| The Most Ultimate Hunt - ARCH Zedder Molare
"Off to the right," said Whittleston. "It's said there's an awefully large complex there, but it's a mystery--"
"Who does it belong to?" Rellick asked.
"It's not on any of the old charts, but I've heard it called Ship-Trap Island in the past," Whittleston replied. "I don't think it's much of an island, and it's probably just superstition that fuels its dread."
"I can't see it," Rellick complained as he squinted in an effort to spot the mysterious island. Not even a pair of macrobinoculars helped see through the dense condensation.
"You may have good eyes, my friend, but not even you can see through the fog of Ravouin." Whittleston sighed and stood from his chair. "I hope the long-range rifles have come from Corellia; we should have some good hunting if we can find ourselves a nest of gundars."
"Best sport in the universe."
"For the hunter," added Whittleston. "Not for the gundark."
"Oh buzz off, Whittleston, who cares what the gundark thinks? Don't philosophize the game of hunting."
"Hmm, well I'm going to turn in for the night. We should be passing this area soon, though not soon enough for me. Did you notice the crew seem a little jittery?"
"Yes, but I'm sure it's nothing more than superstition. At any rate I'm going to stay up a while and have another drink. Good night, Whittleston."
"Good night, Rellick." Whittleston left the main deck of the hovercraft, feeling a strange chill on the back of his neck. Superstition it may be, but it had a way of tainting an entire boat.
As Rellick sat on the deck, he could hear nothing save for the low hum of the repulsorlifts on the bottom of the boat. He was about to drift off to sleep, when an abrupt sound startled him. He knew the sound well, and his instincts were confirmed when he heard it another two times: someone was firing a gun, three times.
Rellick rushed to the railing of the boat, in an effort to determine where the sound was coming from. He quickly lost his balance and fell into the Ravouin sea; his cries were drowned out by the now overpowering noise of the repulsorlifts, and he was sure he was lost to the hovercraft forever.
He heard another shot as he swam slowly toward the direction of the original noises; at the same time he heard a terrible scream, but did not even try to identify it. He knew he heard that sound before, but now was not the time to place it. He continued swimming and eventually grabbed hold of a sleek platform and pulled himself up. He immediately passed out, lying flat on his back, staring up at the moonless sky.
* * *
Rellick awoke to a bright and sunny day - something very unusual this far out to see on Ravouin. Still, the bit of rest he got refreshed him after the long swim, and now he felt hungry. As he climbed to his feet, Rellick realized he was standing on what was probably the "Ship-Trap Island".
It was absolutely amazing; the whole "island" was artificial, not really an island at all. It was more of a floating fortress at sea, and rose above the sea level by at least three levels. The fortress became slightly smaller and narrower at the top, with the bottom being the largest.
Rellick decided that there was obviously someone living here, and that meant he should be able to find food. He quickly made his way across a thin platform from his original position - likely a landing pad, Rellick figured - and began his search for the main entrance.
He found it, and was slightly disappointed to find such a non-descript door. He pressed a button at the side, hoping it was a doorbell; he could hear footsteps on the inside, but the door did not open. He pressed the button again, and this time the door slid open in one smooth motion. Standing before him was a lumbering droid, a small blaster pistol pointed right at him.
"Whoa, whoa, no need to be violent!" Rellick pleaded nervously. "I don't mean any harm, I'm Sedrious Rellick of Coruscant."
The droid, a heavily modified assassin model, did not move. A light blinked at the top of its head, but no more.
"I'm Sedrious Rellick of Coruscant, please, I just want some food and shelter. I've had a long journey!"
The droid raised the arm that was holding the pistol, and stepped to the side to reveal a tall, well-built human. He smiled, and extended his hand to Rellick.
"Sedrious Rellick, famous con artist and wanted across the galaxy for various thefts - dead or alive, on many contracts if I recall correctly." The man smiled again, with what Rellick interpreted as a wash of evil. "What an honour it is to welcome you to my estate."
Rellick shook the man's hand, though was still uneasy.
"You are no doubt wondering how I know of you." The man smiled again, and gestured for Rellick to enter. "I have access to an extensive intelligence network, as well as contract postings made to the Bounty Hunters Guild. I am Arch-Duke Zedder Molare."
Rellick immediately tried to make a run for the door, but found it was already closed - and the droid was blocking the controls.
"Oh don't worry, I'm quite retired now; I no longer collect bounties. I just like to keep up to date on these things, you know?"
"Th-that's a relief to hear, Arch-Duke. Listen, can I just get something to eat? I'm really hungry."
"Of course; I was about to eat, but I have plenty of food and room at the table. JT-34 will show you to some guest quarters, and give you some warm clothes to wear." Zedder saw Rellick's apprehensiveness, and gave him a warm, welcoming smile. "Don't worry, Mr. Rellick, you are my guest here. I won't allow anything unsavoury to happen to you while you are under my charge."
* * *
The dining hall was, to say the least, palatial. Rellick was finding himself more and more at ease as a visitor in Molare's estate, though that was partly because he was no longer wearing cold, damp clothing. As a side bonus, he was being fed.
"So, Arch-Duke, you're a retired hunter? How is that working out for you?" Rellick inquired.
"Very well, actually; my cash stream has barely dropped off, and as you can see, I live comfortably." Zedder took a small sip from his bowl of soup. "Unfortunately, sometimes retirement leaves me with a little too much solitude."
"I can see how that might happen, I mean you're basically living in the middle of nowhere."
"True, but it is a beautiful middle of nowhere." Zedder smiled again, and leaned back in his chair. "You know, it seems like a waste of food, but I'm pretty well done eating. Would you care to join me on a brief tour of the estate?"
"Sure, why not?" Rellick pulled out his chair and followed Zedder to the nearby elevator. "How big is this place, anyway?"
"5 levels, three of them are above sea-level and two are below. It's quite a fantastic place, actually, and because of the location I paid next to nothing for it."
"Ah, the secret comes out at last." Rellick chuckled and began to feel even more at ease with the retired hunter.
"Ah, let's start with level five, shall we?" Zedder punched the button for level 5, and with a slight jolt, the elevator took them up. "Level 5 is usually restricted to visitors, but I'm feeling generous today. You see, it is my private residence. We will only see the observation lounge and the computer room, but that is more than most people ever see up here."
The elevator stopped with a gentle bump, and opened up to a beautiful lounge. There was a large dome at the top that let the sun pour through - when it peeked through the Ravouin storms - and comfortable lounge chairs dotted throughout the area. Rellick couldn't help but notice, though, that the dome was slowly being covered with water.
"Another storm hitting your estate?" Rellick asked curiously.
"Hmm? Oh, no, my engineers are just submerging the estate. You arrived at the right time, actually. A few hours late and there would have been nothing to grab hold of." Zedder gestured toward the dome as the last few drops of sunlight were blurred by the cover of water. "At the moment there is no way in or out of the estate - that is, except through the two hangars, but that requires my personal authorization.
"Come, let me show you my private computing area. It's really quite fascinating."
Rellick was now nervous again, and he didn't dare ask at this point why the estate was being submerged. He just hoped that it was a routine excersize to ensure emergency functions were working properly.
"From here, I can watch everything my control room monitors. For security reasons I can't actually operate the control room from up here, but I can freely communicate with my engineering crew. Here, watch."
Zedder grabbed hold of a small communicator, and waited until his engineering team responded.
"Engineer Beta-One. Your orders, sir?"
"I want you to switch off all cameras and monitors in the estate for three hours. Make sure to put a time lock, and lock out my codes as well. For three hours."
"Done, sir." The comlink and computer simultaneously beeped, and the monitor shut itself off.
"As you can see Rellick, I can't even operate my own computer screen for the next three hours." Zedder tried unsuccessfully to break the lock-down, for Rellick's benefit.
"I don't understand..." Rellick was now feeling very nervous.
"I told you that I no longer collect bounties, Rellick. That prospect has long since bored me. I keep up to date on current contracts for a reason, though." At this, Molare smiled. "I have absolutely no problem with hunting and killing bounties within the walls of my own estate. Here, take this vibro-blade; you have an hour head start to lose yourself within any level of my estate, save this one. After that I will start hunting you.
"If I cannot find you when the monitors reactivate, you may leave with your life. I must tell you though that no one has won this little game of mine." Zedder winked, and handed Rellick a long hunting blade. "Now run - all the droids have been deactivated as well."
* * *
"This is crazy!" Rellick told himself. He found himself now on the fourth level - what looked like a training complex. He was supposed to evade a bounty hunter, to save his own life! Ridiculous.
He already found himself a hiding place, and made a little trap; if Zedder followed Rellick on a certain catwalk, it would hopefully fall and delay him a little. But retired or not, Zedder was certainly not an old hunter...
And then, Rellick heard the sound he dreaded. The elevator door hissed open, and Zedder stepped out onto the metal deck with a clang from his plastoid armour boots. An extra *ching* sounded from the spurs he had fixed to the back of the boots.
"Hello, Rellick. You've managed to evade me in my own estate for two hours now. It's the final hour, and you've played the game well." Zedder pulled his blaster from his holster, and fingered the trigger lightly. "But now I've found you, and - oh, there you are, ready as ever, eh?"
Zedder climbed up the catwalk and ran toward Rellick, but fell hard to the ground when a section of the catwalk gave way underneath his full weight. Grimacing, Zedder lifted himself from the ground; a sharp pain in his shoulder stopped him. Rellick had thrown his blade right in between two plates of armour.
"Nice throw, Rellick, but now you've given away both your position and your weapon. Time to end this."
Zedder tossed his blaster into his good arm and took aim at Rellick's position - at least, where the blade came from. He fired three shots, and heard a thud as Rellick fell to the ground. Zedder hurried over to where Rellick fell, and looked over at him.
"Looks like I win again, though you did put up a good fight. You know what, Sedrious? This form of hunting - it sure beats making money for it. This is truly the ultimate hunt."
Zedder aimed his gun at Rellick's head, and pulled the trigger. Rellick's writhing and moaning stopped, and his body fell limp; Zedder pulled out his communicator.
"Cleanup droids, come to level four. I have another body to dispose of."
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