28 Vanguard

*Crack*

I immediately raised my left fist, halting my movement on a dime. I then quickly returned my left hand back to my blaster rifle and started sweeping the area in front of me. Everywhere my eyes went, the end of my blaster's barrel followed.

*Crunch*

Suddenly, I saw some movement out of my peripheral vision. I rotated my entire torso, setting my sights on the source of the movement and sound. It was only a stag, staring right back at me.

I heaved a sigh of relief as I relaxed just a bit. The animal was beautiful. It had dark orange hair with white spots dotting across its hide. Large beady eyes that appeared to contain an entire galaxy were mounted on either side of its pointed head. This was a decent tell that this animal was a herbivore. Predatory animals have their eyes facing forwards.

I raised my left hand again and waved my hand forwards to indicate that we should continue moving. I was currently with a squad of 9 troopers. We were one of the few scouting vanguards that were moving ahead and clearing the way for the rest of the troopers that stayed back with Satele.

Honestly, I couldn't reject it since it added another quest onto what I was already on with the Havoc Squad rescue operation.

[Quest Received]

[Reinforcements]

[Uncommon]

[Friendly forces are on the losing side of an engagement. They have requested reinforcements. Rush to their aid and save as many of them as possible.]

[+2000 and +??? exp, +??? reputation with Havoc Squad, +20 reputation with Old Republic]

[Quest Received]

[Vanguard Scouting]

[Rare]

[Jedi General Satele Shan has assigned you the task of leading a vanguard of three scouting units. Clear the way for the rest of the troops following behind you.]

[+5000 exp, +20 reputation with Satele Shan, +20 reputation with Old Republic]

The best part about this is that I heard something interesting. When I formed the 10 man squads, I created a decent split of travelers and locals to ensure that any findings will make it back to command. In my squad, I put Galen, my dad (Viktor), Jordan (Jeremiah, and Taylor (Tomas) as travelers along with myself. The five locals were made up of one sniper, two beast handlers, and two regular troopers.

Jeremiah was telling me that after the battle, no one paid any mind to the players that were looting the bodies of the dead Imperial forces. Such easy profits are right in front of us! Since we'd be the vanguard, it's likely that we will run into smaller scouting units. We'll have the opportunity to take them out and get some free loot!

Even if we can't keep it, I'm sure that the Republic would compensate us in exchange for the equipment and supplies we loot. It's not like there is a pawn shop in the middle of this warzone where we could sell the items.

Back to the mission, we had only been moving through the forest for about 10 minutes. The only thing we had run into thus far was that animal from barely a minute ago. Maybe we'd get some real action soon? A firefight in the forest could be kind of fun!

Well as it would turn out, my wish would soon come true. Maybe a bit too much. Nonetheless, we found an Imperial scouting unit just a few minutes after the close call with the stag.

There were six of them, all wrapped in a cloak. It made it so that we couldn't see what kind of weapons and armor they had. There was the option to move around so we could get a view from the other side. However, that would be extremely risky as it would increase the chances of being detected. It was even possible that we had already been detected.

I raised my left hand, forming a fist. We all stopped. I then held up four fingers and waved my hand to the left and right. Lastly, I held up two fingers and waved my hand forwards. Quickly and silently, everyone followed my instructions and we started moving to surround the group.

It took just 15 seconds but everyone was in position. One of the beast handlers was on each side and the sniper was positioned further back than his duo partner.

I held up three fingers and then started counting down.

Three…two…one… I then spoke into my comm. "Go."

My left hand shot back to my blaster as I aimed at one of the cloaked Imperials and unleashed a blaster shot.

*BYUM* *VVvvv* *Bing*

As my shot was about to hit the target in the back of the head, the worst thing that could possibly happen came to fruition. Like a blur, the Imperial's right hand shot towards their belt, and then swung backwards while spinning their body. A crimson blade ignited from their hands as the blaster bolt was cleanly deflected into the ground.

The person, now outed as a Sith, glared straight towards me. My blood ran cold under his gaze as a fear, that I couldn't pinpoint the source of, made me quiver in place.

I knew there was a chance of something like this happening. I mentally prepared myself to face death. Hundreds of scenarios had gone through my head as we traveled to Alderaan.

Reality, unfortunately, is like nails running across a chalkboard. It hits when you least expect it and it makes you freeze.

Standing 15 feet from a Sith, a symbol of death and darkness, with our eyes locked was paralyzing. I wasn't even sure if I could pull the trigger of my blaster again.

Not even a second had passed since this engagement began but I already felt as if we had lost. Then, the Sith started running towards me. It was probably because of my armor, but he knew that I was in charge.

The waving line of red somehow snapped me out of my paralysis. I started emptying my entire clip, my fingers having never moved as fast as they were now.

*BYUM**BYUM**BYUM**BYUM**BYUM**BYUM**BYUM**BYUM**BYUM*

Every shot was on the mark. Unfortunately, it wasn't that easy to kill a Sith. Each shot was deflected. Some flew by my head and others scorched the ground and trees around me. With each shot, they moved another step closer to me.

Then, they were right in front of me. The lightsaber was raised into the air before it came crashing down.

*Vum*

My rifle was effortlessly cut in half, the front portion falling to the floor. Looking up, I saw that they were preparing another swing.

NO! I wouldn't let that happen! I tossed what remained of my blaster aside and charged forwards. Since they were about 2 feet from me at this point, it took no time at all to cross the distance.

I lowered my shoulder, grappling their waist. They grunted as my shoulder smashed into their abdomen. The lightsaber in their hand nearly escaped from their grasp as they were tackled to the floor.

Before we even hit the ground, I was releasing my right hand's grip on them and forming a fist. When we were almost down, I pushed off of their torso using my left hand to create some distance between me and them.

*Thump*

Their body hit the ground hard and they even bounced a bit in recoil as they grunted again. I then noticed something in the way of my destination. The Sith was wearing a solid mask. I had to get rid of it quick before I broke my hand!

As my right fist descended, I quickly grabbed at the mask with my left hand and ripped it off of their face. I didn't really get a good view of what was under the mask. The only thing I really took note of was the shock ridden, yellow eyes of the Sith.

*CRACK*

I felt things move under my fist that aren't supposed to move. It was disgusting and I almost felt like I was about to retch. Shaking my head, I removed my fist from his face. The entire right side of his face was deformed under my punch. I had no doubt that his cheek bone was shattered. No amount of surgery could ever fix this.

Despite being my enemy, I felt a tinge of pity, it snuck through my emotions and barely surfaced. I could only shake my head and pull out one of my pistols.

*BYUM*

I unloaded a round directly into his head, instantly killing him if he was still alive at this point. Looking down at the body before me, I took note of a few things. The only weapon he had was his lightsaber, which was now being held firmly by his dead hands. Other than that, he wasn't carrying anything aside from a comm.

*BYUM*

A laser shot right by my head, abruptly breaking me out of my state of shock. There was still a fight going on around me.

I uncaringly raised my blaster pistol. I aimed it towards one of the last three enemies remaining.

*BYUM*

The shot hit him in the head and he fell to the ground dead. I quickly swiveled and aimed at the next one. Then, the next one.

*BYUM* *BYUM*

Two thuds accompanied my shots as the last of the enemies hit the ground dead. My squad began emerging from behind their cover. It would appear that the ambush was successful as none of them had died.

My shoulders dropped as the relief washed over me. The fight barely lasted 30 seconds but I was dead tired. I sluggishly holstered my pistol and knelt back down next to the dead Sith.

As I knelt down, the exhaustion nearly made me fall over. Why was I so tired? Was this mental exhaustion? This didn't last long. A slight burst of energy flowed through me as I glanced to the side, my gaze landing upon the lightsaber that had just been relieved of its owner.

I reached out my hand and tried picking it up. Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that easy. It appeared that the dead man had a firm grasp on it as if he was still clinging to life. I let go of the lightsaber and peeled his fingers off of the hilt.

With nothing left to stop me, I picked it up. I was suddenly struck with a feeling of power. Why did the action of just holding the lightsaber make me feel so powerful? Is this what it feels like to wield the force?

I struggled back to my feet, my eyes still locked on the heavy metallic cylinder in my hand. This was the most iconic weapon in the galaxy, synonymous with the heroes and villains of history. It depends which side you are on when it comes to deciding who is the hero, but the weapon is iconic nonetheless. It's also extremely valuable to collectors.

Taking a quick look around, it appeared that the others were taking care of cleanup. Thus, I decided to do what any gamer would do. I inspected the lightsaber.

[Somer Tando's Lightsaber]

[Legendary]

[The lightsaber is the most iconic weapon in the galaxy. It is lightweight and extremely deadly. This red lightsaber belonged to the Sith Warrior Somer Tando. He lost possession of the lightsaber, as well as his life, in combat against Soren Brenko.]