Pursuit: Chapter 1

Atton’s face was a hollow-eyed mask as his ship dropped from hyperspace and the stars around him once again became separate entities. He played pazaak in his head. Even after three years of Jedi training, no meditation stilled his churning thoughts so quickly; no breathing technique so easily threw up the familiar, well-worn wall of impartiality. The gravity of his task made the ship’s silence seem tomblike.

Just as the coordinates had indicated, a massive ship loomed dead ahead. Its build was unlike anything Atton had ever seen– all curves and spires and stealth. He frowned faintly as he acquired clearance to dock with absolutely no questions asked. Sleek and black, the enormous vessel opened one of her many circular doors. The inside proved to be just as strange and brilliant as the outside. As miserable as he felt, the pilot in Atton could not ignore a flicker of sheer awe.

At his arrival, Atton was immediately approached by a young man in an unfamiliar black uniform. "Jedi Atton Rand," the stranger said. It was not a question. "My employer is waiting for you already; please follow me."

His suspicion thoroughly aroused, Atton simply nodded and followed, his hand on his lightsaber. If possible, the ship was even larger than it looked, and every surface had an elegance and delicacy that only top-of-the-line technology can provide. It was clear that the vessel was neither Sith nor Republican, but it bore all the markings of a military vessel.

"What is this place?" Atton asked his guide evenly, careful not to betray his unease. "This doesn’t look like any Republic warship I’ve ever seen."

The young man did not miss a beat, or even flinch. "This is the Specter, Sir. The private vessel of Rez Kendt, and the base of operations for his intelligence agency. More than this I am not at liberty to say."

Intelligence agency? Atton thought skeptically, with an inward frown. Somehow, he had expected his trip to the Unknown Regions to end at a tiny freighter– a yacht, at best. He had never anticipated that Anith had professionally banked information, and certainly not with such an obviously expensive agency.

He was eventually led to a lavish office with dark walls and light, creative furniture. Like the rest of the ship, it was almost garishly modern and reeked of self-importance. Which is probably why Atton was so surprised when its sole occupant stood up to greet him.

"Jedi Rand! Come on in; make yourself at home. My name is Rez Kendt."

If Atton was not an expert at hiding his thoughts, he would have scowled outright. The man who spoke was barely older than he was, with an immature mischief in his expression that made him seem even younger. Kendt was an inch or so shorter than Atton and much lighter, with slender limbs and a shrewd-looking facial structure. Mocha skin, green ocular implants that literally glowed, and a mass of spiked black hair that looked like it hadn’t been combed in weeks. The young man looked more like a street thug than the owner of this very large, very expensive ship.

"Call me Atton," the Jedi said cautiously, shaking Kendt’s offered hand.

"Atton it is then," Rez responded. "You must have a lot of questions; Anith explained that she told you almost nothing about my operations here."

"That’s right," Atton said. "She just gave me the coordinates to meet you and said you had a biographical holovid. She called you a friend."

"A friend?" Rez chuckled, leaning back in his seat and resting one ankle on the opposite knee. "How very like her. No, she worked for me a few years back. One of my top employees."

"Worked fo you... you mean Anith was a spy?" Atton asked in genuine surprise. "After the Mandalorian Wars?"

"You nailed it," Rez nodded. "You see, I make my living off of information. Primarily I dedicate myself to protecting unflattering but necessary records for wealthy clients– corporations mostly. I’m a secret-keeper. Cigar?" Atton refused the offer, but Rez had no reservations about lighting one for himself. "The other service I offer is the elicitation of sensitive information. Spying, like you said. Anith was a brilliant agent."

He smiled fondly, blowing a cloud of smoke into Atton’s face. Atton scowled deeply, and it was only for Anith’s sake that he kept his lightsaber on his belt. "I found her in a bar, and noticed right away that something was all wrong. I’m a Force Sensitive, you see. When I looked at Anith I saw a body, but there was no aura where she was supposed to be– just a black hole. I immediately recognized her potential as a spy against Jedi." Rez laughed openly. "She had this illusion of morality, though, even after the Council exiled her. I never understood that. She’s bizarre, I’ll give her that much. Anyway, she refused to spy on the Jedi. But she would spy on anyone else of interest, and she could get by force sensitives no problem." He wagged a long, dextrous finger. "Add that to her skill as a hacker and I sold her information for what amounted to millions of credits over the years. And the information I didn’t sell made me even more."

There was a boasting in Rez’s excited eyes that reminded Atton of a kid who knows a secret. Out of pure spite, Atton decided not to gratify him by asking what he meant. "Interesting.  So when do I get these holovids of Anith's?"

Rez frowned, looking incredibly put out. "There are no biographical vids," he said bluntly, with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Your little exile cooked that up to make sure you made it into my office."

He flashed a slimy smile that made Atton want to punch his teeth in, and the Jedi wondered how Anith could have ever been involved with this space trash. She was trusting, sure, but he thought she had better taste than this.

"Is there a practical reason, or is this just the worse blind date set-up in history?" Atton asked.

Rez chuckled and puffed nonchalantly on his cigar, his unnatural gaze set upon Atton with a piercing intensity. "The recordings are a detailed log of everything Anith’s been doing in the Unknown Regions. That’s all I know. I think she wanted someone to carry on with whatever she was doing out there, in case she never made it back. You’re the lucky man, it seems. I’m assuming the fact that you’re here means she hasn’t contacted you in the last two years..." He trailed off curiously, baldly examining Atton’s response.

"Assume whatever you want," Atton said coldly. "I'm not one of your customers."

Rez laughed, his wide, deviant grin splitting his face. "I like you, Jedi," he said as he waved his cigar vaguely in Atton’s direction. "I can see why she did, too. And because I like you so much, I’m going to do you a favor."

"Oh yeah?" Atton asked dryly.

"Oh yeah," Rez smirked. "Anith’s been sending these holorecordings from her ship directly to mine. She specifically requested that I not give you the coordinates she was broadcasting from. I’m going to give them to you anyway."

Atton’s throat tightened. "What’s the catch?" he asked suspiciously, trying to probe Rez’s mind for clearer information. He hit a barrier, however, and it seemed to be largely due to a force field radiating from Rez’s ocular implants. Atton had a bad feeling about this whole encounter... but then again Anith had always kept him on his toes. Part of him was dying to do whatever it took to find her again, but the other couldn’t believe he was actually thinking about trusting this nerfherder. Anith had led him here, he reminded himself firmly. He wasn’t trusting Rez, he was trusting Anith.

"There’s no catch, Jedi," Rez shrugged, shaking his head. "Anith and I had some good times together, believe it or not. My operations were much smaller than what you see before you today, and Anith was... well let’s just say she was important to me. My top agent, if nothing else." He gave a chuckle that was half nostalgia, half blatant implication.

It was official– Atton wanted to kill him. Only his recent Jedi training kept him from leaping across the desk and plunging his lightsaber right through the slimey bastard’s skull.

"Suffice it to say I know Anith well enough to know that when she sets her mind on something, she won’t quit even if it kills her. That’s what I loved about her." There was a pause and Rez’s expression became utterly serious for the first time. "Now I don’t want to see her get herself killed any more than you do. So I’m giving you these coordinates and trusting that if Anith thought you were capable enough to carry on her work, you’re capable enough to save her stubborn ass and bring her back to known space. All I ask is that you tell her the truth about how you discovered her location. Do we have a deal?"

Atton studied the man warily for a moment, annoyed and not at all convinced that there were no strings attached. On the other hand, however, he was desperate to hear any news of Anith’s whereabouts. "Deal," he said at last.

Rez shook his hand warmly and gave another crazy laugh. "All right then, Jedi! Our little exile’s last transmission was slightly less than six months ago. That’s the longest she’s ever been silent, so you better come up with a plan quickly."

"That shouldn’t be a problem," Atton replied.

"I have no doubt," Rez said, his eyes glowing wildly as he rubbed his hands together. "It’s been a pleasure speaking with you, Rand. You’ll find one of my associates outside the door, and they’ll lead you to the bank with Anith’s records in it."

"All right." Atton rose to his feet and turned to leave. Halfway across the room he glanced over his shoulder. "And, ah... thanks."

Rez gave a barking laugh. "Thank you, Jedi. Tell Anith I send my regards!"

Rez watched thoughtfully as the man left, the door swishing shut. He turned in his chair and stared out into space, watching the flickering of distant stars. He had always liked Anith– she’d made him a hell of a lot of money, at least. For a split second he doubted his decision, but then he laughed and shrugged off the thought. He was a business man, and this transaction would prove very profitable in the long run. No sense in being sentimental about it now.