A Hunter's Pride

Chapter 1: the bounty

You sighed in frustration as you hammered on the control panel of your ship, the Milano. In the end, you were able to catch your bounty, but it was a lot more difficult than you imagined. At first, everything went as planned, the bounty was where you wanted him to be, you were in position, but then everything went wrong. It started when you knocked down something you didn't know, but when it hit the ground, it exploded. You were thrown into a wall and bruised your entire back. The bounty, startled by the explosion, disappeared into the canalizations. Despite the pain you followed him and of course, you slipped. Three hours you chased your bounty and in the end you bumped into him when you walked around a corner.

Now, the man sat in a small cell on your ship, with tied hands and a broken nose. After all the exertions of the day, you simply knocked him out without hesitation.

After you locked him up, the first thing you did was to take a shower. A lot of shampoo and soap was needed to wash the smell off your skin and out of your hair and a lot of pain was included when the water hit the bruises on your back, but in the end, it was definitely worth the pain. Freshly washed, you were now on your way to Coruscant, to deliver the bounty and collect your payment.

The planet was brightly lit as always and you wondered what would happen if it had a world wide power failure, what was unlikely to happen.

You landed your ship on a landing platform in the lower levels. Oh how you hated this place. It reminded you of Corellia, the planet you were born on. A world where even the youngest kids were trained to do crimes. You shook that thought off and exited the Milano with the unconscious bounty over your shoulder, making your way to the bar of your client. Only a few people shot you glares. A bounty hunter in the lower levels wasn't unnormal, especially if they weren't well known. Like you.

After a walk of ten minutes, you reached your destination. As soon as the doors opened, the hot and stuffy air was blown in your face and you held your hand in front of your face. The smoke burned in your eyes, but you stepped inside anyways. Although it was pretty dark, you could make out your client at a table in the back. On his lap sat a pink Twi'lek with tons of make up and only very few clothes. She let out a scream when the body of the bounty hit the table. Your client however remained calm and looked up.

"I hope he's not dead." He said quietly.

You tilted your head and stared in his eyes. He took that as a yes, and stood up.

"Alright, let's go."

You followed him and the Twi'lek, who hold onto his arm. The man lead you into a back room behind the bar, where he mentioned the pink to wait outside, what she did. Inside, it was cold and you took a deep breath, enjoying the feeling of clean air in your lungs. As soon as the door closed, your client turned to you.

"You're late."

"At least I am here."

The man let out a laugh and put an arm around your shoulders.

"You know (Y/n), the only reason I'm still hiring you is because you are reliable."

While he spoke he let you to a metal table in the middle of the room.

"Not many people out there you can trust. I'm glad I found one."

He eventually let go of you and pushed some buttons on a control panel.

"I hope I can trust you with this one, too?"

A hologram of a man appeared in front of you and you eyed his face suspiciously. Scars covered his face and his long, dark hair was braided in some places. His features were stern and his eyes showed no sign of mercy. Even if it was only a hologram, you had respect of him.

"His name is Thei'ra." Your client continued. "I can't tell you more about him, but he is very important for me alive."

You turned to face the man next to you.

"What about my payment?"

This made him laugh and again he put an arm around your shoulders.

"My dear (Y/n), if you bring this man to me alive, you will get enough to buy you everything you want."

Annoyed, you rolled your eyes. Sometimes you thought this man was as dumb as he acted, but then you remembered his manipulation tricks.

"I'll take the job, but you still owe me money for my previous hunt." You said and removed his arm from your shoulders.

He paused for a bit, before he smirked and looked into your eyes.

"Let's say we take your bounty and multiply it with, I don't know, let's say 100? When you bring me that man, you'll get everything I owe you." He said and pointed at the hologram.

You let out a sigh and nodded. Next to you, your client smirked. He knew exactly you would take on every offer he made. You needed the money and he was the only one who'd hire an unknown bounty hunter as you were.

"Now that we settled, how about a drink?" He smirked and stepped with you back in the bar room.

"I don't drink." You said and twitched your nose as soon as the smoky air reached you

"Still not? You really need to change that attitude, sweetheart."

"And I still need that tracking beacon." You added as you ignored his comment.

The man laughed and again, he put an arm around your shoulder. You tried to held back the rising anger inside you. That was the reason why you never stayed there for long. Also, your mind got more and more clouded every minute. Finally, a tracking beacon was pressed in your hand and you made your way to the door.

"Oh, and (Y/n)?"

You turned around at the sound of your client.

"Please be careful. I'm not the only one who wants his head and I don't want to loose another of my hunters."

You nodded and stepped outside.