Spoilers for the Trooper, Bounty Hunter, Agent, Smuggler, Sith warrior, and Jedi Consular storyline.
Rated T - Language, violence.
The Agamaran atmosphere was stifling in the open camp Lieutenant Goran had set up but even more so still in the dense jungles of the planet. The young lieutenant and an officer named Cutty were stumbling awkwardly through the greenery, following after the lithe Sith lord and her apprentice. Though her name was Milara Alsorran, Goran and most of the Empire knew her by the name the Dark Council had given her, Darth Agaric.
Following the battle with the unknown alien species in the destroyed colony, the four of them watched the enemy disappear back into the trees. Jaesa frowned down at the dead bodies of the colonists with a sort of compassion in her eyes. Goran was surprised by this reaction. He knew Sith only to harness their hatred and would never show remorse for the slaughtered or enslaved.
"Shall we head back to the camp and discuss our actions going forward, my lord?" Goran asked with a forced smiled. Milara glared at him before answering.
"Not an option. I was sent here by the Emperor to investigate. That's what I plan on doing, lieutenant." Milara started toward the edge of the jungle with Jaesa at her heels.
"You're going in there?" Goran cried out, the fear in his voice evident. Milara glanced back at him and he was startled once more by a charming smile. Goran turned to Cutty with an embarrassed expression. "Let's get after them then."
Hours later, the four of them were still hiking through the foreign wilderness. Goran had never ventured this far out into unmapped territory. His only job on Agamar was to oversee the small colonies the Empire had set up over the planet, nothing more. He was not cartographer so he saw no need to go out of his way to seek out harm. The Sith moved quickly through the greenery without hesitation. Whenever they came across an obstacle, Milara cut it away swiftly with a flash of her red lightsaber. Under his dark gray Imperial uniform, Goran was sweating as much as a Bantha likely did on the hot expanses of Tatooine. Milara and Jaesa showed no signs of exhaustion.
"Master," Jaesa spoke quietly as to not let the Imperials behind them hear. "Do you have any idea what those things are?" Jaesa Willsaam 's voice was gentle, just as it had been when the younger Milara found her, as an apprentice herself. Jaesa had been trained as a Jedi by a corrupt master. Her connection to the Force was strong, allowing her to perceive people's true intentions without fail. She was Milara's buoy to keep her from giving her entire self to the Dark Side.
"I have no idea." Milara admitted with a scowl that curved her attractive face into something unpleasant. "Those creatures were alive yet not. I don't know how to explain that." She murmured.
"I noticed the same thing, Master. They had a place in the Force but were not alive like you or me. They released only darkness. It was gagging." Jaesa remembered aloud. Milara looked to her apprentice with concern. Even with her gift with the Force, it was sometimes debilitating for the young girl.
As a child, Milara exhibited Force sensitivity which was what had brought the Sith to Mirial. Her connection was purely physical, meaning she used the Force to her benefit as a tool for violence. This made her years at the Sith Academy on Korriban tolerable. Korriban was the dusty red home world for the original Sith species. An aggressive, ethnocentric race of crimson-skinned warriors. Their numbers were limited now and they had finally deigned to share the teachings of the Sith with alien species. Some races were seen with more disdain than others. This made Milara more of a target at the academy than just a skilled fighter.
Her first year as a lowly acolyte was one the toughest in her life. Every day was a battle for her life and each night was a perilous time when her peers felt it was best to kill. The slaying of fellow acolytes on Korriban was a rite of passage Milara learned only a few days after her arrival.
With innocent eyes, Milara had witnessed the slaughter of a young Rodian acolyte in an empty hallway one day. As the Rodian lay motionless on the stone floor with sightless eyes staring at Milara, she could not stop the scream of horror from slipping out of her lips. The four Sith-in-training all looked up to see a shaking Milara standing only feet away. Without words, only sadistic laughter echoing in the hall, they rushed at her. She took the beating without protest. Milara could not take her deep blue eyes off the dead student. His black blood was seeping from his corpse and had covered the tips of Milara's fingers. It was in that moment when she snapped. Milara gripped the training blade she had fastened to her back to beat back the others. She made quick work of them with expert cuts and slashes. Milara's training uniform was coated in their mixed blood.
"Master, do you sense them?" Jaesa jarred her. Milara stopped moving and listened to her surroundings.
"Why are we stopping?" Goran breathed. He was panting heavily, till trying to catch his breath. Milara ignored him. She quieted her mind and the noisy jungle to focus solely on the Force. The jungle was a mass of trillions of life forms. Concentrating on the larger forms in the distance strained her mind. In a couple hundred feet, Milara noticed two distinctly separate beings. They were complex, unlike the simple organisms of the jungle. She opened her eyes and sprinted forward, her hand hovering over her unignited saber. Jaesa followed quickly after her as Goran and the officer stumbled. Instincts told her to hesitate before bursting through the final cluster of trees but Milara pushed away her reservations.
Milara's saber was drawn as she rushed into the small clearing. Its red light illuminated her face sinisterly. In the clearing stood a humanoid creature in heavy durasteel plating. It wore an orange helmet; its angular T-shaped cut immediately revealed the being's allegiance. Milara noticed various marking on the armor. Notches that likely represented kill counts, chipped paint that told Milara this warrior had seen their share of battle, and finally the trademark glint of a wrist-attached flamethrower.
"Mandalorian," Milara extinguished her blade immediately and slowly approached the creature. The Mandalorian had been surveying a handheld map display before the Sith lord had suddenly appeared. They now stowed the device. Milara had encountered Mandos before. They and their culture was strange but appealed to her. The emphasis the Mandalorians placed on glory in battle paired with the dedication they possessed for each other was a notion Milara respected.
"Sith," The Mandalorian spoke in Basic through a voice modulator. The speaker was obviously female due to the pitch of voice. Even though Milara had deactivated her lightsaber, she kept her hand subtly on her waist. Mandalorians valued honor but Milara could not be completely helpless if the warrior chose to pull her blaster. Movement at the Mandalorian's mid –thigh caught Milara's eye. The Jawa standing beside the hunter surprised Milara. Jawas, creatures native to Tatooine, were rarely seen off-world, and if so not without others of their kind. The small alien had pulled out his blaster but this did not trouble the Sith lord. "Easy Blizz." The Mandalorian said in a stern voice. The Jawa grudgingly placed his weapon back on his belt. His glowing eyes peered at Milara suspiciously.
"I mean no harm toward you and your," Milara hesitated, her eyes lingering on the Jawa known as Blizz. "Pet?"
"Blizz is no pet! Blizz is Moira's respectable companion." The Jawa cried out in his native language. The hunter now had a name. The name nagged at Milara's memory. It was familiar somehow. The hunter pulled off her helmet and killed her heads-up display, revealing her human face.
Moira Santebren. Milara was suddenly flush with memories of when the holonet was flooded with pictures of this hunter's face. This human female had won the most recent Great Hunt.
The Great Hunt, to Milara's knowledge, was a grand championship hosted by the current Mand'alor (the leader of the Mandalorians). It was a bloody bounty hunting fest to discover the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. Much respect and wealth went with the title of Grand Champion. Moira Santebren's story was a rare one in that she did not enter the competition as a Mandalorian. She used her skills to better some of the favored Mandalorians.
"I'm here as a neutral party." Moira said, her voice no longer sounding robotic. She had brilliant red hair that hung in an elegant bun. Her bright blue eyes were focused not on Milara's face but her hand. It had inched closer to the hilt of her saber without her realizing. The alliance between the Mandalorians and Empire was a tenuous one so Milara knew she needed to tread carefully. If it were any other bounty hunter, she would have cut them down but Moira was the best the galaxy had to offer. She would likely put up a fight.
"Moira! They are back!" The Jawa squeaked, jumping up frantically. The hunter slipped her helmet back onto her head before releasing a series of rapid shots in Milara's direction. The red blade of her lightsaber bounced the rounds back toward Moira. She easily dodged the shots but fired once more. This time the green blast sped past Milara and the others, hitting one of the strange creatures from before. They were emerging once more from the trees. Rage grew within the Sith. She was beginning to get irritated with these aliens.
"Not again," Goran moaned.
Without speaking a word between them, Milara and the Mandalorian fought together against this inexplicable enemy.