Gray

Author’s Note: Greetings from a Galaxy Far, Far, Away. This is my character’s story in the Star Wars universe. Star Wars is owned by Disney and LucasArts. I claim no rights to the characters of Star Wars and simply wrote this for fun. Fun illustrated images will be showing up on Deviant Art under Diana Hart Voices. Feel free to check it out when they come out. Thanks for reading.

(Some words are in Mando’a, the Mandalorian Language, there is a translator available on google.)

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away…

The planet of Voss brightly shown into the cockpit of a star ship entering the atmosphere. The bright reds and oranges of the foliage quickly became the common sight for the pilot. The mountainous ranges helped guide him to Voss-Ka, the capital city of the planet. The pilot landed his large star ship and stood up.

Walking to the exit, the door opened with a hiss. Entering the light of the area, he looked around his surroundings. This planet still remained neutral in the continuing conflict of the Empire and the Rebels. The native species looked at him. Without hesitation, he walked over to one of the Voss men and began to talk to him.

“I’m looking for this individual.” He pulled up a holoimage of a young woman.

The Voss looked at the image, and then back to him. His eyes glanced over the armor he war and eventually landed on the visor of his helmet, hiding his face. “A Mandalorian looking for someone. You must be a bounty hunter.”

“Observant.” He commented.

“The one you seek often camps on the edge of the Nightmare Lands.” He pointed at a path. “Few Gormak or Voss go there. The land is unnatural, and causes the strong willed to loose grip on reality. You must pass Gormak territory to reach there.”

The Mandalorian nodded before placing the device back on his belt. He began walking. Most of Voss looked the same as he continued his journey. Every once and a while he would see a new mountain range, and many wild animals, and some other individuals. He, though, remained focused on the mission he had.

This young woman had a large bounty on her head, and he didn’t fully know why. She was worth more alive than dead. But he knew he might need to strike first. He was a fairly well known hunter, and often was contracted to take out difficult individuals against the Empire. He even had a Khyber Crystal or two from former Jedi who managed to hide from the Empire. Most of his contracts came from the Empire. They weren’t afraid to fight dirty if needed.

After a lot of walking, he found that the trees began to change shape, and the air began to feel different as well.

These must be the Nightmare Lands. He thought as he turned and began to walk along the edge of the area. She is supposedly camped out along here somewhere. I wouldn’t think she would be camped in the area. Probably stays close so she’s not bothered.

He began to search for a camp sight. As he searched, he found a set of foot prints. Not fresh, but he could find the defining shape of a boot. The size was small, but it was a heeled boot that told him it was more likely an adult than an adolescent.

Following the prints, he quickly saw the light of a fire come into view. Night had began to set in, and he needed to prepare to take the shot. Looking around once more, he saw a vantage point. He began to climb. Upon reaching the top, he pulled himself up and pulled out a rifle. Setting up a scope, he lay on his stomach and set up his shot.

Through the scope, he could see a hooded figure by the fire. Adjusting the range, it displayed a clearer aim. The figure seemed to be meditating. Though he didn’t fully confirm that this was his target, he justified his actions by telling himself that no one else was reported to camp in these areas. In fact, he was told that practically everyone avoided these lands.

He lined up his shot once more, and took aim at the hood. He let out a breath, and squeezed the trigger. A loud bang rang through the forest, and his eyes widened. The shot had stopped, just moments before hitting the target. It seemed to be frozen in the air. The blast still radiated with heat and acted as though it tried to continue, but was being held back by an incredible force.

Information clicked in his mind. The large bounty, the difficulty finding the target, the reason she was preferred alive over dead. She was a Force User. His eyes stayed trained on the target as she stood up and turned towards the blast. Pulling off her hood, her face was revealed to him. She was the target he was looking for. But the holoimage didn’t show much of what she really looked like.

She was a Chiss. A species from far away planets that was often considered unknown space. Her skin was a royal blue color, and her red eyes contrasted with it. Her hair was black, but when the light hit it right, dark blue showed in the highlights.

“Whoa, that was close.” He heard her say as she looked at the blast that was mere inches from her.

She moved to the side, and the blast suddenly sailed past her and exploded in the ground passed where she was. Her eyes gazed over the area of where the blast came, but he was flat enough against the rock that she couldn’t easily find him.

Instead, she lifted up her hand and held it next to her mouth. “Hey! Sorry to say, but you are going to need to try a lot harder than that to kill me. I’ve been at this for a long time!”

With that, she turned around and fell into meditation once again. He, on the other hand, sat up and propped up an elbow on his knee. He let out a string of grumbles. “...blasted … Force User… bounty… so blasted high…”

This one failure wasn’t going to stop him though. He was determined to complete his contract. He just needed to wait for another opportune time. Maybe when she slept. He knew he most likely couldn’t take her alive, she would fight against him the whole time. And a living Force user was harder to contain than a dead one.

He had taken longer to fulfill a contract, this wouldn’t be any different.

He was wrong. So, wrong. Not only was this different, but his target seemed to be enjoying his attempts of killing her. It was like a game to her. Every way he tried to take the shot, she found a way to either dodge it, deflect it, or have it hit something else. All without the use of a Lightsaber. He knew she had two of them, they were sitting on her belt.

She also had a little droid that followed her around whenever she was at camp. But whenever she left, it stayed behind. This bounty was becoming a trial for the Mandalorian. He had tried almost everything.

He tried shooting her in her sleep. Her Force ability shielded her. He tried stabbing her in her sleep. His blade was stopped by that same Force. He tried shooting her while her head was under water when she swam. She was able to propel away from the blast before it even connected with the water. He was getting tired. He didn’t want to stop though.

A growl came from his stomach. He didn’t realize how hungry he was. Two days had passed since he landed on Voss, and he had been so focused on his target that he neglected to notice his needs. Propping up his rifle, he let out a sigh. The sound of rock hitting pottery caught his attention.

Looking over, he saw a bowl a stew next to him. No one was close by, but when he looked over to his target, he saw she was eating as well and nodded in his direction. He figured it would only take a certain amount of time before she figured out where he set up his camp.

His head turned back to the food. Hesitant, he reached over and grabbed the bowl. He turned so she couldn’t see his face. Taking off his helmet, he ate the food. Though it didn’t have much flavor, the food provided him with the sustenance he needed. Once finished, he placed his helmet back on his head and placed the bowl to the side.

“So,” her voice caught him off guard. “You’ve been hiding up here for a while. It’s getting a little creepy.”

His reflexes caused him to pull a blaster from his side and point it at her.

She smirked and gave him a ‘really’ look. “You know that’s not going to work.”

He let out a sigh and dropped his arm. She rested her elbows on the rock, and placed her fists under her chin. Her eyes studied him, and they were wordless for a while.

“You are probably one of the most determined people to come after me.” She commented. “Most people have given up by about the first day.”

He didn’t answer at first. But she wasn’t leaving, so he figured it was best to indulge her so she would leave. “I always complete a contract.”

“Ah.” She nodded. “Bounty Hunter. I think you’re the first. I never got to know the others.”

He remained silent. He had always decided to never get close to any target. It could interfere with a contract. It seemed obvious to follow that.

“My name is Trisk.” She held her hand out to him. “Seeing that we both are stubborn, we may as well as get to know each other.”

She stayed in that position for a while. He refused to move. She leaned closer and waited. Her smile stayed on her face until he decided to indulge her once again.

He reached over and grabbed her hand, giving it a firm shake. “Meric.”

“Nice to meet you, Meric.” Her grin got bigger. “Glad to get to know you.”

Her hand was still in his. Thinking quick, Meric used his strength to pull her over and throw her off the small cliff next to him. She flipped in the air and landed easily. Trisk looked up at him and smiled once more.

“Nice try.” She called.

“Ne’johaa!” He shouted in Mando’a.

“I don’t know what that means.” She responded.

“It was still worth the shot!”