Callista sighed, depressed.

Why did I even bother to come here?

She thought deeply as she looked down at her feet. She did not have to think long. She knew what had made her come to Verkuyl. Something in the force had told her to come here, but she did not know why, that still remained a mystery to her. She did not understand why the force had directed her here, just that she needed to be here.

"Why?"She asked softly as she lifted her head to look up at the sky, which was the bluest of blue.

Being here only made her sad, even though she had mostly happy memories, especially here, underneath the tree.

Daniel? Does this have something to do with Daniel? Is that it?

She let a large breath of fresh air escape her lips, in turn, brushing away, for a split second, a piece of her smoky brown hair that had fallen near her left eye. The lock of hair, soon after, found its place back over her left eye once again, but Callsita didn't care to remove it.

Ugh! Sometimes the force does me more harm than good! I've been here for over an hour now, and nothing!

She tapped her left foot rapidly against the ground, a little annoyed with herself and the force. Her left hand set against her hip as she tapped her foot, her eyes narrowed inward, thinking hard.

Frell! Give me a sign! Anything! Please!

"Frell! Give me a sign! Anything! Please!"

The message flashed through Daniel's head, barely even giving him time enough to think, let alone decipher it. All he knew for sure was of the voice, it was no mistaking it, it was Callista's. Daniel stood for a moment wondering what she could have meant. What did she need a sign for? Could she be hurt? Could she maybe be in trouble? No, Daniel was already sure of the last one, mainly cause he was the Trouble. He had already decided long ago that he would always do his job, no matter what, and he would continue living that way till the day he died.

"Callista, if only you could see me now, going to our special spot, only to pray to the Gods before I am forced to kill you... What have I become..."

Daniel knew the answer, but it was not one he liked. He had become no more then a Mercenary, a hired hand when someone wanted someone dead; bad. He was special though, the Company only hired him when they wanted special people taken care of, Force Users... Daniel had spent his life killing Sith and Jedi alike, bot because he had problems with them, but because he was being payed to. That's where Callista fit in, somehow she made someone somewhere very angry at her, angry enough they wanted her dead, and Daniel was just the man to do it. They knew nothing about his past and neither did they care, to them he was a mindless drone only good for the killing. But even as Daniel came upon the grove him and Callista once called their "Home away from Home" he could feel the seeds of doubt being planted in his mind....



Daniel's ears perked up at the sound of what seemed to be a tapping foot. Quickly he scanned the area but found no one, as he thought he wouldn't. A normal person would think they where going mad at a time like this but Daniel knew he wasn't. The company had augmented his body to become a proficient killer; sight, sound, strength, speed, all where enhanced when he joined up. He always found it amusing though, those he hunted had the Force, all he had where a few NanoMachines in his body. He knew that the sound he was hearing was coming from over a small ridge, near the tree if he wasn't mistaken. He didn't know who or what was making the sound though, so he would have to be cautious. Slowly he crept up over the ridge and looked out past it, he could see a figure standing all alone, from what he could see the form seemed to be female...

"Better make sure of this, rather safe then sorry..."

Leaning over for a moment Daniel opened up his briefcase once again and removed the Sniper Rifle inside, it took only a few seconds for him to assemble it and get in range. He had made sure not to load the rifle yet, last thing he wanted was to let instinct kick in and kill an innocent person. Besides, he had only brought one bullet with him, after all he never missed. Looking in through the scope he could see the woman better now, and was at least able to confirm it was a woman. She stood alone in the grove tapping her foot and laying one hand on her waist. It wouldn't take a genius to realize this woman was annoyed at something, but what? Daniel zoomed in a bit more to get a better view of her, after all she was attractive so what harm could it do....

"No way.... it can't be...."

Daniel stared into the scope, not able to take his eyes off her, or rather off the chain she wore around her neck. A Dark Blue Ring hung down around her chest, a ring that was a constant reminder about the past a ring Daniel had given to...

"Callista... oh no..."

Daniel didn't need to run a Force Scan or even check her aura, he knew without a shadow of a doubt that it was her. The time had come, it seemed he had met the target a lot sooner then planned but luck works like that sometimes, or so he believed. It took him a matter of seconds to pull the bullet out of his coat pocket, after all he was always prepared. Opening the rifle he slid the bullet in and watched as the rifle closed with a silent click. He was finally ready as he aimed the rifle at her, making sure to align the crosshairs for the kill shot. Usually He would aim for a quick shot at the heart but he didn't have it in him to shoot her there, he had killed her heart long ago, and his own, he would have to go for a headshot. Without further bother Daniel lifted he gun and aimed, making sure the shot would land right between her eyes, at this distance she would not even feel it...

"I'm sorry..."

Daniel closed his eyes as he pulled the trigger. It seemed his job was completed... but at what cost?

The bullet missed her own head by barely an inch, zooming just past her ear and her own hair, a few strands of her own smoky brown hair falling away due to the close contact. She turned for a split second, trying to find whatever zoomed past her.

She squinted her gray eyes for a moment, and then her eyes opened wide when she identified the object that was now imbeded into the tree bark.

Wholly Bantha Dung!

A bullet, someone was trying to kill her..

Her mind trailed off as she frantically began to search for the shooter. She looked to her left, and then to her right, nothing. Then forward...

Her eyes took a moment or two to adjust for the large distance ahead of her, but she did see a figure, but she couldn't quite make it out.

She placed an instinctive hand near her belt, at the hilt of her belt in particular. Without looking, she removed the Jedi tool from her belt, placing it in front of her as a means of protection, but did not yet ignite it. She ran forward, trying to get a better view of the shooter. Maybe most would think her crazy for running toward danger and not away from it, but she was a Jedi. A defender of the weak and innocent. A seeker of peace and justice. A person made to protect the galaxy, to keep any and all, safe from harm, including herself.

It did not take her long to approach her target, the figure didn't appear to be in means of attack anymore, but she could identify that the figure was male.

He looks ver familiar, but for some reason I just can't place him...

But she could place him..She stopped, reaching less than ten feet away from her attacker now. A soft gasp escaping her thin lips. She froze for a moment, as if in shock.

No, no...It can't be. It just can't be!

Tears filled her eyes as she looked back at him. Tears of not understanding, tears of hurt, tears of sorrow, tears of pain. No tears of joy and happiness reached her though, not now...

An old friend, an old lover, no...She was starring back at the face of a killer...

A cold blooded killer, and a heartless one at that..

After all, he had taken her heart, had he not?

"Why?" She yelled back at him, pain filling her voice.

How could he do this, why was he doing this? Had he not hurt her enough already?

The shot had been fired only seconds before, and as Daniel had hoped; he had missed. The barrel of the gun was still smoking as he got up, still warm from trying to take a life. It was the last life this gun would try to take, at least against it's owners will. Daniel knew that the only person that was in trouble now was not Callista, no he had spared her life this time, but sadly his time was up....

Even now Daniel could see Callista heading towards him, the hilt of her saber clutched tightly in her hands. He would have laughed if this had been a few years back and under friendlier circumstances. He knew that a few years ago they used to play as children each trying to help each other, for a better life. Callista would practice with one of the Academies training saber while Daniel tried to shoot her with a low level blaster. They would stand around playing for hours, Callista trying to deflect the shots and Daniel trying to hit her, but the one thing they always knew was that Sabers only worked against blasters. Callista would surely know that if she had even tried to deflect a bullet it would have done more harm then good... a lot more.

Callista was closer now, maybe only nine, ten feet away. He could tell that age had done her well as she looked more beautiful now then she had before, if that was even possible. He could see the tears streaming down her face as she found the words to say...

"Why...?"

Her voice was filled with pain and sorrow, as if an old friend has just stabbed her in the back, but only Daniel knew the Truth...

"Would you believe it, after all this time I missed."

Callista returned to her walk, stopping this time again, no more than five feet in front of Daniel.

"Don't give me that load of crap, Daniel! Damn it! You owe me an answer!"

He owed her more than that actually, but she did not need to bring that to his attention. She was sure he knew what he owed her.

He just stood there, unmoving, expressionless. Not a word escaped his lips. Those lips, she knew them very well.

Callista Ming, a Jedi, always one who was filled with warmth and peacefullness, suddenly found all such feelings drifting away and out of her, being replaced with...anger.

She didn't wait. She owed him something, something she should have given him a long time ago, something he truly deserved.

At a quick pace, her face fuming with anger, she made the rest of the five feet up to Daniel. She stopped so that she was directly in front of him.

It happened so quickly, before Daniel himself even knew what hit him.

With a free hand, she reached up and slapped Daniel. She slapped him with what strength and power she could muster up within herself.

A cool smile crossed her lips as she watched Daniel reach for his face.

"Tell me, was it as good for you as it was for me?..."