Chapter 1
The thick, heavy mist bled all the colour from the jungle. What would, under normal light conditions, have been a rainbow of various shades of green interspersed with the vibrant colours of the flowering plants, reds, blues and yellows, was turned into a uniform grey-green. Even at this time of day, just a few minutes into dawn, the heat of the forest was stifling. The only sign that the night had drawn to a close and that the sun was above the horizon was the slight lightening of the grey sky, visible only directly above through breaks in the thickly entwined canopy. Every level of the forest, from the highest tree tops over 100 meters above, through the intermediate tree top levels, through the thick shrubs about a man's height, to the ground level plant life, had its own sounds and smells. Each was a distinct ecosystem with specific plants and animals and food chains. But, as in rich forests everywhere, it was almost impossible to see any of this life. This was a quiet time of day. The nocturnal species had been safe in their nests and dens an hour ago and the day shift were just beginning to wake. The occasional scream in the distance from a colony of primates greeted the dawn.
The calmness of the surroundings belayed its deadliness. There were a thousand ways of being killed in such an environment, from the smallest virus hanging in the air, the hundreds of poisonous plants and insects, to the large predators prowling through the undergrowth. A movement betrayed the presence of an animal passing along a trail, no more than a whisper of sound as it brushed against plants. The rustle of leaves and crack of twigs passed along the trail then shifted off towards a thick trunk. A large reptilian head emerged from the undergrowth, a thick forked tongue whipping in and out, tasting the air. The Hornsnake began to climb the tree, its head weaving from side to side as its thick muscular body continued to slide from the plant blanketed ground. The body was still emerging as the snake's head reached the first branches some 15 meters up. By the time the tail tapered to an end the snake's head was reaching out too a branch 25 meters up. The Hornsnake gripped the vertical trunk strongly with sharp claws, formed by elongated ribs which punctured its hide at regular intervals along its body. The snake reached the branch and began to wind itself around the limb. With two thirds of its body, from its tail upwards, wound around the branch, the snake rested its head and waited.
With almost unmatchable patients the snake awaited the passing of a suitable prey. For hours the predator lay motionless, the only movement coming from the occasional darting tongue. At around midday a large, sloth like beast emerged from the foliage of the neighbouring tree and began to crawl along the underside of a branch five meters above the snake. It took the beast nearly ten minutes to come within reach of the Hornsnake, but as soon as the prey was within striking distance its fate was sealed. In one lightning movement the snake's head arrowed towards the beast, its muscular body unravelling from the branch to stretch out to the prey. Snapping its huge jaws closed around the beast's torso, the snake retracted, wrenching its prey from the branch. As the Hornsnake relaxed back to its supporting branch it began to coil its body around the beast, squeezing the life from it. With a sickening crunch of bone the animal's skeleton collapsed under the huge pressure. The snake now began it ideally manoeuvre the body into a position where it could devour it.
Faylan Chand sat motionless on a branch, above and behind the Hornsnake watching it slowly swallow its prey whole. Faylan had been watching the Snake all morning, waiting for this moment. In fact, Faylan had been tracking the Hornsnake through the thick jungle for almost a week. The trail had begun at a pile of pulverised bones , all that remained of the snake's last meal. The Hornsnake typically killed every few days. Its prey were usually large mammals and each meal was sufficient to see the snake through up to two weeks before it would need to kill again. The Hornsnake was one of the most fearsome predators in the Galaxy. Its size and strength were immense, but it was capable of incredible speed and agility when required. It was perfectly adapted for its environment, in the jungle. Because of their size and position at the very top of the food chain the Hornsnake was very rare. Its rarity was not helped by the fact that it was highly sought after by trophy hunters. A Hornsnake's head was a proud addition to any big game hunter's collection. Faylan had tracked and hunted most of the most dangerous predators in the galaxy. He considered this one of the greatest challenges he had faced. For a week he had followed the snake's subtle tracks, gradually creeping closer to the animal as its need to feed grew stronger. A man would have little chance against this creature under normal circumstances. However, the snake was vulnerable just after feeding. With a large, undigested animal in its upper gut the snake would lose much of its speed and agility. Also the act of killing would have taken a lot of the creatures energy. Over the next few minutes the Hornsnake would settle down into a semi-sleep as its remaining energy was used by its body to mash the body it had swallowed and then produce the acrid chemicals it needed to break the meal down and digest it.
Faylan, carefully watching the snake for signs that it was entering its sleep state, slowly manoeuvred himself into a position from which he could strike. Rising to his feet, supporting himself on the trunk which hid him from his prey, Faylan edged his right hand down to a belt around his waist. Arrayed around the belt were various weapons and tools. Several serrated and straight edged knives, a micro laser, a wire-saw and several syringes. Faylan, without looking down, felt the ends of these syringes before pulling one out. With his right arm by his side Faylan had lifted his left arm up the trunk to keep his balance. His fingers brushed against something soft. Quickly looking up at his hand, Faylan found himself staring into the face of a large bird perched on the branch above him. His fingers had stoked its long tail feathers which hung down, along the trunk. For a second the man and bird stared at each other. Suddenly the bird seemed to realise it was in danger and with a tremendous squawk and equally loud beating of wings it dove into the air. The Hornsnake, startled out of its dormant state, raised its head and began to unravel towards the trunk, hissing viscously. Cursing, Faylan dropped down on his haunches and peered below him. The ground was at least thirty meters, so jumping would be suicide. Encumbered by its still undigested meal, the snake was moving slowly towards Faylan. He was undecided as to what to do in this situation. The snake was still more than a match for him despite its state, especially up here in the tree. Faylan needed to get down onto the ground where a fight would be more in his favour. Escaping was not, in Faylan's opinion, an option.
Faylan was peering at the trees around him when the Hornsnake's head emerged around the trunk. Faylan could see by the snake's eyes that it was now fully awake. Faylan backed up the branch, giving himself more room. Suddenly, with a speed he had not expected the encumbered animal to possess, the snake darted forward, its mouth wide open showing its deadly fangs. Faylan leapt from the branch, narrowly avoiding the attack. Somersaulting forwards he reached out with both hands and grasped a branch of a neighbouring tree. Swinging under and upwards he swapped his hands over so that on the down swing he span his body around to face the tree he had leapt from. Controlling his swing, Faylan dropped to a branch a few meters below him then leapt forward and down to the branch of another tree further away. Two more simple jumps brought him to the ground where he span around to face the tree containing his foe. Catching his breath, Faylan watched as the Hornsnake, now thirty meters above him, slithered its way across the tree to a branch directly above him. The snake raised its head until five meters of its body stood erect. Swaying slightly on the branch the snake began to convulse around the bulge created by the body of its meal. In a sudden swift movement the snake opened its jaws, and vomited out the body of its prey in a shower of intestinal fluids. The corpse arced through the air, landing in a tree, then bounced down through the canopy to the ground a few meters from the astonished Faylan. Now free from its weight the Hornsnake dove down from its branch. In a matter of seconds it flew through the tree's canopy, from branch to branch. Actually leaping the remaining ten meters the snake landed with an audible thump ten meters from Faylan.
Faylan adjusted his stance into a fighting posture and reached for another syringe. He had lost the first one in his leap to safety. The snake reared its head so that it was level with Faylan's, and began to swerve slowly from side to side in a typical threatening action for snakes of this kind. Faylan prepared for the attack to come. He had hunted and fought dozens of dangerous animals before, and had come close to being killed on more than one occasion. But he was still alive and was determined to stay that way. Keeping his feet apart and his weight evenly spread, Faylan watched and waited. The Hornsnake was apparently in such mood. Obviously annoyed by the loss of its meal, the snake was determined to replace it with his new foe. Again with surprising speed the snake sprung forward, diving into the air then arching downwards on top of the prey. This tactic usually worked well on normal jungle creatures, but Faylan new what was coming. He dove and rolled to one side, then leapt to his feet and span round. As the snake plunged head first to the ground, momentarily stunning itself, Faylan jumped astride its broad body and plunged the syringe into the flesh just behind the base of the skull. The snake bucked at the pain of the stab and flung Faylan off before he could push the syringe's contents into the snake's body. Bouncing as he hit the floor, Faylan knocked his head against the trunk of a tree. Shaking too clear his head he saw the snake curling around to face him, the syringe sticking uselessly out of its back. The Hornsnake approached Faylan more cautiously this time, wary of the prey which had evaded its last attack. Faylan searched desperately for a plan, then with a flash of inspiration, knew what he had to do.
Allowing the creature to slide forward a little more, Faylan darted forward with an attack of his own. It was doomed to failure from the start. Although Faylan ducked beneath the snakes head, its sinuous body whipped around his legs, tripping him up. Within a second his body had become enveloped by the snake's, up to his neck. Gasping for breath, Faylan fought the snakes immense strength. Inhaling as much air as possible, Faylan fought to create some breathing space, pushing out his arms and chest. Then, in a surprising switch of tactics, Faylan exhaled and relaxed. For an instant he had room to move inside the deadly embrace. Faylan whipped his right arm out just as the snake constricted, knocking what remained of his breath form his body. Gasping for air Faylan flailed his arm, until his searching fingers found the syringe. Stabbing the plunger down he injected the clear liquid into the snake then prayed he would survive long enough for the solution to take effect. The snake continued to constrict and Faylan could feel the pressure on his bones growing. He was about to loose consciousness when the pressure relaxed suddenly. The snake toppled over, spilling Faylan to the ground. Taking deep breaths, Faylan sat for a moment looking at the vanquished animal. Rising, he approached the snake warily. Bending down he removed the syringe than checked for a heart beat. There it was, faint but audible. The solution had done its job. The creature would be out cold for about an hour, giving Faylan time to take his prize. Finding a pair of longer claws about midway down the snake's length, Faylan took out his micro-laser and began to cut. A few minutes later he had two three inch long Hornsnake claws safely stowed in a pouch around his neck. Next he took out a small holo-camera and began to take pictures to add to his collection. Faylan had no wish to kill such a magnificent beast. For years he had searched out and hunted some of the most feared creatures in the galaxy, and not once had he killed one. With all the pictures he desired Faylan took another syringe from his belt. He injected the antidote into the snake then waited to be sure it was taking an effect. When the snake's breathing began to strengthen Faylan made his retreat and headed back to his camp.
The previous night he had set up a small camp in a clearing about three miles from where he fought the snake. There was no fire, just a hammock strung between two saplings with a tarpaulin erected above it to form a roof, protecting against the rain. The small amount of equipment he had was inside a large backpack which he carried when ever the snake's movements had required him to relocate his camp. The pack was wrapped in a second tarpaulin in the hammock. The three mile hike took him most of the rest of the day as he carefully picked his way through the jungle. Just because he had caught his prey, did not mean that there weren't other predators in the forest which considered him their prey. As he neared the clearing he began to hear voices. Crouching down he began to work his way towards his camp as carefully as possible. It was conceivable that there were other hunters in the vicinity who took a dim view towards his presence and the competition it created. As he drew nearer he could see some lights through the trees. There were several bright white lights at ground level, but strangely there was a red flashing light high above. As he reached the edge of the clearing the situation became clear. Sat in the middle of the clearing, taking up almost all of it, was an Imperial Shuttle. Its ramp was down and the two pilots were lounged on it passing a flask between each other. Spread out around the Shuttle were four Stormtroopers, each with their blasters pointed outwards into the forest. A fifth trooper was examining Faylan's small encampment and paying particular attention to his pack.
Seeing no point to conceal himself, Faylan rose from his crouching position and walked into the clearing. The nearest Stormtrooper was clearly surprised that anyone had been able to approach so close without being detected. He pointed his blaster at Faylan's chest and barked out a call.
"Lieutenant, is this him?"
The Lieutenant turned out to be the 'trooper examining Faylan's belongings. He strode over and saluted Faylan.
"Colonel Chand?"
The other Stormtrooper gave Faylan a belated salute.
"Sorry, Sir. I wasn't sure if it was you."
"Keel, get the others back on the shuttle and tell the pilots were lifting off in ten."
"Sir."
The trooper left Faylan and the Lieutenant and called the other troopers together.
"Leaving so soon, Lieutenant?"
"Your coming with us, Colonel." The Lieutenant handed Faylan a datacard he was holding.
"I'm on leave."
"Sorry, Sir. Your leave has been cancelled. You've been recalled to duty."
"By who's authority?" asked Faylan, glancing at the card, getting slightly annoyed by all this.
"The Emperor's, Sir."
Startled, Faylan looked up at the Stormtrooper for some sign that this was a joke. When none came he turned his attention to the card which was a general order re-activating his tour of duty. Scrolling down through the document, he found what he was looking for but still surprised too see, The Emperor's personal electronic seal.
"Looks like I'm coming with you, then" he said, putting the card in his back pocket.
Five minutes later they were in the air and heading for orbit. All the troopers had removed their helmets. All but one looked older than Faylan.
As two of the troopers stashed their gear, one of them turned to Faylan.
"Excuse me, Colonel. If you don't mind, how come you're so important?"
Before he could answer the Lieutenant cut in.
"This, Gentlemen, is a genuine Imperial Guard, personal bodyguard to the Emperor. Only the very best of the best get chosen for that. Colonel Faylan is famous among the Guard as one of only five men to complete two full tours as Guards."
"How do you know all this, Lieutenant?" Faylan asked, annoyed that someone apparently knew all about him.
"The Captain briefed me before we came down to get you. Guards have been known to be a little, well, difficult at times, Sir. The Captain thought it best I knew who we were picking up."
"Captain?"
"Yes, Sir. Captain Dreest of The Citadel."
Once again slightly startled, Faylan peered out of the port side viewport to where the Lieutenant was pointing. There, hanging above them, being circled by patrolling Ties, was the Imperial Star Destroyer Citadel. Why, Faylan thought to himself, would the Emperor send an entire star destroyer to pick up me?
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Defender of the Empire ©2000 Martin Assirati
The majority of characters, locations and plot lines are original creations of Martin Assirati.
Star Wars and the Star Wars universe are the creation of George Lucas and the legal property of George Lucas and any other entities who have a share in them.
Star Wars: Defender of the Empire is an original story written by Martin Assirati and is not intended for profit, or to infringe upon or undermine the established copyright of those mentioned above.
Created on ... July 04, 2000
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