[Fic] The Hunt

[Jae Onasi]

A lithe hand silently edged open the door to the landing pad that jutted out like a gangly beetle leg from one of Nar Shaddaa's many skyscrapers. A swoop bike was parked at the end of the platform. A pair of legs stuck out from underneath, flexing as the man worked, tools clanging.

 

There he is, finally....

 

Mira slipped through the opening. She double-checked the stealth generator power light, then readied her stun gun. She was invisible, but sought the platform shadows anyway. She was a huntress, and those hunting instincts had kept her alive more than once when technology had failed her. She stepped in concert with the noisy repairs and low grumblings.

 

Fool, you shouldn't be making that much noise. You can't hear anything sneaking up on you. All the better for me, though. She smiled wickedly in spite of herself.

 

Mira froze when the noise stopped. A gloved hand reached out from under the bike for the toolbox that sat on the ground, lid half-open. It rummaged around, found the hydrospanner, and disappeared again. She exhaled silently and resumed edging up on her quarry.

 

All too easy, Tavlin. I wish all bounty hunting was this simple.”

 

She aimed the dart launcher and fired, the silencer muffling the popping sound. The dart homed in on the figure's leg.

 

Clang!

 

She frowned. “What the he--” She switched off the stealth unit and materialized. The figure slid out from under the speeder and sat up.

 

Mira closed her eyes a moment and sighed, “Oh, geez. I should have known he'd do something sneaky.”

 

It was a droid dressed in Tavlin's clothes. It cocked its head at Mira as it pulled the dart from the pant leg, and then stood up. “Oh, dear. Mr. Tavlin will not like finding a hole in his pants.”

 

“That's not all he's going to find when I get to him. Now where is he?”

 

“He sends you his regards, and requested I say the following to you: 'Neener, neener'.”

 

She muttered a few choice words under her breath as she whipped out a datapad containing Tavlin's information and stabbed at the screen in frustration.

 

“I am afraid, Ms. Mira, that Mr. Tavlin is physiologically incapable of such an action, talented as he is.”

 

Mira waved a hand irritably at the droid to silence it. “I have under an hour left to find him. Where. Did. He. Go.”

 

“He suggested you might find him in the refugee sector.”

 

“Send him a message. Tell him that he can try to hide all over Nar Shaddaa, but he'll still be mine before the night is out.” Mira turned around and headed for the cantina. She snorted, “Refugee sector. Does he think I'm that stupid?”

 

* * *

 

Tavlin sat in a dark corner of the cantina, watching the noisy press of the crowd. Laughing and the clink of glasses filled the warm air, spicy with the teeming scents of numerous sentients. Multi-colored lights strobed across the dance floor, pulsing in time with the booming music. Tavlin's eyes roved across the room, pausing sometimes to appreciate certain...assets before resuming the search. No flaming red hair. No bright green leather that left absolutely nothing to the imagination, which she amusingly called 'armor'. He only had one more hour to go before the transport arrived and he was home free, and he'd already made it through most of the last day when he found out Mira had started her hunt.

 

Tavlin's comlink beeped as the droid called him. “Mr. Tavlin. Ms. Mira just left. I advised her that you might be found in the refugee sector.”

 

“Did she say anything else?”

 

“She said you should try to commit distasteful acts with yourself that are anatomically impossible.”

 

Tavlin laughed, “Oh, she did, huh? I'll have to give that a try sometime.”

 

“She also shot me with a stun dart, which put a rather impressive hole in your pants.”

 

“Those are my favorite pants! She's going to pay for that now, isn't she?”

 

The droid replied, “I'm sure if anyone can outsmart Ms. Mira, it will be you Mr. Tavlin. Good luck on your escape.”

 

Tavlin signed off and grinned to himself, taking another sip of the juma he was nursing. “Heh. I know you'll be coming soon, Mira, but you're going to learn I'm not about to become one of 'your bounties'.”

 

A flash of red worked its way through the dancing crowd, and Tavlin strained to see it better.

 

No, just another redhead. Not nearly as delicious as Mira, though....

 

He sat back in the booth and breathed once more. His disguise was good, and might just fool her, but he wasn't going to risk it. He'd have to leave if—when-- she came in the cantina.

 

Another flash of red on the dance floor.

 

Female.

 

Petite.

 

Green armor.

 

Oh, those curves....Mira!

 

He slipped out of his jacket as he watched her from the shadowy booth. His white shirt matched those of the staff. When she turned her back to him, searching the room, he got up quickly, grabbed a tray from a table, put some empty glasses on it, and walked briskly across the cantina.

 

I'm just another server, heading to the kitchen....

 

As soon as the kitchen door closed behind him, he dropped the tray in the nearest sink and dashed to the back door. He flung it open and took off running. There was a faint Puff! and he ducked just as a dart whizzed by his ear and stuck in the wall near him.

 

“Damn it, Tavlin! Stop running before I hurt you!”

 

He saw Mira jump down from her perch on the dumpster. He grimaced at being tricked by her decoy in the cantina, and sped up to escape. A second stun dart nearly hit his arm, and a third one found its mark, hitting him squarely in the posterior.

 

He smiled. Never could resist my butt, could you, Mira?.

 

He pulled out the dart from the extra padding he'd put there, tossed it over his head back in her direction, and raced away. He glanced back and grinned when he saw her making an obscene gesture at him as he outran her firing range. He dashed around a corner, down an alley, and around a building, then stopped suddenly. He snatched the key card from his pocket and shoved it into the slot, pressing the 'open' button several times until the door of the swoop gallery finally complied. He slipped through it and hurriedly hit 'close', then ducked behind the large betting desk. Finally he was able to catch his breath.

 

Only 20 more minutes to the transport. She can't cover all of them. Now, to just get to the right station without being seen. Who's close to the station where I can hide out till the last moment?

 

Tavlin pulled out his comlink and made a call. “Dom. It's me....Yeah, I'm still going out with that hot chick. Hey, listen, are you in the shop right now? I have some business to take care of in a couple hours, and I need a part for my swoop bike to get it running again. Mind if I stop by for a few minutes?...OK, I'll be there shortly.”

 

Tavlin watched out the window as Mira walked by the front of the gallery, combing the area. He froze until she was well out of sight, then ducked into the riders' dressing room. He rummaged quickly through the clothing until he found the only ensemble that would fit.

 

Red leather. “Mira will love that look...if she catches me,” he shook his head as he pulled on the tight outfit. He ran some instant coloring through his hair, changing that for the third time in as many hours. He slipped out the back of the gallery, then made his way to the main street, walking calmly. One of the 'entertainment ladies' whistled and winked as he walked by, and he grinned at her in return.

 

When he reached Dom's shop, he nonchalantly opened the door and called out, “Hey, Dom! It's Tavlin! You here?”

 

The door closed behind him, and he heard the characteristic click of a dart loading into a wrist launcher. He didn't even bother turning around, he just dropped his head a moment and sighed. “OK, Mira, you win. What'd you do to Dom? Is he OK?”

 

“What kind of woman do you think I am? Of course Dom's OK. I just paid him enough to convince him to take a vacation day.”

 

Tavlin slowly turned around with his hands up to face her. “Just like you paid the girl to run around in the cantina in your clothing? That was a nice touch.”

 

“Oh, I did enjoy that one. Watching you run out the back was nearly as priceless as seeing your anatomy in that leather. I thought you'd fill it out nicely,” Mira's eyes strayed appreciatively over him.

 

His eyes widened. “What do you mean? You bought this?”

 

“Planted it in the locker room, and took anything out that you could otherwise conceivably fit into, yes. Red would make you stand out in the crowd. Of course, that outfit would make anyone stand out,” Mira waggled her eyebrows and grinned wickedly.

 

Tavlin chuclked. “I cannot believe you did all that just to win the bet. All right. You caught me, with 5 minutes to spare. We agreed, you get to decide what to do on our date tonight.”

 

“Anything, right?” Mira winked.

 

“Can we skip the stun cuffs this time?”

[Emperor Devon]

*Claps*

 

Very nice job there, Jae! And you were were working on it at the last minute - I'm impressed. The topic and snarky remarks by the characters are amusing, (in particular the handcuffs one ) and I liked the ending. Nice twist there.

 

Things to criticize - reusing an old character's name and putting a 'v' into it, for starters. And the fact that Tavlin put his best pants on a droid he was using as a decoy. He probably expected it would've gotten shot at. More background on his relationship with Mira also would've been nice.

 

Overall it's done well, and all it could really use is some polishing (though for a last minute piece that's hard to). I give it a 9/10, and my vote.

[Bee Hoon]

One word: funny! It is so very Mira to do that:P Stun cuffs included:X The dialogue is great, and the twist at the end was a nice surprise. This is definitely getting a vote from me:)

[Sabretooth]

Alright, this is the most entertaining read in the Cantina as of now. It is brilliant, with perfect pacing, wit, humour and plenty of hints.

 

Excellent work, Jae! You've set quite an example!

[RC-1162]

Very amusing read. With the topic as bounty hunters I expected all the entries to be based on action and stuff but you've managed to toss out a humourous fic and its definitely a good attempt. It moved well and you managed to keep it from going overly long. Me like! Great stuff Jae!

[JasraLantill]

“He sends you his regards, and requested I say the following to you: 'Neener, neener'.”

LOL! Priceless! Love the entire story--it's just perfect in my book. Nice to see a fic about Mira's life. Great job!