area her head had just vacated.

The droid recovered quickly, pointing its blaster and firing again. "Grudging admittance: You move quickly for a meat bag," it grumbled as Kiana blocked the blast, deflecting it to the side. Kiana landed and rolled as another blaster shot burrowed a hole into the ground. I've said it once, I'll say it again: I HATE DROIDS!! Kiana thought furiously to herself as she dodged shot after shot, trying to get her bearings so she could counterattack.

((Okay!))
HK pulled a thermal detonator from his pocket as he shot at the woman in civilian clothes. He couldn't seem to lay a shot onto her, but she had made the mistake of stepping near his sonic mines. "Joyful exclamation of victory: Goodbye, Jedi!" He said as the mine beeped, detonated, and sent her flying into a wall of rock. HK cautiously checked his thermal scanner for signs of life, and then carefully made his way over to her. "Smug gesture: I have learned from my master's previous defeats that Jedi use the Force as well as their lightsaber as an effective combination. Although I was not ordered to have the force take leave of you, my master said nothing about taking your lightsaber..." HK said as he squatted, detached her lightsaber, and examined it. "Sigh: You meatbags are primitive as is your type. This weapon is both deeply flawed and limited within range, although I greatly appreciate the use of heat to slice my enemies into shreds of steaming trash." He muttered as he looked around at the cave. The droid behind him beeped, but was silenced as a beam of electricity shot out from an unknown source. It was T3 and the hacked droid. T3 was ordered to keep an eye on the woman, so he did as he was ordered by taking the protocal droid with him. Darth Drago and company came after. Drago took the lightsaber and handed it to Jango, who inserted it as a missle into the wrist rocket tube. Jango lifted his arm and shot the lightsaber deep into the depths of the cave. Noises could be heard distantly as some native creature devoured it. Drago smiled and headed out of the cave. Brenna looked at the Jedi on the ground in pity but was tugged upon by Visas. They followed out of the cave together, not caring anymore what happened to the Jedi. She would be out for five hours, just enough time to get into the ship and head back to Korriban. She would also have to disarm the exlosive on the ship HK had placed. A C-9 Breach Charge was strong enough to melt a nice hole in a Republic star cruiser, so the charge was certainly strong enough to take out both her starfighter and her. All this would take a day, not to mention the rewiring of the droid. She would have to head to a scrapper in order to get the sufficient parts. All of this? Two days maximum. Darth Drago was counting on this, because he was quite fearful of her waking up early. He was weak from the lack of water, so getting to the ship was of paramount importance. Once there, they decided they'd wait for her to at least get a start. What he was not counting on was a child who had followed them. This child was Dax Arlet, a Hutt slave. He waited for them to leave, and then went to help the Jedi. He fixed the droid in about an hour, but dared not to touch the charge. HK had wired it to the ship's guidance system and starter, so an adept couldn't hope to remove the explosive. He waited until she woke up to do anything.

((I fail to see how that was god-modding, but okay, if you insist... this is the same post but with a lesser goddish element.))
HK began to shoot up the cave, trying to at least lay one shot on the Jedi. "Flattering querry: I apoligize for my rudeness but will you organic trash ever stop being persistant?" Hk said in between shots as a thermal detonator slipped from his chest compartment. "Smug gesture: It is futile to resist. I am much more superior to bantha fodder like you.Why don't you just surrender?" He asked as he threw the thermal detonator at Kiana. It missed, unfortunatly for HK, and the small droid behind him whooped cheerfully as he began to shock HK with a small repair laser. Hk kicked the droid with the back of his foot, but the small droid grasped HK's foot and HK fell off of the ship. Below, a number of indiginous nocturnal creatures waited and began to attack HK. He tried to shoot them but was soon disabled by a bite to the neck circuits that connected the computerized brain to the chassis. HK laid limp and unmoving, but the fact remained that a small sensor hooked up via satellite to T3 was going off inside of the cantina. Darth Drago looked over at how the little astromech did circles for unknown reasons. He asked T3, and twenty minutes later they were heading towards the cave. Kiana was now being pursued and must try to make it back to Mos Eisley undetected.

((If you would read the post two above, you would see that HK was controled as well but if you control a character with respect for their abilities, then it isn't god-modding.))

((I understand... the whole point of my post was for you to go in and kill the beasts with your blaster and the force... I had no idea that you would get that touchy, and I apologize...))