Tycho unsheathed his blastsword, and practiced a few steps. He then wandered over to the cliff and called down to the man in black.

"Hello there! Slow going?" he asked conversationally.

The man in black cringed, then looked back up as he strugged up the cliff. "Look," he started, "I don't mean to be rude, but this is not as easy as it looks, so I'd appreciate it if you wouldn't distract me."

"Sorry!" Tycho yelled back, apologetic.

The man in black nods, grateful. "Thank you."

Tycho went to wander around, but then decided to stay at the cliff, watching the Man in Black's progress. He paused, then spoke once again. "I do not suppose you could speed things up a little?"

The Man in Black sighed. "If you're in such a hurry, you could lower a rope or a tree branch or find something useful to do."

Tycho pondered this. "I could do that," he said. "I've still got some rope up here. But, I do not think you would accept my help, as I am only waiting around to kill you."

The Man in black cringed as he continues to try to climb. "Well, that does put a damper on our relationship."

Tycho continued. "But I promise I will not kill you until you reach the top."

The Man in Black continued to try to find his footing and climb up the cliff. "That's very comforting, but I'm afraid you'll just have to wait."

The blonde man sighed. "I hate waiting." he said. "I could give you my word as a swordsman?"

"No good," the Man in Black said between his teeth as he struggled up. "I've known too many swordsmen."

"Is there another way you'll trust me?"

"Nothing comes to mind."

Then, Tycho spoke, "I swear on the graveyard of asteroids that is the only remnant of my home, Alderaan, that you will reach the top alive."

"Throw me the rope," the Man in Black responded.

Tycho goes over to the rope, unwinds the remainder of it, and he struggles to help the Man in Black reach the top. He tumbles into a clearing, exhausted.

"Thank you," he says, then struggled to draw his blastsword, but Tycho will see none of it.

"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait until you're ready, " he says.

"Again, thank you." The Man in Black sits on a nearby rock and removes a stone from his boot.

"I do not mean to pry," Tycho says, "But do you happen to have six fingers on your right hand?"

The Man in Black wiggled his five fingers to show his innocence. "Do you start all conversations this way?"

Tycho shrugged. "My father was killed by a six fingered man," he said. "My father was the leader of a foxsimile company."

"Ah, yes," the Man in Black said. "That's a very speedy method of transporting information. I hear it's a big business, people getting their own personal foxes all the time."

Tycho nodded. "Yes," he said. "He was the leader of this on Alderaan. One day, the six-fingered man appeared and asked the leader of Alderaan's daughter about some information. He threatened to destroy her country if she refused. She gave him some false information, hoping to have him follow that lead instead, but he destroyed my planet anyways. In one huge blast, everything was gone."

"I'm sorry," said the Man in Black. "I have heard Alderaan was once a very beautiful place. How did you avoid it?"

Tycho shook his head. "At that time, I was working as an apprentice for a group of people who were associated with the Six-Fingered-Man. My father got me the job with them, as he had known the Six-Fingered-Man. But when I heard of my country's destruction, I withdrew and tried to defend my defeated country's armor, and challenged the Six-Fingered man to a duel. He gave me this," he showed a scar on his left cheek, "and this." He turned his face and shows another scar.

"How old were you?" The Man in Black asked.

"Eleven," Tycho said with a small smile. "When I was strong enough, I dedicated my life to the study of fencing, so that when I meet the Six-Fingered Man again, I will go to him and say, 'Hello. My name is Tycho Celchu. You killed my Planet. Prepare to die.'"

The Man in Black looked interested. "You did nothing but study blastsword-play?"

Tycho shrugged. "More pursue more than study lately. You see, I cannot find him...it's been twenty years now and I'm starting to lose confidence. I just work for Fey'lya to pay the bills. There's not a lot of money in revenge."

After a few moments of silence, the Man in Black stands up and unsheathes his blastsword.

"Well, I...I certainly hope you find him someday," he said as he prepared to battle.

"You all ready, then?"

"Whether I am or not, you've been more than fair."

Tycho draws his blastsword. "You seem like a decent fellow... I hate to kill you."

"You seem like a decent fellow...I hate to die."

With confidence and half a smile, Tycho placed himself in the starting position. "Begin."

They begin to fight, their blastswords making a sound like blaster fire every time they touched...which was often.

"I hear this is bad for your hearing," the Man in Black remarked as they continued to duel.

"What?" Tycho called back, but the Man in Black shook his head, and parried his blow, then nearly hit Tycho with his blastsword.

"You are using Bonetties Defense against me, ah?" Tycho said.

The man in black nodded as he blocked a blow. "I thought it fitting considering the rocky terrain."

Tycho smiled lightly at him. "Naturally, you must suspect me to attack with Capa Fero?"

"Naturally...but I find that Tibal cancels out Capa Fero. Don't you?"

"Unless the enemy has studied his Agliepa...which I have."

They continued to battle on, exchanging attacks and parries.

"You are wonderful!" Tycho called out to the Man in Black.

"Thank you," he responds. "I've worked hard to become so."

"I admit it, you are better than I am," Tycho responded, but had a smile that was much too happy for the Man in Black's comfort.

"Then why are you smiling?" he asked, slightly suspicious.

Tycho's grin broadened. "Because I know something you don't know."

"And what is that?" The Man in Black asked as he pushed Tycho back against a rock near the cliff.

Tycho switched blastsword hands and made a design in the air with a flourish. "I am not left-handed!"

They continued to fight, and it appeared as though Tycho was overpowering the Man in Black.

"You're amazing!" the Man in Black exclaims.

"I ought to be, after twenty years."

The Man in Black continues to struggle to keep Tycho away. "There's something I ought to tell you," he said.

"Tell me!" Tycho shouted.

"I'm not left-handed either," the Man in Black says, and does the same as Tycho, changing hands while making a different design in the air. The Man in Black smiles happily, and Tycho is so surprised that the sword is knocked from his hands. Instead of accepting defeat, he leaps down, grabs a branch, propels himself around, then lands on the ground and grabs his sword.

The Man in Black throws his sword into a certain spot, leaps, grabs the branch and rotates around it twice, then lands right beside his sword, then proudly picks it up.

Tycho stares at the other man in awe. "Who are you?" he asked.

"No one of consequence." The Man in Black replied.

"I must know," Tycho insists.

"Get used to disappointment."

Tycho sighs lightly, disappointed. "Okay."

They battle once again, but this time the Man in Black dominates.

Priscilla Precise: Does he now?
Katrielle: I thought you'd be the first to know about that. Is it a habit of his?
Priscilla Precise: *blush* :-P
Katrielle: heh. "Wedge! Loose tongue!"
Priscilla Precise: oh, pfft.

They continue to thrust and parry

Priscilla Precise: *giggles* just look at that. it's an open invitation!
Katrielle: yeah, yeah. :-P
Priscilla Precise: don't make me call Gavin.
Katrielle: *zips lips* And dude! The Muse is working for me! Gavin would be a distraction. A very...demanding distraction.
Priscilla Precise: oh, *really*?
Katrielle: *stern look* Can I finish now?
Priscilla Precise: yeah, yeah.*g*

They continue to thrust and parry, and then the Man in Black knocks Tycho's blastsword out of his hand. He circles behind him, and Tycho kneels.

"Kill me quickly," he said.

The Man in Black shook his head. "I would as soon destroy a stained glass window as an artist like yourself." Tycho appears to momentarily brighten, but the Man in Black continued. "However, since I can't have you following me either..."

He then hit Tycho in the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out.

Sincerely, the Man in Black remarked, "Please understand that I hold you in the highest regard."

He then rushed off to find Fey'lya and Elizabeth....

Meanwhile, Borsk spotted him from atop a giant hill.

"Inconceivable!! Give her to me!" he yelled at Wes, and takes Elizabeth. "Catch up with us quickly." he ordered Wes.

"What do I do?" Wes asked.

"Finish him! Finish him...your way." Borsk shouts at him.

"Oh, good," Wes remarked. "My way. Thanks, Borsk. So, which way's my way?"

Fey'lya appeared very irritated. "Pick up one of those rocks, get behind a boulder, and in a few minutes the man in black will come running around the bend," He told Wes. "The minute his HEAD is in view hit it with the rock!" He finishes with a scream.

Wes ponders over this for a moment. "My way is not very sportsman-like," he murmured to himself.

Borsk and Elizabeth soon run off, and Wes went behind a rock to wait for the Man in Black.

Soon, the Man in Black ran into view, proceeded up the hill, and was met with the crashing of a large rock into a boulder in front of him. Wes steps out from behind another boulder, holding a large rock.

"I did that on purpose," he said. "I didn't have to miss."

"I believe you," the Man in Black responded. "So, what happens now?"

Wes shrugged. "We face each other as you intended; sportsman-like," he said. "No tricks, no weapons, skill against skill alone."

The Man in Black looked "You mean, you'll put down your rock and I'll put down my blastsword and we'll try to kill each other like civilized people?"

Wes holds up his rock. "I could kill you now," he offers.

The Man in Black lays down his sword. "Frankly, I think the odds are slightly in your favor at hand-to-hand combat."

Wes shrugged once more. "It's not my fault being the biggest and the strongest. I don't even exercise."

The Man in Black charges Wes, but he doesn't budge. He repeats, and then grabs onto Wes almost like a bear-hug and pulls in vain.

"Look, are you just fiddling around with me, or what?" He finally asked, irritated.

"I just want you to feel you're doing well. I hate for people to die embarrassed. " He grabs at the Man in Black, but misses.

"You're quick!" he remarked.

"Good thing, too," the Man in Black responded.

Wes swung at him. "So, why do you wear a mask? Were you burned by acid or something like that?"

"Oh, no, it's just that they're terribly comfortable. I think that everyone will be wearing them in the future."

Then, the Man in Black jumped on Wes' back, and tried to choke him.

Wes pushes back against a boulder. He nearly knocks the wind out of the Man in Black.

"I just feared you would give me so much trouble." Wes said.

"Why is that, do you think?"

"Well, I haven't fought just one person in so long," he struggles to breathe as the Man in Black continues to keep his chokehold. "...I've been specializing in groups, fighting gangs for local charities, that kind of thing."

"Why should that make such a," Wes slams the Man in Black back against a boulder, and the Man in Black groaned, "difference?"

The Man in Black continued to choke him, but Wes managed to reply, "You see, you use different moves when your fighting half a dozen people...then when you only have to worry.. about...one."

Wes is rendered unconscious, and falls to the ground. The Man in Black checks for a pulse, and is relieved when he finds it. "I do not envy you the headache you shall have when you awake," he said, "But in the meantime, sleep well and dream of large women."

He then scurries off, after Elizabeth and Borsk once again.

The Prince Corran, the Count Tarkin, and their guards finally arrived at the edge of the Cliffs of Insanity. Prince Corran, dismounts and follows the footprints.

"It appears that there was a mighty duel," he said. "It ranged all over. They were both masters."

"Who won?" the Count interrupted.

"The loser...ran off alone, and the winner followed those footprints towards Guilder."

"Should we track them both?" the Count asked.

"No," Corran said snobbily, "The loser is nothing. Only the Princess matters. Clearly this was all planned by warriors of Guilder! We must all be ready for whatever lies ahead."

"Could this be a trap?" the Count inquired.

Corran responded, "I always think that everything could be a trap. That is why I am still alive."

The Prince, the Count, and their men ride run off. The Man in Black encounters Borsk and Elizabeth as he is preparing to eat. Borsk had a knife to Elizabeth's throat.

Borsk smiled cruelly at him. "So it is down to you...and it is down to me. If you wish her dead, by all means, keep moving forward."

The Man in Black held his hands up in a sign of true, but kept walking forward. "Let me explain..." he started, but was interrupted by the Bothan.

"There's nothing to explain," Borsk said. "You're trying to kidnap what I have rightfully stolen."

"Perhaps an arrangement can be reached?"

"There will be no arrangements," Borsk informed him as he pushed the knife. "And you're killing her."

The Man in Black stopped, and stood with his arms crossed over his chest. "But if there can be no arrangements, then we are at an impasse."

"I'm afraid so," agreed Borsk. "I can't compete with you physically, and you're no match for my brains."

"Are you that smart?" the Man in Black asked, intrigued.

"Ever heard of Yoda, Palpatine, Organa?"

"Yes."

"Morons!" Fey'lya exclaimed.

"Really! Well, in that case, I challenge you to a battle of wits," the Man in Black said.

"For the Princess? To the Death? I accept!"

"Good, then pour the wine," the Man in Black said, as he sat opposite Borsk. Fey'lya poured the wine, while the man withdrew a vial and handed it to Borsk. "Inhale this, but do not touch," he ordered.

Borsk sniffed. "I smell nothing," he said. The Man in Black nodded wisely.

"What you do not smell is called Iocaine powder. It is odorless,tasteless, and dissolves instantly in liquid and is among the more deadly poisons known to man."

Fey'lya snorts, and hands the vial back. The Man in Black takes the two goblets of wine, dissolves the powder in one of the glasses, then turns back around and places them back on the table.

"The battle of wits has begun," he said. "It ends when you decide and we both drink...and find out who is right and who is dead."

"But, it's so simple," Borsk bragged. "All I have to do is divine of what I know of you. Are you the sort of man to put the poison into his own goblet or his enemy's? Now, a clever man would put the poison into his own goblet because he would know that only a great fool would reach for what he was given. I am not a great fool so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you...But you must have known I was not a great fool; you would have counted on it, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me."

"You've made your decision, then?" the Man in Black asked.

"Not remotely!" Fey'lya said happily. "Because Iocaine comes from Australia. And right next to that is New Zealand, where the Dodgy Queen reigns. And, having a product from the area, I can guess that you know the Queen, and might be a kinky enough guy to be into putting the poison in your own cup! So, I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you."

Priscilla Precise: *SNERK*
Katrielle: *bows* Thank you. That took me a while to think up, but I love it. :-D

"Truly," the Man in Black remarked, "You have a dizzying intellect."

"Just wait 'til I get going!" Borsk said. "Now, where was I?"

"Australia."

"Ah, yes. And since you must have suspected me to know the powder's origin. So, I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me."

The Man in Black shook his head. "Now you're just stalling."

"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you?" he responded. "You've beaten my Tanaabian, who was the biggest pilot I could find and stand to be around, which means you're exceptionally strong...so you could have put the poison in your own goblet trusting on your strength to save you, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you. But, you've also bested my Alderaanian, which means you must have studied...and in studying you must have learned that man is mortal so you would have put the poison as far from yourself as possible, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me!"

"You're trying to trick me into giving something away," the Man in Black noted. "It won't work."

"It has worked!" Borsk shouted. "You've given everything away! I know where the poison is!"

"Then make your choice," the Man in Black said, a little impatiently.

"I will, and I choose....what in the worlds could that be?" Borsk points to something behind the Man in Black, and his eyes widen. The Man in Black 'falls' for the ploy and turns.

"What? Where?! I don't see anything!" he turns back around, to see the Bothan looking smug, and doing a horrible job at trying to hide it.

"Oh, well, I...I could have sworn I saw something." He waved it off. "No matter." He then laughs, further arousing the Man in Black's suspicions.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing. I'll tell you in a minute. Now, let's drink: me from my glass and you from yours!" They both drink.

"You guessed wrong," the Man in Black said.

Fey'lya laughed. "You only think I guessed wrong! That's what's so funny!! I switched glasses when your back was turned! Ha-ha! You fell for one of the classic blunders! The most famous is never get involved with an Omwat who created the Death Star, and only slightly less known is this: Never go in against a Bothan, when death is on the line!"

Borsk continued to laugh hysterically, then suddenly stops, and fell over, dead.

The Man in Black crossed over to Elizabeth, and removed her blindfold.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"I'm no one to be trifled with. That is all you ever need know."

"And to think, all that time it was your cup that was poisoned?" He helped her to her feet, and shook his head.

"No, they were both poisoned. I spent the last several years building up an immunity to Iocaine powder."

And with that, he dragged her with him as he ran.

Continued in Part Three