Hutta is an absolutely foul planet. The people that live on Hutta are either gangsters, smugglers, or bounty hunters. Real scoundrels who plunder and deceive in order to get whatever it is that they want. Sith aren't so much different in that respect. The thing that separates the Sith from the scoundrels is that the Sith have a sense of respect, honor, and loyalty to the Empire...most of the time. The likes of smugglers care only for a pocket full of credits and a cantina full of liquor.
Although she would never admit it, Raina was very much inclined to share similar interests. She loved trips that allowed her to indulge that part of her that wanted to taste everything life had to offer. Prior to her time spent as an acolyte on Korriban, Raina was a slave on Tatooine for several years. Then one day, one of Overseer Tremel's agents found her and brought her to the Sith Academy on Korriban. While the idea of learning the ways of the Dark Side was alluring to her at the time, Raina essentially traded in one set of chains for another. The life of an acolyte doesn't offer much in the ways of self indulgence.
It's not just the people on Hutta that are repulsive. The planet is riddled with bogs that are literal toxic waste swamps, and the smell emitted from them reeks of sulfur and industrialization. The stench is so bad that it lingers on one's clothing like a bad perfume, making them smell of egg farts until they strip their clothes and blast them into the depths of space with the rest of the garbage. The bases here that have been erected by the Empire are not even free from the odor.
The atmosphere is tinged yellow, most likely from the yellow haze that hovers over the parts of the planet that are untouched by intelligent life. In fact, the color is so thick and prominent that the when viewing the planet from space, it looks like a burnt ball of old cheese.
A truly foul planet.
Raina stepped outside of the Jiguuna Spaceport and wrinkled her nose in protest of the unwelcomed scent. "Bleck!" She wrapped her scarf twice around her head, covering both her nose and mouth. Malavi Quinn had already gone ahead of her and went to make travel arrangements for their current leaned against the spaceport's entryway, refusing to take a single step outside the structure until it was time to leave.
Quinn approached her from the taxi hub outside the port entrance. He stood at attention in front of Raina, squaring his shoulders and holding his hands at ease behind his lower back. "My lord, our intel suggests that Noman Karr is holding up in a structure somewhere in a neighboring work camp. However, the taxi hub nearest this camp is the one here at this spaceport. We will have to walk there on foot."
"That is absolutely unacceptable," Raina scoffed. "Do you really expect me to walk through this...this ass sludge?" Raina pulled down her scarf away from her mouth and feigned retching for added effect.
Quinn jumped back slightly in disgust but then frowned when he realized the Sith wasn't actually going to vomit. He straightened up again with his hands at attention at his sides. "Yes, my lord. That is unless you have any intentions of disobeying a direct order from Lord Baras."
Raina chuckled behind her scarf as she placed it back over her face. Quinn may have been her subordinate, but he had a way of keeping Raina in check when it mattered most. Raina loved that about him. "Lead the way, Quinn. I just love watching you walk away from me," Raina said with a suggestive wink.
He blushed furiously at that and awkwardly shuffled to turn around and head back towards the main road leading away from the spaceport. His stiff and deliberate strides told Raina that he was very conscious of how he was walking and was trying to be as rigid and unattractive as possible.
Raina had no actual interest in Quinn. He is an extremely handsome man, and anyone would be lucky to have him as a partner should he chose to take one. And Raina would be lying if she said she didn't think his ass looked great in those Imperial grey uniforms. But even from the moment she meet him on Balmorra, when Vette was shamelessly gushing and fawning over him, Raina saw him as nothing more than a valuable asset. He's a great pilot and an excellent strategist. But he has also become one of Raina's closest friends. A friend who has several buttons for her to push, and she's not the type of person to let buttons go unpushed.
As they trekked through the market, Raina noticed several young and fresh faced hopefuls running around a nearby cantina in the distance, doing lord knows what for lord knows who. "Newbies. How I do not miss those days," she muttered to herself.
Quinn checked his tracking device and oriented himself with their new location. "The camp is just outside of this pathway, my lord," he announced. Soon, they were on the edge of a large bog full of sludge and hot, yellow steam.
Raina immediately scanned the area looking for the nearest possible route around the bog hoping to avoid going through it.
"I suggest we go straight through the bog, my lord," Quinn said as he began treading through the nearest puddle of filth.
Raina let out a childish groan and tentatively followed his footsteps, making sure to avoid his actual footsteps so she didn't get stuck and sink further into the goo than is necessary. An actual retch makes its way from the pit of her stomach to her mouth.
An absolutely foul and wretched planet.
Noman Karr, the Jedi that Baras was hell bent on destroying, had picked this planet out of literally hundreds, to arrange a duel to the death. But Baras, much like other Sith of his rank and stature, was not the type to do his own dirty work. That's part of the appeal of having an apprentice. They need your training and guidance with learning the ways of the Dark Side of the Force, and you need someone expendable to fight your battles. Still, the urge to avoid Hutta at all costs was far too tempting for Raina.
But a smart apprentice obeys their master's commands without question. A wise apprentice becomes so loyal that their master becomes dependent upon them, making them weak and easy to over power. And nothing proves loyalty more than by walking through a hot, steamy swamp of Hutta waste on a quest to kill your master's nemesis.
Quinn stopped in the middle of a rather deep hole, up to knee high, and looked at several metal huts straight ahead of him. "The target should be in that hut on the right, my lord," he whispered.
Raina had killed many Jedi since Baras took her under his wing. Many Sith, too, for that matter. But Nomen Karr would be the first Jedi Master she would have to face in combat. This would not be an easy battle. In fact, the odds were not leaning too strongly in her favor if she were to be honest with herself.
She anxiously approached the hut's entrance and begin to survey her surroundings. The hut had a circular body with a short but wide entrance protruding from the front of the structure. The inside of the dome was minimally decorated with a rug and some basic furniture scattered around, such as chairs and tables. A small doorway hidden in the back led to a large hallway, presumably connecting several chambers to each other.
"Quinn, stay here and guard the front entrance," Raina commanded. "Karr said he would be alone, but I don't fully trust him to not have a backup plan in case this goes bad for him."
"Yes, my lord," he replied immediately, taking his post near the doorway, his eyes dutifully scanning the bog outside. He glanced over his shoulder briefly. "If you need my assistance-" Quinn started but was cut off by the Sith Warrior.
"I know. I'll moan your name loud enough for you to hear. Although I'll probably be on death's door instead of pleasure's." Another button pressed. To Raina's surprised, Quinn was not flustered but instead offered a small smile in response.
"Please see that you do." And with that, he turned around and resumed his duties guarding the entrance.
Raina quickly found her way inside the hallway, where she immediately sensed a strong presence with the Force coming from a large chamber at the end of the hall. It reeked of the Light Side. A Jedi. She emerged through the chamber's doorway and found Nomen Karr kneeling down in meditation in the center of the room.
"Your presence tells me that my fellows Uldin and Zylex must have failed. Pity." His voice was calmed, but something about him sounded tired. Karr stood and turned purposefully in order to face his opponent.
A female Sith Warrior stood before him. The Warrior was shorter than he expected, roughly five foot, six inches tall, but she was exceptionally lean and muscular. She wore a black, skin-tight jumpsuit with matching black combat boots that were mid-calf high on her legs. The black cloak that draped down her body from her shoulders was a shade of black lighter than her suit. A large hood swallowed most of her face, leaving only red lips the color of blood and a pale chin visible.
Sith are always the dramatic type.
Karr didn't waver or show any sign of distress or fear at Raina's presence. She confidently strode closer to him, lowering the hood behind her head so Karr could see the red war paint she frequently maintained on the pale skin of her face. Intimidation tactics can work to a Sith's advantage some of the time. As a small, human female, Raina does not have the luxury of horns or alien skin to help instill fear in others. She has to create her own horror.
He approached her but stopped to leave roughly ten feet between them. "I should have known Baras couldn't be trusted. As a man of my word, I am here alone as agreed. Your master shows himself a coward sending you in his stead."
Raina can't argue with him there. Baras is a coward. A very powerful coward. But loyalty doth a happy Sith master make. And right now, Raina is in no position to upset her master. "He sends me to do all of his killings. And I'm very good at it. Why make the cakes yourself when you can have others make them for you?"
Karr furrowed his brows at that. Clearly, that wasn't the response he wanted. "You're young in the Force, a mere apprentice. I am a full Jedi Master."
"You're right," Raina said, seemingly relenting. She stood back mockingly and threw her hands up as if to surrender. "I am no match for you. Please don't hurt me. I surrender." Her face quickly morphed back into a smug grin.
He sneered at her in annoyance, playing right into Raina's hands.
"For all his bravado, your master's actions expose the flaws of the Dark Side, and your flaws for following him. You are Baras's pawn, an especially resourceful and powerful one, but still only that. I must put an end to you. Once you are out of the way, Jaesa will provide the proof I need to open the Jedi Council's eyes and expose Bara's network of spies."
Raina shrugged off her robe and scarf and Force grabbed the two black lightsabers from her waist, emitting their red synthetic beams and readying them in a battle position. "It's cute that you think this will play out into a scenario where you come out of this alive."
That seemed to have struck a nerve somewhere within him. Jedi's still have egos, after all. No amount of self-righteous meditation can do away with human nature. Karr reached for his saber and engaged it. The green light from the blade perfectly highlighted the angry frown on his face.
Karr attacked first with a downward strike, which caught Raina off guard. She wasn't expecting him to go on the offensive so soon. She blocked the attack forming an X with her sabers, catching his blade in the top quarter. She kicked him square in the stomach, causing him to fall back long enough for her to recover herself.
They danced in the chamber, neither one of them relenting an opening for the other to gain the upperhand. That is until Karr swung a heavy attack to Raina's right side. She forcefully blocked it with her right saber, throwing him off balance, and swung at his right leg with her left saber. The smell of burnt flesh and linen proved her swing true. She Force pushed him backwards into one of the chairs near the back of the room.
He heaved himself onto his knees while being careful of his leg wound. "Gahh. The Force...is strong with you. I-I must...dig deeper…"
A swirl of black and red tendrils circled his body, and Karr growled low and guttural as his eyes, once green but now orange surrounded by blackened sockets, had cut upwards to meet Raina's.
"That was easier than I had thought," Raina thought to herself. For a Jedi Master, it was rather easy for Raina to get under his skin. "That's it," she purred devilishly. "Release your anger and your hate. It's the only way to defeat me!"
He growled once more before launching himself at the Sith, his saber raised and ready for a striking blow. Raina deflected with some difficulty. Karr had definitely grown stronger than he was moments ago, but his technique with the lightsaber had become sloppy. Fighting on pure rage alone will make you stronger, but it will also blind you to your opponent's strengths as well as your own weaknesses.
Raina continued to play on the defensive and waited for the right moment to strike at Karr again. She swung across weakly with her left saber. He deflected and kicked away the saber from her right hand.
"You will...fall to me!" he screamed.
He swung another heavy downward strike towards Raina's head, clearly hoping for a fatal blow. She raised her saber horizontally above her head, pushing back against Karr's saber with as much force as she could muster. He raised his saber back above his head, but before Raina could make another move, Karr started swinging wildly down on Raina again. And again. And again. Sparks flew with each clash of their sabers.
"YOU!"
Clash.
"WILL!"
Another clash. Raina planted her right foot firmly behind her for support, her left leg angled towards Karr.
"FALL!"
Another.
"TO ME!"
He swung harder than ever, and it took every ounce of Raina's stamina and adrenaline to hold him at bay as he towered over her. He was several inches taller than the Sith Warrior, possibly even an entire foot taller. And he was trying to use this to his advantage. Even in his blind rage, Karr was still a smart fighter.
But he had something that Raina, fortunately in this context, does not have. With all her weight shifted to her right leg, Raina swiftly lifted her left knee upwards and forcefully made contact with Karr's groin. The pressure from his saber against hers was immediately released. He stepped several feet backward to safety, groaning from the pain in his most sensitive of areas. Raina charged him and swung her lightsaber once against his lowered right hand, slicing off fingers and forcing him to drop his own saber. She slashed once more across his stomach, causing his legs buckle underneath him.
Karr was now on his knees. He clutched the wound on his abdomen with his right arm, his wounded right hand tucked protectively under his left arm. "My wound is mortal, Sith. You have won."
To be continued...
So this is the first fic I've written in nearly 8 years, and I'm extremely nervous to post my writing for the public to see. Please be gentle. I recently played back through a Sith Warrior toon on SWTOR, and while I love romancing Quinn, I was bummed I couldn't romance my female SW with Jaesa. And the clips I've seen on YouTube of a successful romance with Jaesa are awkward and frankly boring. I think a great opportunity for an amazing storyline was missed with these characters.
This is a shameless "hot for teacher" style romance. The fact that the Star Wars universe really doesn't have any mentor/student relationships saddens me. If it saddens you, too, maybe this will cheer you up. I'm going to try to post a chapter once a week. Jaesa will be introduced in the next chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters except for Raina. Also, some actual dialogue from NPCs in the game will be included in this story. I don't own that writing either. This fic is purely for entertainment purposes, and I am not making any monetary gain from its existence.
