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7 years later

In the case of being gripped with the Force by the throat, grasping at the throat would be the reflexive response. Of course, it would be a useless action. There is no hand to grasp. And even if there was one, you wouldn't be able to do anything against it. Instead, one should fire their slugthrower at them in response to being choked with the Force. If this isn't possible, then they should hope they have an explosive set ready to kill them. And hope to be at a safe distance from the explosion.

Indeed, the Force is the most dangerous part of fighting a force-sensetive. They may push, pull or grip someone with the Force, and most would be hopeless. Notable exceptions would be Boba Fett, who would simply use his jetpack to stabalise himself when he hunted jedi for the Empire. Or General Grievous who used intimidation tactics to weaken a jedi's connection to the Force as well as clawed feet the hold unto surfaces when pushed or pulled by the Force.

Of course, these two are exceptions and most don't have access to the resources they do. I doubt even with the wealth father left for me that I could get the same set of equipement. 

And sith have more powers than simple pull and push. And I ought to think of a way to counter them.

I had put down the datapad again. I was writing ideas into datapads since I was twelve, so they became really valuable to me. Both emotionally and tactically.

The clone didn't shared his name, if he had any. So I came to simply call him Master, for that was what he was to me. Although, truth be told, we had a kind of relationship where we were sort of equals.

He kept a stoic and quiet attitude, and so I never forced him to speak. I'd like to say we grew fond of one another, but that wasn't quiet true. We saw each other as traders might see one another, an asset to exploit but no true friend. As soon as one wouldn't be useful the other would leave them.

And so we were useful to one another. He taught me teras kasi, and I provided him with shelter until he learned  to act like the average human being. Surprisingly enough, despite getting off at a rough start, Caretaker and Master were amiable with one another. They both seemed to find comfort in each other's company. Amd so it had been for many years since I welcomed him, until I finally graduated from education.

Father's fortune, however, was dwindling. Mostly from taxation and my studious efforts. When Caretaker and Master urged me to sell the sith records, I refused on the basis I might one day interpret the texts differently. It was selfish and I would now not hesitate to admit it, but as the owner of the shelter as well as the money Master and Caretaker allowed me to do as I wished. Although they did so reluctantly.

And so, we were forced to work. I had Caretaker babysit children for an hourly wage so that parents didn't have to buy a droid, which earned us the a steady amount of credits. Meanwhile, me and Master were looking for jobs. I had worked as a bar-tender whilst Master worked as a bouncer for another establishment. Yet, we were constantly fired. It turned out Master wasn't the only one with poor social skills, as if I expected years of studying cult-like people would make me more charming behind the bar.

Eventually, we begun taking whatever jobs we could. Janitors, waiters and similair occupations. Yet, most of the jobs we tried to get was already mostly taken care of droids. So there was a lot of competition. Despite Caretaker's efforts, the credits in our deposit spiralled closer and closer to a small amount. And we were getting desperate.

One day, Master came in quietly like a shadow whilst I was looking for employment on the Holonet. He only acts stealthy when he was nervous.

"Well, Galen. I found us employment. Well, not exactly but-"

"Is it illegal?"

He paused. "That's actually a very complex question."

A found that a sigh was escaping my mouth. "Out with it then. What is it?"

"Well there's this bounty-"

I was about to say no.

"- on an inquisitor who was apparently trying to abduct a child of this rich trader. He offered a good ship to the first bounty hunter to accept. Since the person in question is a force-user, most aren't taking it and those that would are mostly busy with other bounties."

During his talk, I shut my mouth as soon as soon as I heard the word "inquisitor".  They were Darkside-users who's official purpose was to hunt down any remaining jedi from the days of the Republic's democracy. They also submitted to the Darkside. The side of the Force my contempt was directed at.

They would be my first prey.

I didn't realize how much hate I had in me until that moment. It suddenly flooded in as soon as I heard there was a chance to kill Darkside-users. As if it was slumbering until I could actually take action against someone. One might expect me to be filled to the brim with anger and a desire for revenge. Maybe that was one kind of hate, but what I had felt at that moment was different.

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I was already skilled at teras kasi, almost as much as Master. I felt as if I could fight and defeat an inquisitor with him at my side.

"Well then, let's go." 

***

Thankfully, nobody accepted the contract in the criminal side of Holonet before us so we didn't have to find a way to steal a ship. We quickly entered hyperspace, with Master of course being the pilot since I didn't know how to fly the thing, towards the planet that the client was on. Tatooine, it was called. I knew I should learn as much as possible about the mission first hand, but I couldn't help but focus on the ship.

It had 4 different turrets, each of which could seemingly be automated by a complex algorithm or controlled by a droid , as well as the latest parts and a design which made it harder to hit. By all accounts, it was a very good ship. Too good of one. I wondered why the trader gave us a ship of such good quality, despite the fact there was nothing to prevent us from simply lying about accepting the contract and taking it with us.

I felt there was more going on then we realized.

"Oi, Master."

He didn't respond, just like his stoic self.

"Don't you wonder why the trader left a ship of good quality be left as an early payment for bounty hunters? There's nothing to prevent a person from simply taking it and leaving afterwards."

I left a puzzle for him to work out, to see if he would reach any conclusions I didn't. He frowned, and pondered a bit. Finally, he answered.

"Trap? Maybe the Empire is trying to root out those who are defying them by atttacking their men."

"I don't think so. It still wouldn't prevent someone taking off unless they placed a tracker. I already sweeped the place and couldn't find anything. Besides, they wouldn't haave had to give us a ship, not of this good of a quality."

I could tell he suddenly gave the puzzle a lot more attention in his mind. Something about his face gave off that impression.

I decided to try and bring him out of his silence. "So, does your experience as a soilder tell you we should give this more thought?"

"Possibly."

I knew he wouldn't speak anymore than that. I didn't bother trying to find out what his mind was thinking. After all, we just got out of hyperspace. And Tatooine was there, a barren desert planet in front of us. We had proceeded to land at  the designated area and head to the bar where we were suppossed to meet the trader.

We ate and waited a while. A very long while. Me and Master were starting to suspect we were somehow being surrounded as night fell and the trader finally came.

An iktotchi came and sat before us. "How do you like the ship.?"

"It's very good quality. I think the automated turrets werre a nice touch." I responded cautiously. I shot a glance at Master and realized he was staying quiet, per his training as a clone, to soak in every bit of information.

The iktotchi simply nodded at my response to me. Then he briefed us. "There's a human child on this plane. They're being hunted down by one of those jedis with a red lightsaber."

"You mean inquisitors."

"Same thing. Anyway, I want you to find a way to get rid of this 'inquisitor'. They should be south of here, no more than a few hundred steps."

"And this child isn't yours?"

The man snorted. "No, no. If this was my son, they wouldn't still be on this planet. I'm just paying a favour to a rather old man."

Must be a big favour, with all that credit offered plus a ship being giving away at the beginning.

"Alright then. We expect the credits if we survive and dealt with the force-sensetive."

"I'll transfer it to you via the Holonet."

I didn't like that we had nothing more than his words to trust, since there'd be nothing to confirm that we got our payment. I'd want to avoid any unneeded killing, but it is well known that a bounty hunter who doesn't kill a cheating client tends to end up the target of many scams. But I decided to trust him anyhow.

And so, after a hundred steps or so, we reached the Darkside-user. It seemed she was approaching a small residency of some kind. Possibly where the child was living. Rage filled me. They'd kidnap children and adhere to their desires? No. I would not allow this person to kill the child's parents as Vader had killed mine.

"Oi!"

She quickly turned, her black armor reflecting the shine of the moonlight, with the luminating red lightsaber in her hand. She was well equipped, I had to admit. Yet, not equipped enough.

Her armor would be designed against blaster fire, not metal projectiles. So I shot two rounds of my slugthrower. She reacted almost instantly, lifting her lightsaber to deflect those shots. We were already dashing towards her.

The first shot vaporised upon contact against the lightsaber, which seemed to surprise her because the second shot barely slipped by through her defenses. The close vicinity to the lightsaber caused the shot to melt and burn her skin, as well as break her armour from the high velocity, which caused her to scream in pain and lose focus.

Me and Master moved quickly, before she could use her rage to fuel her strenght, and delivered precise hits. Which stunned her. She finally gave two wide swings of her lightsaber at us, which we evaded with ease at her stunned and weakened state, and delivered the final blow knocking her out. Then I took out a blaster and shot her head, which killed her with a satisfying blow.

I stared at the corpse, as if expecting it to move, which it didn't of course.

That's it? Is that all it took?

Most of my fears had relinquished over the years, but I still had nightmares of the night Vader had killed my parents. I could never forget a night like that, and I expected a great battle or fight of some kind whenever battling the sith.

Yet, here was a sith right beneath me. Confusion, pride and triumph all warred in me. I had killed her, but when did one become the sith become so weak? Even with stealth, she should have sensed us. Were the sith weak after all, or was I making too many assumptions from this? Maybe we won because I used my slugthrower. Maybe we surprised her. I still couldn't rap my mind around her death.

My mind couldn't decide if this was good or bad.

"... Galen?"

I snapped back into reality. "Huh, did you say something Master?"

"I said call the trader and tell him to transfer the credits."

I took out a device used to connect to the Holonet, only to find that the credits were already transferred. It was sent alongside the message. That weapon was very loud. But a slugthrower? Genius.

Damn trader was watching us. I sighed, I'd need to find a way to gurantee my clients payed. I didn't have a reputation others would know yet.

I looked back at Master, who suddenly seemed pale for no reason. I followed his gaze.

An old man was standing outside the small residence. And next to him, there was a ten years old boy and a middle-aged man.