And So the Hunt Begins...

[Metus De'cal]

The actions of the Sith have drawn much ire from the rest of the galaxy, as well as those who simply were too weak to fight them themselves. Much of this hatred eventually came to be presented in the form of bounties...which would then be sought after by hunters. Metus De'cal had once contemplated a possible future as a bounty hunter, back when he was a simple thug for whatever criminal would pay his fee, but that would usually entail leaving Coruscant, which he was just not willing to do. In the end it was best that he stayed in the dirt and grime until the Sith came to show him the proper way to live, but now he had a bounty placed on his head for the simple act of trespassing. The old Metus might have been deathly afraid of such a situation, but the new one would be...only a little bit concerned. Totally.

His travels brought the Sith student back to the lower levels of Coruscant, heading through the streets and past the cantinas and other attractions to reach his old home. On the day he left to become an acolyte he had left everything behind, willing to possibly die in the chance of becoming a Sith in his first act of true bravery. Now he was returning to inspect the life he had left behind, and see if there was anything worth salvaging. Of course there would be people from his old life around for him to gloat at and maybe bring retribution to, which was the reason Metus found himself smiling underneath his mask. People cleared a path for him in his dark red attire, the same that would have probably paid him no mind in the old days, and it truthfully made him feel all-powerful...even if he knew it was very far from the truth.

He would possibly learn that lesson again tonight...

[member="Meanken"]

 

[Meanken]

Sith. Lot of people hated em. They didn't exactly go out of their way to make friends, after all. Chaff wasn't one of those people. He'd gotten a job or two from em in the past. Sure, they might be a little screwed up in the head, but they usually didn't object to Chaff's brand of attack, usually breaking down the door of wherever the target was and killing them. But, job's a job, and one of em had gotten a rather large bounty placed on his head. Not Chaff's fault. Contract said he'd been trespassing on some other country's turf. His fault. And, if Chaff was being honest, he'd enjoy this job. He loved to show the crazy's that the force was no match for a good blade and a few missiles.

Guy had been stupidly easy to find. Blatantly walking in the lower levels of Coruscant in his red robes that screamed 'Shoot me!'. He saw other's dodging out of the way of the Sith. Wimps. But it was good. Cleared a sight line to the Sith. Chaff checked his DRX-11 gun and made sure it was loaded. His first intent was to open fire right there on the street, but he thought better of it. This guy wouldn't be down here without a reason. he'd wait till they were in a more isolated spot before attacking. Contract was for live capture, which meant slightly more trouble then usual. He was getting well compensated for it, but it was best to minimize possible complicating factors if he could, so he held back far enough that he didn't think the Sith would be able to see him. The zoom function on the helm kept him in sight as he trailed the Sith to wherever he was going.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus continued to enjoy his ego-fueled stroll through his old neighborhood, his mask being the only thing hiding the amusement and the rush that he felt being treated like someone of actual power. Back in the old days there were men who didn't respect him and women he wanted who wouldn't even glance at him because of his low-class position, but how could those same people treat him as anything other than a demigod now that he was training as a Sith? The power was definitely going to the head of the acolyte, and it would land him in a large amount of danger if continued to be left unchecked.

On his way Metus passed his favorite cantina and decided to go inside for a drink, while hoping that some of his old "buddies" would be there to intimidate. As soon as he made it to the counter the bartender moved to serve him immediately since no one wanted to possibly mess up the surprising restraint that the Sith showed in taking the planet, and after ordering with the distorted voice of his mask most people tried to move away to other areas of the place or leave entirely. The low-class thug removed his mask to enjoy the drink that was brought before him, while scanning the crowd with red eyes to try and spot any familiar faces.

For now he would wallow in his own ego, completely oblivious to the presence of a man who not only wanted to burst the Sith's bubble, but to also cash in on a small bounty...

[member="Meanken"]

 

[Meanken]

Chaff grinned behind his helmet as he saw the Sith walk into the cantina. If he was about to do what he thought he was going to...

And sure enough, when Chaff entered, he saw the Sith ordering a drink. Chaff shook his head as he sat down at a table in the back. He picked up a menu on the table and held it up so the Sith wouldn't think it odd that he was just sitting there. If the Sith wanted to get drunk, Chaff was more then willing to let him. Let him enjoy his freedom while it lasted. Chaff wondered how drunk the Sith was going to get. Hell, he might not even need to fight this guy if he knocked himself out drinking.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus took large gulps of his ale as he looked about for anyone of interest, then his eyes lit up with glee as he noticed someone from his past. Roodrik was a small-time criminal who happened to have connections to more dangerous criminals on Nar Shaddaa and places beyond, using those connections as threats to make people do as he pleased. Back in his days as a thug Metus worked with the short Rodian once, and remembered just how much he hated watching Roodrik hustle about while bragging about his friends and telling him that if he screwed up it would mean his death. Now the Sith student had his chance to say the same to an old "friend".

Metus stood and slowly moved towards the corner where the Rodian stood and conversed with his friends, but all nearby talk stopped as the robed figure approached with his mask back on. The criminal looked him over with cautious eyes, obviously not recognizing him just yet, but as Metus removed his hood and lowered the mask it become clear enough to make Roodrik gasp a little in surprise.

"I remember you..." the Rodian said after quickly finishing off his drink, but before he could continue Metus used the force to push him back into the wall while moving in close enough to whisper in his ear.

"I remember you too, and now that you see what I am I'll give you a few seconds to get out of my sight before things get bad."

"Like I'm a-afraid of y-you! You remember who my friends are!"

That was enough for Metus to do as he pleased, a deviant grin on his face as he used the force to toss him aside and onto the ground.

"I do, just like I remember how much I hated you. And my new friends would make short work of yours, so keep that in mind when you run off to whine to them."

The Rodian stumbled to his feet and quickly fled, with others leaving as well in fear of a Sith who felt like he could do as he pleased. The rest of the patrons simply turned to go back to their business as the entertainment ended, leaving Metus to stand there in a cleared out part of the cantina with the grin still there before he moved to a nearby seat with his drink. There had to be more people to mess with out here, but if not he would simply do as he originally planned and get to his old apartment.

[member="Meanken"]

 

[Meanken]

Chaff could only chuckle at the Sith. Really? He was hassling street punks? Dude didn't have anything better to do? Job was going to be too easy. He approached the target. Clearly the dude wasn't much of a threat. He took a seat next to the Sith. Could smell the alcohol on his breath. He waved the bartender over.

"Yo, his next round is on me." Chaff said, figuring the more beer he could get into the Sith, the better.

 

[Metus De'cal]

The bartender was a bit confused as to why the man wished to reward the Sith for his behavior, but then assumed it was in order to get on the Sith's good side and said nothing as he prepared another ale for the bully known as Metus. The employee brought it over and placed it down in front of the Sith cautiously, saying it was a bought drink from an admirer of sorts. The Sith apprentice chuckled, partially from how funny he found it and partially because he was glad to finally get the respect he felt like he deserved and partially also because someone who admire him could be a pretty decent person to share a drink with.

Metus chugged the new one to its halfway point, and grinned.

"Kepp them coming you fools! I need more free drinks!"

[member="Meanken"]

 

[Meanken]

This Sith was really annoying him now. he really should have just sat there and let him keep downing them. Screw it. Time is money, and he wasn't gonna waste all night watching the Sith get wasted.

"Yo, bartender, get me a bottle of your cheapest beer!"

The bartender, still clearly nervous, brought it over. He held it a moment to get an idea for the weight, then looked over at the Sith in the next chair.

"Yo, sith!"

Chaff did not wait for the reply. As soon as the Sith turned to look at him, or after a few seconds if he was ignored, Chaff swung the bottle at the Sith's head, shattering it on his head if it hit. Whenever or not it hit, he tried to grab the back of the Sith's head and, if successful, repeatedly ram the Sith's face into the bar. Each smashing was punctuated with a single word.

"You. Are. A. Damn. Moron. You. Stupid. Freaking. Sith."

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus had been the target of many insults during his time as hired thug in the underworld, most of them referencing his lack of intelligence due to the size of his muscles and the lack of actual thinking that went into his line of work. He had also been the target of physical violence of course, having been the target of retaliation at least once in such a way that he had to abandon his initial apartment and find another. In those cases he was not a Sith though, and now that the was one it was something Metus was not willing to tolerate from anyone other than his comrades who proved to be more powerful. The foolish man who dared to confront him would find out soon enough, but only after the apprentice took a bottle to the side of his head. While slightly knocked off balance from this attack, he still summoned the instinctive reflexes needed to avoid the attempted grabbing of his head.

Metus' hood was down, revealing the damage done by the broken glass as small shards embedded themselves into his skin and blood ran down from his new wounds into the collar of his tunic and robe. Even with such injuries the Sith in training was still on his feet, now driven by the singular purpose of revenge against his unknown attacker. Whatever the man's reasons for this didn't matter anymore, since now it was all about Metus and how he would kill the fool. He stared at him silently with his deep red eyes, scanning the man for any obvious weaknesses or distinctive markings to show a profession. The Sith found neither, and decided to pull out his now activated lightsaber into a defensive stance.

"You...will pay dearly for that one fool."

Metus spoke with the distorted growl of his mouthpiece turned on, and after he was finished used the force to lift a couple bottles and throw them at [member="Meanken"] towards his head. Either was he needed to keep himself in a defensive stance until he decided on a course of action, but toying with his foe this way would inevitably reveal which of his actions would be best.

 

[Meanken]

Chaff was disappointed. It appeared his attack went too well. Now the Sith had shards of glass stuck in his head. He was still up and moving, and the blood loss would no doubt knock him out eventually, but Chaff needed to end this quickly before the blood loss had a more lethal effect. Much as killing the Sith would amuse him, he wouldn't get anything for a corpse. Then he attacked. The Sith was really just throwing bottles at him? Seriously? He'd designed his armor to withstand direct strikes from vibroblades and the like, he doubted bottles would do little more then scratch the paint on it. Still, Chaff wasn't gonna stand around and let himself get hit. As the bottles flew at him, he dropped into a crouch and let the bottles fly over his head. Then he struck. In an instant, his vibroblade was deployed, and he swung for the back of the Sith's knee, aiming to bring him down to the floor.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

This one was at least somewhat dangerous. Or at least more dangerous than the local thugs who were now either fleeing the cantina or taking bets on the winner.

[member="Meanken"] was well armored as well, but still chose to dodge the bottles instead of simply letting them hit the armor harmlessly. Metus realized why just as the blade flashed towards his knee, but luckily his training made it instinctive for him to jump up to avoid the attack, landing on top of the bar before his altered laughter began to fill the cantina. While the pain in his face was good enough to know his concentration off a bit, he knew to not let it show and to pretend that the wounds weren't affecting him. Metus did a quick flourish with his weapon against the top of the metal counter, sending up some sparks as his red eyes continued to stare intensely at the enemy before him.

"You dare to attack me? A Sith with the power to crush the weak with a simple flick of my wrist? A fool such as you deserves a fare more painful death than the quick one I'm about to give you."

With that the warrior used the force to throw more bottles as a distraction, then stooped down to aim a horizontal strike at the man's neck intending to simply decapitate him.

 

[Meanken]

Chaff ignored the bottles this time, since he wasn't gonna surprise the guy with another move like that, so he maintained full attention on the Sith. That turned out to be a good thing when the Sith swung to decap him. Clearly the Sith didn't think much of him. He'd regret that. He easily blocked the painfully obvious strike at his neck with a wrist blade that he deployed, then quickly deployed the other as he swung it at the Sith's wrist, aiming to remove the hand, or at least disarm the Sith and wound him enough to mess with his ability to use it.

"Ain't gonna be that easy, Sith."

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

The Sith watched as his opponent simply ignored the bottles that broke against his armor, getting alcohol all over it and whatever else is splashed on, then dodge the attack meant to remove his head before responding with an attack of his own. Metus could only see this one as a lower being, even more pathetically low in the galaxy than even he himself was, and as such continued to act with an air of arrogance and contempt. The blade that come towards his wrist was avoided as Metus dropped his lightsaber and jumped back behind the bar, quickly using the force to call the weapon back to him before it could be damaged.

Once satisfied that he was safe, Metus jumped back up with a grin hidden behind his mask and summoned what power he could to try and push [member="Meanken"] backwards with the force before throwing a large stool to knock him off balance.

"Oh, it WILL be that easy you weakling!"

 

[Meanken]

[member="Metus De'cal"]

Chaff was really getting tired of this Sith and his attitude. He had reached the point where he no longer cared if the opponent lived or died. If he lost the bounty he took, so be it. There were other people out there who were willing to pay good money for a Sith corpse. He was thrown back by the push, landing on his back as he skidded to a stop. Then he saw the stool coming and rolled to avoid it. When he stopped, an arm quickly came up, and missiles started flying out of the launcher on his wrist and at the Sith behind the bar counter. Chaff was confident that the counter would not be able to withstand more then a hit or two at that, so the Sith's options would be limited at best.

 

[Metus De'cal]

A rush of adrenaline began to flow throughout Metus' body as his opponent was thrown backwards to the ground, and at that moment he began to understand what some of his fellow Sith meant when they talked about the "thrill" of a fight like this. Before he preferred to simply fight against enemies he knew he could beat and ran from those he could not, but with this man...maybe he could learn to enjoy the fight itself and not only the rewards that came afterwards. This one was foolish enough to start such a battle on a planet that was run by his kind, but he would learn the folly of his ways soon enough whether it was in the form of whoever came to put an end to this fight...or Metus himself.

The student of the force watched his enemy avoid the stool before launching a barrage of small missiles, and he knew that it would take some quick thinking to not end up as a pile of smoking remains. Metus summoned his will and used the force to push a few of the missiles away, either sending them through windows to explode outside or into other parts of the room, but as the last few approached he jumped to the side as they made contact with the bar area and turned it into a pile of scrap. The power of the explosion propelled him forward, knocking him to the ground and making him remember why he preferred fighting safely in the first place. Metus decided that the thrill of a fight wasn't worth dying or being caged like an animal, and decided that taking the fight elsewhere might be better for him.

With a flick of his wrist the Sith sent one of the surviving civilians, a human young woman, flying towards [member="Meanken"], then sprinted towards the exit in order to get outside.

 

[Meanken]

And so the Sith ran like a coward. Chaff wondered what his 'masters' would think of this insulting display. Chaff didn't even really consider this a fight. At no point whatsoever had he been in any kind of danger. Clearly this guy was no real threat. And yet someone was paying a good deal of money for his capture, so Chaff would complete the contract, no matter how boring it was. He shoved the woman off of him angrily and leaped to his feet, hitting his jetpack and launching himself forward to attempt to catch up to and tackle the running Sith to the ground. The Sith had been bleeding out of those wounds on his head for a while, no doubt he'd start suffering the effects soon enough. Even with the adrenaline that battle causes, you could only ignore wounds like that for so long before they started effecting ya. He knew this from experience.

[member="Metus De'cal"]

 

[Metus De'cal]

Metus needed a plan.

This one was not as soft as his old friends and enemies in the underworld of Coruscant, and as of yet there were no weaknesses that the Sith-in-training could obviously exploit. That, and of course he was still wounded from the hit to his head, which would have brought down a lesser being some time ago, but a mixture of adrenaline, his training, and his basic force-empowered rage kept the man on his feet and battle-ready...for now. The people who had been able to escape without getting caught in the crossfire had left some time ago, making it easy for him to sprint through the building without any real obstacles and getting outside.

The sounds of what were possibly police vehicles was approaching, and while it would have been easy to simply try and hold out for them to aid a member of their new ruling class it was a tactic that would most likely land Metus in even more trouble with his master. No...he would have to do something else, but before he could properly think of a course of action the bounty hunter made his mind up for him by flying into him with a mighty tackle just as the Sith turned to see where [member="Meanken"] was. The hit knocked the wind right out of him, but Metus could only laugh on empty lungs at his opponent's mistake even after taking such a damaging hit.

When fighting an enemy trained in close quarters combat with a lightsaber, it was usually better to fight from a distance. Now that the man had delivered himself into Metus' arms in such a loving embrace the time to strike was now. As they flew backwards together the Sith raised his lightsaber up towards the center of the man's chest with a bloodied grin on his face...and activated it with the full intent of impaling him.