Set during the time of the Great Galactic War before the Sacking of Coruscant and the signing of the Treaty of Coruscant


Balmorra, a factory world bordering the Core Worlds and a key strategic world in the on going war between the Sith Empire and the Galactic Republic. A full scale battle for the planet raged everywhere, the streets ablaze with seas of blaster fire and the night sky lighting up from the opposing fleets locked in a naval battle in the upper atmosphere despite the storm engulfing them. Bin Prime the capital city was the site of the biggest battle and the worst part of the storm, torrential downpours heavy enough to soak soldiers to the bone even through their armor.

At the top floor of one of the abandoned factories a lone figure hid in the shadows, lying on its stomach and peering through a rifle scope, through an open window and into the streets below. The scope's sights were set at the side entrance of the main workshop patiently set on the doorway waiting for a specific target to appear. The battle for Balmorra had tipped in the Republic's favor and was sure to be over before morning, but there was another objective they had hoped to accomplish here.

Gathered Intel had suggested that a high ranking Imperial officer was on Balmorra overseeing the design of a new type of weapon. Details on the weapon itself were vague, but the officer in question was a high valued target. Admiral Harrison Teal a decorated soldier with an accomplished career. Once the tide of battle went against the Imperials Admiral Teal was sure to try and escape, but thanks to a well placed air strike the landing pad on the workshop's roof was destroyed and the front entrance to the building was a small war zone leaving only the side entrance as an escape route.

The hidden figure's comlink beeped, "Whisper, an Imperial shuttle is moving toward your location at a fast pace, we think that's the target's ride be ready".

"Understood" the hidden figure replied moving even closer to its rifle.

A roar overhead deafened the hidden figure, but it remained still and unfazed as the shuttle zoomed no more than six meters overhead approaching the main workshop's side entrance. The side door to the workshop opened and a squad of five troopers ran out with a human male in an officer's uniform in the middle of them. A quick check of the protected officer's face confirmed it to be the target and the hidden sniper stiffened his shoulders against the rifle's stock.

Peering through the heavy downpour and calculating the direction of the wind and speed and distance to target the sniper wrapped his finger around the trigger and on his exhale pulled it back. The rifle's barrel jerked up as its thunderous boom echoed through the deserted room and the projectile flew down toward the streets and into the skull of the Imperial Admiral just before he stepped on the shuttle. The troopers surrounding the Imperial officer raised their weapons and began scanning the area while one kneeled down to check on the Admiral quickly giving up upon seeing the large hole in the side of his head.

Tapping a finger against the comlink in his ear the sniper announced his kill, "Kill confirmed. Admiral Teal is dead".

"Well done Whisper the battle will be over soon maintain position and provide support for our boys down there".

"Copy, moving on to second objective".

Shifting position the sniper angled his rifle down into the streets lining his sights against a target manning a mounted gun and pulled the trigger watching as the projectile round pierced through the target's helmet and bored its way into the target's head killing him instantly. Confirming the kill the sniper's sights moved to another target and with another shot came another kill followed by another and then a fourth. The battle below did not last much longer, once most of the Imperials were dead and their commanding officer confirmed KIA the remaining soldiers laid down their weapons in an attempt to surrender.

The sniper after being on his stomach for half the day finally stood up stumbling half a step before regaining his balance, he had arrived much earlier than the ground forces to scout for an appropriate vantage point and set up now that the job was done and the battle won he could finally relax. Returning to the streets the sniper was met with a few cheers from some of the Republic troopers patting him on the back and shoulder for a job well done though the only thing the sniper could think of was getting back to the cruiser so they could head home. A shuttle landed to pick up the ground forces and replace them with fresh troops to take over and the sniper boarded one grabbing the hand rails above for support as the shuttle took off.

"Easy day eh Whisper?" one of the troopers said.

Reaching up with one hand the sniper removed his helmet inhaling a long breath while shaking her steel colored hair, "Tiresome more like it".

"Wait you're a woman?" one of the other troopers gasped seeing the sniper without his helmet.

"Last time I checked" Whisper replied locking her dark green eyes on the trooper.

The first trooper chuckled, "That's right this is your first time seeing Whisper up close. Finlay here is new to the squad we told him we'd have sniper support from the best marksman in the Republic guess I should've said markswoman instead".

"I'm not the best" Whisper said to the first trooper who chuckled again.

"Modest as always" he patted her shoulder again, "Drinks are on me tonight, want to join us?"

Whisper shook her head, "I just want a hot shower and some sleep".

"Maybe next time then" the trooper nodded before turning to his men.

Whisper closed her eyes going over her estimates for the day, the condition of her rifle, the number of shots she fired and her kill count. When the shuttle finally docked with the lead cruiser she was the first one off and made her way toward one of the turbo lifts taking her to the crew deck. Entering her personal quarters she locked the door behind her and set her rifle down on her bed before removing her armor. Setting each piece aside in an orderly manner she stretched her arms back and entered the head to take a shower. When she finished she dried herself and changed into a basic crew uniform before climbing into her bed and closing her eyes.

Her codename was Whisper given to her because of her skills at stealth and infiltration. Before the Republic recruited her she was on her own fighting against the Empire, not as a free lancer just a lone soldier with a score to settle. Her homeworld was meant to be Onderon in the Inner Rim, but she was born on Kashyyyk in the Mid Rim. Her father was a well known hunter and through his travels had made friends with a Wookiee after saving it from a krayt dragon on Tatooine. The wookiees had a code of honor amongst their kind if their lives were ever saved by another they would swear a life debt to that person and forever remain loyal to them.

Her father Corrin Sparrow or as he was known to other hunters Apex a name he earned after successfully killing not one or two, but three rancors alone during a hunt gone wrong on Felucia. In his middle years Corrin met another hunter on Onderon woman named Sabrina, the two met in a hunting party and since that day had always traveled and hunted together. Visiting the wookiee homeworld Corrin was going to join in a ceremonial hunt with his wookiee friend Talon, the nickname he had given the wookiee and though the hunt ended in failure his wife had gone into labor giving birth to his daughter.

Given the name Talim by her mother she spent most of her younger years as a regular child with the added perk of getting to see multiple worlds as her father traveled for big hunts and when the day of her thirteenth birthday came she went on her first hunt with her parents and wookiee uncle. A mixture of excitement and nervousness overtook her and the day ended with no game, with guidance from her parents she had her sights lined up on an Iriaz in the plains of Dantooine she could not bring herself to pull the trigger. When asked why she didn't shoot she felt ashamed at first, but said she felt the creature's presence and just couldn't shoot something that hadn't harmed her.

That notion of mercy to a defenseless creature sparked something in both of her parents though they had been hunters for almost their entire lives they saw the innocence in their daughter's green eyes and could not bring themselves to convince her otherwise. Though the Iriaz and many other creatures they had encountered over the years were just wild animals with only base instinct driving them they could not force their daughter to kill something especially against her will. Though they never hunted for sport only for food sometimes the two hunters would be caught up in the experience especially when tracking a large predator, but there were other ways to feed themselves.

On that day the two hunters retired and took a new life closely related to their previous one as zoologists, allowing them to continue a similar life, but instead of hunting animals they would simply track and study them. They were often hired by rich families wanting to go on a safari as a vacation and because of their daughter they were able to see a new life in the different creatures they had hunted over the years. When not playing safari guide to others Talim and her parents would often go out on their own along with the wookiee Talon and just watch the native fauna of whatever world they were on. That was before the war started.

Talim was seventeen when it happened, one day the Empire had attacked Onderon and during the battle her home was destroyed, her parents killed. She was buried under the rubble of her home for an unknown amount of time, but eventually the debris trapping her was cleared away and a large hairy hand reached out to her. Her wookiee uncle Talon had dug his way in to find her, but after more digging discovered that both of her parents had died. In shock and unable to accept that her parents were dead Talim called out to them trying to pull their broken bodies from the debris crying and sobbing as she struggle to free them it wasn't until Talon wrapped his thick arms around her that she stopped and broke down.

Her nightmare would not end there however. As her crying slowed blaster shots could be heard nearby, there was still some fighting going on. Talon scooped Talim into his arms and began running wanting to get the girl somewhere safe, but they were intercepted by a squad of Imperial troopers who without warning began firing at them. Talon took several hits after he turned away to run still carrying Talim only now holding her close against his chest. The Imperial troopers gave chase, for whatever reason they wanted to kill the wookiee and the girl with him.

Talon had an idea, running for the city border he hid Talim in a dark corner and ambushed a pair of soldiers taking their rifles now armed he would take Talim into the jungle and they would wait out the battle. There were many dangerous predators in Onderon's jungles, but they were surely scared away by the sounds of battle. Right as they were about to escape the city however Talon was hit in the leg by a sniper and the large wookiee fell. Talim fell from his arms and rolled looking up just in time to see the sniper in the watch tower take aim at her, but Talon jumped in front of her as the shot came and the wookiee stumbled a step before aiming the rifle he took and firing back.

The sniper ducked for cover and Talon roared for Talim to flee. Following closely behind her Talon continued to fire at the watch tower to keep the sniper from getting a shot lined up and once they were far enough away they stopped running. Talim thanked her uncle for saving her, but the wookiee didn't respond he just sat against the tree silently. In a panic Talim jumped to his side and shook him, but only a few whimpers escape the wookiee's mouth, telling Talim how much he cared for her and her parents before his eyes closed and his chest fell still.

She shook him again screaming his name just as she did with her parents getting no response from the wookiee and again she cried only this time there was no one to comfort her. The distant sounds of battles could still be heard a few explosions here and there and the obvious sound of blaster fire and her despair had given way to fear. Though she had navigated this jungle hundreds of times she was too shaken to get her bearings and she did not want to leave Talon's side. Taking hold of the blaster rifle he took from one of the Imperials she lifted his heavy arm and sat next to him wrapping the arm around herself as she snuggled close to him, just like she did when she was a child.

She was not asleep for long, her eyes shot open at the sound of someone yelling. She hugged herself as close as she could to Talon's body not sure of who was out there, but eventually she heard them clearly. Imperials and they were looking for them.

"What's the big deal?" one asked, "It's a single wookiee and a girl both of them injured who cares if they're out here?"

"Our orders are to leave no survivors so find them and kill them" another said, this one closer than the other.

Curling her legs up Talim froze she could hear their boots crunching through the foliage on the ground around them. They were getting closer. She closed her eyes praying they would not find her, crying a prayer to anything or anyone to protect her, but when a branch snapped to her left her eyes slowly opened and she saw an Imperial trooper staring back at her.

"Well lucky me" he said with sinister amusement, "Looks like the hairball's already been taken care of, guess that just leaves you".

Talim cowered at his words and tried to move even closer to Talon hoping he would come back to life and protect her, "Go away" she choked as she hid.

"Hey you found them" another voice said as a second trooper appeared, "Damn looks like the wookiee already kicked it. I was looking forward to hunting down that thing".

Hunting, that word repeated in Talim's mind. She had seen many predators hunt their prey while out on her personal safaris. She didn't like the idea of the beautiful creatures she saw suffering, but she understood it was part of nature, the food chain that all animals were a part of. She was prey now, being hunted by these soldiers and as terror began taking hold over her she remembered something else. No matter what kind of predator is hunting it, when prey is cornered with nowhere to hide it fights back.

Something burned in her temple, it felt like a nerve had snapped in her head and her fear was being replaced by anger. Taking hold of the blaster rifle she stood up and aimed it at the two soldiers.

"You've got some fight in you huh?" the first one said not fazed by the blaster aimed at him, "But do you have the guts to pull that trigger?" he removed his helmet and stepped toward her.

"Don't come any closer" Talim said shaking as the soldier grinned at her.

"You don't have it in you" he said stepping even closer, "The conviction needed to kill someone, you're just a frightened child".

He grabbed the rifle's barrel and pressed it against his skull, "Do it" he smiled at her, "Prove me wrong at least you'll die with some dignity".

Her body covered in dirt and mud and exposed to the cold air caused her to shake even more and her finger tried to squeeze the trigger, but she stopped and lowered the weapon closing her eyes and looking away.

"As I thought" the Imperial said taking a step back and raising his own blaster, "Pathetic".

Hearing the click of the weapon's safety Talim's head snapped back to him and she raised the rifle pulling the trigger her shot finding its mark between the soldier's eyes. The Imperial's head snapped back and his body fell backward just as his friend surprised by the shot raised his own weapon, but he was too slow. Talim jumped forward pushing the soldier she shot into his friend causing him to fall to the ground. Pinned under his dead comrade the second trooper struggled to get free, but Talim jumped over to him and kicked him in the head knocking his helmet off. Standing over the pinned trooper she stepped on his neck and aimed the rifle at him and pulled the trigger again killing him.

With her predators dead she turned back to Talon's body and hugged her uncle one last time before setting off to find her way back to the city. She was going to make the Empire pay for this. When she returned to the city border she got down on her stomach and waited under a hedge gazing up at the watch tower looking for the sniper that shot at her and Talon. He was still there, patrolling around the tower's ring. Taking aim with her rifle she held her breath like her parents taught her and pulled the trigger.

The shot missed by a few inches, but the sniper was taken by surprised. The blaster bolt impacted the wall just in front of him and he jumped back aiming his rifle down toward the direction of the shot, but before he could take cover Talim fired again this time hitting him in the shoulder causing the sniper to stumble back and rebound off the wall before a third shot impacted his chest causing him to fall over the railing. Talim wasn't sure if he died from the blaster shot or the fall, but it didn't matter waiting for a few seconds to make sure he was dead she moved out from her cover and ran over to him taking his scoped rifle and moving back into the city.

She moved through destroyed and collapsed buildings up to balconies and roofs using the scope to scan the area around her taking shots at the imperials below. Most of her shots missed, but even as the soldiers below tried to locate the source of the shot she began piecing together a logical course of action. Too many shots from one spot would give her position away, a predator waits in silence as it stalks its prey not attacking until the time is right and if necessary will follow its prey until it finds that chance to pounce. She would no longer be the prey she was going to hunt them like they hunted her, but she had to move another shot from her current position would surely give her away. Staying low she crawled backwards until she was far enough from the window she could get up to one knee.

Staying crouched she moved to another spot a balcony one building over and one floor up, the soldiers below were still scanning the area, but now hiding behind cover thankfully Talim's new vantage point gave her a clear shot. Lying on her stomach again she peered through the rifle's scope and lined up her sights. Her breathing increased and with each breath her sights moved away from her target, lining the crosshairs on the imperial's helmet again she held her breath and pulled the trigger killing him. She could hear the other two soldiers screaming and swearing as their comrade was killed they ducked back into their cover and remained hidden, but Talim would wait for them.

When they were dead she moved to a new spot and continued the process, by the time the battle had ended she had killed seven soldiers not including the sniper from the watch tower or the two in the jungle. The imperials had won, but Republic forces arrived the next day and fought back the invading forces. Talim came out of hiding after the imperial forces fled leaving the rifle she took behind and joining the many refugees being herded onto transport shuttles to be relocated. She would never forget that day, the day the Empire took everything from her.

She had been to several worlds since then, hiding with a rifle and scope and killing more imperials, her accuracy improving each day. After a few months she had managed to kill an Imperial Admiral and Captain during the same battle the deaths of those two commanding officers drastically turned the tide of battle in favor of the Republic, but no soldier came forward to claim credit for the kills. Over the next few months more and more reports of an unidentified sniper came in and with each report a list of at least half a dozens confirmed kills sometimes high ranking imperial officers.

The Republic had instructed their own snipers to be on the lookout in hopes they would spot this mysterious sniper that was helping them, a sniper whose shots were rarely heard, masked by the sounds of battle. One day however a Republic sniper and his spotter stumbled upon the mysterious sniper by sheer luck. They were sent ahead of time to scout the area for recon and when they found a good place to set up they looked around and spotted the imperial commander they were looking for. Radioing in to confirm the target's presence they heard a gunshot close by and when they looked to the side they saw her.

"That's the sniper" one of them said with a restrained yell.

Talim's head snapped to the side surprised to see them there. She quickly jumped up rifle in hand and ran.

"Wait" the Republic sniper tried to call to her, but she hoped out of a window and slid down a drainage pipe into the side alleys and was gone long before the Republic sniper could reach her exit point.

"Command" the sniper's spotter said into his radio, "Target down".

"What? I didn't give the order to fire".

"It was the sniper sir" the spotter replied, "We saw her".

"Her?"

"Yes sir, her. She took the shot".

"Try to follow her, but do not engage. I want her alive".

"Understood".

The pair never did find her, she was long gone with no trace left behind and it would be another two months before she was seen again, but by then she had killed dozens more imperials and the Republic command had given her a codename, Whisper. Finally one day the Republic caught up to her. It was by luck that she was captured, she had taken her shot and killed another officer, but during her escape an artillery shell hit the building she was hiding in and she had no choice, but to dive out of the window. Thankfully she was only on the third floor, but that didn't make the ground any softer, she tucked her legs in and rolled when she hit the ground, but before she could get up to run she was surrounded by a surprised squad of republic troopers and detained.

After the battle ended she was taken back to the Republic Command Post where she was detained until a general arrived and offered her a chance to join the Republic military. The Republic General explained that they had been gathering every bit of Intel they could about her although it was very little and he admitted he was surprised to find out she was a woman, but even more surprised at her skills. She smiled when he told her the codename they had for her.

"I like it" she said quietly.

"Join us" he said, "We could definitely use someone like you on our side. You'd have to go through some formal training of course".

"I just want to see the Empire defeated" she said, "I don't want to join your army…I just want to make them pay for what they took from me".

"I suspected you had a good reason to fight" the general said to her, "I won't pry into what it is, but if you join us we can help with that. We can give you proper training, better equipment, Intel and the chance at taking down some really bad people".

"Alright" she agreed after a few moments to think, "But once this war ends I want out. I'm not committing to anything I'm not a permanent addition to your army. I'm here to put an end to some evil people, after that I'm out".

"I can accept that" the general said walking over to her and holding his hand out to shake hers, "Welcome to the Special Forces, Whisper".

Whisper lightly rubbed her eyes before opening them; slowly she sat up on her cot and looked around her quarters, according to her watch she had been asleep for almost eleven hours, she was sure to be back on Coruscant by now. Running her hands over her head she straightened her steel colored hair and rolled her shoulders back before picking up her custom made rifle and slinging it over her shoulder.