Bounty Hunter Anon

by Sunny Solaire

Bad Blood

As Maud begins to walk in circles around the room, her eyes never leave yours. ”Do not lull yourself into a false sense of satisfaction, Anonymous. I know what you are doing.”

You begin to walk opposite of her so that you’re both moving in a circle around the room. Like a standoff. “I’m just trying to make an opportunity for some work, Jedi. I need money.”

”Do not lie to me." She replies. "You are trying to plant little seeds of temptation and revenge into Applejack's mind and heart, simply to spite me. It will not work.”

You give her a little smirk. “Well, yeah, that too.”

She’s good, you have to admit.

”This is not a political issue between our two peoples, Mandalorian. I do not hold you personally responsible for the way your kind treated mine in the wars all those years ago." She says. "This is merely a misunderstanding that I regret not being able to stop in time. Nothing more.”

You continue to stare daggers into her eyes as she speaks.

She continues. ”As much as I disagree with your beliefs, I do admire your dedication to your old Mandalorian ways. I can appreciate your enthusiasm and pride for your people and history, but you must see a larger view of the galaxy around you. The past is over. The days of the Mandalorian Wars and Jedi Civil War are over. The days of Revan are over. The Republic, as well as the Jedi, have no quarrel with the Mandalorians of today. These feelings of anger and vengeance inside you benefit no one. Including yourself.”

You both stop pacing, but continue to stare at each other. You hate being told that you’re wrong.

“I don’t appreciate you telling me how to live my life, Jedi.” You growl.

”These feelings of hatred will only bring you down, in the end. In time, they will make you do something you can’t hope to have control of, and you will have brought about your own destruction.” She replies calmly.

If she didn’t have the entire Republic backing her up right now, you would’ve killed her right there. Her and her Jedi Order have been a blight on the galaxy ever since their foundation all those millennia ago. The Sith as well. The countless wars fought, all the lives lost, most, if not all of them, stem from these Force-sensitives and their command over the unseen power that supposedly flows all around you.

But, despite your feelings on the Jedi, you can't help but see her point, to a degree.

She continues. ”Learn to let go of your negativity, Anonymous. I have no quarrel with you, and I do not wish to have one.”

Your pride, or maybe your arrogance, is telling you to ignore her counsel, but you can't deny the logic behind her words. All this pent-up anger isn’t getting you anywhere. It’s just stressing you out.

You sigh and break eye contact with her to look at the wall after a few moments.

She steps forward. ”Applejack may be able to teach you a few lessons on humility. She’s not just a good officer, she’s a very good person.”

You don’t want to say it, but you know you have to. “Maybe you’ve got a point… Maybe it is time to let bygones be bygones…” You pause before pointing a finger at her. “I still don’t like you Jedi though…”

She gives a slight nod. “You are entitled to your beliefs.” You put your arm down and she places her arms behind her once more. ”I just want you to see that I’m doing this for your benefit. Letting go of this negativity will help you live a more fulfilling life.”

You give a small scoff and fold your arms. “Yeah… I guess…”

Whatever...

She nods again and clears her throat. ”Now, onto the topic at hand…”

“Right…" You say. "The death sticks.”

”Indeed.” She nods.

“I’m assuming you think that the Sith are involved with them somehow.” You suggest.

”That’s what we are trying to figure out, yes.” She replies.

You take a deep breath as you recount your hunt for Adagio and Trixie in your head before speaking. “Me and Sunset were on Nar Shaddaa hunting a junkie thief with a sizable price on her head. She was selling a kind of death stick that deteriorates the brain so quickly that they end up going brain-dead after a short time.”

”How did you find that out?” She asks.

“I analyzed a sample aboard my ship. It was loaded with a neurotoxin that did this.” The Jedi nods her head as you speak. “Anyway, her name was Adagio Dazzle. Her bio said that she’s worked for nightclubs and crime lords and that she used a form of hypnosis to steal goods from her clients before vanishing without a trace. I thought that the death sticks were her way of inhibiting the user’s common sense and made them more susceptible to suggestions.”

She ponders to herself for a moment. ”Interesting… What about Trixie?”

“Trixie worked for Diamond Tiara the Hutt on Tatooine. She missed her payments and practically abandoned her job, and Diamond Tiara didn’t care for that much. You know how the Hutts are." You say. "Anyway, I tracked her down to Malastare and brought her in. Trixie was also passing around the same kind of death stick. She got off the planet, but we followed her and took her down. I boarded her ship and found those artifacts on board, along with a datapad full of instructions from someone. It didn’t say who.”

The Jedi nods again. ”We had been tracking Trixie for some time. We found her ship’s debris just outside of Malastare’s orbit. After that, we managed to track you down to Tatooine. I assumed you were an accomplice of hers.”

“How exactly were you tracking her?" You ask. "And me, for that matter?”

”Those artifacts are very strongly imbued with the Dark Side of the Force. I sensed that same Dark Side energy trail leading away from Trixie's ship when we caught up to it. We followed it to your ship, and I instructed the soldiers to bring you aboard. It was not until after we searched you that I found this to be a source of the same kind of dark energy.” She reaches into a pouch on her belt and pulls out Adagio’s red gem. You’d almost forgotten about that.”Do you know what this gem is?”

You shake your head. “No. I took that from Adagio when we captured her. I've been trying to figure out what it was, but had no luck.”

”It is a synthetic crystal that has been infused with the Dark Side of the Force.” She replies.

You raise an eyebrow. “A Force crystal?”

”More or less." She says. "Crystals are used in the construction of lightsabers. For the Jedi, we instruct our initiates to find crystals that are naturally formed. The Sith regularly use synthetic crystals in the construction of their lightsabers, however. For this reason, the Jedi discourage their use in our own lightsabers.”

The Jedi reaches for her belt and grabs her own lightsaber. The hairs on the back of your neck stand up and you instinctively feel a sense of alertness. You're ready for a fight, just in case.

She continues. ”The crystal contains an essence of the Force within them that acts as a conduit between the Jedi and the weapon. Once this happens, the lightsaber becomes an extension of the Jedi’s physical body. Through the Force...” She activates her lightsaber and it hums while giving off a light turquoise color. ”…The Jedi and the lightsaber become one.”

She holds her blade in her hands and stares at it for another moment before deactivating it and clipping it back onto her belt.

“Well, that’s all very beautiful, Master Jedi, but how does that relate to tracking me?” You ask.

She looks up at you again and holds the crystal in her hand. ”Whoever forged this crystal was very strong with the Dark Side. I was able to sense its darkness through meditation and instruct the Republic on where to look next. The Sith artifacts aboard Trixie’s ship were also strong with the Dark Side. Once I could no longer feel the darkness on her ship, I sensed it heading toward Tatooine. That is how we found you.”

You nod slowly, but you’re still unsure of how that all works. This Master Maud is essentially a magnet, and Adagio's gem is a needle in an infinitely large haystack.

That crystal almost made you deaf when Adagio used it against you. Maybe there’s more to this whole thing than you know. You don’t know everything about the Force. In fact, you know next to nothing about it. It’s a topic that was so big and irrelevant to you that it blew right over your head. But with everything that’s happened lately, you’re legitimately curious now.

“Can I ask you something?” You look at her.

”Of course.” She says.

“I don’t get the whole concept of the Force. It doesn’t make sense to me and I’ve had a hard time understanding everything I’ve heard about it." You explain. "I’ve got some time now, so could you… explain it to me? Help me understand it from a Jedi's point of view?”

For the first time since you’ve met her, the Jedi does something that catches you off-guard. She gives you a small smile. ”I would be more than happy to, Anonymous. Come. Let us take a walk.” She turns and heads toward the door and it opens automatically.

Humility, letting go, not killing anyone, and now you're going to learn about the Force. You’ve had a full day, Anon.

You take a few steps to exit the detention center with Master Maud and the both of you begin walking down the corridors of the ship.

She turns to you. ”What questions do you have, Anonymous?”

Author's Note:

Jedi Master Maud Pie.