Chapter one. Blood lust

The black and red colored armor stood out in contrast in the semi- dark room. The Mandalorian continued on as if he didn't give a damn he was the only one that stood out. Which was probably true. His steps didn't falter as he walked up to the drug dealer and his hired thugs. The drug dealer, a skinny Duros, stared at him with a sneer on his lips. Knowing who the Mandalorian was and knowing that the man couldn't lay a finger on him since business wasn't done. His totally red eyes stared blankly at the man. "Ah, the great esteemed bounty hunter, Zekk Stilco, has arrived to procure our shipment of, ah, goods," the Duros turned to the hulking wolf man on his right. "Get these crates out into the ship bay, I don't want any more Republic troopers sticking their fragging noses in my business." The wolf man grunted and turned toward a seal-coded crate.

Zekk Stilco, the red and black armored Mandalorian, raised a gloved hand. "I will look into those crates," it wasn't a suggestion, it was a demand. As an afterthought, he added. "If you don't mind." His voice rasped and sounded like sandpaper rubbing against a window pane. The Duros glared hard at his helmeted face. In a voice cold and hard, he spoke. "Ah, I see our buyer doesn't trust us and our quality." Zekk didn't speak; he just stood there, hands at his sides, near his blaster pistols.

"Fine," the Duros realized he wasn't going to win the silent staring match and probably nothing else also. He grumbled under his breath about bounty hunters who were always on edge and stepped back as Stilco walked up to one of the crates. The code was simple. So simple in fact that Stilco didn't even have to use his key code slicer. He stepped back as the crate hissed open with a sigh of depressurization.

He bent down and scooped up a handful of something small and glittering. It was a light yellow color and it was shaped like tiny shards of transparisteel-like seeds of yellow glass. "This glitterstim is top quality?" he asked the Duros. The skinny blue skinned creature nodded sagely. Zekk kept his eyes on the other thugs, just in case. "Alright, here is the credit transfer." He tapped in a code on his gauntlet-ed left forearm's data pad. "It was a pleasure doing business with you.

My employer will want more of this top grade glitterstim." The data pad chirped as it finished the transfer of credits over to the drug dealer's account from an anonymous one. The Duros smiled thinly. He rubbed his hands together, already thinking of ways to spend the money. And also of ways he could make more. "I might have something else your employer would like. Slaves." He informed Zekk proudly. Stilco stared around the room, as if looking for them now. "Ah. this way, bounty hunter. You must take a few, I can't keep them all. They eat up credits. And then something else eats them!" he laughed at his own sick joke.

The sound bounced around the room, like a pebble falling and striking the bottom of a deep empty well. The Mandalorian kept his eyes on the thugs as they flanked their boss. How fast could he- the Duros came to a stop at a blast door. He quickly punched in the code. "There is a woman in here that would serve your master well. You can have her, free of charge. It is on me; tell him that Tak'yk gives him a gift." Stilco glanced at him, he moved forward. "I don't have a master." Tak'yk nodded quickly and bobbed his head. "Of course, forgive me. Here they are." The blast door had slid open to reveal a small room where two children sat huddled in a corner, an older girl had her thin arms wrapped around them protectively. When the door opened, they all looked up; Stilco could see the fear in their eyes. He stepped forward and that's when it struck.

He heard a loud growl from behind and then the next thing he knew, he was flying through the air. He managed to control himself so that he landed in a crouch. He had both blaster pistols out and aiming at the source of the growl. It was a giant cat-like creature that had dark colored fur. Its four eyes regarded him with hate. Its six legs tugged and strained against the chains that bound it to a huge metal pole. Saliva dripped down its chin fur and fang filled mouth. "Easy, it's only my pet." The Duros smiled at it fondly, like a father to a child. "Make sure it keeps its distance." Stilco said. Tak'yk rubbed its head and back, laughing when it purred.

"Now, I don't think my employer needs slaves. I will come back when you pick up more." Stilco added, he moved toward the door and waited as the Duros followed him out and locked the door behind them. "Well, I guess my pet gets another meal." The Duros giggled manically and motioned the hired thugs who had left to load the crates into the ship bay, over. "Have you finished?" A woman with a scar across her face and pierces on her lips, nodded. "Yes, it's all loaded," Stilco noticed that she carried a light blaster rifle and something that looked like a lightsaber. But he could tell she wasn't a Jedi. She glanced at him and smirked. "I suggest we leave before another Republic officer comes by." She started walking toward a swoop bike. Tak'yk sighed. "I guess this is goodbye, bounty hunter." Zekk nodded. "There is one last thing I need to do…" he reached out and punched his left hand right into the Duros's chest.

He ejected his vibroblade and felt it hit breastbone. By then, he was already tossing aside the dead creature's body and reaching for his blaster pistols. He quickly shot two of the hired thugs before they could react. That left ten more. The woman had already taken cover behind her swoop, and was raising her blaster rifle at him. He quickly rolled aside the volley of laser bolts that scorched and tore the duracrete floor around him. He picked himself up and raced directly toward the woman. She shot him twice in the chest before he reached the bike and vaulted straight over it, and shot her through the face. He plucked the lightsaber from her body and turned to scan the room. He toggled his NV mode on his helmet. There. He saw three shapes run for the door. He simply tossed a grenade at them. The blast shook the building and brought some debris down. He was sure the thugs were dead. He walked out of the building and watched as the last of thugs were trying to hack into a Star-Craft class three shuttle. He shot them down. Stilco glanced around, doing a quick body count. He noticed someone was missing. The Mandalorian straightened up and turned when he heard the familiar snap-hiss of a lightsaber.

The Jedi was a young woman, a girl really. He sighed and holstered his blaster pistols. "This isn't your fight, Jedi. Just leave." The Jedi shook her head and advanced, lightsaber raised. "You're wrong! Bounty hunter scum! This is my fight. You killed my master on Zoac and now, I will kill you!" her voice shook with anger and loathing. Stilco unclipped the lightsaber from his belt and powered it up. A flame of white shot up from the hilt and stabbed the sky. "Are you sure you want to do this?" in answer, the Jedi yelled and charged him, purple colored lightsaber whirling in a complicated pattern. Stilco dodged them all and struck back. Hard. The Jedi wasn't expecting that and she fell down, her lightsaber skittering away from her grip. She stared at Stilco as he towered over her. He stared right back. "You're not worth killing." He turned his back on her.

"I killed your Master for no personal reason. It was a job. Just a job." The girl came up again, swifter than before, her lightsaber flew up and into her hand with a quick gesture from her fingers. Now she rushed him again, her glowing weapon spinning in a dazzling and deadly web of purple energy. Zekk Stilco dodged aside a jab that was intended to pierce his stomach and parried two swift, short hacks that were aimed at his chest. He moved aside as she shoved her blade down hard on his own, the two weapons locked together and white-hot sparks spat and hissed in the air. Stilco pushed against her weapon, ignoring the whining hum that his misty white light blade uttered. She pushed back, the Mandalorian was surprised how strong she was. He leaned over the glowing weapons, and swiftly head-butted her in the face with his helmeted head.

She jerked back, blood pouring from her nose and smashed lips. That's when Stilco moved in, now that she had dropped her guard for a second, now she was going to wish she hadn't. With a sharp twist, his lightsaber was free and he neatly dragged it into a sharp, swift arc up at her face. Somehow she sensed the attack, dropping her blade down, she blocked and backpedaled. Stilco followed, keeping his lightsaber spinning and whirling. He never gave her a moment of rest, always shoving her back with quick and fast lightsaber strokes. His light blade was a blur, but so was her own. She blocked, dodged, leaping over every attack, just as he intended. He knew it was foolish going up against a Jedi without a plan. He had one; he was going to wear her down until she was too tired to even lift her weapon.

She fell back as their duel carried them across the docking bay, her foot slipped on a piece of ruined gunmetal. Stilco stab forward, she dodged, coming up hard against the railing which was the only thing separating her from a fall to her death far below, far below into the darkness. Her breath was coming in short gasps now, and he knew he was winning. But she surprised him yet again by coming at him in a headlong attack, seemingly stronger. He backpedaled and dodged a cruel stab and riposte. Now he was the one on the defensive. She Force shoved him back as he regained his ground and continued her flurry of attacks. Stilco swung at her right leg and when she blocked, slashed at her midriff. The glowing weapon sliced into the girl's flank, but she managed to move her own weapon around in a tight arc that put it directly in the path of Stilco's neck.

He shoved away, cursing himself for being so foolish. Instead of cutting his head from his neck, the purple blade swept a glowing hot scar across his chest plate. He now was the one panting for breath. But the Jedi was wounded, the fight was more so over now. The bounty hunter pulled out one of his blaster pistols and squeezed off a short burst at the young girl before she could launch another attack. With a swift Force shove, she pushed Stilco back and her light saber swatted the laser blasts away. By the time Zekk had regained his footing, she was already attacking him, her weapon slashing in a mad twisted pattern. Twice her light saber hit his armor and twice it bounced off.

He ducked under a short swipe intended to take off his head, and charged her. He caught her off guard and before she knew it, he had rammed her down, vibroblade swinging in for the kill. With a loud grunt, the Jedi rolled away barely in time while sweeping out a leg that caught Stilco in the kneecap. He snarled in fury and pain, and raised his blaster pistol. He fired. The Jedi's weapon whirled a defensive web of purple light around her as she reflected laser blasts away. Stilco kept it up, looking for weakness in her light saber defense. There. He fired twice at her right leg while running to the left. Just as he anticipated, she dodged and turned toward him, light saber held high. He fired again. This time, two laser bolts slipped past her glowing weapon and slammed into her left shoulder blade. He was on her a second after that, vibroblade going in for the kill. Again.

The young girl jumped clear over him and landed behind him, poised lightly on her feet, light saber raised. The Mando could see where the laser blasts had hit her, and he knew the Jedi was running out of time. Blood painted her whole side, streaming from the blaster wounds and the light saber cut. She wasn't a match for him. He knew that much. She was just so far lucky, and soon enough everybody ran out of that. He knew the only way to win this was to get closer again, too close for her to use her lightsaber. It was going to be a very personal and up close fight. When she came at him again, he simply stepped aside her glowing weapon, and when she countered with a quick furious kick, he blocked with his arm. She stumbled back, but didn't go down. Her next attack was a clumsy side swing that was intended to take off his head. He moved in and dodged the attack, while throwing a quick thundering left hay-maker into her jawbone. She stumbled back, panting and gasping for breath. Stilco didn't attack again, he moved cautiously to the side, sucking in air through his helmet's air recycler.

He was just as tired as the young girl, maybe even more. Blood dribbled down her broken nose and mouth. "Jedi, you have forgotten the first rule of engagement: never fight a Mando alone." He rasped. She laughed weakly at him, while lowering her weapon. "And you seem to have forgotten the Jedi's rule of engagement: don't underestimate the Force." She dropped her lightsaber swiftly and raised both hands. The Force shove was a powerful one, too fast and too strong to dodge. Stilco found himself flying backwards. He hit the railing of the docking bay, and with a grunt, went right over it, plummeting down. Falling off of the high space port's deck and out into the inky darkness of the planet's lower levels. The Jedi leaned against the rail- fell more accurately- and peered down into the dark, wondering if she had really killed the Mandalorian. She glanced down at her side stained with blood. Damn that bounty hunter, she thought. She cursed out loud and- and rolled aside as a sizzling, white hot blade nearly skewered her body from behind. Only a faint whisper of the Force had warned her of the bounty hunter's presence, but that's all she needed. He had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, his lightsaber striking and slashing at her without stopping.

He hacked at her head; her blade was in her hand and between them before the attack struck home. They slashed and swung at each other, not even trying to dodge now, just trying to kill the other, and just trying to end it all, here and now. The Jedi held the bounty hunter off, just barely, and every time she managed to score a hit on his armor, the lightsaber bounced off, leaving a carbon scoring blotch on the tough metal. The Mando never broke step, always moving, dodging a side swipe at his neck, parrying two quick light saber attacks that came from the left, fast and low, and barely dodging a kick aimed at his kneecap. "Jedi, your Master was not as worthy an opponent as you. You would make a good Mando." Although the Jedi couldn't hear any emotion in his voice, she felt his amusement. "Never!" the word came hard and furious. She wasn't in control of her emotions anymore.

Her vision clouded and red veiled everything. She roared with pent-up rage and shoved out with the Force violently. That's when Stilco moved in, he went low and fast. She realized her mistake and tried to swing her weapon around, but he was already slamming his weapon up to meet the other light saber, with his other hand, he slammed it into her face. She fell backwards from the blow, light saber skittering across the ground and just out of her reach. The young girl glared up at the bounty hunter with hate in her eyes. "Go ahead, kill me. You will die one day and I know a Jedi will kill you." She burst out. Zekk Stilco stared at her and clipped his light saber to his belt, panting heavily. "Someday. But that's not today, Jedi." He swiftly punched her again.

She was out cold before her head hit the deck. The bounty hunter stared at her limp body and pulled out his blaster pistol, aiming carefully at her, he squeezed the trigger without a second of hesitation. The sound of that one shot echoed in the docking bay. He bent over and hauled her body over his shoulder, glancing around; he made his way to his star fighter.