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A Shadow, hunting... how typical.

Activating the senses and reflexes that had been dormant in recent months without a mission, he allowed tendrils of the Force deliver sensory information on his surroundings and the two bounty hunters he was chasing. Normally, he wouldn't interfere with their squabbles, but once the Order became involved in any capacity, he needed to respond. That was his purpose, by the tenets. With each balanced stride, he felt the urge to unleash the Force and cripple both targets. Ethical issues, to which he was only slightly dismayed, and the witnesses would violate his permissions and draw unnecessary attention.

More importantly, he needed to follow the girl wherever she was fleeing. Her Force signature, loud and expressive with her rage and fear, shone like a beacon for him to follow, muffled only slightly by the Trandoshan's bloodlust. He had never known Eriadu to be as obstacle-laden as it was today, as it seemed every person who dove out of their way would find themselves directly in his path. There was a reason for his pursuit that made it absolutely essential for the direct pursuit, which Quinton probably would have disagreed with had he asked for his opinion. The Shadow Order was riddled with inner turmoil that threatened to draw them into the dark as a whole. Quinton still held too much of the boy scout image to wipe out the infection... that was where the conflicted Iridonian filled in. He had taken arms against the Dark Lord of the Sith when he'd made a surprise appearance on Daemonis, and he owed the Echani a visit to tie up their own affairs. It took but the most cursory of glances toward her feelings before the Sith Lord's essence could be felt... she was close to him, exactly the connection he needed.

He ducked behind a pair of large crates as another rocket freed itself from Bossk's launcher, and shook his head as the frail body of a Jawa rolled and touched his boot, still smoking. He gritted his teeth and wished to draw his lightsaber and engage the Trandoshan, but he was well aware that Bossk was no ordinary bounty hunter, and the Sith woman would pose enough of a threat to draw his full focus. He had to remember he was strictly in pursuit, not in combat.

"Preacher, this is Prime checkin' in. The YT-2000 is prepped and ready for launch. How soon will you be here?" asked his young pilot and apprentice.

"Lower the boarding ramp now and get in the air... we'll know who we're following in no time. If the guard asks, give them the clearance for inter-Order affairs."

Ken entered his own hangar with swift steps, gritting his teeth again as he felt the Trandoshan snuff out another life. Such a rampage of destruction... it was no wonder such a menacing bounty hunter would be employed as a Force hunter. He sealed the landing ramp behind him just as the ship sensor's caught an X-wing flying from another hangar, and another shuttle on its tail. "That ship in pursuit is confirmed to be the Hound's Tooth, cappy... which means the woman must be in that X-wing."

"I understand... stick with the X-wing, but have weapons prepped if Bossk is in the mood for a fight."

A moment later, the trio of ships redlined through hyperspace, tailing off of the X-wing's route. Ken watched the navigational charts with interest, noting that he had never been to the region, and certainly never thought to search for the Sith there. He realized that whether or not Bossk was out of the picture, he would need to deal with the Sith woman; though she was aiding his personal goals, he still had to act appropriately for the sake of the Order, which meant punishing anyone who posed a threat.

They burst into realspace just as suddenly as they'd entered it, right out of Eriadu's atmosphere. Already, he saw the X-wing taking fire. He felt a spike in her aura even through the void of space as she took her X-wing through its paces and testing Bossk's piloting ability. "She ain't half bad, cap! Let's see if we can keep up!" Seth grinned and shifted his grip on his controls before accelerating after her.

Both Shadows watched as the female's expert piloting prevented Bossk from getting his shots off as she prepared her offensive. Her attack was short-lived however as Bossk seemed to have a plan for her every maneuver. "He's got her number, cappy, but... she's something else as far as piloting goes. I'd hate to go up against her in a dogfight..." The Coruscantite continued to review the woman's piloting as she entered a barrel roll and fired on Bossk. Seth whistled as he watched her ramming feint, and accelerated after her as a torpedo crashed into Bossk's shields. Suddenly, her lure to expose the Hound's Tooth's underside worked, and before he knew it, smoke poured from the Trandoshan's ship.

Seth licked his lips as they executed a tight roll over the floating vessel, sure to follow as the x-wing punched back into hyperspace. Ken narrowed his eyes as he felt for her emotions. It was entirely possible that she had been so distracted fighting for her life that she hadn't noticed their YT-2000 in pursuit, but it was too late for her to risk another detour. Once again, he felt a connection to Rani through her that he couldn't explain. Something churned within him again, the desire to seek the power required to free the Order of its plague.

He was troubled by the Sith woman he pursued. Her aura felt as if she could compare and even exceed his Force potential. Her piloting skills were lightyears ahead of his own, and he wondered whether his own apprentice, whose womb was a cockpit, could out-fly her. However, why had she been so aggressive engaging Quinton and so hesitant with Bossk? Why had she overcome her opponent and then let him live in the dead of space? Another similarity to the Echani... irratic, unpredictable... enviable. He narrowed his eyes, desiring the freedom to be ruled by his emotions, his power fueled by his rage and sorrow. The only way to clean out the infection within the Shadows was through power, and there was only one way he was going to get it... venturing toward the Dark Side.

He gasped suddenly, unaware that he had been lost in a torrent of dark emotions and fantasies of power. He was a Shadow, he should strike for perfect balance in the Force. But he knew that he was shifting to a dark place, and he feared he may not be able to pull himself out from it. Something wasn't right with Ken.

The YT-2000 was streaking almost openly behind the X-Wing now, sensors locked on every facet of the damaged vessel as it led them to her destination. Already, Ken could feel the seeds of dark emotion, though he wondered if it was the woman's connection with the Force that tainted the spacelane with negative vibes. Ken sat at his chair with his eye closed, his mind sharply focused on her Force signature, hoping to predict any erratic behavior she expressed should their presence be discovered.

He was caught by surprise as he felt a response from her aura so rapidly that he could not warn his apprentice. Whether she had detected his own unmasked Force signature, his intentions, even his fledgling darkness, or if her systems had finally discerned something from the YT-2000's impressive series of stealth equipment, her reaction was so reflexive, so instant that he wished his apprentice was more in-tune with the Force and could have noticed it. "Seth, she's on to us, entering realspa-!"

And in a flash, the X-Wing disappeared from the lane, and the starcharts did not reveal any nearby planets that may have been her destination. Seth swore to himself as the YT-2000 made the transition into realspace at the same vector she had used. It was Ken's turn to swear then as a pair of proton torpedoes lanced through space in the same instant they materialized. His apprentice gritted his teeth as he pulled the controls backward attempting to arc out of their trajectory. Ken's fingers worked his console with sudden fervor as shield power was rerouted to their exposed underside.

Flame rippled across their shields as the pair of torpedoes hit, jarring both Shadows within violently. There was no mistake, the torpedoes were meant to kill them, but the would-be bomber would have no reason to expect a ship toting full shields and weapons systems to have emerged behind her. The Force was a swell of confused emotions between the pair of them as strategies and counter-strategies to the impending dogfight were reviewed. While they had the tactical advantage of an undamaged ship, he was sure her skills would inflict some damage on the YT-2000 before they could dispatch her. He wondered whether to open a comm channel, but declaring the woman under arrest at this point may not be the best vote of action.

"Cappy, what're we gon' do? If we engage her we can win, but I doubt we'll be able to capture her, or find her end destination. What's the move?"

The Iridonian narrowed his eyes, issuing commands for shield power to be redivided around the ship, and for weapons to charge. "...wait to see if she attacks again, or attempts to flee. I doubt she knew it wasn't the Trandoshan, otherwise she would have let open hellfire once we dropped out. She has no idea who we are at this point... we'll see what her course of action is."

Ken narrowed his eyes as light ripples distorted the Force in the space around them... she was feeling him out just as he was feeling her. He found it puzzling that she hadn't done so before, but realized that in the heat of combat, one evading capture and death wouldn't take the time to assess the threat before attacking, particularly given her ship's condition. He looked to his apprentice then, feeling his presence in the Force as never before... was it the darkness between he and the X-wing pilot that his midichlorian responded to? Seth had never indulged in training of the Force, and so Ken had no idea where his apprentice would be swayed should he feel it. However, the boy's emotions remained clear, as if even he were unaware that the Force was around him. I pray it remains that way... I cannot be responsible for the corruption of another...

The haze of his thoughts was broken as Seth opened the communication channel from the X-wing pilot. "Big chunk of metal out there, identify yourself and gimme a few good reasons why I shouldn't vape you here and now." came the steely feminine voice. He remained silent for a moment, mind riddling over any number of outcomes in the following moments.

"Because my weapons are trained on you as well, and I daresay mine will do the job faster than yours." He became silent again, feeling the conflict well up within him. Should he reveal himself as a Shadow operative hunting her for her potential crimes against the Order? No doubt that would lead to a fatal firefight. He looked to Seth, wondering how the young man felt about his master constantly veering nearer to darkness. Would he drag the Coruscantite with him? "I am known as Preacher, and my pilot is Prime. No doubt your senses have revealed that only we two are aboard, and that we have no foul intentions." Seth spun around in his seat suddenly, meeting his master's eyes. It slowly dawned on him that this was no longer a hunting mission. Surprisingly, he raised an eyebrow and a small curl of his lips revealed humor coursing through him.

He returned his focus to the X-wing pilot, once again feeling her out through the Force. Her emotions were powerful and wild, a dangerous error had his mission truly been to seek and destroy. However, the image of a certain Echani was boldly imprinted on her mind, the real motivation for his following her. Becoming bold, and knowing his apprentice had his fingers ready on the trigger should his words not have the desired effect, he spoke. "I am aware of your actions toward the Shadow Order, but I pursue you for another reason. You have a connection to the man Darth Tigon... I can feel it. I seek him out. I ask only that you continue on your course and lead me to him." He drew quiet, waiting for her response. He was sure she wouldn't continue on her course with such an easy request, but he had another bargain ready should she refuse.

He felt a tingle of excitement run up his spine. Once again, he was glad his apprentice wasn't keen to his senses of the Force, for he would have felt the waves of emotion radiating from the Iridonian as he replayed his bout with the Sith Lord on Daemonis. What would the Echani have in store for their next encounter?

"You may handle some of his affairs, such as failing to bomb the Shadow councilman on Eriadu, but you do not handle what concerns me. Were you in any such position to do so, we would have met face-to-face a long time ago. Or had you been the other woman, Ordona... but that's neither here nor there." He paused for a moment, surprising himself in even mentioning the other woman whose path he'd intercepted many a time in the past. He narrowed his eyes, wondering if he had offended the woman, and set aside his doubts, taking into account that the Sith woman wouldn't be so delicate. As far as he knew. "And if Rani were on-planet, he'd know I was coming before we punch out of hyperspace. And in that event, he would deal with us before we ever touched the atmosphere... isn't that right?" He remained silent for a moment, letting his words sink in. "I'm sure you would die to protect him, but... I have no wish to kill you in any case. So I'll leave it to you to decide the next step." At this, his pilot turned and offered an expression of confusion, but said nothing. They both waited in silence, weapons still trained, for her answer.

Ken remained silent for a moment, clearly irritated. How did she know we were Shadows? He replayed their conversation in his head, dismayed it held no satisfaction to his curiosity. He raised his hand, seconds from issuing to his apprentice the command to obliterate the Sith woman, and just as quickly stopped himself. It was an incredible amount of trouble she was putting them through, however... She has her rules, and we have ours. So be it... He cleared his throat, and opened the comm-channel. "Fair enough, woman. What guarantee do we have that you will not lead us into ambush? Furthermore, what guarantee do I have that once you leave us at this safe point that you will not jump into hyperspace and never return, never mention our meeting to your master?" He struggled internally, genuinely unsure which step to take. There are other ways to Ziost... to the Echani. Her focus on her importance in this equation is a troubling addend... and a damn waste of time...

"Ken, let's just do as she suggests. I hacked her systems... or tried best I could anyway... can't hack the nav, but we know who she is, we have the specs of her X-Wing, we have stuff on her R2 unit... she disappears, her ass is greenlit. Now, tell her you want to kill her boss an' let's get on wit' it!" Ken stared at his apprentice, feeling guilt seep into his spirit. So his apprentice was still a firm believer in the Iridonian's neutrality, convinced his words to the Sith woman were a cover to bring down the Sith. He set the lies in his mind, feeling himself shift to darker tons as he went on.

"You aren't very much of a lap-dog if you don't know who I am or what I want from the Echani... simply, he stopped by my home for a visit and... pep-talk, I suppose. The time for another pep-talk has come."