The morning was calm and clear on the dusty dunes of Tatooine. The frigid dessert air would soon become intolerably hot from the rays of the sun beating down on the unprotected sand, but for now, it was still very chill out.
Kylin Cezera sat and shivered in his tent, wondering what in the world he was doing out here. Sure, he knew the basic reason. His boss had sent him out to deliver a message to this Shadow guy who was working for them, but why was he really out here in this cold, miserable tent at this awful hour? Sometimes he honestly wondered why he didn't just leave the Motag gang and strike out on his own. He was a decent pilot after all, and he knew how to get by the New Republic's security. He could probably make a killing as a smuggler... Now if only it weren't for that damnable Smuggler's Alliance...
Kylin's musings were interrupted by the crunch of footsteps on the sand outside the tent. Reaching for the blaster slung at his hip, Kylin cautiously peered out... and found himself staring right into the business end of a very large, very mean looking weapon.
"Bang," said a soft, almost condescending voice, "you're dead."
Kylin sat there for a moment, frozen with shock. But then realization of what had just happened set in, and he straightened visibly. "How many times do I have to ask you not to do that?!?"
From under his black, wide-brimmed hat, the man known only as Shadow stared back at Kylin. "And how many times will I catch you off guard? One of these days, Kylin, it won't be me out there, and you really will be killed..."
Kylin sat back, relaxing as the tension flowed out of his muscles. "Just get in here, alright?"
Without another word, Shadow slipped quietly inside the tent and seated himself.
Looking at him, Kylin was reminded once more of exactly why this man was called Shadow. Dressed from head to toe in black, he was an imposing presence in that small tent. His wide-brimmed hat covered his chocolate-brown eyes and most of his nose, with the edge of the brim nearly meeting the black mask that Shadow apparently never took off. The mask covered from the bridge of his nose down to his chin, and wrapped itself under his jaw and around his neck. If anything about Shadow was constant, it was that mask... no one had ever seen him without it on.
Continuing his appraisal of Shadow, Kylin took in the large black trench coat that Shadow nearly always wore. Under the coat, a black, button-up shirt was visible, along with a small golden cross that hung from a golden chain about Shadow's neck. Kylin had never understood the significance of the cross, and wasn't really inclined to ask, either. Looking on, he noticed that Shadow was again wearing the loose-fitting black pants he always wore, and the black boots that seemed to never leave his feet. Even Shadow's hands were covered in black leather gloves.
"Are you gonna tell me why I'm here, or are you gonna sit there all day and stare at me?"
Kylin jerked as Shadow's words reached his ears. He hadn't realized he'd been staring. "N... no," he stammered, "I was just wondering how many outfits you have that are exactly like that one, because that's all I ever see you wear..."
"Hmmm... you know what I'm going to say, right Kylin?"
"Yeah, yeah... 'Information, sir, is not free. If you want to know, you'll have to meet my price...' Can't you ever say anything else?"
Shadow snorted. "What, and make people think I actually have a creative bone in my body? Come on, Kyl, you know that just isn't me."
"Right... Well, let's get down to business, shall we?"
"I thought you'd never ask," Shadow said.
"Here's the deal. A new group, the Goku clan, is trying to move in on Motag territory. Obviously, the boss isn't happy with this. We want you to go give the Goku's a little 'reminder' that they're playing with the big boys now."
"And what kind of 'reminder' are we talking about?"
"No assassinations, Shadow, don't worry. The boss knows how you feel about that. We'' like it though, if you could somehow manage to... 'dispose of' some of their vehicles, perhaps? Maybe drop in and scare them a little? You don't have to kill anyone, just frighten them a bit."
"I think I can handle that. What's the job pay?"
"The boss is willing to pay up to 15,000, depending on exactly how scared the Goku's are after you get finished."
"Right. Any special requests? Or can I do this my way?"
"Just make sure those Goku people know that we don't take kindly to folks movin' in on our territory, alright?"
Shadow nodded and slipped out of the tent without so much as another word. As his footsteps faded into the distance, Kylin breathed a sigh of relief. For all of Shadow's expertise, he still scared the living daylights out of Kylin... The air always seemed to get colder whenever Shadow was around... But maybe that was just his imagination. Anyway, the matter was out of his hands now, so he could go home and get some sleep.
Later that day, in the Mos Eisely Cantina, Jovar Neput, the leader of the Goku gang, sat and sipped his drink. Looking around the bar, he made eye contact with all three of his backup men. Whoever this "customer" was, Jovar was going to make sure he wasn't able to try anything funny. There had been a lot of threats on Jovar's life lately, and he was getting a little paranoid.
A trench-coated figure stepped into the Cantina, and things suddenly got quiet. Jovar looked up at the newcomer, wondering who exactly this was that could command so much respect from the patrons of the Cantina. As he looked though, he froze, because the figure was staring right back at him.
The figure moved toward Jovar's table purposefully, a sack in his right hand, and a data pad in his left. Saying nothing, the figure seated himself at Jovar's table and opened the sack, dumping the contents onto the table.
Jovar looked down and saw a small pile of parts and twisted, burned metal.
"What is the meaning of this," he blurted out, not realizing until it was too late the fear held in his voice... There was something about this figure...
By now, Jovar's men were already moving to cover the table... A few more minutes, and this joker across from him would be history.
Still saying nothing, the figure slid the data pad he had been carrying over to Jovar and stood up to leave.
Casting a glance at the figure, Jovar looked down at the data pad. A short message was displayed there.
It read, "You're swimming in dangerous waters, friend. Be mindful of the sea monsters..."
Looking up again suddenly, Jovar had time only to see the figure pass through the door on his way out. One of his men lay facedown on the floor in a puddle of his own blood.
As the conversation in the Cantina resumed, Jovar sat there in silent shock, not moving, not speaking... He had no idea what had just happened. He would learn later, however, that his gang's personal fleet of Swoops had just been destroyed, and that half the planet now knew what Jovar had not known. His gang was sitting right on top of Motag territory, and the Motag's weren't very happy. Which meant that Jovar was in a lot of trouble...
Swallowing, he stood and signaled to his men. It was time to get off of this dustball world anyway...
Much later, Kylin found himself again face to face with Shadow... only this time not nearly as close.
Staring at the monitor, he tapped a few keys and said, "Alright, Shadow, the money has been transferred to your account line. But are you sure you have to leave?"
The image on the monitor blinked once, and nodded. "This world is starting to bore me. I need to see what's out there, Kyl. I can't spend all my time on Tatooine, you know."
Kylin nodded soberly. "I know what you mean, Shadow. Well... we'll miss you down here. Take care of yourself, bud."
"You too, Kyl. And hey, if you ever wanna get off of Tatooine, you know who to call. I can always use another pilot. I get tired of it sometimes, you know," so saying, Shadow cut the transmission.
Kylin sat back in his chair, mixed emotions running through him. On the one hand, he would never have to worry about Shadow spooking him anymore. But on the other, it was suddenly going to be much harder to get the jobs his boss needed done completed. Shadow had been their best contract mercenary, after all. Shaking his head, Kylin got up to go tell his boss the bad news.
Shadow jerked awake as alarms began to go off in the cockpit of his ship. Looking around, he found that the mottled star lines of hyperspace had been replaced with the tiny dots of the stars of realspace, and that he now hung over a large, green planetoid.
"Wonder what's wrong with this hunka' junk now...," he muttered. Walking into the back of the freighter, he quietly looked through all the leads, wires, and cables. In a matter of moments, he'd found the problem.
"Knew I should've got that thing replaced..."
Walking back to his cockpit, Shadow pulled up his star map.
"Well, guess I'm not going anywhere for a while with a busted hyperdrive motivator... May as well find out where I am."
Calling up his current location, Shadow looked down again at the green ball that rotated slowly beneath him.
"Yavin 4, eh? Just my luck, a New Republic joint... Oh well, I'm not gonna get anywhere else anytime soon..."
Keying for a landing cycle, Shadow began his descent to the moon below, and hoped that the people there would be understanding enough not to arrest him right away... After all, everyone knew the New Republic was death on mercenaries and their ilk...
Taking a deep breath, Shadow decided he'd deal with that problem when he came to it. For now, he had a landing to worry about...