A/N: Okay, this chapter will introduce the Main Character.

WARNING: This chapter is very graphic, showing extreme violence, and implies sexual assault. If any of you find either of these things offensive, I apologize.

Ch. 2

Nar Shadda, seedy cantina; two months later

Bounty hunter, Talon Kras, was walking through the cantina on Hutta's moon, looking for a known gangster. The gangster had a death mark on him, and Talon was hoping to collect; the gangster had foolishly cheated a Hutt crime lord, and was using Nar Shadda, of all places, to hide. Talon just walked through the crowds, trying to find his target, using the Heads-Up Display in his helmet to help him; Talon wore moderately advanced battle armor, which covered him completely. The armor itself was a dark crimson red, and had an assortment of wrist-mounted weaponry, including a flame thrower, wrist rocket launcher, fiber chord launcher, and toxic dart gun. He also used a jet pack, which could fire a rocket at Talon's command. Talon's main arsenal consisted of an EE-3 blaster Carbine, and duel customized WESTAR-35 blaster pistols, both which were common, but effective, bounty hunter weapons. Talon also carried a vibro-dagger, which he had clipped to his boot, and it also had poison on the blade, which could kill anyone in minutes by just simply cutting them with it. Talon finally found his way to the main bar in the cantina, and upon activating his target finder on his HUD, he quickly found his target; the gangster, who was near a Sabacc table, enjoying the large mountain of credits he just won, and began mocking his competition, when he looked over in Talon's direction, and his smile quickly disappeared, and his entire face turned white with fear.

"Alex Thrash. I'm here for the price on your head." Talon said menacingly, and Alex, the gangster, slowly stood up from his table, looking like he was ready to die like a man, and Talon pulled out his carbine and aimed it at Alex's head. Talon was about to end it, when suddenly, Alex knocked the Sabacc table over and took cover behind it, while pulling out his own. As Alex got ready for a fight, a dozen other bar patrons pulled out their own blasters and surrounded Talon.

"You were foolish to come alone Kras; why don't you put that toy gun away? Do it and I'll make your death quick." Alex said confidently, and Talon slung the carbine over his back, acting like he was surrendering, and the gangsters surrounding him prepared their weapons; Talon was motionless, and everyone thought he was really surrendering. But in the blink of an eye, Talon pulled out both of his pistols and fired at a nearby tank, which was apparently filled with a volatile liquid, because the blaster bolt caused the barrel to burst into flames, which surrounded and killed three of the gangsters that surrounded him, and two others were sent flying by the explosions shockwave. Talon then turned around again, and fired one of his wrist rockets, which hit one gangster square in the chest, obviously killing him, and the shrapnel from the rocket killed another nearby gangster. Once the surviving gangsters got their bearings, they opened fired on Talon, while Alex snuck away to the fight, and ran to the hanger where his ship was being held, but Talon was quick and dodged most of the blaster fire, and any that did hit Talon's armor, just a black scorch mark and Talon just felt a light stinging feeling. Talon pulled his EE-3 carbine off his back sling, and fired at the remaining gangsters, killing five of them easily, leaving just two left. Talon then put his carbine away again, and quickly pulled out his pistol and unsheathed his knife; Talon opened fire on the gangster farthest from him and landed four shots in his chest, and one on his head. Talon then put his blaster away and charged at the final gangster, who was firing his pistol at the bounty hunter, hoping to get in a fatal shot, but he realized that luck wasn't on his side, since he ran out of ammo, leaving him defenseless. Talon then lunged forward, and swung his blade, and it went right into the side of the gangster's neck. Talon then looked at his victim, as he looked at Talon, with a look that showed life was quickly leaving him, and swung his dagger arm forward, causing the gangster to be lifted into the air in a flip. As the gangster's body went downward, the blade sliced cleanly through the front half of the man's neck, finishing him off. Talon then walking around the room, looking at the carnage he had created, when he came across the pile of credits Alex was bragging about earlier, and put ever last credit chip in a compartment on his jetpack, which could hold a large amount of credits. Once he collected his spoils, Talon left the bar, and made his way to the hanger. He arrived just in time to see Alex get in his personal starfighter, and close the canopy as the fighter lifted off the landing platform. "Looks like you lose this time, Kras!" Alex said, and he began to laugh as the ship rose higher and higher. Talon didn't say anything, he just brought his right arm to his chest, and raised his left arm, pointing his index finger at a button on his wrist gauntlet. Alex was confused at first, but when Talon pressed the button, Alex heard a quick series of beeps inside his ship, and he suddenly realized what was going on, as fear overcame him, like before, but this time, there was no way he could escape; two small explosions went tore the left and right sides of his ship, making it move uncontrollably, and few seconds later, as Alex futilely tried to regain control of his craft, a much larger explosion, which engulfed the center of the ship, including the cockpit, went off, and tore the ship in two, causing it to turn into two large fireballs plummeting back to the landing platform. Once the large balls of flames and shrapnel hit the ground, Talon activated his life form scanner, and scanned the debris for any possible signs that Alex survived both the explosion and the crash.

"No life forms detected." The AI in Talon's helmet said, and Talon smiled under his helmet as he turned around and headed back to his ship, the Relentless.

Relentless; en route to Hutta

Talon sat in his captain's chair of his personal starfighter, the Relentless, which was a special ship. What made it special is that it was a D5-Mantis Patrol Craft, used by most Bounty Hunters during the Great Galactic War and Cold War, which meant it was over three thousand years old. Finding a ship that old would be difficult, and one that still worked, near, if not, impossible, but Talon had reputation for pulling off the impossible; he had found the ship in a scrap pile on Raxus Prime, barely intact and operational, but by some miracle, Talon was able to get the ships engines running, followed by the hyperdrive, and was able to get the ship to a nearby ship repair shop. When he arrived in the piece of junk it was when he found it, many thought he was crazy to try and repair it, but Talon got started on it right away. In a few short months, he was able to get the ships engines replaced, followed by the hyperdrive. After that, he focused on the life support systems, which failed right as Talon entered the nearby planet's atmosphere. He scrapped the old ones and quickly replaced them, making the ship somewhat livable in it. The shield generator wasn't in any better shape than any other part of the ship. Talon followed the same procedure he did with other systems he replaced, and continued on his mission to restore the three millennia ship, which people still saw as crazy, though many still thought he was crazy, some actually traveled to the shop to watch Talon work day and night on the ship, and emergency crews were there in case Talon got severely injured. Seven months passed, and Talon finally got every system on his ship replaced, and even had a few advancements added, including ion cannons, proton torpedo and concussion missile launchers, a radar jammer, and a tractor beam. What was really amazing, was the fact that Talon was able to keep the ship's original design, so it looked just like it did during the Cold War, when it was at its peak. Talon's ingenuity was also able to allow him to keep another major feature of the Mantis; its ability to use Capital Ship grade weaponry, making it one of the most lethal, and feared, starfighters in the galaxy. Everyone who mocked him for trying to repair the ship, were awestruck as the cruiser flew in tight circles around them, showing off its surprising speed and maneuverability. Talon was proud of his ship, and decided to name it after himself in a way, which was how it got its name; Relentless.

Hutta

When Talon finally reached the planet, Hutta, he found a hanger bay near the palace where his employer was, and landed there so the ship could be refueled. He left the ship, and began making his way to the palace, when he noticed something off in the distance; an old prison barge, around sixty years old. Talon was curious about what it was doing on a planet like Hutta, so he activated his HUD and scanned the ship.

"Republic Cruiser interface has this ship marked as a 'Wanted Ship'. Designation; the Golden Chain, a Hutt slave trader ship, and one of the most feared in the galaxy. Bounty for the ship's location, as well as the death of the crew, sums up a total of three million credits." Talon's AI explained, and the bounty hunter grew angry instantly; Talon hated the Hutts for many reasons, but perhaps his main reason was their usage of slavery, which Talon was completely disgusted by. Both of his parents were slaves, who were treated cruelly by their 'owner', a crime lord, now long dead, and after Talon's parents heard of what most slaves went through, Talon grew an instant hatred for the concept. He wanted to stop the trade, but knew that he didn't have the skills or the man power to do anything about directly, especially on the Hutt home world. Instead, he just walked over to the cruiser, and as he got closer, Talon saw a large group of people, most likely potential buyers, and Talon forced his way through the crowd, hoping to see how many slaves were up for sale, and when he got to the front, he was appalled to see several dozen cages, filled with innocent beings, varying in ages from perhaps young as six years old, to adults perhaps in their late forties. Talon looked around and saw that over a hundred heavily armed guards surrounded the area, and now Talon was sure it'd be suicide to try a direct rescue attempt, but Talon wouldn't be the bounty hunter he was if he wasn't clever. Talon immediately thought of a plan, which, if was executed properly, would both result in the death of the slave traders and the Hutts losing prominent slavers. Talon activated a personal cloaking device he had on his armor, and he quickly blended in with his surroundings, making him impossible to see. Talon then made his to the Golden Chain, and went through the ship, hoping to find a certain item, something most all slavers had, and when he reached the slave masters quarters, he found it; the personal datapad of the leading slaver. After going through the files of the datapad, Talon quickly sliced the datapad, adding a few special parts to the slavers journal, and then put the datapad in his backpack, and quietly left the ship before anyone could notice that something wasn't right. Once Talon was out of the cruiser, he deactivated his cloaking device, and double timed to his employers palace, hoping to trick both the Hutt, and destroy the slavers in one blow. After going through the data he installed and rearranged, Talon made sure that there was no evidence of his tempering, and got ready for his act.

Ah…Talon; I heard about the explosion in the bar on Nar Shadda. I take you were successful then? The Hutt asked, and Talon nodded.

"I was your Excellency; the traitorous gangster and his followers have been dealt with." Talon said, and the Hutt laughed. "However, there is something I must tell you; I don't think Alex Thrash is the only traitor you have to worry about." Talon said, and the Hutt stopped laughing immediately.

Is that so? Then please; enlighten me. The Hutt demanded, and Talon threw his copied datapad to a nearby droid.

"Droid, play the message that's in the journal. Your Excellency, I found this datapad in the bar where I fought Thrush's goons. I went through his journal, and found a shared video journal between him and one of your slaver groups." Talon lied, and the droid pressed a few buttons on the datapad, and the fake recording started.

"That damned Hutt thinks he stopped my stealing cash from him, but he's a bigger fool than I thought; he has no idea that we're not giving him the full sixty percent required in the contract. We're making a fortune off of this!" The recording went on, consisting of constantly insulting the Hutt and bragging about the fake secret. When it ended, the Hutt was outraged.

They think they can betray me? They will all die for this treachery! The Hutt yelled, and Talon smiled under his helmet.

"Your Excellency, is there a reward for revealing this information to you?" Talon asked, and the Hutt chuckled.

Indeed; I will give you an extra ten thousand credits for this information. The Hutt offered, but Talon had a better idea for a reward.

"Your grace, if I may, instead of ten thousand credits, could you give me five, and I take whatever slaves are left when the traitorous slavers are dead?" Talon asked, and the Hutt thought over the proposal for a few seconds, and eventually nodded.

That is acceptable. The Hutt said, and Talon smiled again. The Hutt then ordered his soldiers to destroy the slavers, and Talon decided to watch the carnage and the last phase of his plan come together. Talon went to the top of a hill, and he looked at the slave cages, and unfortunately, there was only one slave left; a Togruta, around sixteen or seventeen years old, and it looked like she went through hell, she was wearing, literally, dirty, torn rags that were loosely tied around her chest and waist, barely covering them, and even starting to slip off her small, frail, fragile body; the rags were so loose around her body, and strong enough wind could make them fly off her body. She also had a chain and collar around her neck, and a blindfold and a gag over her mouth, but even that didn't stop Talon from seeing the fear in her eyes. She was also severely malnourished, her entire rib cage could be see thanks to her skin shriveling around it, her skin was pale, for a Togruta, and it looked like she had been beaten badly, and from what Talon could tell, even from the distance he was from her, it didn't take a doctor to tell him that she had been sexually assaulted, due to the multiple colored stains that covered her thighs. Talon waited for the soldiers to strike, and it didn't take them long to reach the slavers, there were at least fifty soldiers, against three dozen guards and the slavers. The soldiers aimed their weapons at the falsely accused slavers, and although the guards fired first, they were no match for the advanced skills and numbers of the guards, and in five short minutes, all the guards and slavers were dead, and Talon went to the cage where the Togruta was kept.

"Wow…you are so beautiful…yet so fragile. You didn't deserve anything that you went through as a slave…but I promise you…you're life will change; I'll make sure of it." Talon said, and he reached through the cage and pulled down the gag, allowing her speak, and the Togruta looked around her, not being able to see Talon, due to the blindfold.

"Who…who are you?" The Togruta asked fearfully, in a dry, raspy voice, revealing that she was dehydrated, and Talon grabbed the Togruta's collar, and was easily able to break it in half. Talon would've removed the slave's blindfold, but he didn't want to scare her with his helmet, but he didn't want to make himself vulnerable to attack.

"Someone that's going to help you; can you walk?" Talon asked, and the Togruta tried to stand up, but she was so weak, she would've hit the ground falling if Talon hadn't caught her. Talon then picked the Togruta up, and began carrying her, bridal style, back to the Relentless.

Relentless; a few minutes later

When Talon finally reached his ship, he went to the bridge and gently placed the Togruta on the bed in his quarters, and took his armor off, and put more comfortable clothes, which was a jacket, black pants with a red stripe going down each side, a blue shirt, and black combat boots. Talon then turned his attention to the Togruta, who still looked completely frightened, even through the blindfold, so he walked over to her, and carefully put his hands behind her head, and untied the knot keeping the blindfold attached to her head, and the piece of cloth fell from her eyes, allowing her to see, and she looked around, still scared, not knowing where she was and worried about what was about to happen. Eventually, her sky blue eyes met with Talon's, and as she looked at him, she slowly began backing from him, though Talon didn't try to get closer to her, and the Togruta's back eventually reached the wall behind her, not allowing her to back any further.

"I'm not going to hurt you, I promise." Talon said, and he gave the Togruta a warm smile, and even though she was shaking in fear, something in her head was telling her that the stranger in front of her was telling the truth, so she calmed down a little, but she was still confused and frightened.

"Who…who are you?" The Togruta asked, and Talon stepped back and smiled.

"My name is Talon Kras. What's your name?" Talon asked, and the Togruta remained quiet for a few seconds. "Well, aren't you going tell me?" Talon asked, but she still remained quiet. "You do have a name, don't you?"

"I…it's…I can't…I can't remember." The Togruta said, and Talon looked at her, confused.

"What do you mean you can't remember?" Talon asked, and the Togruta tried to think of what her name was, but nothing was coming to her mind.

"I can't remember my name…I think I have one…but…it's all a blur." The Togruta said, and Talon shook his head, feeling worse and worse for his new guest with every passing second, when he notices something; a slight dent in the skin on the side of the Togruta's head. Talon got slowly got closer to the Togruta, hoping to get a better look at the scar, and he realized it came from being hit by a blunt object, and he was starting to understand.

"I'm starting to understand what's going on." Talon said, and the Togruta looked at Talon, hoping that he could explain to her why she couldn't think of her name. "You took a nasty blow to the head awhile back, which I believe gave you a serious case of amnesia." Talon explained, and Ahsoka frowned, apparently knowing what amnesia meant.

"Will I ever get my memory back?" The Togruta asked.

"I…it's hard to tell, do you know how long you've been a slave?" Talon asked.

"A couple of months…I think, I can't remember anything before waking up in a cage in these rags." The Togruta said, and Talon sighed.

"Well, with amnesia, it can either be temporarily, or in…some cases…permanent." Talon said, and the Togruta frowned again, put Talon decided to try and comfort her, so he wrapped his arm around her, and let her lean on him. "Listen, I'm not going to abandon you on some planet, not when you can't remember anything and are so weak from being mistreated, so…why don't you stay with me…until you regain your memory at least." Talon offered, and a tear began rolling down the Togruta's cheek, but she smiled, and looked at Talon.

"You're the only person who's been kind to me for two months…and there's this…voice in my head…telling me to trust you." The Togruta said, and Talon smiled, liking where she was going. "Alright…I'll stay, but…I hope…I won't be a burden, I'll make myself useful to you, I promise." The Togruta said, and Talon smiled, but it disappeared when the Togruta gave a dry, wheezing heave. Talon then stood up, walked out of the bedroom, and a minute later, he returned with a cup of water with ice in it.

"Here, drink this." Talon ordered, and the Togruta took the cup, and drink all the water in the cup.

"Thank you. That helps." The Togruta said, her voice sounding a bit softer now, and Talon just smiled.

"You should get some rest. Tomorrow, I'll have some measurements taken of you so you wear proper clothes, and I'll also help you regain your strength. And who knows, over time, you may regain your lost memory." Talon said, and the Togruta smiled as Talon helped her lie down, and put the blankets on his bed over. "I promise you, things will get better for you." Talon said sincerely, and the Togruta smiled.

"I think they already are." The Togruta said, and she closed her eyes, and went to sleep, while Talon walked out of his room, and shut the lights.

A/N: If this story is moving too fast, tell me. Also, for those who want a better idea of what the slave looks like, go to and type in Slave, it should be the second picture on the second row, and that's what she looks like. I also hope none of you were offended by what you read, especially when I implied about what happened to the slave. Also, I hope you don't find Talon as a huge softie, instead, I hope the fight scene shows that Talon can be a cold hearted killer when necessary, but he does have a soft spot for slaves, which I hope was well explained in this chapter. In the next chapter, I'll go into more details about why Talon became a bounty hunter, and explain more about the former slave girl.