Chronice V "Assassin's Tears" Part One

Written by Scott D. McGraw

This is the fifth chronicle in the life of Zentar Corellius in which we'll take a break from the bounty hunter while he vacations on Endor and follow the path of someone whose story must also be told.


Enjoy...



“You’re being annoying, Roven.”, the young woman remarked coldly through the small commlink she kept hidden in her boot. “I told you I would deal with things in my own time, so please stop pestering me.”

Deputy Director Nikolus Roven of New Republic Intelligence clenched his fists tightly and fought to keep control over his words. “Watch your mouth and remember who it is that you are talking to. I will not toler-”

Mocking laughter came through the comm channel, cutting him off. “Don’t be silly. I’m not one of your agents you can order around as you please. You need to remember who you are talking to. Make me angry and we won’t talk at all anymore.”

The aging official forced himself to relax and sighed heavily. “Yes, of course you are right. My apologies.”

The other brushed the words aside. “Whatever. Just remember who I am and what I do. Corellius will not be a problem for you so long as you stay out of things.”

“I still don’t like it. I don’t trust him.”

“You don’t have to.”, the female voice replied with a warning lilt to it. “Now forget about him and just go about whatever it is that you do and leave the rest to me.”

Roven grudgingly conceded. “Very well. I hope to hear something-”

“You’ll hear something when there is something for me to tell you. By the way, I will be busy over the next few days so don’t bother trying to contact me at all.”

The man arched a grey eyebrow. “A new contract?”

“That’s none of your business. I’ll be in touch.”

Before Roven could get in another word the line went dead.

Oh that Chameleon gets me so damned mad. He thought to himself in frustration. Perhaps I’m making an error in judgment by even getting involved with her in the first place.

The old official forced away his bitter feelings toward the young woman and focused his thoughts on Serina Jenri’s latest NRI recruit, Zentar Corellius and found himself frowning darkly. He did not like the bounty hunter one bit, and not because of any pretense of suspecting him to be an Imperial sympathizer as he’d told the pretty brown haired inspector a short time ago, but simply because of his Force talents. Nikolus Roven had gone to great lengths to keep as far away from any of Skywalker’s kind thus far and desired to stay clear of anyone with the strange ability to read minds or otherwise have an unnatural edge that could expose him for the pretender that he truly was.

While it was true the older man had spent a great many years in service to the former Rebellion and current New Republic, at some point he’d sold out and become dirty. Like so many others throughout history he’d found the temptation for money and luxury just too hard to ignore. His career path had availed him of many opportunities over the years and was not about to let someone like Corellius get in his way. Not now. Not with his current involvements…

So far he’d managed to avoid contact with the bounty hunter altogether and had no real reason to believe the man suspected him of anything or that he would even care if he did. He simply could not afford to take any chances and needed Corellius watched. It just so happened that the former Imperial captain’s background gave him a solid excuse to have him observed. Jenri had accepted his concerns easily enough it seemed, but this Kyoko Katsuragi, aka Chameleon, was another matter altogether.

He’d first come up with the idea to bring her onto his private payroll sometime shortly after the brutally cold incident with Thoosius Pinch on Grenidine. Given her own twisted history with the Imperial Remnant, it seemed a perfect idea at the time. She was sure to be very bitter and even hateful towards those once loyal to the Emperor, or who’d followed, for what had been done to her as a child. With any luck that natural animosity would eventually evolve into hate and even a desire to kill Corellius. Roven would be sure to do all that he could to elicit such feelings from her as time availed.

At first he’d hoped it would be a relatively easy sell to the young woman, but quickly realized that she was a lot smarter than he’d given her credit for. He recalled the cold unnerving look she’d first given him when he’d confided in her his “suspicions” of the other bounty hunter. She hadn’t believed him, not a word, he knew. It was almost as though she were the one with Force skills, not Corellius. However, after a tense moment of awkward silence the petite woman with almond shaped eyes had smiled easily and accepted his offer to keep tabs on the other. It was then that he’d realized that he may have made a deadly mistake by getting involved with the former assassin turned bounty hunter. Only time would tell, he reminded himself.

Only time would tell.



“Moff Hajis, I’ve finally found you.” Chameleon spoke softly to herself as she casually observed the former governor of the Mizanus star system, a system still nestled deep within Imperial Remnant space. For more than three years the small woman had been actively searching for the imperial after losing track of his whereabouts unexpectedly after he’d retired from political office for unknown reasons. From the small bench in a public garden of one of the planet Belsham’s coastal cities she watched him in silence. The middle aged politician looked pretty much the same to her even now, with his short, neatly cut blond hair and well trimmed mustache while he strolled casually about some trees as several children played nearby.

She hadn’t seen him for quite a long time, not since her time with him nearly a decade ago. The Moff Hajis she remembered was a man who’d come unexpectedly to her home one day when still a small child and savagely had her family executed right before her eyes. She recalled screaming “why” over and over as Stormtroopers viciously and coldly stepped over her parent’s dead bodies and pulled her away only to see him smile thinly and remark with disinterest, “Because you fit our profile and the Empire needs you.”

What she could recall vividly now, though she was never meant to, was the brutal torture of her body she’d been subject to day after day and night after night for more than two years by silent interrogator droids. The worst of it all was the sleep deprivation, she recalled darkly. For days and nights on end she was not allowed to sleep and never told why. Not once did anyone ever explain anything to her or give her a reason. Then one day it stopped unexpectedly. Instead of the cold pre-programmed droids that had constantly claimed her, she was greeted by three other young women, all dressed nicely in non-military attire, the first living creatures she’d seen in her entire time since being taken away. Together they all began to gently wash and clean the now twelve year old girl, and after dressing her similarly, led her by hand to a table filled with delicious looking foods and told to eat.

Of course the complete deviation from routine had confused the young Kyoko terribly and so all she did was sit there and not move. In the small eternity she had spent with her captors nothing like this had ever happened before and simply did not know how to react. Moments later Moff Hajis had appeared and sat down opposite of her wearing a pleasant smile. This had been the first time she’d seen him since first coming to her home so long ago.

“Do you remember me?”, he’d asked politely and casually.

Of course she had. His face had haunted her dreams endlessly, that was when she was able to sleep. Kyoko nodded once feeling like the whole thing wasn’t real.

“Good. Then that will make things a bit easier.”

Seeing a blank look upon her face he continued as though fully expecting such a reaction. “I’ll just bet you’re wondering why today is so different from all the others. Would you like to know why, Kyoko Katsuragi?”

The question went unanswered as she stared at him with nervous eyes.

“It’s because you have been chosen for something great. Something so incredible that I just had to come here and tell you personally. But, ah, I’m getting ahead of myself aren’t I?”, he continued to smile coldly. “My name is Moff Hajis. I help run this little project of which you’ve become a part of for the last two years. You and others, that is.”

Hajis saw the continued look of confusion in her eyes and sighed. “But this all a bit premature. You still have the mind of a ten year old and can’t really understand yet, can you?”

The Imperial then folded his hands gently on the table and looked deep into her brown almond shaped eyes. “Yes, you, along with a few others have a great destiny ahead of you. From here on out there will be no more unpleasant things, I promise. Such cruelties are now in the past. From now on you will be like a daughter to me. I will show you many wonderful things and train you in ways you cannot possibly imagine. But first I need your permission to do that. Will you let me help you become something great?”

When she had no reply he then took one of her small hands in his. “I want to help you, Kyoko. Will you let me? Please?”

This time the young woman’s eyes began to dart around. She’d not heard her own name in two years. In fact this was the first time anyone had spoken to her at all. “Mommy…Dad-“

“Kyoko.”, he cut her off gently. “They are gone. You have only me now.”

She then began to cry silently and stare off into space, unable to cope with what was happening to her.

“You have only me now.", he repeated. "I will be your father from now on and I will love you with all my heart, but you must allow it. I cannot force you to accept me. It has to be your decision alone.” Hajis then took her other hand. “I have to tell you honestly though that if you do not accept me then I cannot protect you as I would like and you will have to return to the pain you’ve already come to know. You don’t want that do you?”

She began to feel nauseous and broke out in a sweat.

“Kyoko, I don’t want to see you suffer anymore. I never have. I can make the pain go away, I promise.” He then wiped away a tear from her eye. “Will you let me help you?”

Chameleon quickly forced the memories away leaving the question unanswered, not wanting to recall the details of her acceptance of her fate for the moment and now focused on the present by watching the twisted man as he calmly walked about the sunny garden by himself all these years later.

Of course there was no way for him to recognize her now, as she was his expert creation. She was now Chameleon, a master of disguises who was supposed to have been his perfect little assassin and would follow his every command even to the point of death. Unfortunately things had not turned out quite that way when one day she’d been able to break her training and get away from him.

The twenty-four year old woman she’d become now sat mere meters from her former captor completely calm, while wearing a simple jumpsuit worn by many of those in some technical profession, appearing nothing like the villager Golen Fromm and Zentar Corellius had met back on Dantooine, nor as the sultry prostitute that had calmly and expertly sliced open the neck of Thoosius Pinch when on Grenidine.

Through an odd combination of technology and cosmetics she had somehow transformed herself into a rather pale looking and slightly overweight Caucasian female in her mid-fifties with steel grey eyes and salt and pepper colored hair that hung just below her cap from all angles.

Hajis, it’s been a long time., she remarked silently to herself without emotion.

Chameleon was about to rise and hit her mark when from the side of her, a brightly colored rubber ball bounced up and rested at her booted feet. She turned to see one of the many children who had been playing with it earlier come running up to her, a human girl of about ten with long blonde hair and fair skin.

“Sorry about that lady.”, she said apologetically. “That crazy boy just came over and kicked it away from us for no good reason.”

Chameleon’s eyes drifted past her to where the other children were and saw a boy of about six or seven making some weird faces at all the other kids who were now yelling at him angrily. She then bent over and picked up the ball and stared at it.

An uncomfortable moment passed before the older woman smiled and handed it back to the other. “Indeed, he does look to be quite a pain, doesn’t he?”

“I’ll say.”, the pretty girl replied with an exaggerated sigh. “He’s a real pain and happens to be my friend’s little brother too. Hey, I’ve never seen you here before, do you work for the park or something?”

Just as Chameleon was about to respond, a hauntingly familiar voice spoke. “Kriasa, let’s not be troublesome. We’ll be leaving in a few more minutes.”

The former assassin now stared into the face of the one who had destroyed her life a few short years ago and wished to do nothing more than pull her blade free and open up his throat right there on the spot, but knew better. She instead smiled pleasantly and placed her hands behind her back nonchalantly.

“Oh, she’s no trouble at all. She was just asking me if I worked for the park.” She then turned to the young girl and replied, “No, child, I work for Indine Technical Repair Services down the street a ways. I’m just on a break getting some fresh air. I fix broken droids and things like that. Nothing as exciting as working here.”

“I see. I’m sorry if my daughter disturbed your lunch break.”, Hajis interjected casually, not seeming to recognize her in the least. “Children can be so unpredictable.”

“I wouldn’t know.”, Chameleon said softly under her breath.

“No children of your own?” The former Imperial politician mistook her remark for one of possible regret.

“Oh, no, not me.”, she answered effortlessly. “Never married. Never had the time for such things.”

The blond man nodded. “That’s too bad. Having a family has been one of my greatest joys. Ah well, ‘to each their own’, as the saying goes, I suppose. Well we must be going. Have a good afternoon.”

“You too.” Chameleon smiled as she watched the man and his ‘daughter’ walk out of the park together hand in hand.

And what new lie is this, Hajis?, the older maintenance worker thought to herself. Just then she noticed a small bracelet at her feet that wasn’t there before and recognized it as belonging to the girl. It must have fallen from her wrist when she’d given the ball back to her. Chameleon retrieved it and turned it over. On the inside was a small inscription which gave the child’s full name, address and an alert to a common but deadly medical condition called “Rhoonta Syndrome”.

She recalled that “Rhoonta Syndrome”, or “RS”, was most commonly found among the Sullistan species but was not entirely unheard of among humans either. RS was a neurological disorder that slowly ate away at the nervous system a little bit at a time. Over a few short years the person afflicted with it would lose all motor control and parts of the body would begin to shut down one at a time until death occurred. As of yet no cure has been found in either New Republic or Imperial territory.

Is this an invitation of some kind, Hajis? Do you really know who I am and why I have come? Are you laying a trap for me? Chameleon was far too intelligent and savvy to believe this was all by chance. He had been the one to show her so much in the ways of deception that she knew not to underestimate him even now. He was as much a master of deception as was she, if not more so. Only time would reveal that to be truth or not.



Several hours after her encounter with Moff Hajis and Kriasa, Chameleon found herself at the address inscribed on the child’s bracelet and pressed a small button on the small estate’s secured gate. A moment later a stern voice came over a small speaker and demanded that she state her business.

“My name is Mimra Luustas.”, she replied. “I found a bracelet in the park earlier today that belongs to a Kriasa Hajis. This address was on it so I thought I would drop by and return it to her.”

Several long moments of silence passed before there was a buzzing sound that came from the gate’s lock followed by that same voice. “Leave anything which may be construed as a weapon on the small table to your right as you pass through this entry point. Failure to do so will result in your immediate arrest and possible termination.”

“I have no weapons.”, she declared effortlessly.

“Then you may pass.”, the voice replied indifferently.

Mimra Luustas, the aging technician passed through the small gate as commanded and began to walk up the short duracrete path towards a relatively small, but very rich looking home. She’d gotten less than ten yards before two heavily armed Stormtroopers converged upon her from both sides. A third then approached her from the front with an upraised palm.

“Keep your hands up in the air and make no sudden moves.”, he commanded as he began to roughly search her while also scanning for any hidden devices.

“Enough, TK-6733.”, came a voice from several feet away. “She is my guest. You may resume your patrol of the grounds.”

Chameleon looked past the Stormtrooper’s black and white helmet to see the ever present smile of Moff Hajis directed her way.

“Yes sir.”, the guard replied sharply and with a wave quickly moved away with the other two.

“Please forgive me, Miss Luustas.”, he began. “I hate to appear rude, but I am a former political official of no small importance and as such am forced to endure such harsh security measures these days. I trust my security officer has not hurt you in any way?”

“Not at all.”, the seemingly older woman replied with a thin smile of her own. “I understand. When I had first met you in the park earlier today I thought you to be familiar but could not place your face until I saw the name on this.” She then held the small bracelet up before him.

“Ah, yes.”, he nodded in recognition. “I’d noticed that it was missing on the way home as well. Fortunately we keep several on hand for times such as these. Kids can be quite skilled at losing their possessions. As you can tell, this particular item is very important for her to have at all times, so I’ve since replaced it for her.”

“Oh, I see.”, Chameleon responded by appearing to be relieved. “That’s good then. I wasn’t sure but thought it right that I try and get it back to you in any case.”

Moff Hajis nodded slightly. “I thank you for your concern over my daughter’s welfare. Not many would take the time to go out of their way such as you have.”

“No problem at all.”, she replied. “I’m happy to know that she is still so active.”

“Hmmm, yes. I take it that you are somewhat familiar with my child’s disorder then?”

Chameleon took on a somber and thoughtful look as she carefully dueled the man before her with words. If he had indeed recognized her for who she really was then everything he said to her was equally a test of her abilities at deception. “A little bit, yes. I know that in a few short years…”

“I appreciate your discretion as well. So then you now know a bit of my heartache and pain.”

“I can only imagine.”

As the two were speaking, Kriasa came bounding up to them wearing a wide smile. “Hey, you’re the lady from the park, right?”

Chameleon nodded and smiled warmly. “You left this behind. It must have fallen when we were talking before.”

“My bracelet!”, she exclaimed happily. “I knew I lost it somewhere. Thank you so much!”

“Not at all. But it seems you already have a replacement.”

Kriasa shook her head and began to tear at the metal chain she was currently wearing. “Yeah, but I like my old one much better because I’ve painted it myself. The new one Daddy gave me is just a dull looking silver.”

This brought a chuckle from the blond man. “Yes, yes, that is true. It’s not nearly as pretty as the one you’ve decorated yourself.”

“Daddy, can she stay and have dinner with us, please? I mean she did something really nice for us, right?”

Moff Hajis looked back at the older technician and nodded. “Yes, I think that appropriate. We would be very honored if you’d join us.”

Chameleon did her best to read the other to see if there were any dark intentions hidden within his words but found nothing that betrayed him. Nor did she find anything offsetting about Kriasa’s exuberant response as well. Everything just seemed so normal…

“Well, how can I refuse such a wonderful invitation as this? I accept.”, she replied at length.

“Wonderful.”, the other responded, cutting through her discordant thoughts. “Please, let me show you inside and to a place where you can clean up a bit, as dinner will be served shortly.” He then turned to his daughter. “Kri, go have Arliss put out another table setting.”

“Yay!”, the young girl responded cheerfully and ran off back into the house.

Hajis watched her and then slowly let his smile drop. In quiet tones he continued, “The doctors say she may only have another two years at the most.”

Chameleon appeared surprised. “Two years? But she still looks so full of energy.”

“Today is one of her better days. There are others where she becomes quite uncoordinated and even has trouble speaking. I don’t understand much of the intricacies of the disorder’s process myself, only that some days are better than others. Even so, they are becoming fewer and fewer.”

“Is she why you suddenly retired from Imperial service, Moff Hajis?”

He turned and regarded her sharply. “Indeed. You seem to know me a bit.”

“You were a well known political figure, after all. I’m a former resident from the Mizanus Star Cluster myself. Your sudden absence left many of us wondering.”

“I see.”, he nodded seeming to accept her answer. “Yes, well, my daughter’s condition isn’t known by many, and I prefer to keep it that way. When I had first learned of it three years ago, I made the choice to forsake my personal goals for a time and be there for her. I intend to give her the quality time she needs before…”

The man turned from her as he discretely wiped away a small tear from his eye. “Forgive me.”

Chameleon gently placed a hand upon his shoulder. “No…there is nothing to forgive.”, she fumbled a bit. “I think what you’re doing for her is absolutely wonderful.”

“I appreciate that, Miss Luustas. Please, come this way.”



About the same time Chameleon was invited into the Hajis household, Serina Jenri was passing by Deputy Director Roven’s office on Corellia’s Centerpoint Station when she heard him shouting at someone from within. When she couldn’t hear the other she guessed that they were on a private commlink call. Whoever it was, it was clear the old intelligence officer was not happy with them in the least. Though she was not usually prone to such juvenile tactics, she couldn’t help but move her ear a bit closer to the closed door to hear a bit of what it was that had the man so enraged…

“I don’t care what he has been saying about our surveillance on Gorka and his family! I’m telling you that we are doing everything exactly the way it should be done and to stay out of things!”

Gorka? Jenri arched an eyebrow upon hearing the young Hutt’s name. Gorka was a relatively ineffectual upstart crime boss who ran a small operation near the border of Imperial and New Republic space. She hadn’t heard anything relevant intelligence-wise concerning the big slug in months. Why would the deputy director be concerned with him at all these days? All reports had indicated that Gorka was pretty insignificant in comparison to other more pressing areas of interest. Had something changed?

“Listen…”, he continued more quietly and calmly as though realizing that he could be heard outside by those passing by. Jenri strained her ear to make out what he was saying but found the other speaking much too softly now to hear well. She nearly jumped out of her boots when she felt a finger tap her shoulder from behind.

“And what are we up to now, Serina?”, Dutch Rogan smiled widely. “Spying on the spies?”

Relief flooded over her eyes when she saw it was only her friend, another training officer who’d caught her. “Don’t do that Dutch!”, she whispered harshly as she pulled him away by the sleeve of his flightsuit.

“What’s the old bantha up to now?”, he laughed more quietly. “It must be good if it has you this interested.”

The pretty woman with shoulder length brown hair shrugged. “I’m not sure. I heard him yelling as I was passing by and stopped to hear what was going on. At first I thought that you might have been getting reprimanded for spilling coffee on the transport’s navigation console again.”

“Hey!”, he looked away a bit embarrassed while running a hand over his brown buzzcut. “That only happened one time and only because Jesper threw us into hyperspace without first giving the warning.”

“Yeah, yeah, so you keep saying.”, she smiled back. “Anyway, you hear anything lately about Gorka that I’ve missed?”

“Gorka?”, he looked a bit confused. “That stupid Hutt near the border? Not for a long time, why?”

“I don’t know, just wondering.”, she replied. “Hey, we’ll keep this little event between us, right?”

“Are you kidding me?”, he laughed and eyed her mischievously.”

“Dutch, I’m serious!”, she begged.

His smile dropped a bit and looked at the closed door with disdain. “Yeah, no problem. When it comes to Roven you’ve got nothing to worry about from me. Something about that old geezer just isn’t right, so do what you want.”

“Thanks, Dutch.”

“Sure.”, he smiled again. “Look, I gotta head out to Drall for the next couple of days. When I get back you can buy me lunch, how’s that?”

The inspector eyed the much younger man with a stern look. “Blackmail? All right you brat, lunch on me, but nothing too fancy, got it?”

The other started to walk away from her towards the hangar decks and called back. “Grosk cutlet sandwiches and Reska at Burk’s Tapcafe here on Centerpoint. I’m easy.”

“Yeah, but you’re still a brat.” Serina Jenri watched the younger training officer turn a corner and then found herself staring at Roven’s closed door once more, feeling like the old intelligence man was up to something, but had no idea what. With a sigh, she shrugged her shoulders and went about her business after making a mental note to check up on Gorka the Hutt’s recent activities when she had some free time.



“You have a lovely home, Moff Hajis.”, the older technician complimented as she admired a series of paintings that adorned the long hall that led into the dining area beyond.

“Thank you.”, he replied casually.

“Is this more your’s or your wife’s doing?”, she inquired with interest.

The retired Imperial slowed and turned toward her. “I have no wife. She passed away a number of years ago, I’m afraid.”

“Oh? I’m very sorry to hear that.” Chameleon played along.

“Not to worry.”, his smile returned. “Ah, here we are. Please have a seat next to my daughter, Kriasa.”

“I’m honored.”, she replied as she casually sat down next to the small girl while carefully noting every detail all about her. Just beneath the false skin and tissue of her fatty forearms she could feel the stiffness of her duel daggers carved from actual bone that were embedded there and awaited use. In less than one heartbeat she could have them out and her former tormentor’s throat open and pouring blood on the table before them if she desired. Content to know that, she however wished to spend a bit more time assessing her environment and his newest project. Nothing was ever as it seemed when it came to Moff Hajis.

Not ever.

“Tell me, Miss Luustas-”

“Please”, she interrupted, “call me Mimra.”

The other smiled. “Very well. Tell me Mimra, have you ever had Skreet before?”

“I can’t say that I have.” Chameleon answered honestly.

“Then you are in for a treat.”, he clasped his hands together. “Skreet is a wonderful seafood dish that I discovered once when on Mon Calamari years ago. These days-”

“Daddy”, Kriasa interrupted. “When do I get to play with her? I’m getting anxious.”

“Soon, my dear. After dinner.”, he placed a hand over hers. “First we need to enjoy our meal and make her feel welcome. After we’ve eaten, then you can show her your room or whatever you like.”

Chameleon’s eyes drifted to the little girl and for the first time felt a silent warning go off in her head.

“Hmmm.” Came a sigh from the elder Hajis as he watched her very subtle reaction. “Well, perhaps not. It seems she’s realized the deception after all.”

“So do I get to kill her now?” Kriasa beamed at the older woman.

In a near instantaneous move, Chameleon tumbled herself and her chair backwards and came up with both daggers in hand, ripped from the false skin that now hung loosely by her wrists. Just as quickly, Moff Hajis had a small device in his hand and was shaking his head.

“My dear Kyoko, did you really think you’d be able to get within one hundred meters of me without my knowing it? You disappoint me.”, he sounded truly bothered.

“Now, daddy?” Kriasa asked with wide eyes as she still sat at the table and looked to him for approval.

“Patience, dear.”, he promised as his eyes never left the poised assassin mere feet from him.

“I knew this all to be some clever deception, Hajis.” Chameleon smiled wickedly.

“And yet you failed to act on that knowledge. Why?”

“You’ll never know.”

The instant Hajis saw her fully exhale, the sign that she was about to strike, he pressed a button on the device he held and to Chameleon’s complete dismay, felt herself suddenly loose motor control and slumped to the ground with a thud.

What the hell?, she wondered as her mind fought a futile battle with her body.

“A small neurological device I had implanted in your brain when you were first captured many years ago.”, he answered her unasked question. “It serves two purposes. One, as you obviously now know, is to render you helpless by sending a small charge to disrupt the natural flow of brain activity that allows motor control, and second, to serve as a transmitter so that I would always know when you were near.”

Slowly, the helpless woman began to feel her body again and after a moment was able to push herself back up to her knees.

“The effects will fade completely within another minute or so.”, he assured coldly. “I’d advise you to make no move towards me once you are able. I promise you that not only can I stun you, but I can also quite easily kill you with a much higher charge. Consider this as my ultimate guarantee against treason.”

True to his word, Chameleon soon found her body obeying her thoughts once more. “You devious bastard.”

“Daddy, she’s rude. I don’t like her anymore.” Kriasa snorted as she turned away from her and nonchalantly took a bite of her meal.

“Indeed she is, Kri.”, Hajis smiled coldly. “But no matter. Please, Kyoko, sit back down and let us eat together as planned. There is much for us to talk about.”

“What could I possibly have to say to you after all this time?”, the bounty hunter said as she carefully pulled away the synthaskin and electrodes from her face that had given her the appearance of the older Mimra Luustas. She then slowly unzipped the technician’s coverall and let it along with the mask fall to the floor and stepped out of them wearing a black skin tight body glove. In a final move she peeled away the loose synthaskin from her arms and head covering, letting her long black hair fall in a ponytail behind her.

Moff Hajis seemed to enjoy the show as he gazed approvingly at her shapely body, but never once so much as moved his thumb off of the remote device’s activator switch that would kill the young bounty hunter in an instant if pressed.

“Yes, that’s the beautiful daughter I remember.” He gazed at her lustfully. “So vibrant and fit.”

Chameleon had regained her focus and now remained expressionless as she looked from him to the young Kriasa who seemed unconcerned with her for the moment.

“Another one of your wicked experiments? What family did you murder to gain her as your newest toy?”, the deadly woman asked as she slowly set her chair back in its place and carefully sat down again.

Moff Hajis shook his head and laughed. “No, no. I murdered no one, my dear Kyoko. She is indeed my true flesh and blood daughter.”

“You’re lying, Hajis.”, she accused without emotion.

“You don’t believe me? Well no matter. Its not really that relevant in any case.” He then slid a plate of food her way. “Please, let’s all enjoy our meal together as a family for once.”

“My family is dead.”

“And so you’ve come back to me all these years later to extract revenge, is that it?”, he questioned with surprise. “Are you truly feeling an emotional upheaval of some sort? This is interesting. I thought that emotional responses had at the very least been permanently dissected from your personality during my time with you. Another area in which I have failed with you, it seems.”

If Chameleon was indeed feeling any real emotion about her situation her face did nothing to reveal it. She just sat there and stared at him blankly.

“Well, I can at least be happy that things have gone much better for Kriasa here. She is the model daughter, completely obedient to me in every way.” His eyes then widened and looked back at her. “Would you like a small demonstration?”

The young woman remained silent.

“Here, watch.” He turned to the child as she absently ate her food. “Kriasa, dear?”

“Yes, daddy?”, she looked up at him with wide eyes in expectation.

“Please pick up the meat knife next to your plate and run it clean through your right palm so that it protrudes all the way and out the other side a few centimeters. Be careful though, so as not to sever the nerves or hit the bone.”

“Okay.”

Without the slightest hesitation Kriasa picked up the pointed knife and ran it clean through as told. Both Hajis and Chameleon watched for several more seconds as blood began to pour down her wrist and drip onto the table and her yellow dress.

“Now cry.” Hajis commanded.

After a moment of twisting up her face, the little girl began to sob uncontrollably as they watched tears well up and roll down her face.

“Stop. Now laugh hysterically.” He ordered.

Kriasa obeyed and began laughing as though being tickled endlessly and squirmed in her chair.

“Now be silent and still.”

Once again the young child did as she was told.

“Wonderful. Thank you, Kri. Here…” He passed her a large cloth napkin. “Remove the knife and bind the wound with this for now. We will properly tend to it shortly.”

“Yes, Daddy.”, she replied calmly as she took it from him. “I’m almost done eating.” She then turned to the older woman and smiled as though nothing had happened. “You should hurry and eat too so we can play.”

“Are you impressed?” Hajis asked the bounty hunter. “You should be. She is nearly everything I wished to accomplish with you. The key I believe was starting with her as an infant, rather than waiting until she was older as you were.”

If Kyoko Katsuragi were just about any other being, she would have been outraged, sickened and even unnerved by such a monstrous display, but she showed no such emotion. Her own life had been filled with so much of his madness that it was somehow different for her.

“The only thing that impresses me is that you have managed to stay alive for so long. I would have thought even the Imperial elite would have considered you far too dangerous a liability and had you eliminated.”

Moff Hajis laughed loudly. “My dear daughter, you are so wrong about me. I’m a threat to no one, and very much in favor with those whom you call the Imperial elite.”

“Not for long.” Chameleon responded in even tones.

The other sighed. “Because you are going to kill me? No, I don’t think so. But your presence here is most fortunate for me in another way. I cannot think of a better test for Kriasa than to pit her against than you. I have to admit, aside from your failure to adapt to the instruction I had given you, you have become a wonderfully dangerous creature of unpredictability. I am truly proud of you.”

“Test?” She inquired while ignoring the rest of his pointless statement.

“Indeed.”, he gazed into her almond eyes. “Either way I win. If she kills you, then I will be fully convinced of her abilities and that she is ready for what awaits her. If you should kill her however, then I can be equally as convinced that she was not as ready as I had hoped. She has now come to the point where there is nothing really more to show or train her in. She simply must be field tested. You, my dear child will be that field test.”

“I will kill her. And then I will kill you.”, the other responded slowly, wearing no expression whatsoever.

“That is to be seen!”, he replied with enthusiasm.



After an odd meal, a meal in which Chameleon had not partaken of, she was led by armored escort to a parked vehicle outside of the house and placed inside where Kriasa sat quietly with her bandaged hand.

“Don’t worry, lady.”, the girl said nicely. “Daddy told me not do anything other than talk with you until we get to the complex.”

“Complex?”, the bounty hunter inquired.

“Yeah, the place where I do my training and stuff. You should see all the things Daddy got for me. He’s so nice, don’t you think? I really love him.”

The older woman turned away from her and said nothing as the vehicle pulled away from the estate. Less than a half of an hour later they passed through a heavily guarded Imperial checkpoint where several hundred Stormtroopers and other Imperials roamed about amongst several unmarked buildings.

The vehicle then pulled into a large opening on one of them and slowed to a stop.

“Oh good, we’re finally here! C’mon!”, the girl smiled as she grabbed Chameleon by the hand and pulled at her as though she truly were a big sister.

The bounty hunter was then led to a secured door with two Stormtroopers on either side of it. They promptly stepped aside as one of them keyed it open.

“Go inside.”, he ordered with a flat sounding voice that projected from the helmet speaker. “Moff Hajis waits for you.”

“Go on, lady.” Kriasa said to her. “I have to go in another way. Soon we’ll get to play together though, so don’t cry, okay?”

Again Chameleon remained silent, finding no need to participate in the superficial conversation and simply brushed past her and entered.

A moment later the heavy door slid shut and the Stormtroopers silently resumed their positions.

“She doesn’t look like the type to cry, does she?” Kriasa asked of no one in particular as she skipped off happily while wearing a smile.



Beyond the door, Chameleon found herself in short hallway with another door at its end just like the one she passed through. As she moved closer, it opened and she stepped through into a small room beyond with nothing in it but a table filled with all sorts of weapons, everything from a poisonous dart set to an Imperial E-11 blaster rifle and a thermal detonator. Obviously Hajis had something big planned for her.

Chameleon eyed them for a few moments before picking up a simple razor sharp dagger with a blade no longer than ten centimeters long and slid it into a sheath that was sewn into the right thigh her bodysuit.

“Good! I’m impressed with your ability to keep things simple.”, she heard Hajis’s voice come from all around her. “Simplicity is the key to a true assassin’s power, after all.”

“When does this test of yours begin, Hajis?”, she asked simply.

“Right now, actually.”, came the reply. “Once you leave this room, you’ll find yourself in a maze of connecting halls. Your goal is simple, find Kriasa and kill her. Her goal is to find you and do the same. I’ll be watching you both from a far, so you’ll have no other distractions. Please do your absolute best, daughter. I will be observing quite intently and taking notes.”

The room then became silent and without hesitation, Chameleon stepped through the next door and beyond where her destiny awaited.

To be continued.

* * * * *

As always, comments are appreciated!
Scott