She traveled along the base of the mountains looking for any kind of break in the steep rise. After several kilometers, she came across a stream flowing out of a small canyon. The stream had cut deeply into the bed and the banks were sheer on each side, dropping straight down almost two meters from the edge of the banks to the water's surface.The stream was wide, fast and violent. With a strenuous jump she might be able to make it across, but she was more concerned with the canyon. It's walls were sheer but it led up into the mountains. Tyr had seemed confident that the mountains somehow held the key to their escape, either in a cave or elsewhere, and she had no better plan.
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Nal Talla came across the stream less than ten minutes later. She nearly leaped across to continue on, but something made her pull up and look around. Had the Sith murderer jumped into the stream? The Nautolan female surveyed the swift and rocky stream. It would be certain suicide for anyone. They'd be bashed against the rocks and would have no way to climb out due to the sheer banks.
Nal began to panic, afraid she'd lose the trail. Refocusing, she sensed her quarry's presence somewhere up the canyon. She calmed down and a moment later she noticed a footprint heading in the same direction, confirming what she already knew.
She sprinted up the canyon as quickly as she could for nearly two kilometers when Nal noticed she was rapidly gaining on her prey. The Jedi could sense her prey standing still just up around the bend in the canyon so she slowed to a walk.
As she came around the corner she saw why the blond human had quit running. There in a clearing stood the Sith staring at the sheer wall which marked the end of the canyon. From a deep cut in the wall issued a twenty meter waterfall which landed in a deep pool almost twenty-five meters across. Just as the rest of the stream, the surface of the pool was nearly two meters straight down from the banks around.
Nal smiled. Now she would see justice done. Justice for her dear friend Nylan whom this monster had murdered and justice for the hundreds of innocents this Sith had injured and murdered before and since. The only escape was through the Jedi Knight and her blade.
The tell-tale snap-hiss wasn't audible over the roar of the waterfall and stream, but the Sith's head snapped around anyway. The blond girl slowly grinned and drew her own weapon, flicking the switch and igniting the crimson blade. "Just as well, Fishy. I was tired of running anyway."
"I will give you one chance to surrendah, Sith," Nal told her as she walked forward, closing the distance.
"A powerful Sith such as I would never surrender to a lesser being," Anya sneered.
"I was so hoping you'd say dat," the Jedi replied and launched herself forward into a run, her green blade arcing through the air.
Anya met the attack and the blades crackled as they clashed several times in quick succession. She spun to one side and made a clumsy swipe at the Nautolan's legs forcing the Jedi to leap into a back-flip. Deep down Anya could see the Jedi was a better swordswoman but her pride would never let her admit it. Taking advantage of her initial momentum and charged her opponent.
Nal had chosen to flip back out of range of the attack, rather than parry and thrust. The girl had left herself too wide open and the Jedi had assumed it must be a trap. She had time on her side and chose to play it safe, especially knowing how devious and cunning the Sith were. Chances were, the blond would continue to bait Nal by leaving herself open. The trick was going to be figuring deciding if it was a trap, or if it was to take advantage. Nal easily parried the incoming attack on her blade and tried a Force push, hoping the tactic would take the Sith off guard. She was shocked when it actually worked.
Anya flew backward several meters and slammed into the rock wall of the box canyon. She felt her breath leave her as she hit, but scrambled to her feet, struggling for breath. The Jedi bitch had hurt her, but she couldn't let on. The good thing was that it allowed her to slide her vibro-dagger from her boot and conceal it with the Dark Side.
The Jedi Knight was sure something was going on. She could feel the Sith Warrior channeling the Dark Side, permeating the area like a foul odor. The problem was Nal couldn't discern any changes other than the sudden sly grin which had appeared on the visage of her opponent.
Wary of the inevitable trick Nal circled to her left as did her enemy. Just as her back was to the pool below the waterfall, the Sith flicked her wrist. At first there was nothing but the triumphant gleam in the blond girl's eye. Suddenly Nal knew. She threw herself backward to avoid whatever object had been thrown and heard it pass mere centimeters from her head.
On the edge of the pool, the Jedi looked at the water below and flailed her arms as she struggled to keep her balance. Nal felt a hand on her chest and then she was falling. The last thing she saw as she hit the water was the hideous grin of that Sith standing on the bank, watching.
The water was icy cold as was to be expected from a mountain stream, but her amphibious physiology compensated. She struck out for the bank, but when she reached it, there were no hand-holds. She continued to swim along the edge, looking for hand-holds, anything to allow her to climb out. She couldn't drown as she could breath in the water as well as the air, but this water was colder than her body was used to. Eventually it would shut down. When it did, she'd either die of hypothermia, or her body would be swept downstream to be dashed to pieces on the rocks.
The laughter from above wasn't helping. "Oh, how ironic! The fishy is going to die in the water! Here fishy, fishy, fishy!"
Nal could feel her blood boiling. She dove deep down below the surface, partly to escape the taunting, but also to think. She was fast in the water, but not nearly fast enough to propel herself high enough to reach the edge of the bank. She could use the Force to shove off from the bottom, but the water was so deep that her momentum would be slowed by the time she reached the surface.
She looked down at her legs, wishing they could swim faster, when it dawned on her: Her prosthetic leg! They had installed a jet propulsion into the cybernetic limb, and she had only ever used it one time. It had been so long since she had been in any kind of deep water she had nearly forgotten about it.
She kicked it on with a thought and shot to the bottom of the pool, then shoved off, putting the water jet into high gear. She rocketed toward the surface and beyond. The shocked look on that girl's face was priceless as she watched the Nautolan Jedi soar overhead.
Nal flipped and landed in a crouch, re-igniting her lightsaber. It was her turn to grin sardonically. "And now you pay for your crimes wit your life, Sith."
The Jedi rushed at Anya, and it was all the Sith could do to block the incoming blows. She could feel the hate burning inside the Sith and she knew this was it. She also knew her only way out. "Yes!" She cried backpedaling, struggling to stay alive. "Use your hate and strike me down! We aren't so dissimilar, Jedi!"
"I'm nutting like you, Sith worm!" Nal screamed.
"Oh, but you could be a powerful Sith Lord!" Anya pleaded. "Feel how powerful your anger has made you! You could use that power to fight the injustice in the Galaxy... Please Jedi, forsake the Order and I will swear loyalty to you and be your apprentice! Together we could right the wrongs of the Galaxy!"
For a moment, Nal hesitated. The offer was tempting. But in the end, she decided that killing this Sith villain was enough. She thrust her blade at the face of her enemy. The parry came, and as expected it was sloppy. This time the look of fear in the face of the Sith told her it was no trick. She countered and cut the lightsaber hilt in two, removing the fingers from the right hand of the human at the same time.
Anya dropped to the ground, sobbing. "Please... you're a Jedi... you... you can't kill me when I'm unarmed."
Nal held the emerald blade inches from the vile Sith's neck. Her teeth were clenched in a snarl. "Go to Hell, bitch."
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