Chapter 32: When the Relic’s away, The Zenna will play.

Zenna's POV. (This chapter takes place at the same time as Chapter 31)

The sweet scent of candied mynock wings still lingered around me as I stepped out into Ares II's neon-lit night, the crinkle of the bag a comforting sound. But it was the taste of victory that had me grinning. 'Another successful mission to my favorite covert sugar stash.' I grinned with the same delight I had when I was a child at the candied wings.

"Come on, this blasted thing is glitching again," grumbled a voice, armored in frustration and blue painted Beskar steel.

'A mandalorian on Ares II?'

"Hit it harder; maybe that'll fix it," retorted his companion, a red Mandalorian woman.

'Two Mandalorians?' I thought to myself as they continued to bicker, slightly out of my hearing.

"We've .... location…. …. Relic."

My smile froze, the sugary high crashing as my ears snagged on a name whispered between them. A name that set my heart ablaze with reckless desire. "Darth Relic," they muttered, and my grip slackened, sending my spoils tumbling to the ground, forgotten.

I edged closer, each step light as a shadow's whisper, my pulse pounding a frantic rhythm. These tin cans didn't know who they were dealing with. Their idle chatter was about to spill secrets meant for my ears only.

"Think it really was him?" Blue asked, skepticism dripping from every syllable.

"Who else would parade around Ares II on the frekking rooftops.?" Red countered, her tone sharp as the edge of a vibroblade.

My eyes sparkled, imagination painting vivid strokes of Darth Relic, my dark enigma, jumping on the roof tops to spy on me. I needed to hear more, to close the distance and drink in every last detail. Because whatever these two clowns had stumbled upon, it was meant for me. It was a sign, another step closer to the man who haunted my dreams and fueled my deepest yearnings.

Determined, I crept forward, the darkness my ally as I prepared to unravel the tantalizing mystery wrapped in beskar and intrigue.

Slipping between the shadows, I inched nearer to the pair of Mandalorians, my heart pounding like a drum in the silent night. My eyes narrowed as they casually inspected their weapons, a pair of slug throwers, relics in their own right. The red-armored girl cradled hers with practiced ease, a sniper model that could punch holes through armor and flesh without a flicker of plasma.

"Kriff," I muttered under my breath. Those weren't the kind of guns you brought to a blaster fight. They were the kind that made sure your target didn't get back up. And the worst part? Not even the elegant dance of a lightsaber's blade could stop those cold, merciless slugs. They don't bounce back at the sender. They just become molten metal when you block them with a lightsaber. 'Father taught me to stay away from them or quickly disable them.'

I clung to the shadows, watching intently as they secured their deadly instruments and turned toward their speeder. It was now or never. With a hushed breath, I surged forward, slipping into the concealment of their transport's rear compartment just as the engines roared to life. They were oblivious to the extra passenger clinging to their vessel, focused solely on their mission.

Their voices carried over the whine of the engines, loud enough for me to catch every word despite the wind whipping past us. "One of the probe droids picked up Relic's trail," Blue barked, his voice tinged with excitement. "He's on the move, running from something."

'Running?' I scoffed silently, a smirk curling my lips. 'Darth Relic didn't run. He advanced in a different direction. Whatever chased him would soon learn the folly of their pursuit.'

The cityscape blurred beneath us as we soared higher, neon signs and holo-ads melting into streaks of vibrant light. But I barely noticed the view. My thoughts were consumed by visions of Relic, the enigmatic dark warrior whose name alone set my blood aflame. What had he discovered this time? What grand chaos had he sown to send these bucket heads scrambling after him?

"Stay sharp," Red warned her companion, the sniper rifle now an extension of her deadly intent. "We've got one shot at this." The speeder came to a halt extremely high up in the city.

'One shot that would never reach its mark, not if I had anything to say about it.' I tightened my grip on the speeder, a predatory grin spreading across my face. They might have their sights set on Relic, but they'd soon find themselves in the crosshairs of something far more dangerous. A woman scorned, armed with passion and the power of the dark side.

The speeder hummed a low thrum that vibrated through my bones as we hovered over Ares II's glittering sprawl. Below, the city was alive with light and motion, but above, in this stolen perch, there was a stillness that echoed in my chest.

"Best way to kill 'em is from a distance," the woman in red armor muttered, her voice barely a ripple in the hush around us. "Jedi, Sith... doesn't matter. They don't see it coming."

"Especially when they're distracted," Blue chuckled, a sound devoid of humor. "Like fish in a barrel."

I clenched my jaw, heat curling in my stomach, not from fear, but from the thrill of what was about to unfold. My fingers twitched at my side, itching for the feel of my weapon, the promise of retribution. They thought themselves hunters, but they had yet to realize they were prey.

Red shifted, her movements precise and practiced as she cradled the sniper like a lover. Her visor scanning the horizon, seeking the chaos that was my beloved's battlefield, over a mile away, yet under her watchful eye, it may as well have been inches.

I could barely contain the roiling mixture of excitement and fury that surged through me when I heard Red's voice cut through the cool night air, "Darth Relic is engaged with a Jedi." The revelation sent a jolt of adrenaline pumping through my veins. Excitement at the thought of my darling Darth Relic in his element, locked in a dance of death and power, was quickly doused by the flicker of anger toward these armored fools who dared to target him.

"Idiots," I muttered under my breath, my grip tightening on the cold metal railing behind which I had been crouched. The red-armored sniper was positioning herself to take the shot that could end everything I held dear.

"Gotcha," she whispered, a predator's purr. The scope of her rifle aligned with something unseen to me in the distance, something precious. To her, a target; to me, everything.

My breath hitched, and a silent gasp was lost in the night. This was the moment between heartbeats, the razor's edge where futures were decided. I felt it all, the weight of my lineage, the pull of my dark desires, coiling tight around the hilt of my saber.

And as Red's finger tensed on the trigger, ready to steal the life of the one I yearned for with a passion that consumed my every waking thought, I knew my time had come.

'No more watching. No more waiting. It was time to act.'

With the stealth of a shadow and the swiftness of a striking viper, I launched myself from my covert perch atop the speeder. My boots hit the sleek surface of the vehicle, which was eerily suspended amidst the glow of Ares II's nocturnal cityscape. Time seemed to slow as I focused on my singular objective.

In one fluid motion, I drew my saber, igniting the crimson blade that hummed with a promise of destruction. It sliced through the air, severing the sniper rifle in two. Its halves clattered uselessly against the speeder's hull.

"KRIFF!" Red's startled curse was music to my ears.

The blue-armored Mandalorian spun, his own slug thrower raised in a reflexive but futile attempt to halt my onslaught. He fired in desperation. But I was already in motion, darting aside with preternatural agility, the shot whizzing past where I'd been mere moments before.

"Too slow," I sneered, the thrill of battle rising within me like a storm. There was no room for error, not with my heart's desire on the line. And these Mandalorians? They were just another obstacle to be swept aside in the relentless pursuit of my passion.

I swung my saber at the blue Mandalorian's torso, right above his belt to avoid any of that cowardly Beskar. His body flew in two different directions as his upper half leaked entrails. A twisted smile dawned on my lips as I watched both halves fall back into the stilled speeder. His last breath was a mere memory in the chill night air. I could almost taste the tang of victory as my saber's glow reflected in his visor. There was no time to savor it, not even a heartbeat.

"Karking Sith!" The red-armored woman's curse was a guttural growl, her hands slamming into the controls with a warrior's rage. The speeder bucked wildly beneath me as she hit the thrust, a desperate bid to dislodge me. I felt my balance give, the world tilting precariously, and then I was airborne, falling.

My heart hammered against my chest, a drumbeat out of sync with the freefall. Panic clawed at me, cold and unbidden, yet I forced it down, smothering it into the power of the dark side that surged through my veins. I stretched out my arms, envisioning the invisible tendrils that could catch me, slow me, save me.

Below, the Mandalorian's torso made its own descent. A gruesome comet hurtling towards the unforgiving ground of Ares II. His armor, once a symbol of strength, now a coffin for the fragmented remains within. Impact was inevitable, and when it came, it was an explosion of gore, a morbid display, painting the street in shades of vermillion and darkness.

I closed my eyes, just for an instant, focusing every fiber of my being on the force. It twisted to my will, decelerating my fall, transforming what would have been a deadly plummet into a controlled descent. My feet touched down with a grace that contrasted with the chaos of moments before. I stood amidst the carnage, a lone figure cloaked in the night's embrace.

"I hope I can see darling soon to tell him how I saved him from those awful assassins." My face reddened at the thought of seeing Darth Relic soon.

"Wait, what's that?" The world around me shrinks to a pinpoint, my focus narrowing with predatory intensity on the gleaming data pad lying innocently beside the Mandalorian's ruined torso.

'It is by the hand of fate for this data pad to have survived that fall.'

My eyes become glitter in excitement. With every beat of my heart, I can feel the force beating through my veins, a relentless drum driving me forward.

"Finally," I whisper, a surge of elation washing over me as I lunge for the device. My fingers clasp around it, and I clutch it to my chest as if it were the most treasured holocron in the galaxy. My pulse hammers in my ears, drowning out the sounds of people screaming at the site of a bloodied Mandalorian that began to wail around me.

I flip the pad on, its screen bathing my face in a pale blue light. My eyes devour the words, scrolling hungrily through page after page of intelligence on Darth Relic. Each line is a revelation, a piece of the puzzle that is my obsession, my future husband, my forbidden desire.

"Gotcha!" I breathe out, my voice a mix of triumph and fervent anticipation. My eyes dart over every last inch of the screen as if I were my brother all in on one of his gross porn benders.

"Hmm… His ship is named the Sleepy Cosby? Seems to be docked here, too. My name is mentioned, but nothing about his undying love for me. This file must be out of date then? Now that I know where his ship is, I can easily track him." I laugh.

"Your days of running are over, my love," I say to the absent figure of Darth Relic, the words an intimate vow. "I'm coming for you." My chuckle is soft, almost tender, but beneath it lies a Frik resolve. Nothing will keep me from him now, not when destiny itself seems to be guiding my hand.

Cradling the datapad close, I step back into the shadows, disappearing from sight. The hunt is on.