I'm Going To Catch You

[Fireya Noir]

Bounty Contract: #B-287384 [Threat Level 2]
Name: Tjim Tjubb
Wanted for: Assault
Crime Level: Moderate
Bounty Issued by: Sullust Authorities
Last known Location: Sullust
Bounty status: Active
Wanted Dead/Alive/No Preference: Alive
Bounty: 5,000 credits

***

It wasn't the first time that Fireya journeyed to Sullust. She had come there in the past, especially when searching for some artifacts. She wasn't a big fan of underground cities, but the planet didn't give much other choice, due to the surface atmosphere. The hunter wasn't claustrophobic but she preferred being able to see the sky, when not aboard a ship or space station.

She had arrived on Sullust a couple of days earlier. She had discreetly met with the the authorities, so they could brief her about the target she was to grab. The information was scarce and she wasn't impressed at all. She had hoped to get something useful, but all they could tell her was that the Sullustean was on the world and should be in the Kriel underground city area.

Since then, the hunter had begun to explore the area. If she couldn't find her way around, it would be a mess. Once she'd get a feel and decent knowledge, she would be able to figure things out better and decide how to find a trail that'd take her to her target.

[Fireya Noir]

At least, her target had the good idea of having chosen a cosmopolitan playground for his assaults. For what the authorities had told her there was no real pattern about the crimes. Tjim Tjubb had attacked both fellow Sullusteans and off worlders. There had only been theft reported twice out of four cases officially related to him. Fireya couldn't help thinking that the guy might just be a psychopath. He hadn't attacked children so far, but this didn't mean this couldn't happen. She hoped he wouldn't.

She was glad for her experience in a vast range of environments and her good sense of orientation as the underground urbanism on Sullust wasn't much straightforward to navigate, especially for non Sullusteans. And their booze was the strong kind, which made her grateful for how well she held her liquor, as she could bet that hanging around a few taverns would help.

She didn't understand why the local authorities had sought outside assistance on this case. The Sullusteans weren't the most xenophobic race, but bringing in foreigners wasn't always such a smooth move. At least, she knew she could be a target, which might be how she'd end luring him out. Yet, she didn't know where exactly she might find him yet.

The crimes had been rather bloody, so she knew she was up against a dangerous foe and her survival and combat skills would probably be put to the test. This, combined with the lack of actual pattern or motives, was why she thought that the crimes had a psychopath aspect to them.

[Fireya Noir]

Fireya spent the next few days in the shadiest cantina and streets of the urban area. And people complained about Hutta, she mused. This place wasn't much better. There was no actual swamp but the underground city had places that were like damn sewers! She spent countless hours cleaning herself every time she went back to her hotel in the early mornings.

She had managed to find about one of her target's former employers who said that he had hired Tjim Tjubb to be a bouncer, but that the guy was too instable and had beaten up clients and let some crazies in the establishment.

Problem was that this last known job had been three months before, and that the trail went cold afterwards, save for when he had been caught on some old surveillance cameras on the first couple of attacks. The next ones had been linked to him because of the DNA.

This criminal was slippery, and even though he was rather messy and sloppy in his attacks, it still was hard to find him when Sullusteans didn't have much diversity in looks - at least to an outsider's eyes and knowledge, and that the place was crowded.

[Fireya Noir]

Growling in exasperation, the hunter poured herself another cup of caf, as she had been sitting on her hotel bed for the past hours, trying to make some sense of that hunt. She also grabbed another cookie to munch on.

It felt that she only hit dead ends, and she knew she was good at what she did. She had done this kind of jobs for years prior to joining the Hutt Cartel. Sighing, she went through the data she had gathered and added marks on the holo map she had been studying for the last while.

She had marked all the attacks' spots, as well as the last known job the target had had. She had hoped that it would give her ideas of areas to survey. So far, she had been unlucky with them all.

She was frustrated and she knew that it didn't help her get sharper. She decided to take a break and crack some working out in between. It'd be better than killing more cookies anyway.

As she went through some katas thirty minutes later, she started to feel a bit better. Ideas were still muddling in her mind, but little by little, she began to have a couple of new ideas.

Maybe one of them would bring positive results...

[Fireya Noir]

Fireya wondered how going on a contract with her wife would be. She liked the idea of them creating mayhem together, a whole lot at that. She hoped they got to do that a few times in the future. For the time being, she was exploring a new possible trail and she damn hoped that this was going to work this time! She didn't plan on sticking around longer than needed!

She had eventually found out in one of the sections of the area she hadn't explored yet that another assault had taken place. It had gone unreported because the person attacked wasn't living things on the legal side. Yet, a few drinks had got tongues to loosen. It had helped her get new information.

She had found out that some ruckus had been caused and that some people had tried to chase the criminal but to no avail. He had just vanished and she knew that he hadn't been seen in these blocks since then.

Based on everything she had learned so far, she knew where to go next.

[Fireya Noir]

Fireya spent the next couple of nights trying to find trouble,trying to get into it, if that was her option to get her hands on her target. She only saw a few brawls, but nothing that caught her attention, nothing that proved to be what she sought.

In the late hours of her second evening, when she thought that it would be another cold trail, she got lucky. In a dark alley, she heard screaming not afar. Without hesitation, the hunter ran into the direction of the sound.

She saw a Sullustean, matching the description of the one she was looking for. She had learned that when chased off, he had been heavily wounded at a thigh. And this one, trying to maim a poor victim, limped a lot.

She rushed to aid the stranger, which made the one she was after try to get away. Not taking time to speak to the woman she had saved, she rushed after Tjim Tjubb.

There was no way she'd let him get away now she had found him!

[Fireya Noir]

The good thing was that the Sullustean being wounded, couldn't outrun the hunter who was in good shape. The chase didn't last long, but as soon as she grabbed at the target, he produced a sharp blade and stabbed her.

Groaning, Fireya punched him, but the alien didn't want to give in easily. The fight was fiercer than she had expected. She knew the attacks had been bloody and messy but the victims had been taken by surprise and weren't so well fit for combat.

When she disarmed her enemy, he tried to bite her and she ended head butting him. The Sullustean was a strong individual and it didn't affect him so much. They continued to hit the living crap out of each other for a long while.

At some point, she threw him against a wall and heard some bones crack, much to her pleasure. She was going to get this scum right where he belong: in a bloody prison cell!

[Fireya Noir]

Fireya would have gladly ended him, but she had agreed to bring him back alive. She ended breaking a few of his bones, but nothing lethal. Once he was cuffed and knocked out, she realized that her bruises and scraps would only be tended to once she had taken the little scum bag to the authorities.

Wincing, she put the Sullustean over her shoulder and began to walk up to the point where she had parked a rental speeder. Having hoped that she would finally be on a useful trail, she had made sure to keep it not so far, but not too close, as not to raise any suspicions.

Her target began to groan and moan as she drove them to their destination. When he began to yelp and scream, she punched him back into unconsciousness. She had better things to do than listening to this dangerous idiot complaining!

[Fireya Noir]

The moment Fireya parked the rental speeder in front of the local authorities' building, she felt relieved. Grabbing at the whining Sullustean who was rambling nonsense, she dragged him up the stairs and stopped at the information desk.

"Evening, or morning... I'm the bounty hunter, Noir. I've caught your criminal, Tjim Tjubb." The other Sullustean, in uniform, called for some of his colleagues to come take the beaten man to an interview room and check his identity.

Fireya waited while they proceeded to this, wishing for a good bath or a cup of caf. She felt exhausted and was looking forward to patch herself up.

"All's good. Thank you, hunter. We've confirmed your actions to your employer." With this, Fireya took her leave and rushed back to her hotel, so she would be able to get some rest. The next morning would see her en route to Drifter's, to her wife.