-A Painful Death-

Calo Nord sat in the cantina, sipping a glass of Tarisian ale. The thoughts going through his head at the moment were very self-absorbed. He had made quite a name for himself across the galaxy; people everywhere regarded him as a swift and deadly bounty hunter. He grinned with pride as he reflected upon the countless bounties he had collected. He had killed many people from various species: Rodians, Gammoreans, and Twi'leks, to name a few. Of course, many of his victims were human as well – some even women and children, if the price was right. Calo fingered the pair of heavy Mandalorian blasters on his belt. These bad boys had been invaluable assets on previous bounty missions. And now it was time to collect another bounty. He downed the rest of his ale and stood up from his seat. Nobody dared cross his path as he made his way toward the exit. He left the cantina, pleased by the effect his presence had on the other people. He was feared, and why shouldn't he be? He was a wielder of great power, second perhaps to only that of a Jedi. No. Calo shook his head. He was better than a Jedi. He fed his ego with these thoughts as he made his way down the streets of lower Taris.

Calo paused in front of an apartment complex, and pulled out a data pad from the pocket of his baby-blue jacket. He skimmed over the data pad. Yes, this was the place. The double doors slid open, and the pudgy bounty hunter entered the complex. Two Rodian mercenaries waited within.

"Hey, little man," the first one spoke, in Rodian tongue, "You've been following us for some time. There something you need?"

"Quiet!" the second one spoke, also in Rodian tongue. "Do you have any idea who this guy..." the Rodian paused for a minute and rubbed his black, beady eyes. "Oh, sorry, false alarm," he snickered. "It's only Calo Nord!"

Calo frowned, mildly peeved that these two didn't tremble at the sound of his name, or beg him for mercy. They would soon learn their lesson. "There's a bounty on your green little heads," he said coolly. "I'm here to collect."

"You'll have to take that bounty from our cold, dead bodies," replied the first Rodian.

Calo grinned. "That's the plan."

He threw a frag grenade in their direction and took cover beneath a nearby archway. There was a flash of light as the grenade exploded, and smoke filled the air. Calo came out from beneath the archway, dusting his hands.

"That oughta show 'em what for," he said boastfully.

Suddenly, two figures leapt out from the smoke. Calo couldn't believe his eyes – it was the Rodians! One of them delivered an uppercut, and the other landed a roundhouse kick, sending him sprawling across the floor. Calo slowly picked himself up, wiping some blood away from his lip.

"Hmph." He would have to do this the hard way. He quickly drew his trusty Mandalorian blasters, and fired at both of the Rodians. His jaw dropped as he watched them absorb the shots. He couldn't believe his eyes; they were wearing energy shields! Calo was not accustomed to this. In the past, his targets would stand still as he blasted

holes through their bodies, or sit by idly as he triggered a thermal detonator from beneath them. It was inconceivable that these two could move out of the way of his blaster fire, let alone use energy shields.

"Shit," he cursed under his breath. He tossed the blasters aside – they could no longer help him in this fight. The Rodians drew nearer, and for the first time in his life, Calo Nord panicked. His mind raced frantically for some solution to this dire situation. Using a frag grenade now would be foolish; the Rodians were too close, and he would be caught in the blast. He began searching his jacket desperately for something, anything, that he could use. A spark of hope lit inside him as he felt something in his left pocket. Yes, of course! This would be his savior. He had taken it off of some lowly gangster earlier in the day, who made the unfortunate mistake of looking him in the eye. It would easily penetrate an energy shield, and inflict ample damage on both of the Rodian mercenaries. He reached inside his left pocket and pulled it out - a Vulkar shock stick. Calo charged at the two Rodians, confidence restored. Much to his surprise, however, they opened fire on him, putting holes through his right leg and shoulder. Calo cried out in pain and lost his balance, hitting the ground hard. He lost grip on the Vulkar shock stick, and it slid across the floor, stopping at the Rodians' feet. He struggled to his knees. Anger flared inside him as he realized that the two Rodians were using his own Mandalorian blasters against him. Discarding them was a mistake! His brain was catching fire, and then something snapped inside of him. Survival was no longer of any importance; all that mattered now was killing them. At any cost. He pulled out a thermal detonator from inside his jacket.

"If I have to die," he cried, "I'm taking you bastards down with me!"

The two Rodians continued their steady movement, not fazed by the pudgy bounty hunter's maniacal threats. They were now standing right in front of Calo Nord. The first one swiped the thermal detonator from his hands, and the second one picked up the Vulkar shock stick. Calo had no more cards to play; he was done for. He would not admit it, but he was done for.

"If you bug heads even touch me," Calo said, trying to sound in control, "you'll never see the light of day again. I have connections! Friends in high places! If they hear that you've caused me even the slightest bit of trouble, they'll hunt you down. There won't be a single place left in the galaxy for you to hide! Not even the Jedi enclave will be able to protect you!"

"Well then," the first Rodian began, "I suppose we'd better make sure that they can't hear about this."

The second Rodian nodded his head in agreement, and thrust the Vulkar shock stick into Calo Nord's mouth. He cried out as electricity burned his tongue and mouth. The Rodian held it in for a few more seconds, then tossed it aside. Calo sprayed out blood. The first Rodian then shoved him to the ground.

"Goodbye, Calo Nord," he said sardonically. He placed the thermal detonator on Calo's chest and activated it.

The two Rodians walked away.

"No, wait!" Calo yelled, or tried to at least. All that came out of his mouth were distorted noises and moans, and blood. He clenched his fists. The two Rodians were gone. Calo lay there bleeding on the complex floor, bewildered. How did this happen? What went wrong in that fight? Those Rodians should have been the ones dying on the floor, not him. He had killed numerous people across the galaxy, many who were considered far more dangerous than those Rodians. Yet they were the ones to bring him down. Maybe he wasn't as great as he thought. Calo shook his head. No! He was the greatest bounty hunter in the galaxy, a force to be reckoned with! The beeping of the thermal detonator pulled him from his thoughts. He was too weak to move his arms. Nothing could save him now. He began going into denial. The Rodians must have had some outside help, or must have been expecting him. Or maybe the bartender put something in his drink. Yes, that was it. The bartender. As soon as he got himself out of this mess, he would go right back into that cantina and –

BOOOOOOM! The thermal detonator exploded. The apartment complex collapsed all around him.

When the Sith patrol arrived at the scene a little later, all they found beneath the rubble were ashes and a blood stained, baby-blue jacket.