Nar Shaddaa is home to some of the largest crime syndicates in the galaxy. Not surprising, given the planet orbits Nal Hutta. No one could have guessed that the name Nal Hutta translated to "glorious jewel" in Huttese. The planet can only be described as a "slimy mud hole" to anyone other than a Hutt. Though the Hutts rarely travel to Nar Shaddaa, nearly every criminal on the planet works for them.

To the average thug, Nar Shaddaa is one of the best places in the galaxy for dishonest work, so long as one has backbone. The Republic has never really bothered them, and with the war with the Separatists still raging, crime is at an all time high on the planet.

Three mercenaries moved out of their shuttle onto the landing platform, where they were greeted by another thug trio. For this particular job, the boss had demanded extra protection. Rumor had it that a Jedi was starting to intervene, so they decided to be careful. One of the henchmen, a Trandoshan, carried a heavy repeating blaster, courtesy of the black market. Another thug, who was human, carried a number of thermal detonators. "Do you have the cargo?" asked the Trandoshan.

"Ready for transfer, no problems," a Weequay answered, "Just follow me."

As the six criminals began boarding the shuttle to get the cargo, I used the Force to pull one of them backwards into a set of crates.

"What the kriff was that?!" the Weequay demanded.

"It's the Jedi!" exclaimed one of the humans, "It's gotta be!" Typical. Whenever something weird happens, they always assume Jedi are involved.

"We didn't go through all this trouble just for some Jedi to mess us up," declared the Trandoshan, "Besides, if we showed up empty-handed, the boss would have our heads. I'd rather fight the Jedi than answer to the boss."

"I dunno. I heard those Jedi can do some really nasty stuff."

"Relax. They might look tough, but they're all soft. Now let's worry about the cargo." Not soft, just uncaring.

The Trandoshan and Weequay went inside the ship, leaving three humans behind to stand guard. I snapped my fingers, but the scum looked in a different direction, thanks to some mind tricks. Taking advantage of the distraction, I moved up behind one of them. "Sleep," I whispered with a wave of my hand. One second later, the merc was out cold. The remaining two instantly rushed to check on him.

"What's the matter with you!" One demanded, "Wake up!" That was the last thing either of them knew before I knocked their heads together. My last two targets were still onboard.

"Should we go help?" I heard one ask as I came up behind them. They both had their backs to me.

"We can help when we get the slaves out!" the Trandoshan snapped, "Use them as shields."

"I don't think so." I declared in a dangerously low voice.

The thugs whipped around to see me advancing on them. The Weequay tried to fire, but I quickly grabbed his arm and twisted it. As he screamed in pain, I slammed his face against the ship's hull. He was out before he hit the floor.

The Trandoshan snarled before charging at me. He and I grappled for a few seconds before I fell backwards and kicked him with both feet, sending him into the cargo hold door. Before the scumbag could get up, I punched him in the face a few times with my metal arm. Trandoshans are tough, but even a wookie will go down after a few blows from a limb made entirely of metal. Thanks to a few favors from mechanics across the galaxy, mine has been modified specifically to pack a bigger punch.

Stepping over the now unconscious Trandoshan, I opened the door. Inside the cargo hold was a small group of female slaves, mainly Twi'leks. They highly varied in age, one looking to be no older than Thirteen. I narrow my eyes behind the mask I was wearing. There was no end to the Hutts' perverted desires.

"It's okay," I tell them, putting as much gentleness in my voice as possible, "You're safe now. Follow me."

The slaves started following me, but it was clear that some of them were wary of me. When one is a slave, especially when on the run, it can be hard to trust anyone, much less a man in a mask. I led them to a seemingly abandoned building, where some food and supplies were stored, as well as a substantial amount of credits. "Take this food and credits," I told them, "Then go to Lien's Droid Repair and tell him Bright Eye sent you." The Twi'leks might have been suspicious at first, but this made them look at me with trust.

I watched from a distance as they made their way to the shop, ready to give aid at a moment's notice. Fortunately, every single one of them reached their destination without difficulty. Smiling behind my mask, I left the scene.

Eventually, I reached my hideout, which was a room inside a small apartment building. As always, I entered through the window in case of a possible ambush at the front. Once inside, I lowered my hood and removed my mask, revealing a human with short, red hair and one blue eye. My right eye is cybernetic and glows with white light, which was where I found the inspiration for my codename, "Bright Eye". I probably could have come up with something better, but it worked. Moving to the refresher, I washed my face and hair before giving myself a quick glance in the mirror. I ran my fingers over the faded burn scars that make up the right side of my face. Thanks to Coruscant medical facilities, which are the finest in the galaxy, I was saved from having to wear a permanent mask. Sadly, I still lost my eye and arm from that explosion a year ago. Technically, I still have my arm, but most of the flesh has been replaced with metal and circuitry. As advanced as medicine is, only Trandoshans can regrow limbs.

To those who have seen me without my mask, I am called Eric Kaigen, former Jedi Padawan. I left the Order a few months ago, which I should have done sooner in retrospect. Before coming to Nar Shaddaa, I travelled throughout the known galaxy, helping people in any way I could. That was one of the reasons I left the Jedi: they always talked about keeping the peace in the galaxy, yet they completely ignored placed like Nar Shaddaa and Tatooine, where people genuinely needed their help. Even Coruscant, home of the Jedi Order, had a rampant criminal underworld.

Sealing away my thoughts of the past, I went to bed, keeping my lightsabers underneath as always. I left my original blue lightsaber with my old life, but built two new yellow ones that seemed to suit me better. I also made myself a set of dark blue robes that featured a hood, but no cloak. The hood allows me to cover most of my head, while the lack of a cloak provided greater mobility.

That night, I had the same series of dreams that had been haunting me for weeks. First, I saw a man in a skull-like mask staring at me. I then saw a small boy with glowing arrow tattoos meditating. Finally, the image of a comet came into view, along with a burning planet.

Waking up, I pondered the dreams, as usual. Perhaps they were premonitions of the future. Once I had dressed, I donned the mask and made contact with Lien. "Any new developments?" I asked.

"*Not really*" replied the Sullustan, "*Though rumor has it that Ferek's expecting a new shipment of black market weapons from off-world.*"

"How much protection?"

"*Resources say that the vessel itself will be heavily guarded. Your best bet would be to destroy it ship-to-ship.*"

"ETA?"

"*Six hours. That gives you plenty of time to prepare.*" With that, Lien signed off.

Six hours later, I was in a small ship, orbiting the planet. My ship was not top quality, but it was sufficient for this particular task. It featured an array of blaster cannons and lightspeed capabilities. Some of the cannons were located at different parts of the ship and had to be operated by a gunner. Fortunately, the ones I had access to were sufficient for destroying a freighter full of illegally obtained weapons.

When my target came out of lightspeed, I surprised to see that it was alone with no escort. I thought it was supposed to be heavily guarded. Was there extra security on board, or perhaps at the rendezvous point?

Deciding to err on the side of caution, I flew within range of the freighter and fired off a few warning shots. The smuggler vessel immediately started taking evasive maneuvers, while several other ships came out of hyperspace. The other ships started firing, forcing me to engage. Well, at least I knew what the extra protection was.

I pursued the cargo ship, while also evading blaster fire from the escort. There was no way I was letting Ferek get his hands on those weapons. I started firing at my target, but the ship responded with its own armament. Calling on the Force, I did the best I could to evade the blasts, but my ship still took a few hits. Lining up my shot, I hit the freighter with as much firepower as possible. I managed to heavily damage it before turning my attention to the fighters.

Once I had destroyed one fighter, my scope picked up several more coming out of orbit. I knew I was outnumbered, but I wasn't about to let those scum get their hands on those weapons. Focusing on my original target, which was slowly moving towards the atmosphere, I fired a multitude of blasts at it. The ship, along with its cargo, was obliterated.

I couldn't celebrate, however, as the fighters were far from finished with me. My ship had taken damage and I needed to get out of there. Quickly setting coordinates, I prepared to jump to lightspeed. As I pulled the levers, I felt another blast hit. My ship started shaking violently as it entered hyperspace. That last hit must have damaged the engines. Knowing better than to attempt repairs while in lightspeed, I tried to slow down. The controls wouldn't respond. The hyperdrive must have taken the hit, causing it to malfunction. Now, I was stuck in hyperspace. Swearing to myself, I moved back toward the engine and did not like what I saw. Sparks were flying from several spots and I was losing fuel. Grabbing a hydrospanner, I set to work, hoping I wouldn't do something wrong. I knew enough about the ship's inner workings, but I was no mechanic. What I wouldn't have given to have a droid on board.

As I desperately tried to repair my ship, I could hear the fuel alarms starting to blare. Moving to the cockpit, I saw that the navicomputer indicated I was in uncharted territory. That meant I was in the Unknown Regions with a badly damaged ship and extremely low on fuel.

Only one minute later, my ship ran out of fuel, bringing it out of lightspeed. I was heading for a planet that vaguely resembled Naboo, the key difference being two icy regions in both of its hemispheres. Knowing I was in for a hard crash, I diverted all power to the forward deflectors and strapped in. Entering the atmosphere, I started sweating from the heat as my ship shook as though it was caught in a Krayt Dragon's mouth. Thank the Force I was secured in the seat. The controls were useless as I plummeted helplessly through the unknown sky. Looking out the viewport, I could have swore a white, wingless animal that looked vaguely like a bantha flying nearby. My ship hit the ground hard, digging into it like a drill as sparks flew from the controls. Using the Force, I slowed the wreck down enough for me to get out of my seat and bolt for the exit. With that much damage, the engines were going to blow at any second. As I climbed out of the crater formed by the crash, the wreck exploded. I didn't feel any burns, but the force of the blast propelled me forward into a fallen tree. I must have hit the tree pretty hard, because my world turned black.


And the first chapter finished. I just want to say that there will be no turning back on this one. That means no rewrites, except to fix grammatical errors. I'm going all the way!