Wanted: Dead or Alive (a SWTOR tale)

[sinaedh]

Dromund Kaas, the homeworld of the Sith Empire, is filled with vast stretches of ocean broken by swampy land occasionally breached by ridges of rock. It rains, then stops for a few moments while you prepare for it to rain again. The clouds are nearly always low and thick, with flashes of lightning nearly nonstop from cloud to cloud and then to the ground. The Imps have built many tall lightning control towers to keep the electricity from frying buildings and outposts scattered throughout the world. In a word, the place is gloomy.

“It sort of makes you understand why they want to conquer the rest of the galaxy,” she said, gazing up into the dense clouds and wiping away a few stray drops of rain. “The Hunt begins in Kaas City. The Mandalorians have an outpost there.”

I nodded. “Imps don’t condone Mandalorians, but are happy to use them when needed. So we go, and get started.” I grinned at her, and will admit now I was nervous. I was trained well, I was equipped well, but… you never know. All I could do was my best. It had to be enough to win the Hunt.

She paused a moment, looking up at me seriously. “You know, don’t you, that hunters are allowed to eliminate the other contestant after the same mark? Any way possible.”

I nodded. “I know. But we are going to be the ones doing the eliminating. Trust me.”

She searched my eyes for a moment. “I do.”

“Well then,” I took her elbow and turned her toward the shuttle to Kaas City. “When we hunt a mark, you’ll be the one guiding me with intel and tech. I’ll be the weapon. We’re a good combination. We’ll end up on top.” I paused, and looked down at her. She was trying to be brave, but I could see a small tremor as lightning flashed nearby. “All anyone can do is their best. And we’ll prove we’re the best.” I took a chance and hugged her quickly, ignoring the glances filled with disgust sent by Imp security officers and passing travelers. She wrapped her arms around me for a moment, then nodded and smiled. I grinned. Hell, we filthy aliens need love too.

[sinaedh]

Hunting on Dromund Kaas

[sinaedh]

Kaas City was built to impress, and it does the job. Tall buildings taper up into stilettos that punch into the clouds. Lightning, a commonplace on Dromund Kaas anyway, flashes down the sides of the skyscrapers, guided to ground by carefully designed cable systems. Droids, both security and domestic, scurry along the walks. In the middle of the city, a suspended decoration called the Spires of Victory proclaims the strength of the Empire and Sith. True to form, we heard a tour guide state that the Dark Council member who had commissioned the display was killed by her apprentice before it was complete, but the apprentice then made sure the Spires were finished.

We walked into the cantina, ready for a rest and reorganization before finding the Mandalorian enclave. The Nexus Room was quiet and orderly, just like you’d expect in an Imp city. Small groups conversed, restricting themselves to frowning glances of disgust as I walked my alien self to the bartender, ordering a meal and drink for us. As we ate, I looked around. Wealthy matrons, probably wives of Imp officers or Sith discussed fashion and slaves. Only a few officers were present, no doubt on leave. A few shady characters lurked in darker booths. I personally suspected they were Imp intelligence officers, taking notes and looking for subterfuge.

We left the cantina and walked to the nearby taxi station, flying the short distance to the Imperial Citadel. This was the height of heights in Kaas City, a looming building stretching so high into the clouds that the top was often hidden. Here the Dark Council met, and the Imperial Intelligence officers scurried, looking for traitors or threats. Strangely enough, the Imps had given a portion of the complex to the Mandalorians as well. It seemed the might of the mercenary army was appreciated.

When we landed, the place was busy, droids and armored figures moving quickly from place to place. We were stopped by a droid, who directed us into the halls claimed by the Mandalorians after I showed the chit giving me entry into the Great Hunt. As we walked in, I admit I worked hard to keep from looking like a farmhand from the Outer Rim. I wanted to gawk at the armor displays and weapons lockers, to stand and gape at the armored figures stalking through the halls. But we had a job to do. We entered the passage that led to the meeting rooms where the Hunt would start.

[sinaedh]

The meeting room was filled with Hunters, each with his or her own weaponry and assistant or three. The air was alive with the scents of different species, with babble of various languages, and with the tension of anticipation and fear. A man with cybernetic implants strode to the dais at the far end of the room and tapped once, sending a click through the sound systems of everyone there. “Welcome,” he said simply. “The Huntmaster has some words for you.”

I wasn’t prepared, I suppose, though I’ve been through enough since that day that I’m no longer easily surprised. I say I wasn’t prepared, because a tall shaggy form stepped up to roar out over the crowd. A Wookiee. There in the middle of Imperial Forces growling about “alien scum”, in the midst of Sith who were convinced that only they should hold the power in the galaxy, stood the Huntmaster, and he was a Wookiee. Well, in his growling speech, he welcomed the Hunters, wished them luck, and told them each would have a handler who would assign marks and collect the evidence of a completed job. And he dropped a bombshell as well. The Hunt would begin right there, on Dromund Kaas.

“Hunting on Dromund Kaas?” “Suicide, I’m out.” “Right under the Sith’s noses? No way.” The crowd stirred anxiously. I felt it myself. Hunting on Dromund Kaas was just asking for trouble. The Empire used Hunters and Mandalorians from time to time, but just as often threw them into detention for obstructing Imperial causes or operations. And Sith… well, who really knew about the Sith? As near as I could tell, the Imp troops served the Emperor, and the Sith all wanted to BE the Emperor. That made hunting in this rigid, tightly leashed society problematic.

The Huntmaster strode away, and his assistant took up the instructions. “If any wish to withdraw, now is the time. Otherwise, find your handler and get your first ticket.”

I didn’t look at her, because I wasn’t sure I could keep an expression on my face that would reassure her. I just turned and walked toward the door. She held back though, so I finally had to stop and gaze down at her. “I… I’m not sure…,” she said.

I shook my head with more confidence than I really felt. We’d come too far to back down now. I touched her chin with a finger and lifted her gaze to mine. “We’re in this for Darden… and to take down Randal Forte. And for us, too.” I allowed her a moment to think on that, then when I saw a hint of fire return to her expression, I smiled. “Ready?”

She nodded and we both turned and walked toward our fate.