Mission 2: Omega Ice (2)

Iceman could barely contain his worry about the Chadra-Fan escaping. When they reached the back exit of the cantina, he frantically looked around.

Omege Sentinel followed him out unperturbed by the situation. Iceman looked at her after a moment.

"Do you know where it went?" He asked.

"Of course," she responded.

"Are you going to tell me?" 

"Only if it compromises the mission," she responded.

"That means I still haven't lost it, but how do I find it? It already has a headstart on us," he said while Omega Sentinel shrugged her shoulders. 

Calming down, he thought about a trick he learned but never had a chance to try it out. He felt the air and sensed the changes between heat and cold. Sensing the differences in the environment, he lowered the area temperature a little. 

The armor's H.U.D.s display heat spots, and one spot looked more like a trail. He could use this method to track his quarry. If he didn't have the armor on, he could do the same thing and feel the direction, however, he was in Bounty Hunter mode. Still, it worked and he could follow the fleeing Chardra-Fan.

"I found his trail. Follow me," Iceman told Omega Sentinel. She followed behind with a small smile on her face. 

As he followed the trail he went from running to walking. He realized that he should follow at a slower pace. If he suddenly caught up, he might not figure out where the creature was heading. That information might be important to the mission.

The air's temperature lowered about twenty feet ahead. The longer Iceman used this trick, the better he got at it. This was a good opportunity to master his technique. It was a warm evening, lowering the temperature just a little yielded good results. 

He adjusted the heat level and lowered the temperature less and less. He found a temperature that worked well. The trail was clear, but people were less likely to notice. 

Omega Sentinel followed at Iceman's pace. 

Tracking the Chadra-Fan for a little more than forty minutes led to a small junkyard. The machines were working in the back stripped metal from droids, speeders, and anything else was fed into a crusher. Other parts and electronics were organized for resale. Nearly a dozen droids were working in the back. 

Iceman walked through the front door of the junkyard ready to find his missing Chadra-Fan, but was stumped. He didn't find a Chadra-Fan, but several Chadra-Fans. He tried to scratch his head but stopped.

Flustered, he looked back at Omega Sentinel who once again shrugged her shoulders. There was too much heat and too many people for his last trick to work. 

This time, he examined the Chadra-Fans in their beady little eyes. They returned a dead-eye stare. Iceman used his gear to scan the area when he noticed an additional life sign upstairs. His H.U.D.s scan returned a three-dimensional X-ray version of the building. The extra life sign was a Chadra-Fan trying to sneak out a window. Without hesitating, he ran up the stairs and froze the creature's leg to the window. It lost its balance and fell. A crack came from the beast's leg. 

It cried out in pain as its body dangled upside down. Iceman grabbed the creature and unfroze its leg bringing it back in. He pulled out cuffs and cuffed the creature's hand, and then a purple ray from his hand healed its leg. 

Finished healing, Iceman grabbed it by the scruff of its neck and brought it downstairs to Omega Sentinel who was patiently waiting. 

He tossed the Chadra-Fan onto the ground, "Where is Ram Nohorn?" The icey electric voice asked the creature. Its response was to shrug like it didn't know what he was talking about. 

"You escaped from the cantina when I questioned the Dug about Ram Nohorn, now you're going to pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about?" Iceman said in an angry growl.

"It doesn't know anything about Ram Nohorn," Omega Sentinel replied with a flat tone. 

"What do you mean? You told me the Chadra-Fan escaped while I was questioning the Dug. How can it not know anything now?" 

"I said a Chadra-Fan slipped away, but this isn't the same Chadra-Fan," Omega Sentinel said.

Iceman's eyes grew big, although he was wearing the helmet and no one could see his expression. However, everyone could read his body language, which read "surprised." 

Omega Sentinel pointed at another Chadra-Fan who stood toward the back of the group, "That's your suspect." The new Chadra-Fan made a run for it, but Iceman blasted him with a freeze ray rooting him to the ground. 

"This is such an annoying night," Iceman said.

"Yeah, watching you blunder your way through is getting on my nerves," Omega Sentinel said.