A LONG LONG TIME AGO IN A GALAXY FAR FAR AWAY…

THOUGH order was the paramount concern of the GALACTIC EMPIRE, it was boiling underneath the surface. Hot spots flared throughout the galaxy and it often fell upon troopers of the Imperial Army to stamp out the chaos as the Empire was too large to field Stormtroopers everywhere. If the flares became hot enough, an Agent of the IMPERIAL SECURITY BUREAU's Enforcement Division would be called in to help stamp it out.

The MOHRG SYSTEM lay within the Mid Rim and took in countless refugees during the Clone Wars which made it susceptible to unrest. A susceptibility which was triggered by the disturbances in the Lothal System. When rumors of a LIGHTSABER WIELDING JEDI began to circulate amidst the unrest in the capital city Mohrg Prime, Agent Malgo Sluka was called in to stamp them out.

Thus begins VENGEANCE, EPISODE 1 of THE ADVENTURES OF AGENT MALGO SLUKA, ISB…

Mid Rim
Mohrg System
Mohrg 3
Warehouse District of Mohrg Prime

A single tall figure in black laminate armor, Imperial Security Bureau special mark, stood at the entrance to a narrow and dirty brick-walled alley, a blaster carbine hanging from a harness on his shoulder. His helmet was black too, with a black polarized visor which shed no glare. Blasters echoed in the background. The ISB Agent gripped his carbine and looked in. Smoke floated through the air but his vision was unhindered by it, thanks to the optical filters in his helmet. The alley was a dead end with a single door. Some debris lined each side and a large crate sat half-way down the alley on the left.

"Have you found him yet, Malgo?" asked a deep voice over his encrypted com. "Me'n the squad's inbound."

The ISB Agent grimaced. That's Agent Sluka, he thought but said nothing. One of these days, you're gonna get us in trouble, Conor. "Not yet," Agent Sluka calmly answered. The traitor's here, I can feel it. The Agent looked back over his shoulder for an instant. The street was clear, no movement. The warehouse opposite him had no windows or doors street side. "Bring up Cam Droids, 1 and 2," he said quietly.

The Agent's Heads Up Display responded to his command. Two images appeared on the HUD, one on the lower left of his visor and the other on the lower right. The lower left image was labeled Cam Droid 1 and was an aerial view of the empty street behind him. No movement on the roof of the warehouse either. The second image was an aerial of the alley way in front of him and the rooftops above it. A robed figure was crouched behind the crate.

I knew it, Agent Sluka told himself as he removed a frag grenade from his belt pouch. While focusing on Cam Droid 2's image, he tossed the grenade into the alley. The grenade momentarily appeared on his HUD as it entered into the camera's field but reversed direction in mid-air.

"Shit," Sluka screamed as he dove to the side for cover. The grenade exploded in mid-air. Though face down, Agent Sluka watched the figure leap overtop the crate and out of the alley on Cam Droid 2's feed. The figure wielded a blazing green lightsaber in his right hand. Sluka rolled over and fired his carbine at the robed figure. With a flick of the robed figure's wrist, the lightsaber deflected the blast.

Blaster fire erupted in the street.

Squad's here, Sluka noted as he sprang to his feet and leveled his carbine at the figure. The figure had stopped, dead in its tracks, facing a squad of Imperial Army troopers, with an enormous trooper in the middle, and blaster rifles leveled at him. "Level him!" Agent Sluka screamed. "Break, Sergeant Conor!" The outer troopers fired while the middle trooper broke into a sprint. The robed figure deflected a first blast, then a second, and dodged three more which would have hit him as he turned about and dashed at Sluka.

Sluka fired his carbine.

The first was blocked by the lightsaber. The second should have struck home in the figure's chest but the figure effortlessly side-stepped without slowing. There was no time for a third shot. Damn! Sluka screamed to himself as the figure closed on top of him. The hood had fallen off the traitor's head as it closed the distance, leaving exposed a tall tapering bald head marking him as a Cerean, a fact that filled Sluka's head with anger. The squad's blaster fire ceased as the robed Cerean closed with the much taller Agent and struck an overhead blow.

Agent Sluka nimbly stepped aside as he parried with his carbine.

The green blade of the lightsaber passed through the carbine, destroying it. Sluka drew his gauntleted fist back to swing at the Cerean but the traitor had already turned around, swinging its blade at an opponent behind it. The enormous trooper who had broken rank launched himself into the Cerean. The Cerean didn't flinch. His lightsaber took off the trooper's left arm and buried into the trooper's side before the giant collided with him, bowling him over.

The green blaze of the lightsaber extinguished as the hilt left the Cerean's hand and rolled away.

The Cerean jumped back to his feet but so had the Agent. Sluka launched into him and bowled him over. "Whatcha gonna do now, bitch!" he screamed as he mounted the Cerean, an armored leg on each side of the Traitor's hips. An armored elbow to the head, followed by a gauntleted fist. Another elbow and another. One after another without stop. Sluka raised up and pulled his blaster pistol to the Cerean's bloodied face and closed eyes. He paused for a second, considering, then pulled the trigger.

The blast left a huge burning hole in the Cerean's head, a hole that extended to the pavement below.

Sluka hopped off the dead Cerean and turned to the huge motionless form on the ground beside him. "Conor!" he screamed but the big guy didn't respond. "Medic!" Sluka screamed as he turned up his head to see the squad had closed the distance. One bearing the red sigil denoting him as a Medic stood in front of him. The others had already fanned out and were covering the scene, looking for danger.

"Yes, Agent Sluka," the Medic quickly answered as he kneeled down beside Conor. The big man's arm was a meter away from his body and the lightsaber had also left an enormous gash in his side.

"You save Sergeant Conor," Sluka commanded. "You hear me?"

"Yes sir," answered the Medic. He quickly administered a stim pack to boost Conor's vitals, then reached back into his med-kit.

Sluka turned back to the robed Cerean with a blast hole in his head. Time is everything, he said to himself. "Cam Droid 1, move a block down. Cam Droid 2, move a block over. Scan for hostiles," he commanded, then quickly reached for the Cerean's body. You got any info about your accomplices? Sluka asked the dead Cerean without speaking aloud as he reached into the robes. His hand quickly locked onto something hidden in the robes and he pulled it out.

Agent Sluka held a curved lightsaber hilt in his hand, a Shoto hilt. Five images were engraved upon its surface. The images were simple, lacking in detail in a manner which made them appear primitive. The images were of a yellow horned serpent, a black spider, a purple avian, a green canine with cropped ears and a short tail, and a blue feline creature. Ancient runes in white covered the remainder of the hilt.

Emotions swelled up in Agent Sluka. Dad's saber. I can't believe it. He quickly pocketed the hilt and then continued searching through the Cerean's robes. Found it, Sluka said to himself as he smiled within his helmet. He pulled his hand out from a hidden pocket and with it came a leather-bound journal covered with similar runes.

"Dmitri's blade?" asked a raspy voice from beside him.

Agent Sluka looked over at the big man lying on the ground beside him. "Yes, it is," he said. "I can't we believe we got the bastard, Conor." The big guy's eyes closed. I've waited so long for this day. Now what? Sluka quickly turned his gaze to the Medic who was closing his med-kit. "You saw nothing."

"Yes sir, Agent Sluka," answered the Medic as he stood. "Do you want me to call in medical transport?"

"Yes," Sluka answered, then stood and towered over the Medic, his proximity marking him as being even taller than Conor though not nearly so thick. "Good job today, men," he said. "Report for debriefing as soon as we return to base."