A Thirst for Vengeance...Part 1

Good day...

Consider this my official entry into the Fanficolicious Challenge. Yes, I did procrastinate and yes, I did do most of this last night. So here goes...

I've made a few changes, and a few corrections, so the story may be a little different than originally posted.

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A Thirst for Vengeance...Part 1

By: Aurin_Starkiller


The target was seated in one of the dark corners of the cantina, dining on what seemed to be some type of roasted waterfowl, possibly a duck. Considering the desert planet he was on, such a dish was rare, and expensive. Such thoughts brought Nom's mind to the many unanswered questions he had about his new target. He was assigned to this miserable planet only a few short days ago, with naught but instructions to observe the target's actions and movements in the city. He hadn't even been given the target's name.

Nom hated it when Command was so secretive about an assignment. The last time they had been so secretive about a mission it had ended in an extensive firefight and the deaths of thirteen civilians. Nom was tailing that target through a series of marketplaces when it unexpectedly turned and started firing in his direction. What Command had failed to tell him was that his target's species had a well-developed sense of hearing, enough to hear him draw his weapon from thirty yards away in a noisy marketplace.

At least this new target looked human. Speaking of which, the target had just paid his bill and was on his way out into the busy streets, the hood of his cloak still concealing his face from view. That was another thing about the target that bothered Nom, his face was always hidden by that cloak. He even wore the hood while he was eating.

"The target is on the move," Nom spoke into his earpiece comlink. "Requesting permission to pursue."

"Permission granted, Agent Olesa," his base commander replied, "don't lose the target, but keep your distance. Target is classified as armed and extremely dangerous. Seven Sith knights are on their way, let them handle the situation."

"Excuse me sir, did you say that seven Sith are coming for this guy?" Nom asked in disbelief. Very few foes gained the personal attention of just one Sith, but seven coming for merely one individual was hard to fathom. Nom had only heard of a few persons that the Emperor regarded as that dangerous.

"Affirmative, Agent Olesa. Stay out of their way. They will take care of the target, do not engage under any circumstances."

"Understood, Olesa out." They really didn't have to order him to stay away from the target, anyone who gained the personal attention of seven Sith wasn't someone he wanted to fight anyway.

The desert suns beat down upon Nom, and he briefly wondered how the target could bear wearing his black robes in this heat. The target moved through the crowds quickly and gracefully, passing by people without their notice. It was almost as if they couldn't see him, even though he undeniably stood out from the crowd he passed through.

Suddenly, Nom heard the ignition of a lightsaber from behind him. A moment later a man in black battle dress charged past him, a red lightsaber burning in his hand. The crowd ran from the Sith knight in a frenzied panic as he rushed towards the target. Other knights soon appeared from the fleeing crowd, the rooftops, and adjacent alleyways. The target finally stopped in the middle of the street, surrounded by the Sith.

Nom Olesa was from a race of humans who had developed slight empathic abilities. Not much, but enough to notice strong emotion. Such abilities had proved useful in previous assignments, but not as much in the current one. Whoever the target was, he extremely disciplined and hid his emotions well. However, the aura of hate and fear surrounding the collective Sith was nearly overwhelming. Feared throughout the galaxy that they ruled, the Sith knights and lords were infamous for their control over the Dark Side of the Force, as well as their prowess with the lightsaber.

"It's time to stop running Starkiller," spoke one of the dark knights, an Abyssin wielding a double-bladed lightsaber.

"Believe me, monoc, if I had been running then you wouldn't have caught me so easily," replied the target, pulling the hood of his cloak back to reveal a surprisingly young face.

"We're supposed to offer you the chance to surrender," said the Abyssin, "but I don't think that you're wise enough to take it."

"You're wrong," said Starkiller, a slight grin forming on his face. "I realize that I am completely outmatched and surrender myself completely."

"Do you think to mock us, Starkiller?" scoffed another knight, a human, standing behind him.

"Most definitely." Immediately after saying this, Starkiller spun around and pulled the human knight towards him with a powerful explosion of the Force. The Sith landed on a black lightsaber blade, which had appeared in Starkiller's hand as the knight was flying towards him. The entire feat took only mere seconds, and the rest of the Sith charged forward as their companion's body fell to the ground.

As the remaining Sith battled Starkiller, a strange red smoke began pouring from small holes in his belt. As the smoke filled the area it became increasingly difficult to observe the conflict. Before the combatants were completely obscured by the smoke, Nom noticed a red lightsaber in Starkiller's other hand, and that only four Sith remained standing. Nom pulled out his macrobinoculars and tried several settings in an attempt to penetrate the smoke, but to no avail.
"Agent Olesa, this is Command," his earpiece blared. "Your orders have changed. As soon as you have a clear shot, take the target out."

"Affirmative, Olesa out." Nom drew his customized sniper pistol and waited for a chance to use it.

The sounds of battle were furious, and grew in intensity as it wore on. Then, suddenly, it stopped. The street was eerily silent, and even the aura of hate that Starkiller and the Sith seemed to emit while fighting was gone. Soon the wind picked up and blew away the smoke, revealing the bodies of seven Sith knights lying in the street. Starkiller was nowhere to be seen.

Nom approached the dead bodies cautiously, feeling nauseous and fearful at what he had and hadn't witnessed. The bodies lay there scarred, maimed, and mutilated by their previous battle. Three of them, including the human who had fallen first, were impaled through the torso. Another was separated from its head, while two others were cut cleanly in half. All of the lightsabers were missing.

The last one, the Abyssin, was covered in deep gashes and cuts, and was impaled through the head. This one must have put up quite a fight. Abyssin were famous for their regenerative abilities, and even though it was quite dead some of its wounds were still regenerating.

To be continued...