Chapter 11: Durge the Bounty Hunter

Jedi General Qymaen jai Sheelal along with his squad of scout troopers walked down the corridor of the deserted temple on the rusty red planet. The cyborg Jedi's metal claws clicked on the stone floor of the temple on the unknown planet in the Unknown Regions of space. So far, they had not come across anyone on the planet. There was no intelligent lifeform or savage beasts. What they did encounter was the rusting husks of more ships from around the galaxy. Many of the ships they recognised with just as many other ships that they did not recognise.

The temple itself was just like any other Jedi temple that Qymaen had been to. Grand walls with grand statues of Jedi from the past were backed into the walls for support. Many of the Jedi's facial features had been eroded to the point that their faces were no longer there. Some of the Jedi statues had been completely destroyed to the ravages of time.

The Jedi and five Clone troopers made their way through the temple. The silence of the temple was broken by the clicking of Sheelal's metal claws and the marching of the Clones boots. There was also the sound of water dripping somewhere else within the temple.

The group came to a stop in the middle chamber of the temple. There they saw what they were looking for. In the centre of the chamber on top of a stone pedestal was a glowing blue gem. There was a blue aura that surrounded the gem and moved like the northern lights on Earth. The gem was no bigger than a loth cat's head.

"Is that what the Jedi Council send us to collect?" asked one of the Clone Scouts as they all walked closer to the gem atop the pedestal.

The Clones stopped at the base of the four-step dais that led up to the pedestal. The trained soldiers looked in all directions as they watched their Generals back as he kept walking up the stairs to the gem.

"It is. This gem is said to have the power to not only see the future but effect the future as well. That is why the Jedi Order wants it brought back to Coruscant. That way it will be under the protection of all the Jedi and the Clone barracks that are close to the Temple." Qymaen responded. He looked down at the human clone solder who had spoken. He then turned his attention back to the gem that was glowing even brighter than before. His six fingered metal hand reached towards the glowing blue gem. He picked up the gem and found that it was much lighter than it looked.

With the blue gem in his hands, he turned around to face the Clone scouts who were still watching the way they had come from. The temple and the planet may have been deserted of all life but that did not mean that the Separatists send their droid army.

"Let us return to the fleet." he said to his men as he began to walk down the dais back to the floor of the temple.

"I don't think Jedi scum!" rasped a voice from above them.

All of them looked up to the ceiling of the temple to see an imposing figure dropping down from the ceiling. The Clones instantly had aimed the weapons at the imposing figure that towered even above their Jedi General. The hum of two lightsabers was followed by the golden glow of the yellow lightsabers held in the cyborg's hands. All of them had taken a battle stance as they watched the bounty hunter push the dais with one hand. The stone dais just grumbled under the force of his push.

"I have been looking forward to facing you, General Grievous. Your reputation precedes you." rasped the raspy voice of the giant as he toward above the Jedi. He held his massive blaster pistols in both hands as he watched the Jedi with narrowed eyes behind his mask.

"As does yours Durge. The famed bounty hunter that Count Dooku has hired to murder both Jedi and Clones alike." Qymaen snapped back. He narrowed his organic eyes as he looked towards the bounty hunter. He moved his feet as he got into a better position to both defend and attack the imposing figure of Durge.

Durge gave a raspy laugh as he kept glaring the Jedi who was still holding the gem in his arms that had split into four. He had noticed that the gem was getting brighter and brighter with each passing moment. It was like it was beating to a pulse that none of them could hear.

"I am no different to the likes of you and the other Jedi. You led millions of men into the battlefield, and you leave just as many dead or dying on the battlefields all across the galaxy. I just make sure that they have a quick death." Durge rasped back to Qymaen. He kept watching the Jedi as he had his lightsaber in a defensive stance before him. "I am at least honest with them. Unlike you and your filthy Jedi Order lies!"

"I fight alongside my men. I make sure as many of them come back and get the medical care that they need." Qymaen argued back to Durge. He gave a small gesture with the hand that was holding the gem to his Clone troopers. The Clone troopers seeing the hand gesture slowly began to back away. They kept their blaster rifles aimed at Durge as they kept backing away from him and the Jedi.

Durge gave a raspy laugh. He had seen the Jedi give the small signal to his men. He could see the small steps that the men were taken as they backed away from him. He returned his attention back to Qymaen. He was still holding both the gem and his lightsaber that was still glowing a bright yellow. "You are just telling lies to make yourself feel better. You know that you are just like me. We are both killers. But the people you kill are called casualties while the ones that I kill are called victims." Durge rasped back to the cyborg Jedi.

Sheelal made a noise in the back of his throat. He kept his yellow reptilian eyes focused on the known bounty hunter. The bounty hunter who was feared by both Clones and Jedi. The clones feared him because of his ruthless nature on the battlefield. The Jedi fearing him because he took the lightsabers of the Jedi that he had killed. He never used the lightsabers instead he just kept in his hideout as souvenirs of his victories against them. His grip on his lightsabers handle only tightened as his feet took a better stance as he prepared for the fight that was going to be coming his way.

Durge watched as the clones and the Jedi kept backing out of the temple. He could smell the fear that was coming from the Mandalorian clones along with the Kaleesh cyborg Jedi. He smiled behind his mask that he alone was causing the so called General Grievous to be weary of him. He had heard the reports of the cyborg Jedi. Being a cyborg and being mostly cybernetics than being organic he can move and react so much faster than when he was organic. That also went with his thoughts. He had heard from the reports that came from the battlefield that Qymaen can almost think like a droid.

He looked back to the blue gem that was still being held in Qymaen's hands. His eyes narrowed and he let out another raspy breath. He took a step forward. The clone's weapons clicked as they prepared to fire at him. He smirked once again behind his mask as he looked back to Qymaen.

"I will make a deal with you, General Grievous!" Durge rasped towards the Jedi. He took another step and was soon close to the Jedi. He was close to the Jedi that he could hear the hum that was coming from the yellow lightsaber. He was also able to feel the raw power of the gem that Qymaen was holding.

Qymaen narrowed his eyes and let out a reptilian hiss as he prepared for the fight that he could sense was coming. "I do not make deals with a bounty hunter who kills for profit. So whatever it is that you are going to say, don't!" he growled back to Durge.

Durge was still and quite as he regarded the Jedi before him. "Then I will make this easy for you." he rasped back at Qymaen.

That was the only warning that he gave the Jedi before he fired lasers from his dual blaster pistols. His shots where all over the place as he kept firing. The lasers that were fired to the Jedi were blocked by the lightsaber and were fired back to the bounty hunter. He was able to dodge a few of them but a few lasers did impact his dark armour and leaving burn marks. He snarled to himself in that the Jedi Master was able to block a majority his laser blasts as he and his clones fled from the temple with the item that Darth Sidious had paid him to get.

He looked beyond the Jedi who was not turning his back to him. He still had his lightsaber in a defensive position before him. He looked beyond the Jedi who was keeping all his senses on him to see the clone scouts as they feel back.

"If I cannot kill a Jedi then I will kill your slaves!" he rasped.

Once again he aimed his dual blaster pistols up, but rather than at Sheelal. He was aiming at the retreating clones as they got further away from the Jedi and him. Quickly he fired his two blaster pistols at the retreating. Two clones went down with a scream. The blasts had made their mark and the clones were killed in an instant.

He was about to fire again when a yellow lightsaber slashed through one of his blasters. He growled as his attention returned back to the Jedi. He dropped the blaster that had been sliced in half to the ground. The two half parts of the blaster sparking with electricity. The other blaster that had not been damaged by the lightsaber was then put back into its place in his armour.

"Very well. You want to play the hero." he rasped at Sheelal as he punched the cyborg in the face.

Qymaen growled as he slashed his lightsaber towards Durge. Sparks flew in all directions when his lightsaber meet the armour that was covering Durge's arm. He snarled when he realised that Durge was covered in beskar metal. Every time that he swung down his lightsaber Durge would block it with his arm that was covered in beskar. With ever slash of his lightsaber he was punched by the bounty hunter. All of Durge's punches only impacted with his metal body. Even though it was the armour that covered his vital organs and he had very little skin and flesh left, he still felt ever punch that Durge gave him.

Qymaen blocked the next punch that was coming towards his chest, but he could only snarl in frustration when Durge changed his fists destination at the last minute. His head once again got struck by the armoured fist. The force of the punch caused him to take a step back and drop both his lightsaber along with the gem that he had still been holding to that point.

"It has been a while since I had killed a Jedi Master! And I have never killed a cyborg Jedi before. You are one lucky Kaleesh, General Grievous!" Durge rasped as he picked up the only still working blaster and aimed it at the Jedi. "It is time that your lightsabers are added to my growing collection!" Durge rasped as he pulled the trigger.

Qymaen was suddenly blinded by a bright blue glow. The glow was bright enough to blind him. He closed his eyes and had his arms covering his face and also adding more cover to the blinding light. Over the defending sound of nothing he heard Durge snarling as he too got caught in the bright blue light.