Chronicle II "No Way Out"

Written by Scott D. McGraw

Here's the second chronicle in the life of Zentar Corellius, and one that takes him to a small backwater planet where he runs into an old familiar face...

Enjoy...




Zentar Corellius got up early the next morning, following the previous night's meeting with Inspector Jenri of New Republic Intelligence to think about the new direction his life seemed to be taking. Some very important things had just happened within the last twenty-four hours or so, and he wasn’t entirely sure they were all really for the good.

"Agent Zentar Corellius...", he mumbled to himself as he dressed and stretched his arms behind his back, thinking it sounded just too weird. It had been nearly two decades since the forty year old bounty hunter had officially worked for the galactic government in power. Back then it had been Palpatine’s Empire, and he, a strike team commander for the Imperial Navy.

All so long ago..., he thought to himself, recalling a bit of his old former life. The bounty hunter stared at himself in the mirror as he ran a hand over his balding head and smiled, thinking his life had taken many unexpected turns since the Battle of Endor. He’d been there, commanding a shuttle filled with troops and equipment while on his way to the forest moon just before the Rebel Alliance had struck, both in space and on the planet below.

Shortly after their attack, history had taken its course with the day having miraculously gone to them by actually managing to destroy the second Death Star. In the aftermath of it all, Corellius had then decided to take his shuttle and team out of the fray, realizing there was nothing else that could be done. Of course this had not gone unnoticed by the others who had shared his flight away from Endor’s moon and had found himself facing many blasters leveled his way, along with several venomous accusations of treason. Fortunately, Imperial Captain Zentar Corellius had been a calm voice of reason despite the chaos that had surrounded them.

“And just who am I being treasonous to?”, he had argued. “The Death Star, along with our emperor are no more. If they could not overcome the rebels with our best and strongest present, then certainly we have no chance of doing anything except getting ourselves killed. It’s best that we escape now while that option still remains open to us and rendezvous with the remaining forces as things become clear.”

Corellius’s co-pilot, a Lieutenant Brist, had ultimately agreed and had quickly assisted in establishing order amongst the rest of the troops. He then took those on board to the nearest planet still under Imperial control and dropped them off under the guise of having them lend their aid to the local garrison in order to maintain control over the populace.

While they were all planet-side, he alone took their ship and hyper-spaced away into the outer regions of the galaxy to make sense of things by himself. He was no longer so sure that maintaining his allegiance to the crippled empire to be the best thing for his future and was trying to be practical and objective about it. The Empire had just been dealt a death blow, he had been certain, and soon a new force would be asserting itself as the power of authority. How and where he would fit into all of it had been the key question in his mind at the time.

For several months he'd pretty much stayed away from things and hidden himself amongst the stars and watched things evolve about him. As he’d suspected, the galaxy soon made its voice heard and in a short time the New Republic was born. For the few short years that followed, Corellius had continued to stay far away from Imperial space and ultimately turned to bounty hunting as a means of support and staying connected to things. During that time he'd also made some most interesting discoveries about himself and his abilities to use the Force.

Of course, he’d always known that he’d had some talent for the mysterious power that had given him much in the way of enhanced reflexes and insight into others minds, but was also equally aware of the potential cost of making such talents known until then. His early years were still a time when the memories of the Great Jedi Purge led by both the Emperor and Darth Vader burned in the minds of those only a generation older than his.

As a child his abilities were quite obvious and apparent to both his parents, and together they had labored to keep their son’s talents well hidden. Though as a young boy and teenager, Corellius had tremendous difficulty keeping such things under wraps, as he was naturally competitive. When it came to sports of any kind, or games of chance, he quickly left most others far behind and in awe.

To more than a few his unusually gifted traits hadn’t gone unnoticed, much to his family’s fears. But somehow he’d been able to avoid any significant danger and soon grew into a strong and hard working young man. When he was finally old enough he joined the Imperial Navy at seventeen and quickly gained rank and responsibility, no doubt as a result of his semi-latent and raw Force skills.

But even then, especially then, he knew to be extremely cautious and conservative when employing such demonstrations of unnatural insight and prowess to those around him. One time he thought himself a dead man when he and his newly formed strike team had accompanied Lord Vader to some ridiculous function being held by some self-important moff he couldn’t even remember the name of. Though he could see nothing behind the dark lenses of the enigmatic man’s black mask, he was certain that the other had been watching him very closely throughout the whole experience.

But as fortune would have it Lord Vader had remained silent, as though ignoring him for reasons he dared not ask. Several times after that he’d been near the mysterious black armored man, with his unnerving breathing apparatus, for one reason or another. Each time he had sensed the other’s awareness of him on some intangible level, but again, fortune or something else had kept the Sith lord from ever confronting him on the matter.

Dark lord of the Sith, Corellius exhaled sharply, bringing his thoughts back to the present as he considered the possibility that this newest threat, Ralian could in fact be a true Sith as he’d claimed. He wasn’t sure what to believe, but not since his time with Vader all those years ago had he ever felt a presence so strong and focused. He would have to take this new threat very, very seriously.

Corellius sighed loudly, suddenly admonishing himself for allowing himself to feel a bit unbalanced on the matter. He was no longer the young officer that he had been back then, but was now a seasoned bounty hunter once trained in the Force by Luke Skywalker himself for a time. While it was true that he was no Jedi Knight, he had spent quite a bit of time with the Jedi Master when news of his Academy was first opening on Yavin 4 about a decade and a half ago. No longer fearful of the repercussions, as times had changed, he openly sought answers and the opportunities to develop the latent abilities he knew to be buried deep within him.

Upon his arrival a short time later, he’d met with Master Skywalker who had confirmed his powers instantly and had offered to train him in the ways of the Jedi. Corellius had been genuinely grateful and eagerly set off to train and learn, putting his bounty hunting on hold. At first, the former Imperial officer had eagerly absorbed all that was offered to him, and was soon able to show a tremendous improvement in both understanding and skill. However it was not long after that the issues of the Jedi Code itself and overall philosophy Skywalker had taught were being challenged by him.

As much as Corellius had truly respected Master Skywalker and was genuinely grateful for his guidance, the Jedi way had not been his and soon left the training to go on his own. Corellius had never been swayed by the other man’s arguments and believed the Force nothing more than a tool for his own use. The concept of “light” and “dark” sides to it had made no sense to him. The Force was simply “the Force”. And like a blaster or a lightsaber, it was only as safe as the one who wielded it.

Corellius had been careful to never let anything master him in the past, and was confident it would be no different when it came to using his unique abilities to get the job done in the present. It was obvious that certain abuses of its use could and would produce ill and untoward effects, much like over-drinking and that sort of thing. He’d recalled how Emperor Palpatine had appeared with his deformed and deathly pale face, something Skywalker had warned was a direct result of his own doing. But even so, moderation was the key in the bounty hunter’s mind.

Morally, Corellius had never held the radical beliefs that the Emperor once preached. The Imperial Navy had simply been a career choice for him and little else. But still, he'd done his job and what had been required of him. Only now, some twenty years later, could he fully appreciate just how dark and oppressive things were under the old Empire. Time had a powerful way of making things clear.

In fact, this was the very reason for his avoiding direct involvement with the current galactic powers for so long. Though the New Republic was vastly different from Palpatine’s empire, there were always those within secretly working toward their own dark goals, and Corellius swore that he’d never be anyone’s pawn ever again. He’d seen enough of the posturing and propaganda that had accompanied the political powers of the past and was eager to avoid any real affiliation with the ones of the present.

He instead chose the path of isolation to met out justice on his own terms, based on what he saw about him with his own eyes. And so, bounty hunting became more than just a career to him, but a way of taking out the trash wherever he found it.

And the galaxy was full of trash.

Corellius had still been lost in his private thoughts when the commlink Jenri had provided him with began to chirp loudly.

A lead already? She wastes no time.

"Corellius.", he answered promptly.

The inspector's voice crackled through the small speaker. "Good, you're awake. I have
something for you if you're interested."

"Ralian?", he questioned eagerly, hoping the dark man’s escape hadn’t been as complete as he’d believed.

"No, nothing on him yet.", she answered regretfully. "This is something else. It has nothing to do with any renegade Jedi or Force users that I’m aware of. Just your standard bounty."

"Go on.", the tall man held the commlink close to his ear and leaned against the wall.

"You ever hear of a slime called Thoosius Pinch?", she asked.

Corellius perked up. "Yeah, a fairly successful crime boss with operations near Nal Hutta. He's been workin' with the Hutt's to deal in spice and other nasty things. A cold blooded killer, too. I've been trying to catch up with him for a few months, but the trail's gone cold."

"Well it just got hot again. He's been spotted by one of our moles in Tarla, not too far from you on Grenidine. This info's about to be released to the bounty hunter's guild a few hours from now. Thought you might like to know it first."

Corellius found himself smiling. He was beginning to like this Jenri. "I know the area well. Thanks."

"No problem. Jenri out."

Thoosius Pinch. Outstanding. The bounty hunter thought to himself, quite pleased with this further turn of events. So far the day had been turning out quite well for Agent Zentar Corellius and he hadn't even put his boots on yet.



"Can we move this along?" The middle-aged fat man complained to the green skinned rodian while he worked quickly on their broken down shuttlecraft. For some unknown reason the ship’s power had suddenly gone out and had forced them to land unexpectedly on the small planet for emergency repairs.

"I'm working as fast as I can, Mr. Pinch.", the creature responded in patient tones.

"Humph. You keep saying that.”, the man grumbled. He then looked over towards the city of Tarla and shook his head. “How can you be certain that there weren't more of them checking us out and not just these three?" Pinch pointed to the trio of dead local law enforcement that Redel had caught spying on them earlier.

The rodian didn't answer.

"Truth is you can't, can you?", he huffed, casting a glare the other's way.

Again, the green skinned creature remained silent.

Pinch then began to curse about the heat just as the rodian suddenly looked up toward the hills behind them and brought him up short.

“What is it, Redel?”, he stopped his tirade, suddenly worried.

The rodian bodyguard began to move his head about, quickly surveying the area with a high-powered monocular and suddenly paused as something caught his eye. “There is someone approaching in stealth from the hills.”

Pinch looked in the direction the other was looking, but saw nothing. “I don’t see anything. Are you sure?”

“I’m positive, Mr. Pinch.”, the other answered coolly. “What are your instructions?”

The fat man began to sweat hard in the warm, dry air. “Go kill him you idiot, before he gets any closer!”

“Yes, Mr. Pinch.” Redel replied as he pulled free his blaster rifle and headed away from him.



Damn, he must have seen or heard me somehow. The dark clad bounty hunter silently cursed. Oh, well. It happens from time to time.

Now that the other had made him, Corellius made no effort to conceal himself and walked openly towards the other. When they got within a hundred or so feet apart, the rodian stopped and called out.

“Hold your position.”, he ordered in the odd melodic tones that rodians made when speaking. “What business do you have with us?”

Corellius slowed, but kept walking forward. “None with you, friend. I’m just on my way into Tarla to get some supplies.”

The henchman didn’t believe him and fired a warning shot his way. “I said hold your position.”

The bounty hunter smiled casually. “Can’t do that. Got things to do, places to go, people to see.”

Again, Redel fired his blaster rifle Corellius’s way, finally bringing him to a halt.

“All right. The truth is I’m a bounty hunter who is coming to take in that fat piece of bantha manure behind you. And since I’m being paid quite a bit to do it I just can’t stop for idle chit-chat.”

Both Redel and Thoosius Pinch were surprised at his blatant openness.

“And who just might you be, stranger?” Pinch called back from the shuttle’s gantry.

“Zentar Corellius.”, the Force trained bounty hunter replied with a shout.

“Corellius?” Pinch swallowed hard, having heard about the dangerous bounty hunter before. “Redel...take care of him, now!”, he shouted.

“Yeah Redel, take care of me.” Corellius taunted with a cold smile.

The green skinned alien began to fire his blaster rifle rapidly towards the lone figure, but just as fast, the New Republic’s newest agent had his lightsaber up and was deflecting the blaster bolts easily with its deep purple blade. Corellius then began to run toward the other continuing to deflect the shots with ease, a technique he’d honed down to a simple reflex that hardly challenged him anymore.

As part of his routine workout, he would often set as many as twelve remotes all firing at random and from all angles while he would defend against them. Certainly one blaster rifle was nothing to give him any concern.

When the rodian realized that his assault was useless, he then pulled free a percussion grenade and threw it toward the approaching man. Corellius quickly dove out of the way just as it went off and blew a small crater in the hard ground where he’d been at. A moment later the bounty hunter was up and moving again, only this time much faster.

Not having time, nor the room for another grenade attack, Redel resumed his frantic blaster fire, but was soon brought up short as a flash of purple sliced right through the rifle’s muzzle, destroying it. The rodian backed away in fear and fell on his butt.

“I suggest you stay like that, because I’d have absolutely no problem doing the same to you.”, the tall man advised.

The rodian said nothing as he held his hands out in surrender.

“Smart.” Corellius remarked as he turned and looked back at Pinch who was quickly running up the forward ramp of the shuttle while sweating profusely. “Come on fat man, don’t make me come in there after you.”

The bounty hunter got his reply in the form of a speeder bike suddenly shooting out of the ship at break neck speed with Pinch barely holding onto the handle bars. If Corellius weren’t serious about collecting the bounty on him he would likely have just stood there and laughed himself sick over the sight of the obese crime lord’s grand escape.

“Who would have thought it?”, the bounty hunter shook his head in amazement just as Redel quietly pulled a small blaster pistol from his boot and leveled it at him.

Before the rodian could even think to pull the trigger however, the other spun about, and in one fluid motion took his head off with his lightsaber.

“Should’ve believed me, stupid.” Corellius muttered as he quickly turned his eyes back on Pinch who was still fighting hard to keep control over his powerful speeder bike. A moment later he hit the activation button on his commlink and was speaking to Tarla Security Forces.

“Hey, this is Corellius. Pinch is coming into the city from the west on a speeder bike of all things. Just ground space port activity for the next hour and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“Copy that, Agent Corellius.”, came a dull reply.

“I’ll have him in custody shortly.”

“Copy that.”, the voice replied once more.

Corellius pocketed the commlink, took a quick look in the shuttle and smiled.

“Mind if I borrow your speeder?”, he asked the headless rodian. When the corpse didn’t say anything he laughed as he climbed on and powered it up. “Didn’t think so.”



Thoosius Pinch broke into an open sweat as he tried to maintain control over the wild machine between his fat legs, hoping to put as much distance between himself and the dangerous bounty hunter as he could.

“The arrogant bastard.”, he fumed as the hot wind of Grenidine blew into his face mercilessly. He hadn’t time to put on a helmet and visor and was now regretting it, as he could barely see anything in front of him. Of all the damn luck to get broken down on this back water planet of all places, and to run into him of all people.

The fat man squinted his eyes as the west gate of the city came into view and carefully adjusted his course to get to it. Less than a minute later he hit the repulsor brakes as he flew into the opening, causing several people walking the busy streets to dive for cover and drop whatever they were carrying.

“Hey! Watch it, you bantha!”, one person yelled while shaking a closed fist his way.

Pinch didn’t even hear him though, as he was frantically trying to figure out his next move. He’d only been to Tarla once before and that was many years ago. He had no idea of the city’s layout and looked about nervously. He then spotted a merchant selling various worthless wares and carefully navigated his way over to him.

“Hey, friend. Which way to the docking port?”, he asked with urgency.

The old vendor gave him a toothy grin and mulled the question over in his mind. “Well, to be honest, my memory isn’t what it used to be...”

No greenhorn to the ways of street life, Pinch flipped him a few New Republic credits. “Your memory gettin' any better?”

The other nodded. “On the east side of town. Just go down this road you’re already on and take a left at the landspeeder dealership a few blocks away. Take that and keep going. You’ll run right into it.”

“Thanks, old man.” Pinch called over the winding hum of the speeder bike’s engine as he pulled off quickly.

The scruffy merchant picked up the credits and wiped them off on his dirty shirt. “Don’t mention it.”

Less than two minutes later Zentar Corellius came riding into the same gate Pinch had, but at a much slower speed. A moment later the waving hand of a grimy merchant caught his attention. He carefully made his way over to the old guy and powered down his bike.

“Yeah?” Corellius asked.

The merchant wiped at his forehead as he regarded the other. “A couple minutes ago, someone else came riding into town on one of those. Not so unusual, but he looked pretty shaken, so I’m thinkin’ you might be after him.”

“I might be.” Corellius confirmed. “Tell me what you know.”

The old man smiled and held out his hand.

The bounty hunter smiled back and moved his own hand in a slight gesture as he reached out into the Force and sent an image of several New Republic credits falling onto the ground before him. “I hope that will be enough.”

The old vendor looked down and saw three times the amount that Pinch had given him and nodded appreciatively. “You’re very generous, my friend!”

Corellius leaned on the handle bars and pressed him. “I try to be. Look, I’m in a hurry.”

The other quickly pointed towards the east and spoke. “He asked about the space port to the east. I told him to go-”

“Thanks, I know the way.” Without another word the crafty bounty hunter powered up his speeder bike and took off into the crowd.

The vendor watched him go and with a big smile looked down to collect his coins, only there was nothing there.



“You sure about recruiting this Corellius character, Serina?”, an older looking man wearing a highly decorated New Republic security uniform questioned the pretty, but professional looking Inspector Jenri. “This guy has something of a questionable history, you know. Seems he was once an Imperial officer and had even fought against the Rebel Alliance back in the day.”

The woman with shoulder length brown hair smiled and sat back with her hands folded in her lap. “We all have histories, Deputy Director. Besides, Zentar Corellius is the loner type anyway. He’ll not get in anyone’s way, except for guys like this Ralian.”

Deputy Director Nikolus Roven of NRI operations for the Corellian Star System, cocked his head and exhaled as he too leaned back in his leather office chair. “Any more news on that one?”

Jenri shook her head. “Not since the last report, but its only been two days. He’ll turn up soon enough, I’m sure.”

The older man grumbled. “Well, I can only hope we’re making the right move by recruiting this bounty hunter of yours. Not standard practice, you know?”

“True.”, she admitted. “But the thing is, we needed someone with Force skills in order to even the odds with other Force using criminals and the Jedi are not eager to work so closely with the government anymore, and vice-versa.”

“So you’ve argued.”, Roven stated flatly.

“You don’t think we’re going about this right?”, the physically fit woman questioned her superior with a tilt of her head.

“I’ve never trusted Jedi, or their type. I certainly have never trusted an Imperial loyalist before, either.”

“An Imperial loyalist?”, she arched an eyebrow in surprise. “What makes you suspect he might be an Imperial loyalist?”

The older man grumbled once more. “Look, I’ve been around a lot longer than you and have learned to trust my instincts on these things. My belief is that old habits die hard. Now I’m not saying that he is for sure. What I am saying is that I plan to watch him very closely. Time will tell what he’s about.”

Jenri felt slightly irritated at his assertions over her own instincts, but kept her face relaxed and her voice even. “I think that is reasonable. But, I too have learned to go with my intuition over the years and have rarely been surprised. He struck me as the type who’d rather not deal with any real authority at all, be it New Republic or Imperial. My impression is that the only reason he has accepted my offer in the first place is because it will help him find Lord Ralian.”

She leaned forward and looked at him directly. “Be assured, Deputy Director, I’ll be keeping a close eye on him as well.”

“I’m counting on you to do just that, Serina.”, he realized that he must have slighted her somehow, as she always got very diplomatic and professional when feeling so. Deciding to try and warm things a bit with his colleague of sixteen years, he changed the subject. “It’s just about time for lunch. What say you and I go get something special in anticipation of our newest strategy working out?”

Serina Jenri fought to keep her tones even, as she really couldn’t stand the older man. For years, he had attempted to get close to her but something about him had always bothered and unnerved her. Not to mention the fact that he was old enough to be her father...

“No thank you, sir.”, she replied respectfully and stood. “I’ve got a full day and have an appointment with CorSec Chief Byron in twenty minutes. I do appreciate the offer though.”

He rose as well. “Corellian Security, eh? Dinner then?”

She smiled. “Evening training sessions.”

He shook his head and sighed. “Serina, one of these days I will get you to have a meal with me. But, as you wish. I’ll expect an update on the Ralian matter by morning.”

The forty-ish woman nodded and left his office without another word. When the door slid closed and she was out of earshot she sighed. “A meal with you? Don’t ever count on it, Roven.”



Thoosius Pinch was drenched with sweat as he quickly approached the space port and was flustered to see an armed patrol of the town militia apparently waiting for him there.

That damn bounty hunter must have tipped off the locals as well. The fat man looked around desperately as he sat on the idling speeder bike while trying to find an option. He then spied the local cantina and decided to take his chances. He carefully pulled the bike off to the side, parked it in an alley and walked into the crowd while keeping his head low.

As he neared the cantina’s doorway, he could hear the high pitched hum of another speeder bike coming down the road from behind him and dared not even look back. He knew who it was, and so picked up his pace just a bit and quickly ducked inside. For several seconds he stood motionless as his eyes slowly adjusted to the dimly lit, smoke filled room.

He then spotted a small open table near the back and quickly made his way there and sat down. Just then, he noticed a half empty glass with pink lipstick on it before him and was about to move it aside when he heard a soft female voice call to him.

“Hey, sweetie, it’s not nice to steal a girl’s chair like that.”

The nervous crime lord quickly looked up and into the beautiful almond shaped eyes of a shapely and alluring woman of about twenty-five, wearing a tight red top, a short black skirt with black stockings and ankle boots.

Great, some half-credit whore.

“Look honey, I don’t have time right now.”, the man stated nervously as he glanced back at the cantina’s front door.

The beautiful woman with long black hair smiled sweetly. “Oh, don’t be such a crouch. You did steal my seat after all. The least you could do is buy me a drink in apology.”

She sat down opposite him at the small table and crossed her shapely legs seductively, drawing his eyes toward them.

“Like what you see?”, she teased.

Thoosius Pinch coughed and looked away. “Yeah, I do, but like I said, right now I don’t-”

The young woman bit at her lower lip teasingly and cut him off. “You know, I happen to find bigger men really attractive.”

Despite his present situation he couldn’t help but be drawn to the lovely woman, and against his better judgment found himself staring back into those beautiful eyes of hers. “Look, I’m in a bit of trouble right now...”

“Trouble?”, her eyes widened a bit. “Maybe I can help, somehow.”

Pinch wasn’t too sure what say. As he was considering his reply, the cantina’s front door opened and bright sunlight filled the small entryway. A moment later a dark shadow blocked it and the door slowly closed.

“Damn.”, the obese man cursed softly, seeing it to be the lightsaber wielding bounty hunter. He quickly leaned forward and whispered. “I don’t suppose you know another way out of here, do you?”

The young woman winked. “There’s the back door for deliveries, of course. There's always a back door to places like this.”

Pinch began to look toward the back of the place nervously.

“Oh, he does look like trouble.” The sexy woman remarked as her eyes settled on Corellius. She then put her lips near the other’s ear. “Tell you what, I’ll get you out and then you can come with me to my place for a while. Long enough to give him the slip and... more.”

Pinch swallowed hard as he tried to envision what ‘more’ might mean. But regardless of that, if he were able to lay low at her place until Corellius was gone and things cooled down around the space port, then that would be more than enough. “I appreciate that. What do we do?”

The young woman looked over at the newest patron and smiled. “Seems like fate has
intervened for you.”

They both turned to hear some other man suddenly raising his voice and staring at Corellius with open contempt. He seemed to be saying something about his choice of clothing...

“You got a lot of nerve wearing those markings around here, Imperial trash.”, he cursed with a slight slur to his words.

Corellius looked at one of the round Imperial naval patches still sewn on the shoulders of the black jumpsuit that he was wearing beneath some light body armor. The truth was that he simply wore the old uniform because it was comfortable and serviceable. On some he’d removed the old insignias, on others he hadn’t bothered. Today’s pull from the locker just happened to have them on.

“Relax, friend.”, the bounty hunter spoke in quiet tones as he looked around the dimly lit room. “I’m no Imperial supporter. Not anymore, anyway.”

“Well, you could have fooled me.”, the man replied coldly.

Corellius looked back at the loud man and was about to say something when he spotted Pinch sitting at a small table with an exotic looking woman that commanded his attention. He tried to step forward but the irritated man quickly stood and blocked his path.

“Oh, this is getting amusing.”, the pretty woman whispered as Corellius turned his attention back on the loud man. “I think this is our chance.”

Pinch readily agreed and the two quickly got up and made for the rear exit. Corellius watched them get up and tried to brush past the other man, but got pushed back a couple feet instead. The agitated patron spit on the ground before him and smiled.

“You ain’t goin’ nowhere, slimeball.”, he challenged. “Maybe its ‘cause of you the port’s been froze up. Maybe it’s you the militia’s lookin’ for. Am I right, slimeball?”

Corellius began to get a little irritated and now locked eyes with him. “Six thousand.”

The other looked at him oddly, then around the cantina. “Six thousand? What the hell does that mean? Someone whack you over the head with a hydro-spanner or something?”

Several other patrons, all equally edgy at having space port activity suspended began to laugh.

Corellius smiled coldly. “Six thousand is the current bounty on your head, Thaddius Brood.”

The laughter suddenly died and the other stared at him dangerously. “How do you know that? You a bounty hunter?”

The other could sense the man getting ready to free a weapon and quickly used the Force to send him flying back over several tables, much to everyone’s surprise. Slowly, the irritated bounty hunter walked up and stood over him. “The name is Zentar Corellius. Remember it, Brood. I may be coming after you someday when you’re worth my time.”

The stunned man wiped blood from his chin and cradled an arm he was sure had just been broken. “What the hell just-”

Corellius didn’t bother to hear his response as he spun about and made for the rear exit to follow the pair who’d just slipped out.



“Which way, sister?”, Pinch asked desperately as he followed the shapely woman.

The young woman with almond eyes ran ahead of him a bit in the empty alley then spun around and placed a hand on her hip seductively.

“Actually, this is far enough, sweetie.”, she replied oddly.

Thoosius Pinch looked at her like she’d lost her mind.

“What are you talking about?”, he asked sharply, looking back toward the cantina. “Look, this is no time to be foolin’ around.”

The other smiled. “You’re right, Thoosius Pinch, it’s not.”

The fat man slowly looked back her way, suddenly feeling like something was very wrong. I never told her my name...

“Who are you?”, he questioned carefully.

The pretty woman’s smile widened as she stood deathly still. “I go by Chameleon.”

“Chameleon?”, he looked confused. “You a bounty hunter, too?”

Chameleon tapped her fingers slowly against the silky material of her short skirt while her hand rested there, looking suddenly quite detached. Hardly the excited, sex hungry creature she’d been only a moment before.

“I am.”, she confirmed. “Before that I'd been an assassin for the Imperial Remnant.”

“An assassin?”, he swallowed hard as he stared at the seemingly unarmed and petite young woman before him. She looked nothing like anything he couldn’t handle, but still, he found the hairs on the back of his neck bristling. He couldn’t tell why, but the absolutely cold and detached look in her eye somehow told him that she was not lying.

“Why are you telling me this?”, he ventured. “Are you taking me in? You working with that Corellius character?”

Chameleon shook her head gently. “No. I work alone. I always do. As to why I’m telling you about me, that’s because I’m going to kill you.”

“Kill me?”, he laughed nervously.

She nodded once.

Just as he was about to respond, Corellius stepped into the alley from the cantina and locked eyes with Chameleon, whom he'd met once before already on Dantooine while hunting another bounty many months ago.

“So, am I to lose another bounty to you today.”, he asked the dangerous woman casually.

For reasons Pinch couldn’t really understand, he suddenly felt relieved to see the other bounty hunter and quickly interrupted before she could respond. “Hey look Corellius, you gotta help me! This crazy woman says she’s going to kill me!”

Zentar Corellius looked at him dispassionately. “So, what’s that to me, fat man? It wouldn’t be like you didn’t deserve it, you know? You’ve got a pretty impressive list of crimes, not the least of which being cold blooded murder under your belt, so I’d call it fair play.”

“Corellius!” Pinch began to panic. “Look, let’s make a deal!”

“No deals.”, the bounty hunter stated as he continued to look at the passive and quiet woman standing casually behind him. “Well, Chameleon? Are you claiming him as bounty?”

The pretty woman sighed her disinterest. “I respect the claims of other hunters, don't you?”

“Meaning?”, he asked carefully.

“Meaning that I’ve been actively hunting him for the last couple months. If you’ve been tracking him longer I’ll concede him to you. I really don’t care.”

As much as Corellius really wanted to take Pinch down, for him it was really more about the idea of seeing the man dealt with than claiming any sort of reward. Plus, Chameleon had made a good point about professional courtesy. Even so, she said she’d concede if he desired...

“I can’t say that I have been.”, the other bounty hunter admitted. “I only discovered his whereabouts earlier today, so I guess that makes him yours.”

“You sure about that?” She raised an eyebrow.

“I believe in professional courtesy as well.”

Chameleon looked at Corellius appraisingly. “I’m genuinely starting to like you.”

Corellius wasn’t too sure of where she was coming from, but could feel a definite air of intense danger, despite her nonchalant demeanor. Suddenly Pinch fell to his knees and stared at her with wide eyes.

“Please...just turn me over to authorities. I’ll surrender without a fight and be no trouble.”, he begged the detached woman.

Her eyes drifted down to his and she began to slowly walk toward him. Corellius watched with sudden concern, even though the Force oddly gave him no insight as to her mindset. She couldn’t seriously be thinking to...

She quietly knelt before him onto the rough pavement and sat there demurely as she looked at him blankly. “Thoosius Pinch, are you begging me for mercy?”

The fat two-credit crime boss felt sweat pour down his reddened face as he stared back at her. “I...yeah...I’m beggin’ you. Please don’t... kill me.”

She inhaled deeply as though considering his words. “And if I just took you in, as Corellius would, what would you do then? Would you live a redeemed life once you got out of prison?”

Pinch looked as her with confusion, then to Corellius who silently watched with his face an impassive mask. He felt her hand gently touch his chin and bring his eyes back to hers.

“Would you?”, she asked again in quiet tones.

Slowly he nodded his head. “Yeah, sure. I’d... start over. Lead a good life... I promise.”

Chameleon smiled and sighed as she caressed his chin with delicate fingers. “I believe you, Thoosius Pinch.”

“You do?”, he whispered as he sat there shaking.

“I really do.”, she nodded. “But there’s just one problem.”

“Problem?”, he choked.

“Chameleon...” Corellius grumbled in low tones.

The sexy young woman with almond eyes ignored the other.

“Yes. You see. It’s my personal policy as a bounty hunter that whenever a bounty is issued ‘dead or alive’, I always bring them in dead. It’s so that I can maintain a clear and consistent reputation amongst my peers and inspire fear in those I hunt.”

“No...”, he began to cry.

“Don’t cry, Thoosius.”, she cooed. “You’re a man, aren’t you?”

Before either he or Corellius could respond or act, a razor sharp blade no longer than five inches appeared in her hand, and in one swift motion she flicked her wrist in front of him.

At first Pinch felt nothing and wondered if he had even been cut. Perhaps she’d only meant to scare him. He started to relax and tried to exhale, but found he could not. He then felt hot liquid running down his neck with increasing force and go down the front of his shirt. He quickly put his hand to his throat and pulled it away fast as he stared at it in horror.

It was covered with bright red blood. He looked back at the motionless woman before him as she stared at him with hollow eyes and felt things begin to go black.

“Everything is okay, now." Chameleon soothed as she placed a hand behind his head and gently laid him down. "In your next life, remember our talk, and live that redeemed life.”

Zentar Corellius remained motionless, but suddenly felt very sick inside. At first he had hoped the woman was using a scare tactic of some kind, but now didn’t know what to think. She had just killed a man right before his eyes, and for no better reason than to protect her reputation. But more disturbing than that was the cold detached way in which she had done it. Pinch had surrendered without a fight. He’d even begged for his life...

Corellius took a step back as she slowly rose and faced him wearing a calm look upon her face as though nothing had happened. Suddenly the blade that was in her hand a moment ago was gone again, and with a tilt of her head her long black hair fell to the side.

“You didn’t have to do that.”, he said to her in distaste. “He begged you-”

“Begged me?”, she echoed with a lilt to her voice. “For mercy? And what does such a thing mean? Why should a man like him be granted any such luxary? He was hardly sincere, and only told me what he thought I had wanted to hear.”

The darkly dressed bounty hunter looked at the small, demure and fragile looking female before him, and more than ever felt the words Luke Skywalker had once shared with him during his Jedi training several years ago ring sharply within his mind.

Your eyes can deceive you, don’t trust them.

Corellius stayed quiet, but found himself looking down at the dead crime lord. “That's true, but still you didn’t have to-”

Suddenly she was leaning into him with her arms wrapped around him, totally catching him off guard. “I’m sorry, our second date hasn’t turned out any better than our first one, has it?”

Corellius was about to push her away but hesitated for some reason he could not identify, and carefully placed an arm across her back. “Chameleon-”

She looked up into his eyes and gently kissed him on the cheek. She then pulled away just as fast. “I could have killed you right then, Zentar Corellius.”

“So why didn’t you?”

“To prove a point to you.”, she answered. “Emotions can be far more deadly than a knife, blaster or lightsaber. They can lead you to do all kinds of foolish things, and will betray you when you least expect them to.”

“I suppose so.”

She smiled coldly. “I’m called ‘Chameleon’ for a reason, Agent Zentar Corellius. I can be all things to all people when it suits me. You’d do well to remember that.”

The other bounty hunter arched his eyebrow slightly in surprise. Agent...she knows about my new affiliation with the NRI, but how? “I will. But still, I have learned to trust my instincts as well, and for reasons I cannot articulate, I felt no threat from you just then. For if I had, you would’ve found that I can free my lightsaber just as quickly as you can your assassin's blade.”

“Hmm.”, she placed her hands on her hips and considered his claims. “You know what? I truly believe you, Corellius. You don’t strike me as the kind to lie for something as futile as defending one’s own pride.”

“Pride blinds. I’m into objectivity. Makes it easier at the end of the day to know what’s real and what’s not.”

“Well said.”, she looked away for a second. “I wasn’t lying when I said that I liked you, though.” She turned and started to walk away. A moment later, she spun about wearing a warm, cheerful smile.

“I’ll look forward to our next date. Next time wear something more formal. I am a cultured lady, you know? Vintage Imperial uniforms are so out of fashion these days, and not likely to make you any friends.”

The other found himself smiling slightly as he stared at her in disbelief. “I’ll try to remember that.”

“See that you do.”, she winked as she rounded the corner and disappeared from sight.

Corellius found his eyes falling upon the silent corpse of Thoosius Pinch once more, having no clue as to what he should be feeling, something that bothered him greatly. With a sigh, he signaled Tarla Security Forces and advised them that a seductively dressed woman with long black hair and almond shaped eyes would be taking care of the matter from here on out and that he was going home.



* * * * *

Thanks for reading. Please comment and let my know your thoughts. Until the next chronicle...

Scott