A Priceless Bounty | Anakin Skywalker

Chapter One | Adea

I got to Geonosis before Republic forces even thought about landing. I scoped out the place, trying to find somewhere the Jedi would search. I stumbled upon an abandoned factory warehouse. It seemed like the perfect place to hide out. My holoprojector beeped at me, so I turned it on, a friend of mine coming up.

"Chhaya, I have a bounty for you." He said.

"I'm busy, Harg. I'm on a personal mission right now."

"Still running around chasing Skywalker?"

"You know it." I smiled.

"This is like the sixth time I've called with a bounty just for you to be chasing him. Are you ever going to kill him?" He laughed.

"Hopefully today is my lucky day." I heard noises around the ridge. "I have to go."

I found a room with lofted ceilings that I could climb up and hide in, staking my place until the Jedi came to find me.

"How wonderful of you to finally join me..." My voice echoed in the shadows. I was perched high above the Jedi, just waiting for him to walk into my trap.

He came alone, making him much easier to deal with. This wasn't the first time I had been sent to kill Anakin Skywalker, but hopefully it would be my last. I watched as he stepped forward into a ray of light from a window in the abandoned warehouse I led him to.

"I thought we already went through this last week. Did you miss me that bad?" He sounded arrogant, not to my surprise.

"Oh, I missed you soooo much." I jumped straight down, landing behind him. He turned around and made eye contact with me, smiling seductively.

"Did you bring a blaster this time or did you want to do this hand to hand?" He smirked, running his fingers through his blond hair.

"You know I wouldn't turn down an opportunity to put my hands on you." My statement made him laugh as he eyed me up and down. He acted as though he wanted to take me up on a different offer.

"If I didn't already know you were here to kill me, I would think you were flirting." We walked in a circle, our gazes steady on each other.

"Yeah, well usually I don't fuck my targets." I dove towards him, swinging my foot under to trip him. He fell forward, catching himself before he hit the ground. "Besides, aren't you still banging that senator?"

"We broke up. She didn't like the way I talked to one of her little senate friends."

"Oh, so you're single?"

"I thought you said you didn't fuck your targets?"

"I'd make an exception for you." I sighed.

"So you think I'm pretty?" He smirked at me, his body language easing up.

"Soooo pretty." I moaned back at him.

We paced around each other, trying to figure out our next moves. He had yet to pull his lightsaber out, which almost made me question if he thought I was a formidable opponent.

I held a short blade in my hand, lunging at him with it. He dodged, grabbing me by the wrist. I used the momentum to slide under between his legs, skidding towards the wall before nearly slamming into it.

"You're going to have to do better than that, baby." He teased.

"Don't piss me off." I snarled. I ran at him and jumped as high as I could. I flipped over his shoulder, unsheathing a second blade and slicing his bicep in the process. He winced, grabbing his arm, judging the bleeding.

"I see we're done playing nice."

"I'll kill you, Skywalker."

"I've heard that before. From you, actually." He laughed. I ran at him, letting out a growl. He grabbed one of my arms, swinging me around before throwing me against a pillar. "It's been months. Just give it up already."

"Not until I bring your head to the Confederacy on a stick." I growled.

"Are you Dooku's new apprentice? Did he finally kick Ventress to the curb? He's going to be so disappointed in you."

"I'm nobody's apprentice. I work for myself." I wiped blood from my nose, standing up. I ran at him again, only to find myself being force-pushed into the wall. My back hit the bricks and I felt all the air get knocked out of my lungs.

"But you're here doing the Separatists' dirty work? Couldn't they send someone more qualified?" I glared at him, scoffing.

I was barely able to move, but I used what energy I had left to jump, landing right behind him, cutting him along the side of his cheek with my blade.

He grabbed my arm and rolled my body over his back, before igniting his lightsaber. He held my arms down with his, squeezing me in a backwards hug. He used his free hand to hold his saber to my throat. My eyes shifted to the right to see him staring down at me, almost longingly. I could feel his heartbeat pounding against my shoulder blade, his breath heavy.

"Just kill me already." His blue lightsaber illuminated the tears that began streaming down my face. I waited for him to finally put me out of my misery, but he chose not to.

"And take out my favorite assassin? What fun would that be?" He whispered in my ear. He extinguished his lightsaber, letting me fall to my knees in front of him. "Run, before my backup gets here."

"You're...letting me go? Again?" I wiped my tears, looking back at him with an angry expression. "Why do you keep doing that?"

"I want to see you again. Hopefully whoever hired you doesn't have your head chopped off before it happens."

"Well stop fucking doing that."

"You need the practice."

"Go fuck yourself." I snapped back at him.

"You better start running."

This was the fifth or sixth time Skywalker had let me walk away from my attempts on his life, giving me the same exact reason every time.

I didn't bother to stay for his friends to arrive, bolting out of the building into the nearby forest, where my ship was docked. I went straight up the ramp and started the engines. I looked down as I took off, seeing the Jedi standing below, watching me leave. I clicked on my ship's comms to see Count Dooku staring back at me.

"Well? Were you successful?"

"His clones showed up. I ran. I didn't want to risk the Republic catching me. I'm sorry I failed you, Father." I said with tears in my eyes. "I know I said he'd be dead by now but he's stronger than my usual targets. He's got better training, better weapons."

"I know you may not feel like it, Adea, but you don't have to prove anything for me to love you, my child. You don't have to live the life of an assassin. You can come home to Serenno and I will love you the same."

"You know I can't do that."

"I will meet you on the ship and we can discuss our next moves then. You might just need more training, Daughter."

"Yes, Father."