I never knew what it was. Now I never will. All I know is a mysterious & wealthy member of the imperial elite wanted it. He wasn’t the only one.
I was to be deployed with a squad of fellow mercenaries to the surface of the fourth moon of Yavin. We were 6 in all. Each of a different species: a Twi’lek, a Chiss, a Zabrak, a Trandoshan, a Human, & an Ithorian (myself). The human was the only female among us. We were each clad in the heaviest armor, carried the most lethal blaster rifle, held sheathed a cortosis-laced vibrosword, & wore the most powerful personal shield generator on our belt, all the best that money could buy. She was the only exception. The women lacked all the expensive equipment our mysterious employer had purchased for this mission. Somehow…she didn’t need it. She was a Jedi. I don’t know how I knew. There was no reason I should’ve been so sure.
There wasn’t much chat on the way to Yavin. We travelled aboard a frigate class stealth-equipped vessel called the Euripedes. Each of my fellow mercenaries carried the air of an experienced warrior about themself. I didn’t recognize a single one of them. None of them were among the most famous or infamous fighters, hunters, or shooters that the galaxy had to offer, but we were assured as a group that our combat prowess was the reason we were chosen for this mission. I could place names for none of these skilled fighters, even though I was among them. When I looked at the lizard-man, I felt like a name was on the tip of my tongue, but I was probably confusing him for someone else. There’re many of his kind in the bounty hunting business…the same profession as myself…& I suppose they all kind of look the same.
For so very long I’d been a hunter of sentient beings. I didn’t like it, but I couldn’t make a more legitimate living. I could never coherently express why I didn’t like it. I suppose I hadn’t tried. It certainly wasn’t because I wasn’t good at it. I was good. Very good. I lost a target once…or twice, actually.
For the second time I wasn’t myself. I had slunk deeply & darkly into depression. At this point in my life I was resorting to spice constantly to escape reality. I had done so again moments before accepting the mission, & did the same again just moments before the cheap mark shot me & jumped planet. Failing hurt, but more drugs eased the pain. I like not to count that one.
The only time I lost a mark without my abilities impaired, I had been hunting a Jedi. I wasn’t warned before-hand about what he was, but as soon as I saw him, I was as sure of it then as I was about the woman here now. I hesitated longer from attacking this man for longer than I’d done for any target I’d encountered before him. I wasn’t so foolish as to think stories from a past not so distance could be without some measure of truth. I knew Jedi were powerful, but so was I. Could I defeat one? I had to find out. Not only was the bounty handsome, but I prided my self on my fighting skill. Some people believed that Jedi could do anything…demi-gods! They could fly without jetpacks, read minds, swing blades faster than light, & fire elemental forces of nature from their palms. I had unbelievable talents too. I had uncanny luck, was fast too, could jump higher than a creature of my stature ought to be physically capable, & sometimes seemed to be able to respond to events that had yet to occur. I sometimes tried to move things by force of will like Jedi were said to do. I swear I could rustle leaves, but that was not an important combat skill. This Jedi would be a true test of my real skills. My mission was to attack without mercy & kill him. Fortunately, the Jedi & I didn’t have this second characteristic in common. He could have killed me. He fled instead. I didn’t pursue him. The price for his life was large, but the price for persisting was my life.
So, why didn’t I like turning blood into money? I couldn’t shake the thought, “What if they didn’t all deserve death?” Perhaps they didn’t, but I deserved credits. No! I needed credits. My mother was a spiraling spice addict. My father was obscurity. Utterly useless. Neither of them was of too much help to me or my two younger siblings. Yes! It wasn’t that I needed credits. WE need credits. So people with prices needed death…whether they deserved it or not….
Back on the Euripedes, my only squad-mate to whom I became acquainted was the Zabrak. I learned his name & and a little of him. Vorkin Starcrusher, like myself & every Trando, was a bounty hunter. Perhaps there was a pattern among us? He didn’t seem to know anything about the mission that I hadn’t already been told. His story was the same as mine; an emissary of our employer made contact with him and offered a paycheck with digits that went on for miles. The mission description was to recover an item of great importance to the Empire. It wasn’t until we were all united aboard a small Imperial transport & in hyperspace that a hooded and shadowy holographic image of the wealthy Imperial informed us of our destination.
Yesterday, an immense Imperial research station the size of a small moon was destroyed by a terrorist attack above the remote jungle world that is Yavin IV. Something, or rather, many things rained down to hide in the moon’s dense forest (that, or burn it away). What we needed to find was among the rain. The exact item we were meant to acquire was still not revealed, but our leader was. The woman…the Jedi would take us to it. There was a hint in the holograms voice that gave me the impression that whatever we were looking for hadn’t necessarily survived impact. I was sure such a wealthy imperial would pay what’s owed either way, but some are known to throw fits when they can’t get what they want.
Once we landed, we geared up in complete suits of armor which covered us from head to toe. We all looked the same…mostly. Being an Ithorian, my own suit was shaped much differently. The Trandoshan was the tallest among us. He was still identifiable. The woman still wore a simple, dark brown robe, strengthening my belief in her knighthood.
We left from our landing site in the middle of nowhere, with our squad split between 2 large speeders designed for hauling goods, staggered one in front of the other. Neither of the 2 distinguishable squad-mates accompanied me in the back hauler. I wasn’t in the mood to meet another new person at that time. I just concentrated on winding my truck in pursuit of the first one through the rocks & vegetation & debris while my identical friends sat in awkward silence.
After too long being alone with my thoughts, the forward truck came to an abrupt halt. The Trandoshan came from the passenger side of the front truck to inform us that, “The vegetation is too thick, two of you are going to have to get out to help us hack through.” “I’ll do it,” I grunted a little more enthusiastically than one might expect. I was just relieved to be out of that seat for a while.
As the Trando, two of the clones, & I led the truck in as straight a path as we could manage. Another half hour passed & the silence finally started to get to me. “Vorkin,” I gambled on him being present. “Yes,” replied a suit in his voice.
“Do you have any idea what we’re looking for yet?”
“Not a clue…. It’s obviously worth an awful lot to this imperial,” he said while taking off his helmet & wiping sweat from his brow.
“I wonder if it’s worth more to anyone else,” chimed in the Trando.
“You want to risk the largest pay check you’ll ever get & your life on ransoming some mysterious hunk of junk?” I asked with shock.
“If this was really something of great importance to the empire there would be an armada here,” Vorkin tried to assure him, “It must only have importance to this one particular guy. Sentimental value perhaps?”
“Or it’s his most valuable secret!” hissed the Trando, “He hired us…from the private-sector. He’s paying hard cash. He wants no official record of this. He’s probably got something career-ruining to hide.”
“Well, wha….” Vorkin said as his head exploded. A heart-beat later, my personal shield flickered to life in a green shell around me. One more beat, & I’d taken cover behind a rock in time to watch my slightly slower comrades fall behind trees of their own. Yet another beat, & the thermal detonator underneath the farther back truck exploded.
In the blink of an eye, I took aim through the scope of my blaster rifle & shot at a figure atop a nearby cliff. He fell, & was followed closely by a second man on the same cliff. It seemed the Trando was a quick draw too.
More surprising than that, a blur of brown arced across the sky to the top side of the cliff over 50 meters away. She landed with a crimson blade drawn to hack through a handful more assaultees as they materialized out of the dense woods. I watched in awe as she effortlessly destroyed our enemies. It looked as if no one in the galaxy stood a snowballs chance on Mustafar against her. The last two to emerge broke this rule.
Wielding lightsabers of their own, two other Jedi swung at her from each side. I wish I could’ve kept watching, but the show was interrupted by a third enemy Jedi landing beside me from nowhere. The Trando fired a few point blank shots at the nearest Jedi. Most of the shots were sent astray by swift rotations of a lightsaber. One shot found its way back at its gunman. It didn’t kill him through his shield & armor, but the same can’t be said for the energy sword that followed it.
The Trando’s death gave my last squad-mate & I time to draw our cortosis-vibroswords. I had always been a skilled sword fighter. My last comrade was pretty good too. This didn’t keep us from losing ground. The Jedi was fast. It almost seemed like he could see the future. Yet somehow I was keeping up with him. My friend wasn’t though. He wasn’t as skilled with the blade, & the Jedi had already discovered this. He had to take the brunt of the Jedi’s slices. Slowly his armor was whittled away. The process grew exponentially faster after the lightsaber scratched his sword arm through the armor. Soon he was flat on the ground.
They Jedi turned his full attention on me. My blood rushed like never before. In contrast, my opponent appeared almost calm as he slowly claimed more ground. I knew I was outmatched. What could I do? I frantically looked for something…anything…that could help me, but I saw nothing. I hoped for a surprise blaster bolt to catch him in the back. I hoped for a pack of wild beasts to break from the trees & swarm him. I hoped for a boulder I saw safely perched on a nearby hill to roll down & squish him. Oh, how I pleaded for the boulder to miraculously save me. I commanded that large stone to pick up sudden velocity towards the Jedi. It obeyed.
The Jedi backflipped out of the way of the on-coming rock. He seemed less surprised than me, but still stopped & stared for a moment. I seized the opportunity to charge at him. He held out an open palm & snapped it shut. The dirt underneath me shot up & sent me flying.
After a short disorientation, I regained my composure & looked down passed my chest to see one of the first two Jedi carrying the limp body of my team’s dark Jedi leader my way. Still, laying on my back, I frantically started scanning the ground above me for a sword. Perhaps I was like them. Perhaps I was a force sensitive, & that’s what always made me excell at combat. Maybe if I could get up and rearm I might escape alive. Perhaps I could make it back to our ship, & persuade the pilot to left off & take me home to my siblings. I would take another job & feed them & forget this whole ordeal ever happened.
My optimistic, panicky thoughts seemed almost real when I spotted a vibrosword I could use to defend myself. I had to have it. There was nothing I had ever wanted more in my life than that blade in my hand. I reached for it…called to it. It responded. The blade leapt off the ground & flew in my direction. I gathered my strength to rise to my feet & prepare to catch. I was ready to run. It was ready to deflect incoming attacks. I reached for it, but it escaped me. I hadn’t missed. It had. I turned around to find the third Jedi, the one I’d fought, clutching it.
